81/2 Month Breastfed Baby Becoming Less Interested in Nursing

It sounds like she's ready to start weaning. It's normal at around this time. Try cutting out one feeding at a time, and just replace it with a bottle instead of pumping.

Good luck.

I have a 6 month old daughter and I have the same problem. What I found out is when she started to eat solids you will produce less milk because she is not getting that milk when she eats oatmeal. She gets what she can (or wants from you) and that's all you will produce. I do not pump either because I have the same issue I only get about an ounce when she eats a lot more then that. Maybe she is just more interested in actual food now instead of the breast. But you do produce less when they start eating solids.

I nursed all 3 of mine for the first 12-13 months. They all started solids somewhere around 4-5 months. It's possible your daughter's sense of taste is maturing and she's just ready to try more solids. I think by 8 1/2 months, mine were still nursing at least 4 times a day, but around then, they also had a much bigger interest in solids. I never pushed them to try things, but tried to gauge their interest. They were having solids also for breakfast, lunch, and dinner by 8 months and still nursing. Also, as far as pumping goes, I wouldn't judge it as equal to what your daughter gets from you. I could NEVER get more than 1-2 oz when I pumped, even with the hospital grade pump I used with my twins, but I know they got more than that out of me. Babies are efficient little suckers. No pump was ever very efficient for me. It might just be time for Gerber to provide more of the food and you to provide the beverage :) By 9-10 months, my kids were eating almost everything I made for the family. For example, I'd just avoid seasoning their chicken, steam some veggies a little longer, and offer them mashed bananas. All in portions of about 1-2 tablespoons. They still nursed several times a day on top of it!

Hi C.,

I have a 8 month old, solely breast fed baby boy who is going through something similiar (by the way, I also nanny and he is with me). My La Leche League leader who is also a lactation consultant helped me to understand that as they grow older they can get the milk they need in a shorter amount of time. So, we may think they have not had enough, but in fact they are just more efficient. Secondly, she helped me understand that the amount we get while pumping is not an exact correlation to what our babies get when actually nursing. a 4-6 ounce bottle may be too much. I was feeding that same amount and was so frustrated because I could not keep up with the pumping. I now make up 3 ounce bottles and relay to my caregivers to give that every 2-3 hours. If the baby has the 4-6 oz in a bottle she will drink it because it is there, and also because she is not getting the cues of the foremilk and hindmilk telling her 'this feeding is over'.

Best to you!

She's weaning herself. Mine started that at about that time too. By the time they were a year old they both only nursed for a short time once or twice a day.

At that age mine were eating various table foods and other items I prepared for them...like steamed fruits and veggies, cheese cut into tiny chunks, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, cheerios, raisens, small chunks of meat, eggs, grits, and so on. My oldest didn't even have teeth until she was 11 months old, but she would gum the heck out of the food items listed above. I also came across a neat little net on a ring that you could put fruit in and they could chew and suck on it to get the fruit through the screen. It is messy but they love it. I could put apples, pineapple, watermelon, cantelope and things that might choke them into it and not worry.

If she is wetting her normal number of diapers then she's getting enough to drink. Start offering her a sippy cup as well. Mine didn't get a bottle after about 10 months to a year anymore either. They went to the sippy cup. I trained them to get it off the table to drink and then put it back...that way I don't have juice stains all over the carpet.

Nothing is like mothers milk. You produce as much as she needs because it is so filled with nutrients that baby doesn't need as much as from the bottle. She is probably content with the baby food being that it too is more substancial than bottled milk. She'll let you know if she's still hungry. Is she on rice cereal yet? That helps stick to her ribs also. Congrats mommy. These are the times of your life. Nothing beats it!

Hi C.,
This is so normal, once table food is intoduced they are less interested in the boob. Your milk is produced on demand at this point so as long as she nurses once a day you will still produce milk. She may just want more real food for a while. My daughter will be one the end of the month and is now getting more interested in the boob after being so excited with food for the last three months.
W.

