Self-Weaning?

Hi M.,
Do you think it is possible your son is not comfortable nursing at work? My little one would NOT nurse if there were noises and activities going on around her. He is getting older and more aware of his surroundings. That is the first thing that comes to mind since you say her nurses fine at night. Does he nurse during the day on you days off?

I work 10 hour shifts, nursing one time a day and pumping otherwise and the supply went down slightly, but it was still there. He will be fine.

Best of luck.
C.

It sounds like he is just distracted and more interested in other things than nursing... especially if he still nurses okay at night. I have read on kellymom.com that it is very rare for a baby younger than 12 months to self-wean. It could also be a nursing strike. Kellymom.com has lots of articles about such topics so check out there website if you can.

Good luck!

Oh my goodness, you should not worry! I tried for 3 months to wean my little girl once she turned 12 months, and she fought me all the way. She just now is 15 months and I've stopped nursing, except an occassional late night. She used to take the bottle on occasion from me with no problem, pumped or formula, but when I started to try to wean her from the breast, it's like she knew it and refused the bottle flat out! It was very frustrating!!!! I think 8 months of breast feeding is great, and if your baby is done with that, you should feel confident he got all the nutrients and benefits from you his first 8 months of life. I'd continue to pump since it is important to you, but be grateful he's weaning himself and removing all the heartbreaking pain and frustration of trying to wean. Good luck.

Hi M.,
I would suggest looking to see if your baby is latching on/off for short periods because he is simply looking at other going-ons around him. At about his age babies will become so interested in the outside world that nursing can become a bit of a chore. (My son began doing the same so I started nursing him in a darker room, in the car, or where ever it was possible to reduce distractions.) He could also be self-weaning as you suspect. This is actually a good thing! -Moms often struggle to wean their little ones to the bottle. I know it is important to get that liquid gold (breast-milk) to your baby for at least a year so I would certainly continue pumping it for the bottle at least until you reach that point. As long as you continue to pump at regular intervals during the day, your milk-production should not decrease significantly. There are some excellent books for working moms who breastfeed their babies. Check them out! (You can search for "breastfeeding" on amazon or half.com for help finding such great reads.) I hope I was some help. Don't stop, don't quit sister! You are doing wonders for your baby's health!

My little girl self weaned when she realized she could watch the world while drinking her bottle. Suddenly being stuck staring at Momma's boob wasn't as much fun. We all have plans for our ideal situation, but take your baby's lead on this one. If he's ready to wean (which it sounds like he is) then its the right time for his development. And for the pumping, your milk supply will go down, but at 8 months your little one should be starting to get some nutrition from other foods. He'll be OK

hi M.,
i think your child knows when is ready to move onto a bottle. So i he might not it anymore. so go with his insticts.
i dont know if that makes sence.
M.

Believe it or not, many children self wean to an extent when breastfeeding just doesn't fit into their "schedule": at 8 months, your little boy wants to chug down a bottle as quickly as possible and get back to what he was doing, not sit stationary, unable to look around or move his head when attached to the breast. It is also easier for him to get a full feedings worth into him more quickly from the nipple of a bottle than from the breast . Realize also that he is just starting to come into his own as an individual, and may not need the comfort of the breastfeeding as often anymore, at least not as much as you do! Its often far harder for mommies to give up breastfeeding than it is for the little one, and as he becomes more mobile and independent, the less he may want to breastfeed. Consider yourself lucky! You still get to have your bonding time when he nurses at night and in the morning, but he is confident and well adjusted enough not to need to extra support during the day. Take this self weaning as a sign of your son is happy, healthy, and feels safe and happy enough to venture away from those things he needed as an infant - this is a developmental step forward for him, and you should allow him to take it!

I have worked with several lactation consultants over the past few years (I'm a mother of soon to be #3). If you are consistently offering the breast and pumping if he won't take it, then your milk supply will not dry out. At around 8-10 months, your supply changes to "on demand" and milk will be ready for letdown when baby nurses and is ready for it, or if you are using the pump as a substitute. Don't get discouraged and stop. If you really want to nurse there are ways to help. I encourage you to call Maternal Expressions in Folsom. You can get a consult with a lactation consultant over the phone or in person to ease your mind and help make sure that you won't dry up and can get your son back to nursing on the desired schedule you would like. They are really great there. Good luck!

I find the previous comment about self-weaning under 12 months being a rare occurence when so many other oms wrote in about their kids self-weaning before a year. I am one of those moms...our second son wanted to be able to see what was going on & wanted his 'meal' quicker than I could get it to him so he went to bottles & formula w/o problems at about 6 months. For about the next month, I nursed him at night & in the morning but my milk supply dwindled so he was totally off the boob by 7 months. I was kinda disappointed cuz he was such an easy nurser....latched on w/o problems straight away & became very efficient at it so quickly that I thought I'd be able to nurse him a year. It was a pleasant change from his older brother who was never very good at it & I was only able to nurse him about 2 months before we both became too frustrated. So, sad as it may be, your little guy is just growing up. Good luck!

I had this same problem when I went back to work, except my son wouldn't even take a bottle. So he went down to 3 or 4 feedings a day. Once when I woke up, once as soon as I got home, and at least once right before bed time. Sometimes he would eat twice in the evening. I asked my pediatrician about it and he told me that as long as my son was still nursing 3-4 times a day we were fine. To keep up my milk supply I pumped 3 times while I was at work, and then mixed my milk in with his cereal. Everything seemed to work fine. I kept nursing until my son was 14 months old, and he is now a very happy healty 20 month old. I wouldn't stress too much, any nursing is good, and you have obviously been doing great for the last 8 months.

I understand the problem. You have a none patient son(my daughter was the same) The lactation consultant urged me not to stop just to hand express or begin to pump to get the "let down" phase to begin so she could get use to being back on the breast and not have to work to hard to get the milk. Don't give up he will become use to being bottle/breastfed and will start to enjoy the closeness again and you won't have to get your milk flowing for him. Hope this helps

Hi M.,

It sounds like your son takes to the bottle more readily because he doesn't have to wait for it to let down... if that makes sense! I would imagine that he's probably not latching on long enough for your milk to let down for him. If it is letting down... then like other responses, I would think he's more interested in the surroundings. At that age I know my son was thrilled with absolutely anything and everything!!

I wish you well,
J.

My daughter did the same thing to me at 10 months. A bottle gives instant gratification and nursing requires a bit of work for the let down. Anyway, she was just too busy to wait! I dried up despite my efforts and I had to buy formula. Bummer. she didn't mind at all but I was bummed that her food source was no longer free.

Pump with a hand-held pump while you are nursing him in the morning feeding - it will increase your supply and help you build up extra milk. Try drinking malt drinks - like Ovaltine or non-alcoholic beer - that might help as well.

He is getting lazy nursing - the nipples on the bottles are easier to nurse out of - if he doesn't nurse then don't give him a bottle - - - he will learn when he is with you he will have to nurse to get your milk