It's going to be a lot of bottles and formula, so that's something to consider. Your baby may not react well to being transitioned to formula or not react the way you think. My friend couldn't breastfeed due to some most take meds and it was just so much bottle washing.

But I will say by 6 months I found breastfeeding easy. If you're finding it a struggle, the calculation is different. It's okay to call it quits if it's not working for you. Fed is best.

Weaning at six months isn’t supplementing “a bit” with formula, it’s going wholly to formula for six months which is when babies start getting their calories from food. I wouldn’t want to have done all the hassle of breastfeeding just to ALSO do all the hassle of formula (finding one your kid likes/doesn’t upset their stomach, washing bottles, watching for recalls, etc) it seems worst of both worlds, but I think you should do the thing that works best for you, which is highly individual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

Conclusions: Breastfeeding duration of at least 2 months was associated with half the risk of SIDS. Breastfeeding does not need to be exclusive to confer this protection.

2 mos isn’t what most consider extended but okay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.

Guess you're right. They didn't include a 6-12 month variable because so few women can be bothered. I'm sure the SIDS benefit evaporates 100% the day they turn 6 months, or at least you can tell yourself that

I posted 5 other articles you ignored

Typical militant lactivitst, absolutely lacking in evidenced based research, just vague vibes about how women are lazy and selfish for not breastfeeding till 8.

-mom who EBF past a year for three kids, but doesn't have her head up her own ass

I love you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Science can’t answer this for you right now. All these women on here claiming it leads to this or that are not being truthful; there are no proven, definite benefits.

For me, the reasons to keep going were, in order,
1. Sleep. Will your baby fall asleep easily any other way? Mine wouldn’t.
2. Convenience. Bottles: filling, prepping and cleaning them sucks. Breastfeeding is so easy and convenient.
3. Weight loss. This wasn’t a consideration for me but looking back I could eat literally anything I wanted and still unintentionally lost weight.

OP here, wish this was the case for me but it definitely isn't. I'm wondering if this is just my new set point which is upsetting. I am almost 40 pounds over my weight before I got pregnant. I was eating a lot postpartum (PPD plus extreme breastfeeding hunger) to the point that I actually gained weight while baby was constantly nursing. For the past few months I have been working out (only 30 minutes 6 times per week so I could do more but it's hard with the baby) eating healthier with much smaller portions but I haven't even lost a pound. Maybe I need to start another thread about weight loss while breastfeeding!

Without trying to change my diet, I lost 25 lbs in the six weeks after I stopped breastfeeding my first. Also had the hormone roller coaster of weaning other moms mentioned.

With my 2nd, I got back to my pre-baby weight while breastfeeding and have only recently weaned. Was hoping I’d easily drop another 10-20 and be back at college me size, but seems unlikely.

At six mos, I introduced formula and cut back on pumping. By 9 mos, my LO wasn’t as into nursing. At 11 mos, I cut out all pumping and just nursed when she felt like it. She’s 12 mos and walking now, and v, v rarely feels like nursing.

I didn’t find a big impact on illness with nursing. My older kid didn’t latch well so I exclusively pumped after 6 mos, so felt less ambivalent about stopping (which made the hormonal weepies even more confusing!!)

Do what works for you, science doesn’t seem to know yet. For me, stopping meant more mental clarity and better sleep. And it was weight neutral/decreased my weight after first kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.

Guess you're right. They didn't include a 6-12 month variable because so few women can be bothered. I'm sure the SIDS benefit evaporates 100% the day they turn 6 months, or at least you can tell yourself that

I posted 5 other articles you ignored

The bolded tells us everything we need to know about you. Yikes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.

Guess you're right. They didn't include a 6-12 month variable because so few women can be bothered. I'm sure the SIDS benefit evaporates 100% the day they turn 6 months, or at least you can tell yourself that

I posted 5 other articles you ignored

Typical militant lactivitst, absolutely lacking in evidenced based research, just vague vibes about how women are lazy and selfish for not breastfeeding till 8.

-mom who EBF past a year for three kids, but doesn't have her head up her own ass

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.

Guess you're right. They didn't include a 6-12 month variable because so few women can be bothered. I'm sure the SIDS benefit evaporates 100% the day they turn 6 months, or at least you can tell yourself that

I posted 5 other articles you ignored

DP. You should probably read those 5 articles you posted. They don’t say what you think they do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.

Guess you're right. They didn't include a 6-12 month variable because so few women can be bothered. I'm sure the SIDS benefit evaporates 100% the day they turn 6 months, or at least you can tell yourself that

I posted 5 other articles you ignored

Anonymous wrote:It is good for baby to not just be dependent on milk, and you can introduce solids and not bother with formula.

Their main source of nutrition should be milk- in the form of formula or breastmilk- until 1.

For example, an 8-month-old needs 750-900 calories, of which 400-500 minimum should come from milk (50% or more depending on your kid).

Even if they eat an egg and oatmeal for breakfast + pancake and berries for lunch + pasta and broc for dinner its not a lot of calories nor food they are getting in their mouths.

Some kids eat a lot of solids and just go for it. My son liked food but loved breastmilk. It wasnt even a contest. I also experienced meditative-like states while breastfeeding but if I was meh on it or wanted to stop I probably would have started weaning earlier.

Theres just no real way to avoid breastmilk/formula until 1 (+/- 1-2 months). So if you wean now its formula but I would 100% trial formula first.

Anonymous wrote:It is good for baby to not just be dependent on milk, and you can introduce solids and not bother with formula.

Yes, I think that’s true. I forget that at 6 months she’ll be eating solids so the pressure is off me a little to be providing all calories, even though I realize solids aren’t a huge source of nutrition before one. If I have to be gone for a few hours she may not even need formula if she will be having a meal/snack. Crazy to think about since it has been milk, milk, milk for so many months!

It is good for baby to not just be dependent on milk, and you can introduce solids and not bother with formula.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it kept me super skinny so I didn't want to give it up.

It doesn’t seem to do that for me! I feel like it either helps you lose weight or really doesn’t and unfortunately I’m in the latter camp.

Do you have your period back?

I actually just got my period but I'm also on birth control so I'm not sure if it's a true period if that makes sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Benefits of extended breastfeeding
Breastfeeding beyond one year and up to two years continues to benefit your baby’s development and growth. But it can also benefit the breastfeeding parent. Research shows breastfeeding beyond one year can help lower your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

In addition, extended breastfeeding can help soothe your baby and provide comfort in times of upset.

https://www.medela.com/en-au/breastfeeding-pumping/blog/power-of-breast-milk/5-powerful-reasons-to-continue-breastfeeding-after-6-months

Show me actual research stating the benefits of extended breastfeeding in a first world country. Not just vibes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29084835/

This study is not about extended breastfeeding, it studied breastfeeding up to 6 months. Again, show me the research.