December 5, 2007
Breastfeeding
My day definitely started off earlier than usual, but not by my choice. I'm not sure what's going on with my little Monkey, but he's not sleeping well. I've been suspecting that my breast milk has been lacking as of late and I'm starting to wonder if he's hungry. He'll lay in bed and just cry, really whiny like, forever and he's never been like that. He did it for 1 1/2 hours last night between 9-10:30 and then again from 11:30-12pm. He finally fell asleep "for the night" after I nursed him at midnight, but I could definitely tell that he wasn't getting enough to eat. Same thing this morning, I fed him at 5:30 and he was acting just ravenous, he never fell back to sleep, just cried. I really don't want to switch to formula, but I also don't want to be starving my child. I've been struggling with keeping my weight on since I had him almost 10 months ago and I wonder if my body is just saying that it's done? I really don't want to be!!! I don't know what to do at this point. I was thinking I might buy a container of formula and just supplement at night and see if I can boost my milk supply by eating more calories and drinking more water during the day. I know I don't drink enough, maybe that's it? I just hope it's not too late. Does anybody have any advice?
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Hi! I followed your link on Biblical Womanhood, and found your sight through there. I was just wondering about the whole nursing thing with your son. Is he 9 months? My daughter went through this same thing at 6 months! I started her on foods, and now- at nearly 11 mo.- she's nurisng twice a day and eating regular meals with us at mealtime... and sleeping 12 hours at night! I don't think I'll be giving up either of those two nursing sessions any time in the near future! Is your son eating any solids yet?
Yes, he eats solids 3x a day. Oatmeal for breakfast, yogurt w/ fruit for lunch and some sort of sweet potato and veggies for dinner. He always seems full after he eats, but just doesn't seem to be getting much from me any more. I'm going to try to up my caloric intake by getting some protein drinks at the store today and see if that will help. I really don't want to give up because I was hoping to go through 18 months with him. I've been nursing him 4-5 times a day, maybe I need to cut one out and see if that helps?
I also found you through B.W. I just had to find out who had already claimed Raising Monkeys! I tried for that name but had to settle with Raising Peanuts. (my little monkey -16months- is smaller than most kiddos his age)
My advice as I am big on nursing - don't supplement with formula. If you go to bottles, he may just like them more as it's faster to suck them down. Plus I figure if you can't pronounce the words in the ingredient list, it doesn't belong in a baby. Try nursing more often to get your supply back up and drink lots of water. Also, I don't know if I could do this cause I don't like it, but if you like the taste of beer (yes beer) my O.B. said it actually does an awesome job of helping your body produce milk. Just one a day. At nine months my boy was having 3 meals per day (cereal or mashed food) and we always nursed before he ate. (That way they get all the nourishment they need before you do the solids.)Plus he would have a snack mid-morning ,wheat toast or something, and then nurse again at night before bed.
Best of luck, keep at it!!!
P.S. - I just read an earlier post and you say he has a bit of a cold. I wouldn't worry to much about your milk supply. My little man barely ate when he was out sick with a cold. If you have a pump, you may want to try that just to keep your supply up for when he's hungry again.
I would say nurse more often to beef up your supply and make sure to drink that water!!!
Hey, I found your blog from Biblical Womanhood. I just wanted to take a minute and encourage you to drink more water. Get a gatorade in you if you can handle it. You might be low on hydration.
I nurse my little 16 month old 2-3 times a day. She eats three meals a day. She is highly allergic to milk. We went through something like this around that time. I think it might be a growth spurt.
Do you have prenatal vitamins? Get some of those super mom vitamins (beeyoutiful.com) they really pump up your milk. Also, grab some alfalfa tablets from the health food store...they will beef up your milk as well.
~Mommy Homemaker - moma to nine so far.
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