Hi Moms,
My son will be 9 months next week and is too "busy" to breastfeed. He still loves to before bed and when he's tired, but during the day there are just way too many things for him to do. The thing is, that he doesn't want to take a bottle either. At first I thought it was too much solids, but we cut down on those and he still won't drink milk. He gets about 1-2 tbsp of cereal plus 1/2 jar of fruit for breakfast, 1 jar of veggies for lunch, 2 tbsps of cereal and jar of dinner entre plus 1/2 jar of fruit for dinner. If he sleeps though the night, he'll take a 5 oz bottle in the morning when he's super starved (I'm at work so have to pump) but if he wakes up at night to eat and is not starved he'll play with the bottle and maybe drink 2 ounces. At lunch he seems super hungry and will breastfeed for a few minutes, then get bored and want to play. Same with afternoon. Then before bed is the only real breastfeeding session we get in. Does anyone have experiene with this? Could he be trying to wean? Any advice? I really don't want to stop, but I guess I can't force him if he doesn't want to.
Thanks for your help!
Sounds like a phase. Once a baby realizes that there is an entire world out there, they don't want to stay still for long. Don't worry though, it should pass in a little while and he'll be able to lay for feedings longer.
:) Congrats on the breastfeeding!
It sounds like he's eating the right amount so maybe he has just figured out how to nurse for a few minutes and get whatever he needs from you fast!
Do you notice if your letdown is immediate? If so, his few minutes of nursing could be the same as someone who's letdown takes longer.
Make sure to nurse before feeding any food.
I think this is his age - he's too excited and busy to see what is going on around him! Offer him a cup so he can 'take it with it' when he's on the move even if it's only when he's looking around.
He is probably a "power-nurser" now!! I have noticed many of the 9 to 12 month old's in our breastfeeding moms club are very similar to your son. They are very thrilled with their new abilities - crawling, walking, sitting without assistance. A very exciting time! And it is very normal. Their kids will be playing happily and then eventually wander over to mom for a quick 5 minute "super suck" then be off and running again. He is probably getting plenty in a very short amount of time because you have been such a good nurser and he a good nursling. It is not uncommon to no longer feel that heavy "let-down" either - many times our breasts have simply adjusted to the flow and need.
Just go with his lead - you are doing a perfect job!!! He may go back to nursing heavily some days and barely at all others - all normal!
:)
This is perfectly normal and healthy. He is very efficient at nursing at this point. Do not wean, you'll probably regret it.. Just make sure to offer him some water or other fluids , especially in the summer. Fruit juice is ok too, just limit it to a few ounces a day. Water is fine and healthy. I just read the other posts and agree with using both sides at each feeding. I nursed both my kids for 18, and 28 months, respectively. With the 28 monther, it was only at bedtime at the end. They were both so healthy, when my daughter was five, she needed to take an antibiotic and the doctor was shocked that she had never been on one before, so hang in there!!! It's so worth it!
Sounds natural, definitely don't force it.
Remember, breastfeeding is on demand. If he doesn't demand it, he must be getting enough. At that age babies really have nursing down to a T and are very efficient. So even if it takes you 20 minutes to pump 5 oz, he might get those by nursing for only 3-5 minutes.
I just simply wouldn't worry about it, as long as he's growing fine. What will likely happen, as he hits his next growth spurt, he will then want to nurse 24/7 again. I remember that happening with my daughter in spurts until she I weaned.
Good luck!
Hi, I was having the same problem up until a few weeks ago! My son will be 10 months in 4 days. He started this behavior around 6 months and would go almost entire days without nursing at all (happened 2-3 times). What finally worked was something that I always read NOT to do when it comes to breastfeeding and that was a schedule. I also started giving him 10 oz of formula a day (my choice, not pushed on me) in a sippy just because I was really worried about his extreme slow-down in growth between 4 - 9 months. He's never been a great nurser but he just got to be AWFUL at about 6 months... like a mild nursing strike at least once week! :( That's why I finally started w/ the formula at 9 months. That stuff is NASTY but at least I know he's getting the extra calories that he needs. And at this point he's eating a bunch of solids so his digestive track is getting used to many things besides breastmilk anyways! Believe me, I TRIED so hard and I followed all the advice on message boards and kellymom.org but to no avail. We bf'ed exclusively for 6 months so I feel good! (okay enough w/ my formula guilt trip ranting...)
My son only nurses when he is tired as well so now I nurse him 4x a day - when he gets up (cause he's SUPER hungry, he STTN from 7pm - 6:30am), before first nap at 9, second nap at 1, and when he goes to bed at night. He drinks about 3 oz of formula 4x a day as well. He eats 3 jars of food a day and also has a tiny snack of Happy Baby Puffs and a little bit of cheese or veggies or whatever I have in the fridge.
The other thing I do every time I nurse is switch back and forth. My son will almost never nurse for longer than 2 minutes at at time so I make sure to do each side at least twice during all of our daily nursing sessions.
For my son he just needed the routine. Now he doesn't squirm and try to get away b/c he knows it's time to nurse and go to sleep. He actually nurses a lot better now and for longer times so it worked for me!
Hi A.,
Well I just went through this similar experience with my 8 month old. I actually contacted my doctor because I was worried about her milk or lack of intake. My daughter is very busy and would rather play than nurse or take a bottle. I started weaning her from breastfeeding about a month ago. I am currently still nursing her only once a day and I do that feeding in the middle of the night because she is relaxed enough to eat. My daughter didn't really want to nurse much or take the bottle. When giving her a bottle she really only takes about 2 oz, which I thought wasn't enough. She does get 3 ounce 3 times a day with her oatmeal. After contacting my doctor she just suggested I start giving her more table foods, which I hadn't until yesterday. She said she can get her calcium for other sources besides formula or breastmilk. She suggested plain yogart and cheese. So I am not going to stress about her lack of interest in milk and continue with the cereal and baby food and then introduce table foods. I think she was just bored with her milk, but I will continue to offer her bottles and nurse her once a day. So also long as your child is getting calcium and iron (from the cereal) he should be fine. Just monitor his weight and make sure he is still on his growth curve. I hope this helps!
I would say as long as he is growing ok things should be fine. My son is almost 10 months old and I would say for a couple months he has been like this. I asked the ped. about it and he said if he is too distracted put him down and make him wait at least 2 hours. Then pick him up and try again. Usually by that time he is hungry enough to focus on eating instead of all the other distractions. It seemed to work pretty well. Another thing to keep in mind is at this point your baby is very efficient at nursing. He can get much more at a shorter interval than before. FYI: My son is only nursing 3 times a day. He nurses when he first wakes up, before his afternoon nap, and before bed. Other than that he is munching on finger foods (he has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom, with 2 more coming in.) We feed him yogurt which he loves for extra calcium, etc. I also started a sippy with my son about a month ago and he is now able to use it pretty well. Yesterday for the first time he held it all on his own and drank the entire cup (over the period of a couple hours of course!) Hang in there. It may not be that he wants to wean fully yet, but just doesn't want to nurse as often.
