My LO is 11 months and quickly on her way to weaning. She was nursing about 5 times a day and very quickly dropped sessions (over the course of a month and a half or so) down to our current very short morning session. I'm comfortable with her weaning and have been trying to just follow her lead but I have been feeling a lot of increased anxiety and depression symptoms. I'm sleeping poorly and feel highly anxious through out the day. I'm moody and sometimes downright mean to my poor DH 
I'm having trouble putting into words how I've been feeling but all in all I just haven't been feeling "right." Anyone else go through this? I'm sure it will pass but it still is hard 
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This is, unfortunately, normal.
http://kellymom.com/ages/weaning/wean-how/depression-and-weaning/
My LO is 12 months and is on a nursing strike (day 11 now) and although I've been pumping to try to keep my supply up, I've definitely been very emotional and all over the place about it. Weaning is hard, even when you're ready.
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Yes. The first time I tried I did it too fast because I left for a trip and I was an emotional mess. I still get anxious and testy going slowly but it's more manageable.
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@autumn865: Cup of Jo had a great article about weaning-related depression a few years ago - http://cupofjo.com/2012/02/motherhood-mondays-the-hardest-two-months-of-my-life/
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@Adira: are you having any luck getting LOack to the breast?
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Not weaning in the sense that you are, but when bf didn't work out with lo1 I very quickly developed pretty bad ppd/ppa. By 6 weeks I stopped completely and that week I was sent to the ER also. By about 12 weeks I was getting better. My OB thought that the pumping irregularly and what not was contributing to hormonal changes that contributed to the ppd/ppa. This doesn't directly apply but I've also read that women who chose ff (like I said, not directly applicable) are less likely to develop ppd than women who don't have that same sense of control..so I imagine it works similarly for weaning if you weren't expecting it to happen so quickly. Anyway I hope you're feeling better soon!
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Depression during weaning is totally normal. Hormones are all over the place and it is an emotional transition, too! My daughter was nursing 4 times a day when she suddenly decided she was done. I was a wreck for a while! But it does get better.
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@Kemma: Not yet. He has double ear infections, so I'm hoping after they clear up, I'll have some luck...
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Yep. It was clear that weaning off that cocktail of happy hormones we get from breastfeeding was not something my brain liked. I think it's like a form of withdrawal. But it passed on its own.
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8 comments