Breastfeeding Question - Havertown,PA

Since you can't really know how much he's getting when breastfeeding, you can only really go back to the early days and watch what comes out....As long as he's wetting plenty of diapers and appears content about it, I'd say he's getting what he needs. If he's fussy and acting like he's not satisfied after a feed, then he's probably needing more. With the summer approaching and he's 10 months, it'd be a good time to also supplement with some water. Just put it in a sippy and let him have it at meals or even while he plays. He won't necessarily sit and take it like he does with a bottle of milk, but it's good for him to have access to it to just sip as he's interested/thirsty to keep hydrated. I started offering it to mine at 6 months when they started food. Even now at 3.5 and 2, they always like to have a cup of water someplace to just be able to grab and sip when they need it. You don't have to worry about it spilling, going bad, or rotting their teeth so it's fine for them to carry around and just sip off it throughout the day. Plus learning to drink fresh water is good for life.

Hi J.,
That's fantastic that you are still breastfeeding. I did it with both of my daughters up until they were 15 and 18 months. I work full-time so I had to rely on the breastpump. When you pump, your supply is affected. Pumping doesn't stimulate production the way that nursing does. However, there are things that you can do to help. Do you have an LC (Lactation Consultant) or Le Leche group? They can also make some recommendations. I used a tea called Mothers Milk. You can get it at a whole foods store. It's by Traditional Medicinals. It's a tea that promotes lactation. There's also a vitamin called Fenugreek. I preferred the tea though. It was more natural. You should talk to your LC / Doctor but the tea worked for me. Also, reduce caffeine intake and drink tons of water. To keep my production up, I also nursed more frequently on the days that I was home. Not sure what to recommend for the bottle. A lot of babies will not take a bottle from the mom as they get confused - they want to nurse instead. You could try using a sippy cup since your child is old enough now. Good luck. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

K.

I went through this when I went back to work and throughout my nursing period. I nursed twins for 11 months and worked full time. Like the other mothers said, he'll get what he needs. However, I was paranoid so I decided to get my milk supply up. I drank more liquids and ate more fruit and veggies and added a pumping session in everyday until my milk supply went back up. In the beginning, I was nursing or pumping every three hours depending on what was going on (since my husband wanted to be involved with feeding them, I pumped milk for him to bottle feed). When my milk supply went down for some odd reason, I pumped or nursed every 1 1/2 hours and I ended up with an ample supply (enough for me to freeze for piece of mind). This way, when I weaned them off of breastmilk, I was able to put breastmilk in their bottles and decrease the amount until it was done and didn't have to worry about pumping or nursing the last few weeks.

Around this time, it is normal for the amount of milk that you get while pumping goes down. Your baby will bet enough when he nurses from you. Pumping is not an acurate depiction of your production. If he is still thriving and not fussing, you are fine. I would definately not start supplementing more with more formula or water or anything else. That will decrease your supply. Baby is still getting most of his nutrition from your milk at this point. About not taking a bottle from you, many babies wont, they know that you have the good stuff! My daughter would not take a bottle at all. At 10 months, if you had to, he is old enough to take a sippy.
I would not worry about it.
Hope this helps.

I think you shouldn't worry at all! Your body is smarter than you give it credit it for - it will adjust. I remember my friend was in the same situation - working part time. Just to give you an example - on the days she worked she didn't pump til about 2pm so one Saturday when we went out she thought she would be good until at least 2. Well, her body new that it was Saturday and a day she usually nurses all day so by 10 am she was exploding! I thought that was awesome!

What you pump does not always reflect what your baby can get. Yes, your body can adjust to making more on some days than others. With one of my babies I didn't pump at all while away 2 days/wk. With my others by 10 months, I was sick of pumping and just nursed on days I was home. If he's happy, he's getting enough.

Hi, I stayed at home and nursed exclusively and at about 10 mos my milk supply really dropped. My son also got a little bored of nursing. I wanted to nurse a full year, but we only made it to 10 1/2 mos--I have friends who say the same thing, so maybe your body is getting ready to wean the baby.

Hi J.,

I am in exactly the same situation, my daughter is almost 10 months old and I work 3 ten hour days and have been pumping w/little results about 6 ounces pumped from 2 sessions. I have decided to start supplementing w/formula so I can stop pumping at work, I have done away w/the afternoon feeding and have started giving her a bottle of formula and hope to do away w/the second morning feeding as well. I feel a little guilty since I did continue pumping until my older daughter was a year old but it's just too much thes go around.

Hope this helps, let me know how you make out.

About me:

I have 2 daughters Eryn who just turned 3 and Samantha who is just about 10 months old. My husband and I have been married almost 5 years.

I work full time and pump 5 days a week and have a 10 month old also. I just noticed a couple of weeks ago that my milk supply has gone down. I talked to the doctor. She said it is normal since my son is eating more table food. I try and give the day care 5 oz. bottles (2 of them) and my son seems fine with that. He nurses 4 times a day. Hope that helps.

My sister worked and breastfed (she is still breastfeeding her almost three year old). It depends on the person of course but she said it seemed like her child was getting enough. Keep in mind that the longer you breastfeed, the less you actually feel the milk come through. So even when it seems like no milk is coming through, he is getting it. Monitor his wet diapers if you are worried whether he is getting enough.

Hope this helps.

Y.