7 Month Old's Decreased Nursing

Some babies do wean themselves earlier than you would like. And particularly once they start solids, they will nurse less. Remember the food gives him not only calories, but fluid as well. Monitor his diapers. I know it can be hard with today's disposable diapers, but focus on how heavy they feel. As long as you don't notice a real change there, your pediatrician is right. Also, have you considered pumping and giving him breast milk in a bottle? Maybe he just doesn't want to stay still. Finally I'd say stop with the juice. It's not needed at all in an infant's diet. It can satiate him, thereby reducing his appetite for more nutritionally rich milk or foods. Milk and water are all he should be drinking at this age.

Yes I think he is ready to wean. Its ok if he wants to wean before he is a year. My dd did at 6mo. She was done. Make sure you dont feed him food before nursing, he might be too full from the food to nurse. And I'd offer water instead of juice because kids can become juice junkies quickly and easily: I have 2 of them. LOL>
If he seems really thirsty and you dont think he is nursing enough perhaps you can try some formula In A Cup...at least til he turns 1.

I'd offer him water instead of juice, as all babies LOVE juice and will want tons of it if allowed because it's so sweet.

Have you tried to pump, see if you can build back up a supply by putting in additional "feeds" with pumping - you can offer the milk in a bottle or sippy cup (however he was taking juice).

Also, if you're worried about supply monitor his pee/poop to make sure there's output - if so, he's getting enough and just being efficient.

If you want help I'd suggest a local La Leche League or a breastfeeding friendly doctor (some will admit they're clueless because most moms don't nurse past 3 months and even then are supplementing too). I can recommend someone in Arlington.

Good Luck!

You can always call a lactation consultant at your local hospital, or the Laleche League ( I'm a little unsure of the spelling). Nursing your baby is so very, very important. The recommendation is a minimum of a year. Right now, he does have a lot of distractions. Of course he loves the juice! It's quite sweet. He really doesn't need it, though, if he is getting a bit of fruit. Make sure he gets his cereal, because that provides the necessary iron for brain development. You can always pump to keep your milk supply up. Nature is supply and demand, though. It'll work itself out. If your pediatrician is a good one, listen to him/her. If you don't have one, find one. Perhaps with all that food, he's just not as hungry. I recall they're never supposed to be put on milk, or water, until after a year, and formula just doesn't compete with mother's milk. He does get hydration from his food. Pray about it!

Hi A.,

It sounds to me like he's losing interest in nursing and is ready to be weaned. I nursed my daughters until they were about a year old each, but my son decided he'd had enough when he was 8 months old and that was that! It actually really hurt my feelings, but I just told myself to get over it, he's only a baby and it's not personal! Make sure you still have lots of close contact time with your baby to make up for it.

If he is weaning himself, at least you won't have any big battle with him about giving up the breast when he is older as some mothers do.

Have you ever read the book "What to expect the first year" by Alene Eisenberg? It's a sequal to "What to expect when you're expecting" and I found it very helpful. It seemed to cover almost every scenario which ever came up with my babies and I found it very reasuring, especially with my first baby when I had no idea what would be considered "normal" behaviour.

I hope this helps,

L. P

My son did the same thing at about 7 months. I just assumed that he was weaning himself, but in the next month or so he picked up again and my milk supply never suffered. I was determined to nurse him a year and that ended up being no problem. If the milk supply did suffer slightly, it came back again. That is my experience anyway. To my surprise I ended up nursing him until he was almost 2. I never expected to do that. I feel the same as you do about your beautiful son. Mine is the joy of my life. My best to you.

This is a common problem that usually results from moms feeding the solids first and then offering the breast. If he's full from the solids, of course he won't want breast milk. It's not like water; breast milk is very rich and filling on its own. Try offering the breast when he's hungry and then following with the solids. He'll get better nutrition (since breast milk is complete and carrots are... well, just carrots) and he'll nurse more.

Hi A.,

You are not doing anything wrong. This is the way your son is growing up. Their is a support group for mom's.

http://attachmentparenting.meetup.com

their is also the La Leche League to help you learn more about breast feeding at

www.lllusa.org/VA/WebTidewaterVA

Hope this helps. D.

