Multiple Issues Related to Breastfeedin/ Food/drink!

You do not need to start giving your baby formula even though it seems like you're producing less milk. I've been breastfeeding my twin boys for 17 months now and have seen dramatic changes in how full my breasts seem, even though my babies/toddlers appear to be getting plenty. I don't get engorged at all anymore and can go hours without feeling a letdown. Just make sure to offer the breast before every meal to make sure your daughter isn't replacing breastmilk with solids to a large degree yet. Also, I agree with the other posts saying that she doesn't need water if you're still breastfeeding fairly often throughout the day. Good luck!

Nurse her as often as she likes when you get home, follow the hydration signs advice(check diaper/mouth, etc), ditch the water, and keep making sure she is generally content and you/she should be just fine. Formula supplementaion is not evil, but it is a slippery slope. Try to avoid it. Good luck!

Go with Mary Beth's advice. Keep nursing, if your baby is happy and healthy than she is getting enough. After the first few months, your body adjusts and keeps adjusting as long as you breastfeed. Your body makes enough eventhough your breasts might not feel as full as before or you might not even feel the let down like before (or not at all). Also, our breastmilk is exactly what your baby needs at the time she needs it. Meaning the make up of the breastmilk changes to suit your growing baby's needs. Therefore the amount might change from before but the nutrients in it are what she needs at this stage in her life. Good luck!

My suggestion is to nurse your daughter first before feeding her meal of cereal/fruits and vegetables. At 7 months, breastmilk should still be her primary source of nutrition. Any fruits and vegetables she eats is supplemental and extra for her though its great she is getting used to eating and trying new foods. The breast milk has plenty of water and protein so you don't have to worry.

Also, as far as your milk supply, my daughter is five months old and I noticed a huge drop in my milk supply when she started sleeping through the night. I read that the hormone that triggers milk production is strongest between the hours of 1 and 5 am. As soon as I started nursing her once during the night, my milk supply went back to normal. Good luck

hi J.

You got a lot of good advice but i'll just add this.

give her time to get used to the straw cup; neither of my kids could use it till they were over 9 months. meanwhile don't worry.

yes keep nursing her as another mom pointed out, as often as she asks when you are home. that mom said no water, which i would agree w if you were avail. all the time. i am home w my kids and neither one had water till they were about 11 months. but since you are not home, i would say very gently, have the caregiver offer the water w the straw cup once or twice a day but mostly watch for adequate poop and wet diapers and don't stress it.

i would also say that while i don't disagree w the mom who said formula is not evil, i would even more strongly urge you to stay away from it. it's really pointelss and can cause all kinds of gas. since your wonderful baby eats plenty of foods, start offering her more protiens like hummus, which is so good for them and obviously easy to eat; she can have it on soft bread or well steamed carrots; she can also have very well cooked and soft chicken and turkey. if she can gum it she can have it. neither of my kids ever had one drop of formula and they never ate baby food.

she can also have lots of watermelon and honeydew for yumminess and staying hydrated. sweet potato, avocado, i gave my kids yogurt at 6 months and they were fine w it.

good luck

I too breastfeed excusively until my son was a bit more than 1yr old. I had the same questions. It is very normal to produce less milk. Even though it feels a lot less, you are probably producing more than you think. Babies are very efficient - much more so than any pump. Secondly, your baby needs less milk since she is getting some fluids from her food. But if you are concerned still about her intake, there are some things you can do before you try a supplement. You should take closer notice of her diapers or have your caregiver do so. Are they wet? if so, how wet? If she has at least 5-6 wet diapers a day, she is doing well. Also check her mouth to make sure it is not dry.

I think you should supplement with formula. You've given her such a great gift by breastfeeding her for so long, and now adding in a little formula will put your mind at ease and give her the fluids and nutrients she still needs from milk! Keep nursing too, if you both enjoy it!

just a couple things.

solids are suppose to add to her diet, not replace. she is supposed to be getting the same amount of breastmilk/formula, then add solids to it. you need to make sure she is getting that first as her main nutrition should be coming from the breast or bottle. if she is filling up on the solids first, there wont be any room left. they now recommend solids not starting until 6 months. your daughter only being 7 months and having that many servings already is too much. just remember that the breastmilk isnt a drink, its her entire nutrtion.

