OK, so my son is 37 weeks and 3 1/2 weeks ago stopped nursing. I still offer him the breast almost every feeding but he pushes me away, turns his head, or cries. I had read that rarely do babies self wean before 1 year, but this seems like my case. I told my hubby I would continue to try as long as I could but my problem now is that my supply is slowly dropping. Before, when he nursed, I could pump 6 1/2 oz every 4 hours and if I waited more than 6 I was uncomfortably full. I would usually get 13+ if I waited overnight. Now I get like 3 in 4 hours and today I was away for like 9 hours and only got 6 1/4 oz. Does anyone know any techniques to get supply back up this late in the game? I am still hoping he will start nursing again, but worry that if he does it will be too late because of my milk drying up. HELP!!
One other little problem I wanted to check on--he has not been taking much fluid at all the last couple days. He has a cold and is teething...do you think that is why and do you have suggestions if he is simply refusing breast and bottle?
I would so appreciate any help.
Thank you all for your support and advice. Jordan still isn't nursing but I am trying to stay positive about the time he did and I pump as much as I can. I think I am drying up slowly. I may try some herbal supplements though. He drinks between 19 and 23 oz of fluids a day, which seems low but he is consistent and healthy so I will go with his demands. Thank you all again. It was encouraging to hear your advice and stories.
Have you changed anything in your diet? The flavors go through your breast milk.....you may be eating something he doesn't like the taste of. Good-luck! Katt
Try Fenugreek. You can get it at GNC. Take it untill your pee smells like maple syrup. Also eat oatmeal, drink a beer. If your son doesn't want to nurse...pump, pump, pump! It sounds like you just need a jump start on your milk to keep being able to pump to give him. Also, its a phalacy that many babies don't self wean untill they are a year old. This just makes people feel bad about themselves when the *baby* decides when they are done drinking at the breast. If you pump try to give it to him in a cup. A bottle will be associated his nursing .
Kudos for nursing for 8 months! I understand your frustration, (assuming he is self-weaning), my daughter did the same thing when she was 9 months. While I wasn't mentally ready to be done (I had nursed my son longer), she transitioned beautifully to a cup. Now, I'm having the opposite problem. I have a 9 month old who is absolutely refusing bottles and cups. He's had bottles in the past but is now refusing. I bought every cup and bottle brand that I could find, and still, no luck. I had to leave him for the first time ever for 2 nights and he still drank NOTHING. My poor mother had to add liquids to his solids to keep him hydrated.
Once you confirm your son is not sick, continue to offer him to nurse, but if he refuses don't force the issue. Instead, be proud of his new independence and celebrate yours as well! It's not "early". Your son is just advanced!
I have 5 grown children - All of my children did self weaning at 9 months but they continued taking a bottle. Since his fluid intake is down, make sure it is not due to illness. If he does start taking the breast again, he will build your supply back up naturally. One thing you could try in the interim (although some couples are uncomfortable with it) is have your husband try to orally express the milk.
If your son is sick it may be why he is weaning himself. I nursed my oldest son for almost a year but my duaghter who is now 9 months old stopped on her own when she was 5 MONTHS!!!!! I was soo dissappointed. She got a cold and wouldn't breast feed and then when her cold passed about a week later she wouldn't take my breast anymore at all and we had to go to formula. I tried everything but unfortunatelty she's the one in charge :) I talked to my doctor and he said the longer you can go the better but even if you only breast feed for the first few months your baby is getting all the vital immunities and "good" stuff from your breast milk that they need. Sorry I wasn't more help!
T.
Try contacting a lactation consultant through
Birthmark
http://familybirthmark.com/
they were able to help me when I got the flu and couldn't nurse my son for a bit. Some of the advice was to try some herbal supplements like More Milk Plus from Motherlove
http://www.motherlove.com/
Good luck!
I think you are doing the right thing by not giving up and to keep trying with every feeding. I know it gets frustrating and even upsetting at times. My son did not do it for that long but I did the following: Pump more often and longer(at least a few minutes after your milk stops coming out to let your body think his demand is up), try different places or positions to feed (for some reason, he finally would latch on if I was standing and swaying, once he was eating for a good minute or two, I would sit, he also would finally latch if we were both laying down on our side on my bed). I would just keep trying different things, be creative. You might have to think back if anything negative happaned while he was trying to eat when this all started. My son bit me and I reacted too much, I think I ended up scaring him. He would not even go near my breasts. I was not sure if it was also teathing because he was in a lot of pain. So, I gave him tylenol, orajel, and then tried all of those things I mentioned above. It finally worked. The other thing is, I was a little concerned when you said he is not taking in much fluids at all. I would call your pediatrician and maybe bring him in for a check. Maybe something else is wrong that you are not aware of. I would just make sure that he is not getting dehydrated. I hope this helps or at least gives you some feeling of support!