It sounds like you have breast feeding down to a science. If you ever feel like you need to talk to your doctor. Then by all means do so. Remember they have nurses in the office to talk to you as well. If your questions are making you upset by all means call and talk to them. An unhappy mother makes a unhappy baby and thats not what you want. Sounds like you are doing well. Good luck & hope this helps.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
http://www.home.kellymom.net/bf/weaning/babyselfwean.html
http://mother-2-mother.com/addlinks.htm

3 links that you may find to be helpful. I'd recommend that you nurse your baby more and offer less solid foods. Any baby under 12 months is supposed to be getting most of their nutrition from either breastmilk or formula. I'm surprised your ped didn't say that to you.

Good Luck Mama! And, good job bfing for so long!

hi A.! I was in your boat when my daughter was 6 months. i spoke to the doctor, and she said that babies starting around 6 months decrease their need for milk dramatically, from about 48 ounces a day to 24-32 ounces a day, which if you're pumping (which i was when i was at work) it was about 2 bottles while i was at work, then she nursed for about 10 or 15 min morning and night. I was really worried because that was a huge drop, but the ped assured me that her needs change as she gets older. Esp since you're feeding solids and juice or water, baby is getting his nutrition for sure. just try to make sure he does get about 24-32 ounces a day, and if he's still healthy-looking and seems okay, i'm sure he's fine. you might waht to check with the ped tho, just to be sure. Some babies go on a nursing strike around this age too, where they find that solids and juice are way more exciting! i'd say pump if you can just to try and keep your supply up.
you're doing everything right! good luck!

Hi. I am experiencing something similar with my 7-month-old daughter. I have been trying to maintain my milk supply by pumping. If you have a pump, that can help. Then you could sometimes offer a bottle of breastmilk. This has happened with my other children too, and with my first, I assumed he was weaning himself. But now I wonder whether part of it wasn't me. I love nursing, but in some ways I'm ready to be done (I'm busy, the baby is more self sufficient, etc.), so I slowly allow them to nurse less. This time, I'm trying to assume that it's me, not the baby, who is trying to stop nursing, so I am forcing myself to put in a lot of effort to re-establish a good routine. For example, I'm pumping at off hours and after the baby is in bed; I'm trying to nurse more frequently; and I'm drinking a ton of water. It's helping. I don't think there's a single solution. You just have to be absolutely consistent with the little things, which means you must be committed to continuing to nurse. Good luck. And, if you end up weaning your baby, you've already done a fantastic job of nursing for so long.

I have recently had the same happen with my 6 mo old daughter. I put a request out as well and got a ton of responses....everyone says, including the lactation nurse that it's normal behavoir for this age and they will get what they need nursing. The are much more efficant eaters now, getting more milk faster than before! Also, if you feel like you milk supply is decreasing, if your son picks up his nursing time, he will help your milk come back as well. Or you can pump to help keep it, and you can give that to him in a bottle/ sippy cup as well.
They are too distracted at this age and don't want to be held down...so they get more milk faster these days!
hope this helps, good luck!

A.,

My son is 10months old now and he did the very same thing...he even started playing and biteing my breast. It made it very hard and uncomforatble to feed him. My doctor said that it was perfectly normal and he could be weaning himself, which is what really happened. If you feel that your milk supply is suffering and you still want him to get the breastmilk, then you could try pumping and feeding him with a bottle or whatever he uses. I did that untill I dried up two months later. I really enjoyed that special bonding time with Trevin, but he keeps on insisting to grow up...sometimes it just doenst seem fair!! Good luck with things. I hope the best for you and your family!!

God bless,

D.

A.,
I am a mother to 2 beautiful boys, 5 and 7. I had full intentions to nurse for the entire first year with both, but my children had ideas of their own. My oldest very much lost interest right before 8 months of age. He was more interested in what was going on around him and didn't want to miss anything by staying latched on. My younger one hit that same distraction point at 5 months of age. I moved to formula mixed with breast milk that I continued to pump for as long as possible and then switched to whole milk at a year. They are both healthy and happy. You have done GREAT to make it to 7 months. It seems like our son is just ready to grow up (funny how they don't wiat for us to be ready). Each child hits this point at a different time and you have done NOTHING wrong! I would encourage you to relax and go with the flow of what your child is moving towards. You will both be happier and less frustrated.
K.

