suggestions on how to stop breastfeeding/pumping?

i've heard to do it slowly lowering pumping times thru days - middays 1st, last to cut are morning and night's feedings. naturally babies wean that long - a month. you would feel not that bad on accont on hormons in you and it also hurt less (your breasts, him/her wanting your milk and adjusting to formula alone etc.) except difference in stools, more diaper rash problems etc. i'm in alike situation and will hear other's advices eagerly. thanks for your post. ps: you can look up the breastfeeding group posts they have here on cafemom i believe and learn much more. some day at free time that's what i'll do.

i wonder that too. i been pumping for 9mts and i plan to stop at 12 mts

The easiest way on you and the baby is to just drop one feeding at a time. Do it gradually. My kids all weaned that way and I was never engorged or sore.

www.babyledweaning.com

I agree go slow one feeding at a time and b4 you know it you will be dry...

Like PP said eliminate feedings one by one. My DD started eating more solids so she nursed less and then I purposely started eliminating feedings. I was never engorged. I couldn't walk around my DD topless for a while or she would get upset:)  Good for you for pumping for so long, my friend did that and I swear every time I saw her she was attached to a pump.

I pumped exclusively for 7 mos. I stopped cold turkey. I was sore not overly sore for about 3 days and I took sudafed to dry up, and motrin for the pain. I was dry in about a week. I hope that stopping is what is best for you and baby. It was a very hard decision for us to make.

I plan on doing the same in the next two months. The problem is he now climbs in my lap and pulls at my shirt to eat, before I offer. Maybe I will just wait till he is a year and is less interested which will be end of Jan. It will be sad, but I won't miss being attatched to that pump. I've already dropped one pumping at night, and do one between 8-9pm and than he gets milk at 6am. I feel I barely have milk by end of day, because I only get 2 oz. total at night. I give him his only 6oz. bottle of formula before bed so in case he weans himself before year he is used to the formula and I know he gets enough milk to get through the night without feedings. It has worked well for last two months.

To stop quickly is not the best idea for most women - - cut 1 feeding out at a time, with at least a few days in between.

Tazkitty - - :) You're not running out of milk at the end of the day - pumping only 2 ounces is completely normal (actually, for me it would be a lot), even when our children are eating 6-8-10 ounces at a time. Pumps aren't nearly as efficient as a suckling baby. My son also thinks that pulling my shirt open is a good idea- - I've been working on teaching him the sign for milk, which I was able to use with my daughter very successfully. He now recognizes it :) So it's just a matter of getting him to use it.