Or would you rather BF for a shorter time, or not at all? If you already have more than one LO how did your breastfeeding journeys differ?
I weaned A when she was 13 months because I was pregnant and not interested in tandem nursing and was afraid it was going to take longer to wean. I would like to nurse LO #2 longer if it works out though!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
I wouldn't mind going a bit longer but I would like to give myself more flexibility with pumping through a year.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I didn't want to go as long with DS. Did want to go for at least 18 months though.
He decided to self wean at 10.5 months and had his last taste of bm on his 1st birthday!
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
My long-term goal was only 12 months, and if I have another that would still stand. I nursed E for 15 months and was really happy with that. If he'd been able to go longer that would have been fine, but I think I'd be happy as long as I hit 12 months again.
nectarine / 2079 posts
12 months is all I care to go to (but am open to going longer). With my current LO we are still going strong at 13 months, but I'm hoping to wean her sooner than later.
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
I don't know yet. All I know is I will not be EPing for any amount of time. If it doesn't work out we will go to exclusive formula feeding. Where I am right now is that I want to bf for six months. Not really interested in extended bf'ing at all. Not sure about after six months..
honeydew / 7283 posts
I only BF M for 3 months and I definitely hope to go longer with future LO(s). M and I both cried all the time (colic and PPD, respectively) and I just couldn't do it for one more day. I hope that next time will be better, but I also know it's not the end of the world to FF.
pomegranate / 3980 posts
My first lo weaned herself by 11 months my second lo will be 19 months in 8 days and well... she is nursing as I type this.
watermelon / 14206 posts
I went to 15 months with DS. I was getting tired of it so just weaned. For LO I'll go to a year but quit once I feel like I need my body to myself.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
12 months was my goal...and will be for future LOs. My LO pretty much self weaned at 14 months and that was great timing for me. She was only nursing 2x a day at 12 months so it was very doable and they were pretty short sessions towards the end. I don't think I'm interested in nursing past 18 months but who knows...never say never 
clementine / 830 posts
I weaned LO at 8 months because I got pregnant again and he had enough frozen to get him to 9 months. For #2 I want to go 9 months in the interest of being fair but am not super interested in going longer than that.
pear / 1946 posts
I really hated BFing with DD and at the time swore I would formula feed my next. In reality, I will start with BFing but if it's a struggle I refuse to drive myself crazy with it like I did before. I will (hopefully) have no problem switching to formula.
coconut / 8279 posts
I would go as long as I could. But I would NOT be as hard on myself as I was with DS. There were many days/nights of heaving crying because of breastfeeding, not pumping enough, refusal,... not worth allowing myself to get that upset again.
persimmon / 1026 posts
My goal with my LO was 3 months, we made it 6.5 but had to start supplementing with formula at 4 months. For my next LO I'd like to try and make it 6 months without having to supplement but we'll see.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
Going to try to make it to the one year mark for baby 2. Weaned LO at 9 months because I was pregnant and dried up.
pear / 1639 posts
R is 7 months and I'm still EPing but I want to quit ASAP once we find a formula she isn't allergic to. I had hoped to make it to a year.
For any future LOs, I will hope for a year but if we have the same trouble R and I did, I won't exclusively pump.
pear / 1639 posts
@char54: Haha I love that we posted at the same time with the complete opposite responses. Better you than I, I want to burn my pump!
