My 6 month old boy is breast fed. Except for a 3 day nursing strike when he would only take my milk from a bottle and I ran out of frozen BM and can't pump a lot, I supplemented with formula. I started him on solid foods at 5 months b/c after gaining weight like a champ in the early months - he plateaued. He loves food. He is now eating 2 meals a day with 2-3 servings per meal. I nurse him first because afterwards he won't nurse very long. When I nurse him first he still finishes all of his food. I try to nurse 7 to 8 times a day. He used to wake several times in the night and nurse to get back to sleep, so I wasn't worried that he wasn't getting enough. (He had plenty of wet diapers). But FINALLY, he is sleeping 6 or 7 hour stretches at night and waking only once to nurse. This is his longest, deepest feed he does all day. He is very interested in the world around him and gets distracted. I take him into the nursery or my bedroom, turn down the lights and make it very quiet with no distractions - and he finds them! He will play with my shirt, the sheet on the bed, grab my nose, etc. He feeds for only 2 minutes per side. I know I have enough milk b/c I am taking domperidone. I had to be away from home last night for a few hours and he woke 1 hour after I nursed him and put him down and he was hungry. My husband had to feed him again. He took 1 ounce of BM and 6 ounces of formula! So I know he was sleepy and did not take enough from me. Any suggestions out there? I want to nurse for 1 year+ I can't take away his solid foods - he loves them and cries when he sees us eating - he will grab my hand and try to put it in his mouth! I am afraid to supplement with formula b/c I don't want my BM to go down - and I don't respond that well to the pump. Anyone been in the same boat? He has his 6 month check up on wed. and I will talk to his pediatrician. I know he will just say to trust the feeds - but I don't trust that he is taking enough. Help.
Thank you everyone! Today I noticed that when he went longer stretches he nursed longer and when he nursed for comfort (close to his last feed) it was short and he was distracted. He has had 4 med-heavy wet diapers so far and he still has another 10 hours to go in a 24 hour period. So, I am not worried. If he hasn't gained more weight since his last check up, I'll worry. He goes in for his 6 month appt. on wed. Thanks for all the wisdom Mommies!
I have had the same experience. My son started preferring the bottle over breast, whether supplementing formula or BM. The problem was that the bottle was much faster. Try switching immediately to a slow-flow nipple (I used the Avent infant nipple #1) which flows more slowly like the breast.
My son was born premature at 36 weeks. He was born 4 lbs 1 oz. and was in special care for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, he did not nurse after he was born. I had to rely on pumping to keep my milk going. After 4 - 5 weeks, he finally latched to the breast. You have no idea how relieved I was. I know everyone is different, but I can sleep through the entire night and switch between breast feedings and formula during the day without losing my milk supply. My son is 11 weeks old and is finally sleeping a consecutive 6 hours a night. I usually feed him more before he goes to bed, and I feed him every 2 - 3 hours during the day after he wakes up. At first, my breast would hurt for going so long w/out pumping...but I would deal with it because I was too tired to get up and pump. After a while, my breast got used to his new schedule and now I'm fine. According to my pediatrician, he's fine as long as I feed him about 8 times during the day. Since my son got a late start on breast feeding, I can only pump 2 onces per breast. Sometimes my son wants more and I have to supplement with Formula. Here are a few things I've tried to increase my breast milk:
- Thinking about my son or looking at him or a picture of him while pumping. The nurses in special care said it's proven that women will produce more milk when they look at their baby.
- Compress your breast while breast feeding or pumping. According to my lactation consultant, you should try to massage your breast a minute or so before breast feeding. Softly compress the nipple to start the milk flow. Massage will help to open up the ducts in your breast. Make sure to massage near the armpit area as well.
- I've been told that drinking Root Beer right before you breast feed helps as well. I've never tried it, but my cousin swears by it.
- My lamaze instructor told me that manual breast pumps will not help you keep up your milk supply. Try an electric/automatic breast pump if you don't already have one. They sell used motors and new parts on ebay for fairly cheap. The more stimulation you have, the more milk supply you'll have. After the first few minutes, try to turn up the pressure or the speed. Try to make sure you're pumping for at least 10 - 15 minutes (or until your breast are no longer pumping milk). Try not to pump too often. If you pump too often, you won't have enough for your baby during the day. Try to wake up once a night while he's asleep to stock up on frozen BM.
Sorry for the long response. = ) I wish you the best.
we can't plan on how long we want to nurse our babies. once they start eating solid foods our milk decreases. solid foods takes place of nursing. probably why he doesn't nurse as long. he's probably not as hungry. i breastfed my girls for 7 months i tried pumping every 2 hrs while at work but the milk eventually decreases. you can still give him a healthy feeding lifestyle by cooking fresh foods.
a little about myself
33 yrs old mother of 2. 15 months, 4yrs. fulltime nurse
You can't expect him to eat AND nurse 7-8 times a day. A baby's stomach is about the size of their fist. I applaud you for wanting to continue nurse for at least a year. To accomplish this do what you are already doing, nurse first then offer him food. Allow him to nurse on demand to keep up your supply. I didn't start my kids on solids until 8mo and nursed for two years. For the first year I made breastmilk their primary nutrition with some solids. Not until after the first year did I do the opposite. Instead of having him eat a meal, allow him to graze while you are eating. At this age they are more active and not gain weight as quickly. My son stopped gaining weight rapidly well before his 1st birthday. The dr was not concerned as long as he wasn't losing weight.
