Weaning question (long)
somebirdseatseeds
member
I started working when DD was 4 months old (she is now 10 months old), and I never responded well to the pump so that I have had to supplement 1-2 bottles for daycare. We are still BF/pumping but she is becoming less and less interested in it when she is with me, and my supply is slowly going down. I have tried mother's milk tea, oatmeal, fenugreek, more food/water intake, and even domperidone but it is still decreasing.
When I am home, she would rather play than wait 30 minutes to drink from the breast and have a full tummy. She has become so disinterested in it that I am not producing a lot in the afternoons/nighttime any more. She does well with formula, so I am not worried about her health, I am mostly worried about our sleep/nap routine.
I have breastfed LO to sleep since she was born - for naps and for night time sleep. We have a bed time routine that starts after dinner and playtime: change diaper, change into pj's, turn the light down low, get the boppy and nurse to sleep. I also run my fingers through her hair during BF to help relax her.
Daycare is able to get her to nap by rocking her in the rocking chair. I have tried rocking her to sleep without BF and she just screams (she is a high needs baby and very stubborn so she doesn't give up easily). I have also tried giving her a bottle so she has a full tummy and rocking her to sleep and she still just screams until we go back to our routine. DH can take her and get her to sleep but only if he sleeps with her in the other room, which is not an acceptable long term solution.
My supply is slowly dwindling, so I'm not sure how much longer we will be able to have night time feedings. As of now, I doubt she even gets 1 oz before she falls asleep. I know the transition is going to be rough for her since it has been such a big part of our routine. I have done the pantley pull off to where she will now pull off herself before she finally goes to sleep, but it is right before, not when she is awake and drowsy.
How can I make the transition easier? Do I just decide to rock her to sleep no matter what one night until she falls asleep? She will cry and scream a lot if I do that though and I don't like her getting that upset. I'm not quite sure how to stop nursing her to sleep at night without a complete meltdown. What concerns me even more is that once she has a meltdown it takes her a long time to wind back down and that is when I nurse her. Any advice? TIA
Re: Weaning question (long)
Little Rose is 2 1/2.
This. Also, just because your body responds poorly to the pump, doesn't mean that you respond as poorly to your baby. Your LO may be transferring more milk than you think.
I don't mean to be snarky but how do you know that you are not producing enough? The only way to find out how much a baby is drinking from the breast is to weigh the baby before and after and I doubt you are doing that :-) Having trouble pumping enough has nothing to do with how much milk you produce when the baby is nursing. I had a similar pump problem and for 3 months (when I started working full time from part time again, 8-11 months) I had to pump every single evening, also on weekends to keep up with what she drank during 30 hours of daycare. I got tired of it and started her on almond milk (but it could also be formula or cowsmilk) at 11 months and stopped pumping. Your body is amazing, it produces milk when your baby sucks and it produces what she needs.
Another thing is the comforting aspect. I know that it is often said in a negative tone that the baby 'uses you as a pacifier', but I see nothing wrong with this. If she is more comfortable sucking and getting 1/2 oz milk over 20 minutes fine with me. I still nurse DD to bed and she STTN just fine.
At your LO's age they do start to get a bit distracted and you might have to take her to a quiet room, make sure there are not distractions around when nursing. But I am sure your LO likes it, no matter how much or how little milk comes out.
"My supply is slowly dwindling, so I'm not sure how much longer we will be able to have night time feedings. As of now, I doubt she even gets 1 oz before she falls asleep."
This is what worried me most in your post. LOs don't need a particular amount before they go to bed. I believe she is getting dinner? (my DD got dinner at 10 months, not a lot, but some veggies and rice or pasta or something). She is likely to drink whatever she needs for the night at your breast then, when nursing to sleep.
If you want some tips on getting a 10 month old BF baby to sleep longer stretches during the night, that is another post :-)
I want to address the output/pumping issue. I never responded well to my Medela pump. It finally went completely dead when Ari was about 10 ish months & the replaced it under warranty. It would pump but didn't sound quite right & I would only get 1-2 oz & my breasts didn't feel empty. Anyway, I decided to sell the replacement on CL, bought an Avent Isis Duo, & was suddenly able to pump double to triple the amount I'd ever pumped with the Medela in 1/2 the time. It was more comfortable too.
So if you want to keep nursing, do it. I nursed Ari 1-2 times per day for the last few months he nursed just fine. My supply adjusted. If you want to keep pumping, see if tweaking your technique or using a different pump helps.