second thing- dont offer any water, esp if you are concerned with her not getting enough breastmilk. when she is thirsty, offer her breastmilk. breastmilk is some crazy percent of water so any hydration can come from that and she will get the added benefits nutritionally. there is no need at all to give a breastfed baby water, and it will fill her up when she should have had the breastmilk.

for your lessening production, you could pump more on the weekends, or feed directly from the breasts more on the weekends. also you could pump more when you are home. like if she goes to bed at 8, you could pump right after you are done feeding her, then again later in the night. any added stimulation will help, but having her is the most effective. also try fenguneek. many moms swear by that stuff. as for the supplementation, im not sure. if you give her formula, you are telling your body "i dont need any more now" then you make less. but then you could make less again, and start the cycle more and more as you keep lessening. if i were you, i would do everything i could to try and gain milk production. if absolutely nothing worked, i would add the formula, but i really think your milk production will rise if you take care of them.

also, what about your period, did you get it yet or was it around that time. periods cause milk production to temporarily lessen. make sure you are also hydrated enough, esp being so hot in the summer. if you arent getting enough liquids, your milk would be less.

good luck!!!

Try having her sip water out of a regular cup with you or the caregive holding it.

Hi J.
My daughter is the exact same age as yours... although I no longer breastfeed (stopped a couple of months ago) I can relate to the question of how much should she be drinking...
I find that my daughter now is much less likely to want to drink a full bottle, now that she has entered the world of juices, stage 2 food, cereal etc.
So basically I aim to give her one or two bottles a day. SHe would normally drink 8 oz but I find now that pretty much each time I have some left over (usually about 2 oz). The doctor told me when she was smaller that this might happen.,
With regard to protein, personally my pediatrician recommended giving her one egg a day (usually I put it in the blender along with some bananas). Also, the stage 2 food has some meat flavors. She's not really crazy about them, though, in my case.
Don't worry too much about "getting enough fluids" because all the baby foods have a ton of water in them, even if they're "solids". Personally, I go for juices instead of water (but then again, if you talk to 5 different pediatricians, you'll hear 5 different things about that).
The breastfeeding stuff is tough - I was concerned she wasn't getting enough, and the more concerned I got, I think the less I produced. But I stopped around the time she started eating baby food (about 4 months). Good luck!
A.

Hi J.,
Please don't give your breastfed baby water, it's not recommended. If she is not getting enough breastmilk which gives your baby her primary nutrition for the first year, water is filling her up and giving her zero nutrients. Water has nothing that she needs.
If it's difficult to pump at work (I know about this, I used a manual pump in my car in the parking lot), I'd suggest pumping after every breastfeeding at home. Drop in supply can be caused by not enough stimulation, or by your period approaching, or by pregnancy.
While it's best to offer breastmilk exclusively, the only substitute if your baby is not getting enough breastmilk is infant formula. Water is not a substitute for breastmilk, the milk isnt' a beverage for them to quench their thirst, it's their primary food source. I would suggest speaking with a lactation consultant, let her know how much your baby is nursing, how much EBM she's getting while you're at work, and she will be able to let you know if your baby is getting sufficient breastmilk or if any formula supplementation is needed.

I breastfeed my 6 month old and she went from 3 or more 6-ounce bottles per day down to 2 or less 4-ounce bottles per day, over the last 2 months since introducing solids. This is at daycare while I'm at work. It's very normal. When I offer her a sippy cup, I put breastmilk in it. She likes the Nuby cups the best because the sippy part is like a bottle nipple, but it's textured so it feels good on her gums. She doesn't really drink yet but it's good for her to practice (she chokes too). Giving your daughter water from a sippy at this point won't harm her.

It's also common at this point (as others have said) for your supply to seem lower, when really it's just more regulated and your baby is better at getting what she needs very quickly. It's also common at this point for you to lose the ability to pump as much milk, regardless of your supply.

If you want to boost your supply, there's all kinds of things you can do. One idea I read about was Mothers Milk Plus, which is a vitamin you can order online that's supposed to be really good. kellymom.com has some great advice.

Note that about 6 to 7 months, that you stop feeling "full". I was concerned during about the same time frame and my LLL told me to make sure I drank lots of fluids, keep nursing her fully and pumping as often as I could. I started grabbing an extra pump session right before I went to bed while I was watching the 10pm news. I also made sure I pumped first thing in the morning. It helped alot. My body was able to regulate to her needs. We continued to nurse on demand all weekend.