Is Milk Supply Gone or Are My Twins Self Weaning?

Hi - I am the mom of 6 including 4 year old twins. In my experience each of them hit a time when they were just done with breastfeeding.It was different with each child - Some were around a year, some were older. The good thing was, by letting them wean themselves when they were ready, they never felt deprived. Hope this helps.

When a baby does this it can possibly be:
1)no let-down or slow let-down
2)taste of milk changes for some reason (maybe what you are eating)
3)teething
4) poor latch
5) Thrush... if in their mouth they have 'white patches' this can be oral Thrush and it makes it uncomfortable for a baby to nurse
6) your supply
7) illness, they are sick... etc.
8) nipple confusion... since they are used to having a bottle during the day for the majority of the time, maybe when they are put to breast they are not used to the nursing... because breast-nursing and bottle feeding takes 2 different 'techniques' for 'sucking.' The bottle is just by gravity....and breastfeeding takes a whole slew of mouth/tongue/throat coordination of the muscles just to get the milk flowing... and sometimes a baby gets 'impatient' with breastfeeding as a result.

Next, are they just rejecting breast-nursing... or are they rejecting the Formula bottle too?

Do you nurse them at night once you get home from work? AND on demand? They should still be nursing on demand, once you are home with them. Direct nursing, when you are available, is still the best way to ensure your milk supply.

Next, do you exercise? Sometimes, with an exercising Mom, exercise produces lactic acids in the breastmilk, and makes it taste 'soured.' Therefore, nursing has to take place before exercise... or after-wards it can take a couple of hours for the milk to return to 'normal' taste. A baby will often 'seem' to reject nursing, if they are nursed directly after exercise, because of the change in taste.

And yes, see a Lactation Specialist.

Don't assume they are self-weaning until you can figure out what may be making them 'seem' to reject nursing. But of course in the meantime, offer the breast... but if they continue to reject it, you DO need to feed them... even if that means their supplemental Formula.

For the 1st year of life, breastmilk/formula is the PRIMARY source of nutrition for a baby.... NOT solids, NOT water, NOT juice. So, you must give them something... even if only the Formula.

Are you still pumping a lot at work? Still keep that up as much as possible. Are you keeping hydrated? Eating well balanced? Do you have stress? Sometimes stress can affect a woman's milk production too.
How much is coming out via pumping? Or is your supply still waning?

Each baby is different, but both your twins are doing the same thing, in response to being at the breast. So that is interesting.

For me, my son self-weaned at about 1 year old... and after that he just wanted the bottle. I was giving him a bottle of Formula as a 'chaser' to my breastfeeding him... because he would suck me dry, on both breasts and would STILL want to feed. So per our Pediatrician, I gave him supplemental Formula... but only sometimes. But, for him, the bottle was just quicker and easier, since it flows only via gravity... they don't have to 'work' at it to get the milk. Then at about 1 year old he would literally slap my breasts away and turn his head, grumble/scream and indicate to me he just wanted the bottle.. and he was done with breastfeeding. So that was that.

But for your twins... I would ask a Lactation Specialist first... and then rule things out, to make sure first... BEFORE you 'assume' your twins are self-weaning. THAT would be your first thing to trouble-shoot this dilemma. But make sure they are getting enough intake in the meantime... very important.

All the best,
Susan

Your twins are right on time ! This is a sign of cognitive development. They are interested in the world and prefer it to food sometimes. Drink LOTS of water and try Milk Plus or any of the herbal fennugreek supplements available at Whole Foods.
THEN take them to a dark boring place and encourage them to nurse. Do this for a couple of weeks and you should see it come back.

The best gift you can ever give them is to nurse until at least 2 years old (per World Health Organization) I nursed all of mine for at least 5 years and they have never had more than a virus!

Hi Deanna,

Here's what I did because I was not ready to let go...I called the hospital where my son was born and got a visit with a lactation consultant. She advised me to pump every couple of hours, and drink water to hydrate myself. My body was having other trouble with a virus, but I was able to pull out another few months of milk and even had some frozen for after.

It could be them weaning, but if they are still showing interest and not turning you away there may be a supply issue...or latch issue. Are you at all engorged? This can make it tough to latch and you may have to let down, so that they can do this comfortably? Are you able to get any out on your own with massage? This helped me stimulate production a bit.

I hope some of this is helpful! good Luck.

Deanna- don't give up on nursing!! This is the age that they can go through a nursing strike. I advise you to read The Breastfeeding Book by Dr Wm Sears and Martha Sears (there is a section on strikes) and do some research online (la leche league and kellymom.com are great places to start). Also call a lactation consultant to get help keeping up your supply and getting the kiddos back on track! You don't have to stop, it will take work but they can get through the strike. Also, I full heartedly believe any baby would prefer the comfort of breastfeeding over regular food. You may have to move your feedings to the night time until they get back on track.

Hello Deanna! 'm a mother of three, two girls and one boy and they were breastfed from 5 to 8 months each. they all grew very healthy. I also enjoyed breastfeeding them too! I think maybe it is a good idea to let them wean. Usually it is the other way around. One of my nephews had to be made believe chocolate syrup applied to breasts was pooh-pooh so he could let go of the breast!He put the greatest show of his life!this kid had been suckling his mom's breast for over four years!
On the other hand it is up to you to keep the milk supply good by making sure you eat from all the four food groups, plus plenty of liquids.
As of today my youngest daughter (30 years of age)just had a baby of her own and she increases her milk production by drinking a beverage made of one quarter cup of ground oatmeal(grind dry a half cup at a time in the blender) cooked in a quart of water, we add cinnamon and sugar to taste. You can drink this up at your meal time and also 10 min.
before you breastfeed. Happy breastfeeding!

GREAT job nursing this long. They may be getting mollars and the suction hurts them for a bit. WHen my son got certain teeth, he'd go about 2 days no nursing and I'd panic, then he'd be back to normal in a bit. Just keep trying, maybe try to readjust their latch. Find a good Le Leche League group nearby.

I was so torn when this happened with our twins!!! I was not ready to be done, but at 10 1/2 months my daughter was done and did the crying thing. I was devistated we both cried trough the last feeding! (I did more) My son followed the same pattern about a month later.
I still had the closeness with them even though they were not nursing. I just made sure to hold them the same way for a bottle feeding as I did for breastfeeding. I could only manage this in the morning and at bedtime but the time was just as special. I hope this kinda helps, it's kinda a strangely sad time for us mom's!

This can definately happen. No big deal, just start them on whole milk now. As long as they are eating enough solids for proper nutrition. If not, you may have to supplement with formula. Do they drink from sippy cups?
Good luck.