Another boring BF question (sorry)

[uptime]

I went down to doing just a 7am BF when I returned to work in August. My daughter was 8 months then and is 10 months now. In the last few weeks she has become increasingly disinterested in this BF but would settle down after a little play. Yesterday she actually started pushing me away when I tried to BF her. I was hoping to continue with the BFing until she turned one but I am wondering whether I should now stop as I don't want this to become a fraught exercise for both of us. Has anyone else experienced this and was it a temporary thing? All thoughts appreciated. PS she doesn't BF for comfort; she uses her thumb for that!

[chantelle]

my son seemed to take it or leave it once we had gotten to once or twice a day but I did keep it up in a sort of cursory way until 17 months! His final feed dropped to evening, before bedtime and it would literally be about 60 seconds. If you really want to continue I think you might have better luck at bedtime, since it's a quiet time, rather than 7am when your daughter is probably keen to start her day and not particularly looking for comfort.

[Ruth_Baldock]

Nursing strikes are so common around this age- my son went on a proper hardcore strike when he was 9mo old, I just continued to offer and he picked it back up again a fortnight or so later. Then he self weaned at 11mo when I was pregnant, again I thought it was a nursing strike, but nope- is there a chance your in the, er, Family Way? Sorry if that sounds rude/prying.

[newcomer]

You can most probably persuade her back again if you want to, but if it's becoming a real battle, then I wonder if it's worth it? If you're mainly continuing because of the official advice or for the health benefits, then you could always consider expressing for the next 2 months and leaving that for her caregiver to give to her instead? Then you could swop 'milk time' in the morning for 'cuddle time' or 'read a book time' instead so you still have a nice bonding routine with your daughter before you start work.

But, you might want to consider the following before you give up the breastfeeds:

1) Have you definitely got milk left? If you're down to one feed a day, your body might not be producing much anymore. If that's the case, your daughter might be refusing the milk because it's frustrating for her- it's hard to get any out! You might be able to test this by measuring how much you can express.

2) Are you stressed at work or rushed in the mornings? If so, you will be producing stress hormones and your daughter might not like the new taste! (presuming of course that it's even possible for that to affect the milk) Or maybe it just makes your milk letdown harder for your daughter. To test it, maybe you could take 5 minutes before the feed to do some deep=breathing or something to get into a relaxed mood and see if this makes any difference?

3) Are you run down? It's really common for mothers to get very run down just after they start work again as you're being pulled in so many directions. If so, then you might not be able to achieve your aim of lasting until 1 year, so please don't make yourself ill by pushing yourself too hard and you should instead congratulate yourself on getting this far!

4) Is your daughter teething? Breastfeeding can be especially uncomfortable when teething (it's more work for the baby than bottle-feeding), but this will rectify itself when the tooth pops through.

Anyhow, whatever happens, don't worry as chances are that it'll make very little difference either way if you give up or carry on now that you've already done 10 months.

[Saffron]

newcomer Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> But, you might want to consider the following

> before you give up the breastfeeds:

> 1) Have you definitely got milk left? If you're

> down to one feed a day, your body might not be

> producing much anymore. If that's the case, your

> daughter might be refusing the milk because it's

> frustrating for her- it's hard to get any out!

> You might be able to test this by measuring how

> much you can express.

'Might' being the operative word in that last sentence. Expressed milk yield is not necessarily a good indicator of milk supply or availability. Also, not all pumps are created equally. The general consensus is that you're likely to get a better yield from a hospital-grade double electric pump vs a manual single pump.

I think trying to express milk is a lovely way to keep going, if it works for you. Why not try renting a double hospital-grade pump for a short while? (Not worth buying, as they're around ?400 new!) And if it doesn't work out, you haven't lost anything. 10 months of breastfeeding is wonderful!!! If your baby is weaning herself, that's absolutely fine.

Good luck. xx

[uptime]

Thanks for all the tips and advice. Will look into the breast pump rental, and I think teething may also have something to do with it. Definitely am not up the duff!

[Saffron]

If you think it's teething, have you tried giving a dose of Neurofen about 45min before the feed. Ibuprofen is better than paracetamol (Calpol) or topicals like Bonjela for this kind of pain b/c the discomport is inflammation deep in the gums, not just the surface. The sucking action in Baby's mouth can make this kind of pain worse b/c it causes a change in pressure in the mouth. An antiinflammatory like ibuprofen should help this by reducing some of the deep inflammation. xx

[cuppa tea]

I agree that expressing is not a good way to find out how much milk you are producing. A baby is much more efficient at getting every last bit out. Read up about 'breastfeeding strikes', as it could be that. Also your milk will increase again once your daughter starts to feed more. I think regular feeds is what increases it. Some babies do wean from 9 months, but it's pretty rare. Approaching 1 yr the world become very interesting and they just don't have as much time for it. They have a busy schedule of discovery to get on with. My son was like this and wasn't so bothered at a year. Just a couple of sips here and there and then fed a fair bit through the night. Around 18 months he wanted to feed ALL the time. Development counts for a great deal I think. I wouldn't worry and just keep offering in the quieter moments when she is less distracted.

[Saffron]

Oh just remembered something a lactation consultant told me. As babies grow, their suckle becomes more efficient. So a feed that previously took 15 min, might now only take 1-2 min!