My little one is 13 months - soon to be 14 months old, and I had planned on starting to wean her when I returned to work full time at the beginning of September. My plan was to do it slowly and to be completely weaned by next April as I have a 4 day business trip in May that I can not take her on.

She was not happy about my going back to work full time and for awhile insisted on nursing practically every minute I was home - but then she got used to it and we had gotten down to once in the early morning (6ish) Once before I left for work, when I returned from work and then before bed.
I was trying to shorten the before work nursing this last week - and now I have a horrendous case of mastitis, I feel like I'm going to die...

I've been told I need to nurse frequently now until it's cleared up - okay, no problem... but I'm so confused how to go back to weanign after this. I don't want to get infected again, and with more frequent nursing my milk supply is goign to go up again. My other two kids weaned on their own happily at around a year and my milk supply was always low with them... so this is new territory. Anyone out there have any suggestions to avoid another infection?

Gah I got to this one a bit late.Hows the weaning going?

Everything I've read says to drop one feeding a week to ensure no mastitis or angry babies. Save her most important one (for most babies, it's the pre-bed one) for last. Good luck!

It's not to late! I'll still listen to any advice on the matter.
Mastitis cleared up after two really awful days. Came back 2 days later (after returning to work) - seems to be okay now right after nursing but still very painful when I go any length of time with out nursing... but I'm now back up to a ridiculous amount of milk... I'm constantly leaking, which is concerning to me, because I should be way past that stage...

Currently nursing 2X in morning, Pumping at work 1X (to relieve the pressure/pain since the first mastitis), Nursing when I get home and about 3X during the night. At a loss of where to go from here....

If you are really wanting to wean there are a few things you can do to help dry you up.

I always encourage mom to gradually wean.....like dropping a feed here or there. Some medications like cold medicines can help...but I would only use those as a last resort because they can dry you up and quickly which is a shock for you and the baby. (Especially if baby find comfort at the breast.) Cabbage leaves in your bra also help some woman. Again use these as a last resort.

This site has some good advice as well. I think offering a snack or a drink instead of a nursing session is good advice...also lots of snuggles!

www.breastfeedingbasics.com . . .

Hang in there! She will eventually stop!

Thanks for the article - had some ideas in there.

A problem is I really don't want to wean yet. But like I said in my original post I have a trip in May I can't take her on. Thought about hiring a babysitter to travel with me, but that's really not financially possible. And I know tahts still months away (maybe she'll self wean on her own by then, but also maybe not)and I thought starting out and taking it so slowly would work out, obviously it's not though.
Breastfeeding had been going so great with her, I hate for it to end in such a painful way.

Will she take a bottle and if doing so isn't a problem...Can you pump on your trip?

I know of a few tricks to get baby to take bottles in an Emergency....I can share what I know.

So she'll be what, 20-21 months in May? Honestly, I wouldn't wean because of that at all, personally! It's hard to know what the baby will be doing that far in the future--she may have weaned herself, she may be nursing here and there, etc. She may wean while you're gone, she may pick up nursing again when you get home. By that age, a hand pump or hand expressing would probably be enough for your comfort while you're gone.

Mastitis is completely cleared up - after another doctor visit for being in pain out of my mind, turns out I have an allergy to Lanolin, which i started using the first time I got mastitis trying to ease some of the pain, and was just making it worse - Switched to a shea butter lotion and I'm perfectly fine now.

But now I'm kind of at the point where I've given up the whole idea of even weaning, she's not ready and I'm not ready. I am worried about her when I leave though if she's not weaned. Right now we are not sure if my husband will be able to take the time off, and if he can't I'll be leaving my kids with my parents (Which I'm not to thrilled about) so I don't want her to be miserable that whole time. She's never taken a bottle, but she happily drinks juice or water out of a sippy cup... so I know she won't be thirsty, she nurses purely for comfort at the moment.

At that point, being away from each other for that long will be tough on both of you, regardless of nursing or weaned. Being away from Lucy at 2.5 while I was in the hospital/NICU with Caroline for 5 days was the worst 5 days of our lives. She just had to adjust to being with my mom or dh for those days, they did whatever it took to keep her happy, etc. She had still been nursing for naps and bed but they'd rock her her, walk her, drive her around, ply her with juice, etc. It was my absence more than the lack of nursing that was hardest on her.