You're probably doing just fine. At this age, she's getting interested in the world and this competes with her interest in nursing. She probably also drinks very fast now, so she is getting the bulk of her nutrition in the first 10 minutes. If you wanted to help her take a full feed, you might need to take her into a dark quiet room. (This is where the whole nursing in public thing became a moot point for me--I was fine with doing it, but after a certain age, my children simply didn't nurse well with a lot going on around them.) As long as you don't supplement with juice or formula, she will get enough and you will continue to produce enough. Feel free to offer 3 meals of solid food, but as long as you keep offering only breastmilk as liquid, you probably will be able to keep breastfeeding for many months yet.

It is pretty normal for babies around 8-9 months to lose interest in nursing and to in essence wean themselves. Your baby may need some more solids and finger foods both for nutrition and also to learn to coordinate fingers etc. Frequently, a baby will start becoming a lot more interested in what the family is eating. The baby book Super Baby Food is pretty good with suggestions and has a great guide to what a baby can eat when and portions etc. It is vegetarian oriented but can still be used by those of us who are not so inclined. For breakfast, my little one by 8 months got her milk and then fruit pieces (blueberries cut in half, raspberries, peach slices, mango, banana- real favorite,) some whole wheat toast, sometimes cereal, sometimes yogurt, sometimes eggs (yolk only first), or little bits of pancake. Then may be at 10am nursing/bottle. Around noon lunch of some veggies, pasta, or little pieces of fish or chicken - and nursing/bottle. Then mid afternoon snack of nursing/bottle. Dinner around 5-5.30 of some combo of veggies, pasta, fish, chicken, other meat mixed in with rice, macaroni and cheese, scrambled egg, tortilla pieces - usually veggies with one of the other and maybe some dessert (fruit in yoghurt) and nursing/bottle. She usually doesn't take another bottle/nurse before bed time. but I know lots of people do that.

Once they start on solids, your supply definitely decreases.

Just a little food for thought. All of the nutrients are coming from your breast milk. The child does not need to receive any other type of food. That is why there are so many obese children because they receive additional food outside of what their bodies are accustomed to. Also with the produced milk, (Similac, etc.) this causes children to grow. Your milk wards your child of many disease that she may acquire such as asthma. Our children do not have the opportunity to go outside and play to release a lot of the excess energy that they possess via home, school (recess/gym)et., that's why they act as they do.

Sounds like she's telling you she's ready to ween. If you want to continue breastfeeding consider pumping during the daytime in order to give her a bottle and nursing her when she's sleepy and at night.

Be prepared for a drop in milk production when switching to pumping, its normal.

You've done good with nursing for 8+ months, she's just growing up, make use of the time no longer nursing to read and play with your baby.

Good Luck

If your daughter is 8 months old and eating solid foods, it doesn't really matter if she isn't too interested in breast feeing anymore. She's at the age now where you finally get to take a break from constant feedings and increase her juices and solids to keep her little tummy full. My advice to you is let her feed off of you as much as she wants, and if she is still fussy after word... give her some pedialite in a bottle. She'll be alright.

My 7 1/2 month old usually nurses about 4 times a day. The best indicator of whether she's getting enough is if she's having wet diapers. I agree with the others- she probably needs more solids. She's also old enough to start gumming pieces of food. We started cheerios at about 6 1/2 months. We give her small pieces of banana, soft peas, carrots (really soft- like canned, no salt), etc, noodles, rice, and whatever table food we think she can handle. And you never get as much with a pump as the baby can get, so that's not a reliable indicator. If you're worried about supply, make sure you're drinking enough. That's sometimes hard to do when you are caring for little ones. Good luck.

Congratulations on nursing your baby for 8 1/2 months! Not many people can do that...it is tough and challenging at times, but the rewards for you and your baby far outweigh them...I nursed my son until he self weaned at 16 months and my daughter is now 7 months and still nursing happily. It is so much easier than making bottles!
I'd say watch your baby. If she's acting happy and is gaining weight at a normal pace than she is fine. As they get older their sucking reflexes really kick in and you'd be surprised how much milk they get in a short amount of time. The "Womenly Art of Breastfeeding" was my bible when I was nursing my first and I remember reading that babies can empty the breast in 3-5 minutes ..so don't worry...You mentioned you think she still seems hungry...if she was than she'd probably stay on and keep sucking..babies just know what they need. Like you said, in the mornings, she stays on longer b/c she is making sure to get the super fatty, rich part of your milk..those longer feedings can probably sustain her for a while... Maybe try and nurse her in a very quiet place where there are no distractions...since she is older she is probably easily distracted. When I have doubts I just tell myself she'll get what she needs...it's so natural, try not to worry about it....I doubt you are not producing enough milk if you are nursing her exclusively. You might think you have no milk b/c you don't feel full, but it is there..alot of pl. make the mistake of supplementing b/c they don't think their baby is getting enough milk and it turns out there are other reasons to blame for why the baby is fussy. Hope this helps! Goodluck!