A.,

Children will determine for themselves how much they want, however, I strongly caution you against the juice!
If you feel the need for juice cut 100% pure not from concentrate orange juice in half with water.
It is important that they not get a sweet tooth this early for many reasons.
1) Behavior - sugar is the biggest mood changer you can give
2) Tooth & Gum Health - it is pure sugar attaching itself to your son's teeth and will cause tooth decay quickly
3) Taste - If he associates sweet with liquids you will raise a child that won't drink plain water.

Set a good example and keep a glass of water with you all the time and have that be the only thing he see's you drink.
Children do as their parents do. If you drink anything other than water then so will he.
I have raised three children and the only time they juice was when they were much older 4-5 years in a glass on a Sunday breakfast.

I just didn't and don't buy it.

We drink coffee in the morning (not the kids)
Water the rest of the day
Wine occaisionally (not the kids)
Milk in cereal
Herb Tea

Not only will this save you tons of money on your grocery store, but will also save you dental bills, and prevent childhood obesity.

If you look at the calorie count on a glass of juice that turns to straight sugar as compared to so many other foods it is really such empty calories that will only serve to make you son a sugar junkie.

Regarding the foods he eats, do an assessment of what food group they are from.
Are they sweet vegetables, or leafy green vegetables?
Make sure he's not getting too many carbs as they will immediatley turn to sugar as well.

At his age if you hold him in your lap at the table he will naturally reach for things on your plate. Let him.
Smash up what he wants and let him explore the textures and flavors, and offer baby foods that are not sugar based.
(corn peas carrots sweet potatos)

Since your breastmilk is sweet when he wants something sweet he will go more for your breast to get his sweets.
Additionally as you know it has every single nutrient he needs, so you won't have to worry he is missing something.
Remove the stumbling blocks, eat healthy yourself, and set a good example on beverage choices.

Good Luck!

I nursed my 13 year old daughter and this little boy I have now is still nursing! At this age your son is getting more active so if you are not interested in weaning him sooner than later I would say cut down on the food by one jar and feed him after you nurse and cut out the juice bottle entirely - its sweet, they love it and it replaces your milk in thier minds. Make sure that you are taking supplements and drinking plenty of fluids so that you are producing not only enough but quality milk. I would also suggest that if that doesn't work - perhaps he is ready to wean early (although this is really early I would think), that you take a milk producing supplement. There are teas and drops - the drops I would recommend (I take them myself - my son is 15 mos old), are made by Motherlove Herbal Company called More Milk Plus. I got them from Whole Foods but they should be available at any healthfood store local to you. You can also pump the milk and give him a bottle but he is not walking yet (right??) so he is not on the go so much that he can walk and drink like my son does! LOL!

He's definitely ready to wean. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you! My son was on whole milk at 6 months. Just go with the flow...Trust yourself and listen to your son.

I wouldn't worry about it too much - just make sure DS is getting enough liquid (whatever your dr says enough is) - my DD weaned herself (against my wishes!) when she was about 7 or 8 months - she was just too interested and curious in everything else going on to focus - do what is best for you and him even if that means your done BF-ing

Let him tell you when and how much he wants to eat. This seems like normal behavior. Btw, he's going to change his eating habits all the time, so you might want to accept that now. I know it can be frustrating, but you don't want to force him to eat more than what he wants.

Also, I wouldn't give him juice at this time. That's just plain sugar going into his small, developing system. Stick with a little water. Strained fruit also has plenty of water in it for him, so he doesn't need a lot of fluids.

My daughter went through the same thing. Your milk production will change with the demands of your baby. My friend's baby weaned herself at 10months. My baby at 16months refuses to wean! That's just an example of how every kid is different.

Hope this helps,

~L.
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