When is it the right time to stop breastfeeding?

[kelliestarr]

How do I know when to stop breastfeeding? My son is 13 months now and I don't want to stop him from breastfeeding but he is going to start to spend weekend with his dad. Do I try to pump or do I ween him off?
I don't know what to do.

How do you know when to ween?

[tiredbuthappy]

if neither of you are ready, can you put off the weekend visits? sounds like it may not be the time for you if you don't want to and he is happy continuing

[PamelaBee]

Your son will let you know when he is ready to stop...they will start to show little or no interest towards your breast.  Continue to breastfeed him.  If he is away from you on the weekends, just make sure you pump enough to cover that time he is gone.  13 months is an admirable amount of time to BF, good for you!!  Let your baby decide when he is ready to ween, you'll know when...good luck!  

[Diane1003]

It's definately not an easy decision.  Do what is right for you and your child. For me the decision was kind of made (I replied on your other post) so I didn't have to decide!

[catann12]

I stopped Breastfeeding my baby when he was 14 months. The only reason why i stopped at that time was because i caught an ear infection and had to take antibiotics. but my pediatrician told me i should stop at 12 because they start to drink whole mild after their first birthday and they need the vitamins in the whole milk.

[tiredbuthappy]

Babies do not need to switch to whole milk from breast milk for nutritional reasons. The WHO advocates bf'ing until at least 2 for nutritional and immunological reasons. I am very surprised that a pediatrician would state vitamins as a reason to wean.

[PamelaBee]

I agree with tiredbuthappy.  BFing is recommended for as long as both Mom and baby can.  Although, at 1yr old, if you wish to stop BFing, whole milk is recommended not only for the vitamin A & D content, but because at 1yr old your baby has a mature enough digestive system to consume cows milk, or soy milk if the case may be.  But ultimately, breastmilk is the absolute best nutrition for antibodies and immunity, which contains all the essential vitamins.

[lynda544]

Just another thought. My 14 month old was just diagnosed with H1N1. She is better now, but the last 3 days have been very scary. She has never been sick or been on antibiotics. I feel so blessed that she was still nursing. She would not eat or drink anything, and was throwing up. I will not even consider stopping until flu season is over. If you have any doubts, I would wait.