Who EBFed past 10 months?

canary11 · July 2011

I'd ask this on the bf forum, but its either a ghost town or frequented by moms-to-be, and I am a bit desperate for advice. I have an almost 10-month-old and I am starting to dry up. I would really like to allow her to self-wean. Though, now its becoming such hard work, I wonder if I am fighting against nature too hard. I am on fenugreek (till i smell like syrup), drinking guinness (as we speak), eating oats, pumping in between feedings. I am lucky to get 2 ounces a session, if that. She refuses one breast now, and is starting to fuss on the other one. Tonight I tried to nurse, but then gave her 1 ounce of BM by bottle and another bottle with 4 ounces of formula. I think she would have taken even more. I am going to go off of antihistamines this week (I take zyrtec daily for allergies)... we'll see if that helps.

Is there anything else I can do? Does mother's milk tea work? Should I consult an LC (of course its a holiday, gah!)? Did any of you guys experience this? Could my first AF be coming? I don't know... help?

rainlily · July 2011

It could be that your supply is low due to the antihistamines, your first pp AF, or some other reason. Around 10 months old, DD was working on walking and would not stay latched long enough for a letdown. I also felt like my letdowns were not as quick or forceful at that point. We were able to get past it. Nursing took a little longer for a couple of weeks, but we were back to normal. I did drink Mother's Milk Tea and did not have supply issues. GL!

CMMC23 · July 2011

I went through something similar. I did a lot of what you are doing now including the steel cut oats and fenugreek. Mine turned out to be AF. Now, I know a few days in advance of when my period will start because my supply drops big time. You could try a lac consult but really I think the only things they would tell you would to be to nurse as much as possible and try fenugreek and/or teas. Good luck!

yourmomwreckedmybike · July 2011

kellymom.com has an awesome supply of information on breastfeeding. definitely orrth looking at!

could your little one be teething or getting sick? my little guy has a harder time nursing when he is in pain from teething or getting sick.

canary11 · July 2011

Everyone, thanks so much for your advice. I am very appreciative.

yourmomwreckedmybike:
kellymom.com has an awesome supply of information on breastfeeding. definitely orrth looking at!
could your little one be teething or getting sick? my little guy has a harder time nursing when he is in pain from teething or getting sick.

You know, she could be getting a new tooth. She slept and pooped a ton today and that is what she did when the first two popped through. Hopefully that is all... but I still see a decline in pumped milk. And, thanks for reminding me to check kellymom.

Annie984 · July 2011

I would guess that it's almost certainly the antihistamines. I would offer her the opportunity to nurse as often as she will, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Really though, I wouldn't worry much unless your supply doesn't come back after stopping the medication.

greengirl0909 · July 2011

I struggled with my supply early on. What made a huge difference for me was More Milk Plus, which you can purchase at the motherlove website, and sometimes on amazon. It was sorta pricey, but also made a big difference for me. AF returned for me at 8 months, which did not cause a dip for me. I did face another dip at 11 months, and as it turned out I was pregnant.

I can't speak for all, but my Le Leche League ladies always say call whenever. If you can get a local number I'd make the call, they are eager to help!

BrittKav · July 2011

I think you'll definitely notice a difference once you're off your allergy medication. If BFing is important to you, stick with it! There are always little bumps in the road.

WildcatPrincess · July 2011

Annie984:
I would guess that it's almost certainly the antihistamines. I would offer her the opportunity to nurse as often as she will, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Really though, I wouldn't worry much unless your supply doesn't come back after stopping the medication.

This definitely. People take antihistamines to dry up when they're done, so I'd almost put money on it. In terms of AF, I started mine at 5 months pp and had a huge drop every month 2 days before and the first 2 days of my cycle, so that can cause it too. But I guess the meds. I was taking More Milk Plus for awhile due to AF, but once DD got down to nursing 2-3 times a day and eating way more solids (I think she mostly comfort nurses) I stopped and my supply is less, but still there. GL!

slukd79 · July 2011

Just wanted to say good luck. I never struggled with my supply until the very end (12 1/2 months for us) so I don't have any advice to give, but it sounds like you are on the path to figuring it out!

stever · July 2011

I drank Mother's Milk tea until DS was 1 and stayed off antihistamines until I weaned him at 18 months.

lite-bright · July 2011

I struggled a lot with low supply with my DD2. I don't know about the ingredients in Zyrtec, but I was horribly sick at one point around 12 months with DD2, and took some Sudafed so I could sleep without choking -- the first 12 hours were fine, but after that my supply tanked. It was sudden and a big change. I stopped taking the stuff immediately, but really had to fight hard to come back from that with fenugreek, pumping, lots of water, etc.

You can try MM tea on top of the fenugreek -- it's an herb blend and maybe something in there will spur more production than you're seeing on fenugreek alone. I found straight fenugreek more effective, personally.

The other things that really impacted my supply were my period (started around 2.5 months pp, lucky me) and exercise. Cardio in particular would make my supply take a hit within about 24 hours. I did a 5K then stopped running for awhile, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would've dried up long before we hit 12 months.

As stressful as low supply was, we stuck through it and are still nursing a couple of times a day at 15 months, although she's on cow's milk as well. I would definitely call a LC (or at least leave a message for Tuesday) if you want to continue. But if you need to do a mix of supplementing and nursing to carry on and make sure she gets what she needs, there's no shame in that!

The closer DD2 got to 12 months, the easier it got to keep up with her b/c she was eating so much other food. When she got to a year, nursing decreased pretty rapidly on its own, and I could just nurse a couple of times a day without feeling like I had to worry about supply. And since she is on cow's milk as well, I've gotten to the point where I see BM more as a snack and/or bonus.

HTH! GL!

Soap1 · July 2011

Get domperidone (brand name: Motilium). It's a miracle worker. It's a prescription drug; you can either get it with a prescription at a compounding pharmacy (not all of them have it), or you can order it online from Canada/Vanuatu/etc. (that's what I did).

www.inhousepharmacy.biz

is the website I used.

The antihistamines can definitely be part of the problem, but I say don't bother with the fenugreek and mother's milk tea - go straight for the good stuff!

sapgirl76 · July 2011

Soap1:
Get domperidone (brand name: Motilium). It's a miracle worker. It's a prescription drug; you can either get it with a prescription at a compounding pharmacy (not all of them have it), or you can order it online from Canada/Vanuatu/etc. (that's what I did).
www.inhousepharmacy.biz
is the website I used.
The antihistamines can definitely be part of the problem, but I say don't bother with the fenugreek and mother's milk tea - go straight for the good stuff!

I also struggled with supply (nursing we were fine but pumping was brutal) and fenugreek and MM tea never did anything for me. I had to take Domperidone to pump enough to meet his needs- and that's all I was able to do. I was never able to get extra to build a freezer stash or anything like that but if it weren't for the Domperidone, I wouldn't have been able to EBF (not counting solids, obviously!). I dropped the pump at 13 months all together and now we just nurse whenever he wants, which is usually when he wakes up, naps, and when he goes to sleep.

I also agree that it could be your first AF- that can definitely tank supply!

Good luck, mama!

Piranha54 · July 2011

I agree with trying something else for your allergies. And don't forget to drink tons of water. The only time I had a supply issue was when some family madness was going on and I realized I wasn't drinking nearly as much water as I typically did. GL!

Zoie2010 · July 2011

Annie984:
I would guess that it's almost certainly the antihistamines. I would offer her the opportunity to nurse as often as she will, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Really though, I wouldn't worry much unless your supply doesn't come back after stopping the medication.

Pretty sure if I recall my sister in law was given Zyrtec(sp) to dry her up. But It could be what other post said.

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