At this age, he may be too interested in the rest of the world and the food you are eating to take the time to snuggle down and nurse. Is he active and interested in EVERYTHING and too busy to bother eating? Does he drink from a bottle or a sippy? IS he nursing at all?--perhaps only at night or for nap?
I would not worry about this for a 9 month child. I had one who was drinking from a cup and totally on adult foods by that age-- her choice, not mine. I think she totally weaned herself by 1 year. She always was an independent one ( 31 years old and mom of 3 now and still that way!)
If he is NOT the independent, active type of child who is eating well otherwise, I'd look for other reasons--and his cold might be one, although usually that makes them want to cuddle.
One suggestion: don't use bottles. If he doesn't want to nurse, offer the cup instead. A bottle is *easier* for him since he can drink and still investigate the world. How he gets his liquids is a parenting choice. YOU have the choice in that, not him!
IMHO, if he is old enough to decide he doesn't want to nurse, he is old enough to learn how to use a cup.
Dottie
--mom who nursed 5 (and very awkward with a bottle). Grandmom of 6
I would take him in to the pediatrician to have his ears checked. If he is congested or, worse, has an ear infection, it would make sucking very painful for him. Since he would have to suck hardest for the breast, it make sense that he would stop that first, then as the congestion/ear infection got worse, even sucking a bottle might become painful. It is unusual for a baby to wean so soon, and it is definitely worth a trip to the ped to either rule this out or get him some help, in my opinion.
Good luck making it through this. Also, once you have him checked out, some advice on getting over a nursing strike includes as cuddling in the dark and skin to skin contact when trying to nurse, and trying a "dream feed" - that is wait until your baby is very sleepy or completely asleep, then pick him up to nurse. This might sound crazy if you haven't done it, but it often works - usually the baby doesn't even really wake up and his instincts to nurse take over and he'll latch on. Once he's done that a few times, he may go back to nursing more consciously.
Good luck.
I have been having a lot of trouble nursing my 4 week old from day one. My supply has been low the whole time. I've been working with a lactation consultant who is wonderful!!! (send me a message if you want her #). In order to increase/keep my supply up I am pumping after every feeding. My lactation consultant also suggested I rent a hospital grade pump for a couple weeks b/c they are more powerful and will help increase my supply. My understanding is that if the baby won't latch the best thing to do is pump a lot to get the stimulation to maintain production. Good luck!
Hi D.,
I'm sorry that you having such difficulties with your son's nursing strike. He may have gotten nipple confusion after such a long time and may be preferring the bottle over nursing. It can happen, even at his age. But now that he is refusing the bottle as well, you may want to get him checked to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection or something that would make swallowing painful for him. Is he eating other foods? Teething can also make babies go on a nursing strike. I would say keeping offering him your breast prior to giving him anything else. Try to do it in a quite, dimly lit room where there aren't many distractions. At 8 months, sometimes babies get too "busy" and interested in their surroundings - but he should come back around. I would also recommend calling a lactation consultant. There are hotlines that you can call without having to pay for a visit (I know Magee has one). I would also ask your pediatriation about him refusing both breast and bottle - there might be an underlying problem that is making him not want to drink. I wrote an article on pumping for working moms - but it has great pumping tips in general, so you may want to read it to help get your supply back up. Here is a link: <http://www.pumpingtips.com>. Here are some other links to Kelly mom that may help you: <http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.h...;
Good luck and please keep us posted.
J.
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I agree that seeing getting some advice from a lactation consultant is a great idea -- and if you can't do that, find a breastfeeding support group (The Birth Center in Bryn Mawr has one that meets in West Philly and another in Bryn Mawr) or a La Leche League group. A friend of mine went through a nursing strike with her then 10-month-old because he got a cold and he associated not being able to breathe well with the nursing. It took a while, but with advice from her La Leche group she was able to work through it and return to nursing until he was a year old. If you find yourself really down and frustrated by the strike, it might be because your hormones are reacting to the reduction in nursing -- so hang in there! Good luck!
