7 Month Old Now Eating solids/Nursing.

I'm in the same boat. I know I need to drink way more water and possibly eat more and bust out the pmup to stimulate production a couple more times a day. Maybe you'll inspire me!

Hi J.! As long as you nurse on a schedule you will make as much as your baby needs/takes. You may not "feel" it as much as you used to because she isn't taking as much and you have grown used to nursing. Don't worry as long as she is doing well you are fine!

your body will produce only as much as it needs. if you want to increase the milk supply, you can pump.

Hey J.! If your daughter is swallowing when you nurse, she is gettng milk. Your body produces milk on demand and as long as she nurses at those times, your body will make the milk. your breasts adjust to the demand and regulate the milk to your babies needs and this change in feelng is hard to get used to.
you shouldn't have to do anything special, just keep takng your prenatals and keep drinking water!

Try offering to nurse her before and after giving her solids. Also, giving her a bottle of formula won't help your milk supply. I know it probably helps her sleep better at night (?), but it really does cut in on your supply.
My 8 month old is eating solids too, (we're doing the baby-led weaning approach, which encourages baby's initiation and exploration of eating solids) and I actually haven't noticed much of a decrease. At this stage, solids aren't really "nutritive" eating for them, as baby should still be able to get most of their nutrition from breast milk.
hope this helps!
:)

The best thing to do is to nurse your baby as often as she wants.
Part of the time an infant is nursing is time for bonding and suckling in order to stimulate milk production. The more you resort to other types of feeding the less milk you will produce. For more information, you can contact the La Leche League or St. Vincent's Lactation Consultant, Carol Cacchione. Hope this is of help.

Hello J.,

Your brest milk will adjust. I nursed my daughter only brest milk for 6 months then added solids. I knew she would be my last and I really loved the bond we had when she nursed and did not want to give it up! I was also working full time outside the home. I slowly went down to just nursing just before work and before bedtime. True I did not have much milk, but she was eating solids and supplimenting with water, juice and whole milk at 1 year. We were able to continue to nurse part time until she was 2 years old.
P.S. She is now 15 years old. Wow. Time flies.
Good luck.

Congrats on still nursing!

I maintained milk even when I was down to 1-2 nursing sessions per day. If you've got a well established milk supply from the first weeks, you can maintain a good supply in the later months with few nursing sessions. No, you will not feel as "full" as you did earlier, but you do have milk.

I'd encourage you to nurse at night prior to offering the formula (even consider ditching the formula) if you are really concerned about it. I wouldn't bother to pump at night though--that is generally an exercise in futility.

Your breasts may not feel as full because your supply has adjusted, but you're still making plenty of milk. If your baby nurses and is satisfied after, you're producing plenty and you're fine.

Pump before going to bed every night.

Good for you for continuing to nurse! As long as you continue feeding your baby at regular times throughout the day you should be fine. Supply and demand = you will continue to produce milk as long as the baby continues to nurse. My 1 year old only nurses once a day and I'm still producing, I don't think you have anything to worry about!

I agree that nursing her before the bedtime bottle, or better yet, instead of the bedtime bottle, will definitely increase your supply (at least at that time of the day). However, I also agree with the other responses that you probably are full, but just don't feel that way anymore. Keep up the good work!

J., do you have a breastpump? Have someone take the baby from you after her session and continue to pump more on each side. That should increase your supply. It worked for me!!!

J.,

Your milk supply is based on supply and demand so to increase how much milk you are making, you'll need to make sure that you're demanding more from them. The easiest way to do this is probably to cut back on solids and increase your daughter's time at the breast. At 7 months, and even at 1 year, most of her nutrition should be coming from breastmilk. I would also stop giving her formula. If you want someone else to be able to feed her, I would pump or hand express to tell your body that the baby needs that milk.

My daughter is a few days shy of 8 months old. She gets solids at dinner time (usually) and nurses throughout the day on demand, as well as 2-3 times at night.

I rarely feel any engorgement these days because my body is only producing what my daughter needs. When I pump, even once daily to build a freezer stash, I feel fuller more frequently, but I'm also demanding 5-8 ounces more from my breasts than my daughter eats in a 24 hour period.

Best wishes to you and kudos for making it this far on the breastfeeding journey.

S.

Hi J.,

It is normal not to feel as "full" as your baby gets older, however, you may want to consider nursing her a bit more. Up to 12 months of age, your baby should be getting the majority of her nutrition from your breastmilk. The food should really be just for experimenting with tastes and textures. You may want to try nursing prior to every meal so that she gets breastmilk before she gets her solid foods. You can also nurse at night instead of giving her a bottle (unless you are away and that is why you give her the bottle). Your milk supply is pretty well established by now and will respond to what your daughter needs - so if she needs more, you will make more and if she needs less, you will make less. The way to stimulate your supply is nurse with your daughter as much as possible.

Here is a link to an article that I wrote on breastfeeding and pumping - it may also give you some tips on how to increase your supply through pumping: http://www.mothersboutique.com/woandbrtifor.html

J.

A Mother's Boutique
Maternity & Breastfeeding clothing, nursing bras, breast pumps, slings and accessories.
MamaSource members save 10% off their first order with promo code MAMASOURCE.
http://www.mothersboutique.com

Hi. Here it is: First off, throughout the day, you should nurse your daughter before you feed her solids. So, if she wakes at 7 and you nurse her, wait an hour and feed breakfast. Then, nurse again at 11:00 and feed at noon (I'm not really sure that middle of the day solid feeding is necessary at this point, though.). Then nurse again at 3:00 and feed dinner between 4 and 5. Then nurse before going down for the night. STOP the formula feeding- it is only working to dry you up further!! At 7 months, your baby's nutrition is coming primarily from nursing, not from solids. This is the schedule I have my 7 month old daughter on (minus lunch) and it works well and my supply is great. By the way, be sure to continue drinking fluids. Good luck.

Your body is very sensitive to supply and demand, and if your daughter is not nursing as much, you will begin to produce less milk. However, if you're still nursing 3 times a day, you shouldn't dry up. If you're still worried, the only way to increase supply without her nursing more would be to start pumping. Since you give her a bottle at bed time, I'd suggest pumping in the evening, maybe before you go to bed. This should increase the supply, and your body will still have plenty of time to make more milk for her morning feeding.

If you're fine with how things are right now, rest assured, she's getting enough. Your breasts make as much as she needs, so anytime she suckles, she's getting enough. However, if you want to make more milk, here's a couple of questions: Why are you only nursing her 3 times/day? Does she ever ask for more? Why are you giving her a bottle of formula before bed (from what I hear, it does not make them sleep longer.) I ask these things because the only way to make more, is for her to suckle more (making milk is a supply and demand issue... the more you do it, the more you make, etc.). Good luck!