Hello Mamas,
I've been exclusively breastfeeding my daughter (who will be 10 months old next Sunday) except for the introduction of solids at age 6 months. I did not want to use formula, but when I noticed my breastmilk supply decreasing a few weeks ago, I decided to be proactive by trying to supplement with formula. The challenge is my daughter wants no part of formula. I've now tried 4 different kinds, and I've tried mixing it with breastmilk, and she still doesn't want it. My concern is whether or not she will get enough to eat. I give her in bottles (when she is at grandma's while I work) everything I pump the day before which ranges from 5-6 oz. I also go nurse her during lunch. I guess my question is...should I be overly concerned about this? Will she get all the food she needs? She's also a picky eater...although she does like yo baby yogurt which she gets after her 2nd bottle. Also, in terms of trying to increase my milk supply...I'm taking fenugreek and I'm trying to drink more water. Will anything work this late or is this the body's natural way of starting the weaning process? I'd like to hear what's worked for other mommies. Thanks.
I had a similar problem but mine was that my son would not take a bottle so my ped suggested that I start giving him whole milk in a sippy cup as supplement at 9 months. I still breastfeed him 4 to 5 times a day and would supplement whole milk at daycare. He is a very strong, happy and smart boy. So I would call you ped and see what he/she has to say. Good Luck!
Your daughter is SMART. Artificial "milk" is poison. Are you aware of the DANGERS of Artificial feeding?
Send more time touching her and don't give up!
I think it sounds normal. How are you measuirng your supply - by pump output? If so, that's not the most accurate as the pump is much less efficient than a baby. Additionally, as the baby gets older, they are getting more efficient and getting what they need in less time. Your body could just be adjusting to that. At 10 months, she doesn't really need to be nursed that often, just make sure you are getting good nursing sessions in and make her solid food time during the day when you're not around (in addition to the pumped milk, of course). I nursed for 26 months and in my best pumping session got 5 ounces. By 7 months she was only nursing 5 minutes at a time but she was getting so much b/c she was so good at it. Keep track of your daughter's weight and outputs and as long as those are still fine, she's getting enough. Also, oatmeal and beer will help with supply :)
I added an ounce of juice, white grape or prune to my dd's to get her to drink it. BM is sweet and they get use to that. I went dry after 8 months and that is how we did it. It worked out well because the formula can be constipating for them after being exclusively on bm. Check with your doc as always though, but it was great for us. If you can hold off for a month or so you may be able to go straight to milk. We did at 11 and a half months. I did not like the stuff they were finding in formulas. : )
I have a friend that fed three babies with her milk. She was like a cow. She gave it to her infant, her older son in a cup and her cousin's baby. She wasn't like that with the first and she attributes it to eating healthier and chinese herbs. If you would like, I can send you the same DVD she watched.
Your baby is way better off with just breast milk. Make it last as long as possible. It is not a natural weaning. You are away from her more and you a naturally not producing as much, because she is not nursing as much. Some people nurse for a few years.
God Bless!
J.
Hello there! I am a mother who still breast feeds my 23 month old. First of all, do you have a La Leche League group where you live? I am part of one and they are amazing. They answer all your questions and they are free! Make sure you look into that... anyway, your body is like a "supply and demand" system. The more you nurse the more milk you will make. After about 7 months of nursing my daughter my breasts became super flimsy as if nothing was in them... but seriously i could of fed an army! Sometimes my daughter would nurse more like a newborn to try and up my milk supply... it worked! So maybe adding in an extra pumping session or making your daughter nurse more for the time being will help. And maybe just hanging in there until 12 months then you can introduce whole milk which she might like better. Your body is not telling you to wean.. your daughter is too young- the actual nursing age to wean is not till after 18 months i believe (La Leche League taught me that).. hope this helps!
Hi L.,
I went through the same thing with my daughter who is now 13 months. She is still refusing to drink whole milk and wants only breast milk. She was also a picky eater. I tried to introduce solids at 6 months, but she wanted no part of it. About 2 months ago she finally started eating her food. Unfortunately now is weighs only 15 lbs. and is anemic. My advice to you is to make sure she is getting enough foods that are rich in iron, also take your prenatals.