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
@Mrs. Taco: lol! It depends on the day for me...I'm down to 3 pumps a day and LO gets a bottle of formula so it's not too big of an inconvenience. I really don't miss the early days of 7+ pumps though! 7 months is amazing - 6mo is my ultimate goal!
honeydew / 7687 posts
At 13 months and down to 2x a day; don't have a specific goal or end date but definitely want to make it to at least a year with any future LOs!
pomegranate / 3983 posts
It has been way easier the second time and I hope Baby Brother nurses as long as possible (because of MSPI) but I have a feeling he will wean earlier than his brother, who is only weaning now at age 2.5.
squash / 13764 posts
Still going at almost 15 months, and did not think I would go this long (always though I would wean at 1). I would be happy with going to 1 with any future LOs; not sure how I'll feel about extended BFing while also chasing around older kids!
honeydew / 7968 posts
Did my twins until like 13.5 months. Hoping to go around the same with this baby.
pomelo / 5093 posts
Breastfeeding has become uncomfortable at 28 months, so I'm trying to wean. If I had more, I would want to nurse about that long. Until it became uncomfortable. But I'd cut back on the frequency far earlier - no more nursing an 18 month old on demand.
bananas / 9118 posts
I made it 18 months and stopped because I was pregnant and it was uncomfortable. Thinking about it now, I'm pretty happy with that length- stopping has been really nice! I'm not super duper looking forward to starting up again.
apricot / 287 posts
I EBF #1 for 13 months, at the time I was 3 months pregnant and he pretty much self-weaned, I was much more upset about it than he was! My second child is 18 months and nurses twice a day, I think if I did the "don't offer don't refuse" he would probably wean quickly but since he is my baby I don't want to yet. I was hoping to get to 2 years or at least through the winter.
coconut / 8681 posts
With #1 we had tons of issues (colic/acid reflux, shallow latch, vasospasms, thrush, refusal. etc.) and we were supplementing starting at less than a week old off and on but I stuck it out to 3 months before I couldn't do it anymore.
With #2 everything has been a piece of cake and I'm thrilled about it. She's almost 7 weeks old and we've had literally no issues. Fingers crossed! I'm hoping to BF her at least a year.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
We went for just over 13 months with DD, never having to supplement, and I was very happy with that. My plan had been to BF for a year and we made it and then some.
Like @bao: we stopped when I was around 12-13 weeks pregnant with my second. I had zero desire to tandem nurse and wanted LO to be completely done long before the new baby arrived. I'm hoping for a similar experience this second time! I'll aim for a year and then play it by ear after that.
honeydew / 7917 posts
Had to EP with my first (and supplement with formula for the first month), which lasted 13 months. That was much longer than I expected. With my second, I knew I would feel extremely guilty if I wasn't able to provide a year of breast milk. If breastfeeding didn't work out, I knew I would formula feed. EP with two isn't feasible. I'm just so glad that we're 2 months in and going strong. Hope to breastfeed for a year.
papaya / 10570 posts
Honestly, I'm not sure......
My LO had maybe 2oz of "breastmilk" in total over the two weeks or so I tried to breastfeed. I put breastmilk in inverted commas because my milk never actually came in - I was pumping tiny dribbles of colostrum every 2 hours and adding it to her bottles. Awful. So, yeah, I'd like to be able to actually nurse my next baby, of course I would.....
.... but that said, formula has been awesome for us. It's not the magic bullet people promise it will be - she doesn't STTN and washing bottles is a huge PITA - but it helped us get into a fabulous routine and I can't imagine doing this without formula next time. I know what I'm doing with formula....
So, I don't know..... maybe.....
pineapple / 12053 posts
We're going strong at (almost) 12 months. I'm going to continue as log as we both want to but hopefully slow cut back to morning and night only by 15-18 months if we're still going. I would like to make it to a year with all subsequent kids!
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
If we ever had another, I wouldn't want to breastfeed as long as we did. Honestly, I wouldn't even want to do it after I went back to work. Pumping sucked. If I had the luxury of not being away from her, heck yeah, I would want to bf as long as we did this time (but no longer - 18 months).
honeydew / 7586 posts
Yes! I've had horrible supply issues and dried up a 6.5 months. I was devastated.
If we have another LO I'd like to BF for at least a year, preferably 2.
nectarine / 2054 posts
Still nursing LO at almost 15 months... if it wasn't winter, though, I'd probably have stopped at 1 year. So for any future LOs I'll probably aim to stop at 1 year, depending on when that is.
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