BTW- Congratulations on a successful homebirth! Isn't it the best experience?! My midwife has guided me through all obstacles and given me the best knowledge/wisdom. Can you contact your midwife? Midwives are much more knowlegable than dr's on this issue.
Good job for breastfeeding!! How great!! I think once you introduce the bottle,they realize it comes out quicker than the breast.Maybe try to massage your breast before you feed to help quicken the let down so it will be ready when he goes to feed from you.Try not to worry too much, you are doing a great job!!
I read some of the responses so far and they are good. A few things I'd add is to make sure you are drinking a lot of water or approved liquid (no caffeine, etc) to keep up your milk supply. I'm not sure about the drug you are taking for your milk supply. Is that still necessary? I just am concerned for side effects that may come later in life.
(I took a birth control pill while nursing my son- I question that decision still. Who knows what repercussion it will have on him later in life)
I too struggled to pump just 2 oz of BM. What did help is that I pumped one side while feeding from the other. What would of helped more are those powerful pumps from the hospitals not the cheap electric store kind I had. Of course it was many years ago as my kids are 9 and 12 so they might have improved since then.
I would definitely concur with the person who suggested a slow flow nipple for the bottle. Get one that most resembles the breast so you are not competing with the bottle as you said you want to continue to breast feed.
Also at his age you may be feeding to many times per day. Cut back and try to make his stretches longer and perhaps he will feed longer per sitting. He just might not be that hungry that often. If he is not loosing weight you have nothing to worry about. He'll get what he needs.
Congrats on your decision to breast feed. It can be tough at times but I managed to do both kids till just after their 1st b-day. No formula, because I gag at the smell and the spit ups...lol. Plus we saved a fortune not buying formula.
C.
After 4 months babies can really get what they need in their own time frame. Babies who might have gotten all of the breastmilk in 15-20 minutes pre-4th month can now get it ina just a few minutes. If the baby is gaining weight, than don't worry about the time on the breast. Just make sure they are eating enough throughout the day, no matter the time. He'll be okay, you're doing what you need to do!
When my daughter was that age she did the same thing- but she's exclusively breastfed still- and I was worried for a while. Everyone told me the same thing- she's obviously gettting enough and it's normal to taper off time-wise, etc. etc. The advice didn't really help because I WAS worrying, but now a few months later I don't even think about it- she only eats a few minutes at each side, and only eats 5 times a day- and is extremely healthy!!!!! (And ridiculously strong.) So, as unhelpful as this may be- don't worry! (Yuck, sorry.)
You will continue his healthy lifestyle- sometimes the hardest thing is to just let go and relax! (For me, anyway.)
Same thing happened to my oldest. She loved the bottle more then me. I had to give up trying to nurse her at 8 months. I pumped a lot then on to formula only at 1 year. My 2nd wouldn't take a bottle so they all have their own personalities. No advise here but good luck and don't beat yourself up and feel like your doing something bad to your child if he doesn't nurse. I beat my self up but realize now that she is fine and the few month of formula didn't hurt her.
Congratulations on choosing a healthy lifestyle for your son. He'll benefit from your choices for the rest of his life!!
You might want to cut down on the number of feedings per day. I breast fed both my girls and at six months I believe we were down to three or four nursing sessions a day, usually right after their meals and then once before bed. Think about it. If you ate 7 times a day, you probably wouldn't be hungry enough for a full meal either!
Good luck and keep up the good work!
sounds like you're doing great with keeping distractions to a minimum when you nurse, which helps at this age, before they realize they can still nurse and the world will be there when they get done!
have you considered not thinking of nursing in terms of food so much as in terms of comfort? anytime you would comfort him, offer the breast, and don't count the times--same as you wouldn't count how often you kissed or hugged him; you can't overfeed.
just because he took so much from the bottle doesn't mean he needed it. babies need to suck, and will take a lot by bottle because it drips in, when all they may need is to keep sucking.
you are doing great to nurse first before the solids, so this doesn't take the place of your milk completely.
sometimes it helps to offer solids as finger foods, and let baby feed himself rather than spoonfeed a set amount. much of what they love at this age is participating with the family in mealtimes, and discovering new tastes and textures, smells and sensations.
la leche league meetings are a great resource for being around other moms and hearing lots of ideas. their website www.llli.org can lead you to the closest meeting.
Hi D.!
One thing I can say is that your baby is older now, and because he is eating solids, he dosen't need as much BM as in the infant stages in his life. I have nursed 2 babies as well, and both of them had different nursing experiences. My daughter nursed way more, and longer than my son. Boys are very active. Its normal for him to be destracted by other things. I wouldn't worry too much, but then again you know your child the best. However, if his diaper changes look good (wet enough and good BM)He is probable fine.
