How to Stop Breastfeeding
Summary: The decision to stop breastfeeding is a personal choice, one that must be made by the mother.  As a rule of thumb, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that a mother nurses for at least one year, although this isn't always possible.

There is no set time frame for converting from the breast to the bottle, or from the breast to a sippy cup, (depending on your baby's age), although there are some factors to take into consideration.  First and foremost, ask yourself why you are still breastfeeding at this point in your infant's life.  

The main reason that women begin breastfeeding their baby is for the nutritional and bonding values -  it's the healthiest way of feeding and the most intimate form of bonding that a mother can have with her infant.  In the first two weeks after childbirth your breast milk is full of concentrated vitamins and nutrients, including a substance called colostrum, that helps fight off illnesses like Jaundice.  So regardless of how long you opt to keep doing this, each feeding is beneficial, even if you switch to bottled formula soon thereafter.

When you have made the decision to stop, it is important to firmly decide what your reasoning is.  Understanding this will help you establish a firm plan and make the weaning process much easier for you and your baby.  Some mothers find it necessary to wean their baby when they begin teething, others wait for the baby to begin showing disinterest  and some simply cannot supply enough milk to sustain their baby and are forced to wean.  On the flip side, there are some mothers that do not want to wean their baby at all for fear of taking them out of their comfort zone.

Weaning your baby because of teething is one of the most common reasons to stop.  Little teeth hurt, and little babies seem to bite harder and more often when they get a reaction out of mommy after inflicting a bite. You can wean your infant  to a bottle and still furnish her breast milk by expressing it.  This is an effective way of providing the nourishment she needs without any harm to you.

Some babies will let you know that they are becoming disinterested in the by playing with it, looking around the room and simply not latching on or paying much attention to what you are offering.  They will display an interest when they see other babies or children using a bottle, sippy cup or eating food.

And few will reach a point where the milk does not sustain them anymore, whether the reason being that you are not supplying enough milk or their bodies just need more substance, they will let you know that they need more.

In any of the cases, all indications are that it's time to begin weaning.  Each baby is unique, so each experience is different, though some suggestions for weaning your baby to a bottle or sippy cup are to begin reducing the number of feedings from the breast.  Decrease the feedings by one per day and replace that feeding with the new method until the weaning process is complete.  Some mothers find that mixing their breast milk with the formula or milk helps the baby make this transition because it is a taste that they recognize. Once they realize the flow of the bottle they tend to prefer as well, making the process that much easier.

Avoid confusion with your baby by sitting in a different place and holding her in a different position than you normally did when you breastfed, each time you introduce the new bottle.  This will help her to separate the breastfeeding versus the bottle feedings.  

The next step is to wean yourself.  For lack of better words, your body has become a milk factory,  a diner of sorts, since you started breastfeeding.  It's time to stop producing milk.  While you are weaning your baby your breasts will feel heavy, swollen and engorged.  It's likely that you will have to express milk to relieve some of this - doing so in the shower is the most comfortable place.  Allow the warm water to run down onto you and message your breasts, working out any knots that you might feel.  Be careful not to completely empty your breasts, as that is a signal to 'refill'.  You only want to express enough milk to make yourself comfortable.  The excess milk will be absorbed back into your body.  

By nature we are in tune with our children, so it is a wise idea to have some nursing pads on hand that you can put into your bra each day during this time of waning, as it's likely that you will leak milk when you hear your baby's cry.  This is normal.  The pads will protect your clothing and keep your secret.  

If you feel like you are generating more milk try wearing a snug fitting bra to prevent stimulation and pay extra attention when you express milk to relieve pain.  Once the stimulus has been removed you will stop producing milk.  This process can take between two to three weeks.