Good luck!
It's probably NOT your body trying to wean. It doesn't really work that way.
Do you think your body is about to start having menstrual cycles again? If this is the case it can definitely hit your supply hard. I dealt with this since my daughter was 4 months! To combat this: When you ovulate, start taking a calcium/magnesium supplument (2000mg calcium/1000 mg magnesium). This will help maintain your supply. Here's more info: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#causes
Also, if you're pumping 5-6 oz, you're probably pumping enough. How long are you away from your baby? Here's info on appropriate ammounts to send with your breastfed baby. Remember, breastmilk and formula are very, very different. You do not calculate breastmilk needs using weight and age since breastmilk grows and changes with your baby. Here's more info on that: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
Hope this helps! She probably doesn't want to drink the formula because it tastes bad! :)
Even this late in the game, you can certainly boost your supply. My little guy is 15 months, and when he got sick he wanted nothing to do with the solids that are his main nutrition by now. I took Lactate Support from Gaia Herbs ( http://www.gaiaherbs.com ) and had more than enough milk for him until he wanted to eat again. It does cost a lot more than fenugreek, but I did get way more of a boost from it, and a lot faster.
As long as she seems happy, I am sure she is getting enough. Keep your water intake at a good level, that cant hurt. And just nurse on demand when you are home. It is typical for babies to not consume much when not around mom (when she is with Grandma) and will make up for it later. I would not even bother with formula. She obviously doesnt like it, and the other poster was right about it not being the greatest tasting stuff. Keep offering her solids as practice to get her used to different flavors. I have heard it can take something like 7 to 12 times of introducing new foods before a child will like it. I always gave my son a little bit of everything that we were eating (appropriate stuff of course) regardless of whether or not he previously liked it. It is also correct that for most babies the majority of her diet should be breastmilk. She is getting lots of good stuff from that. From what you described about what she is consuming at Grandma's I think she is probably ok as long as she nurses good the rest of the day. And remember too, babies at this age can nurse very efficiently, and can get quite a bit during one nursing session. And they nurse much more efficiently than any pump. So what you pump in X amount of minutes would be much less than what your daughter can nurse in the same amount of time. so pumping is not a good indicator of supply. Good luck and just keep an eye on things. It sounds like not much to worry about, but you are the mom and see the whole picture.
Nursing is a supply and demand business. the more she drinks the more you will produce. My son HATED formula and I can't blame him. Have you tasted it??? BLEH! Horrid wretched tasting stuff. Not to mention it's just not good for your lil girl. Your body doesn't do the weaning without input from your daughter. When you let her nurse on you does she make a gulping sound like she's swallowing or is it just a lot of sucking? I would suggest just nursing as much as possible. If she isn't fussy and crying and what not then she is fine. My son has always been on the smaller side... he's 35 inches right now and 24 pounds. Tall and thin... and I worried about him not getting enough to eat, but then he would let me know when he was hungry. Let her body guide you to feed... not the other way around. We have too many obese children in our world because parents overfeed.
You can try increasing the amount of solids she is eating, but for the first year the main source of nutrition should be your milk with solids just being a supplement. It sounds like she is getting enough to eat if she isn't fussy.
You milk factory is based off the supply and demand principle. She drinks what she wants and your breasts produce what she needs. Don't worry about it, she's eating other things too now so she's getting what she needs.
To help with your supply, just nurse her a bit more. Add an extra nursing in the evening, and take a weekend and add a few more nursings. I felt like I was losing my supply a bit a couple of weeks ago (I have a 14 month old), so I started nursing him more often, and it definitely helped. I know you're pumping too, that's why more nursings are important, since the baby is stronger than the pump.
I'm in the exact same boat. I've started mixing formula with her rice cereal and gradually diluting it. It is working so far. She won't take a bottle, so there's some struggle there, but the sippy cup is starting to work with VERY runny rice cereal and formula. I'm still primarily nursing and am doing this with my nine month old to make sure she gets the iron she needs and is able to eat if I have work obligations out of the house.
Good luck!