Hi C.. When my daughter was this age, I believe she ate solids 3 times a day and nursed about 4. Perhaps you need to add one more feeding of solids - perhaps cereal in the morning mixed with fruit. She might be ready for more variety. Some women like to nurse and then offer solids immediately or vice versa. I found that alternating nursing and solids worked very well for my daughter. Perhaps if she ate solids and wasn't offered breastfeeding as often, she would eat more during each breastfeeding session. She might also just be a more effecient eater as she gets older.

This happened for me with all 4 of my children and at the same age as yours. I think I did just stop producing as much milk because they would be hungry after nursing at each feeding. I had to go to bottle feeding (formula) by 9 mo. of age for all of my kids (i have 4). I am glad to know I am not the only one. When I would tell people I just seemed to dry up, they would look at me strangely, but it is true!

C.,
By that age my son was down to 5 times/day only. He did feed longer in the morning (I think because of timing, he was hungrier and my body had produced more). Feedings were more efficient in general and he also wanted to eat more solids (three pretty big meals a day). I would increase solids to three meals a day and continue to offer the breast always before the meal.

Hi C.,

My daughter became very active at 8-9 months and did not nurse as much during the day. Because the day can be more distracting and busy for an older baby, one idea is to take extra time in the morning, evening or night for quiet time together and nursing. I remember being told by 6 months babies can nurse very efficiently, they may not take as long to get what they need. As a mom, make sure you are eating well and staying well hydrated. As babies get older its easy to push yourself and not get the rest your body needs, too. As always it is important to watch diapers to know she is wetting and such, that can be the best way to tell a baby is getting enough (aka- the only way to see into a tummy is to know what comes out of it...).

A litte about me- My son and daughter, now 12 and 10yrs. nursed into toddlerhood.I also work as a nanny and have always worked with children so nursing became a special part of the relationship between my own children and I (as well as a medical need for my son with food allergies).

My daughter acted similarly at that age about nursing. I think sometimes the babies want to look around the room & explore instead of relaxing at the breast. I would sometimes go in my bedroom where it was quiet & dark to nurse so she wouldn't be distracted. After about 2 months of that, she was nursing again like a hungry newborn. She's two now, and nursing is her favorite activity in the world.
Don't be too concerned about your milk supply. Just continue to nurse & your supply will adjust. The more a baby is latched on to you, the more your brain will tell your body to make more milk. It's a miraculous system that's worked for thousands of years. If you start to supplement with formula, that's when your supply will go down. It's a mistake a lot of insecure moms make. Trust your womanly powers! You are doing a wonderful thing for your daughter!

You're doing fine. I am right where you are now too. My girl just turned 10 months and my milk supply has gone down since she started solids. Oh, we still nurse... a lot, but it's for shorter amounts of time. Ten minutes at the most and then she's done and want to get off my lap. I think that nursing is now more about comfort for her than for calories. Throughout the day I nurse her before naps and then whenever she gets fussy or hurts herself (which she does a lot because she's just starting to take a few steps) or if she gets scared because I leave the room, or if we're bored, or if I have to make a phone call and need to keep her quiet for a few minutes. So, even though her nursing sessions are short, I keep my supply from diminishing too much by nursing her frequently during the day. As long as you keep nursing your baby, you will have milk. If there's a demand, there will be a supply.

I'm not sure what to tell you, other than it happened to me too. When my daughter started eating solids, I felt like my milk supply drastically decreased, even though I nursed her quite often. I increased my water intake and made sure I was getting my fill of calories too, and that helped a little. But I had dried up by the time she was 10 1/2 months, despite wanting to breastfeed her for one year. You may want to ask your doctor about how to increase your milk supply. I hope you are able to figure it out, and if you do, shoot me a message so I know for the next time! :o)