s/o baby not nursing...

[kdrake8]

thedahliharpa
@starbound
and anyone else that can possibly help/offer advice

So I read the thread to starbound about asking her if she's pregnant, as it changes the taste of milk.

Ive been struggling with production for the last week and a half... but it hasn't mattered much, as Mila hasn't been drinking much of anything whiel she's away from me.  She has dropped down to pretty much just finishing her fresh bottle (4oz) while I'm away from her.  She will nurse well in the morning and normally one or two nurses overnight.  She nurses ok before bed.  After school she will nurse a little but she isn't spending too much time.

The only day that she successfully took more than one bottle was when I had had some frozen milk out and mixed half fresh/half frozen.  She took that and a few oz of a frozen bag that day.  I want to estimate that prior to my pregnancy she was taking about 8-10 oz while  we were apart.  Now she's taking about 4 most days.

Could this be due to her upping her solids/being closer to one?  Is my milk changing?  Should I just try for half fresh/half frozen bottles and see if maybe that will solve it?  I'm assuming if the taste is changing and she hates it, she will wean soon

I know I have pregnancy hormones going on but I'm devastated.  I feel like my pregnancy is forcing weaning on my poor baby who LOVED nursing.  She was all about it.  She's still so excited and smiling whenever we are getting ready to nurse, and she never straight up refuses.

Any advice from anyone who's been there?  I tried to google and read KellyMom but didn't find a ton that was helpful.  I figured I'd ask for experiences if anyone has any.

[TrudyCampbell]

(hug)

[Deleted]

Oh poor kdrake I feel for ya. I'm right there with you, without even a pregnancy to be excited about.
I was up late last night researching this boob refusal, and apart from random stuff like garlic & cardamom causing flavour change, there wasn't much. I did read that babies close to 1 year might be ready to wean - as in, babies less than 1 year rarely self-wean (from kellymom) and the introduction and increase of solids is a natural progression towards wanting less milk.

The comfort thing, that has me stumped. My DS2 used to love his bedtime and before nap nursing. Now he wants nothing to do with it.

((hugs))

[kdrake8]

@starbound ((hugs)) back at you. How are your rock boobs doing?

This is hard. I've nursed her since I met her and it's weird to imagine our relationship without nursing, though I know it will happen eventually.

What are you going to do star? Did you express more?

[thedahliharpa]

I thi k it sounds like is doing pretty well They make it pretty clear when they want nothing to do with it. Don't be hard on yourself, you are doing a great job. I can't imagine pumping during 1st tri. Keep offering if it is making you both happy.

[AndyCohen]

@starbound could it be teething? Audrey was on strike last week and if I gave her ibuprofen 20-30 min before bedtime she would nurse a bit.

[kcsp910]

Caroline doesn't refuse the boob either when I'm with her, but she has also decreased her nursing sessions, dropping the one when we get home from work and STTN sometimes. Unfortunately, she hasn't decreased the amount of milk she drinks while at DC, so we've had to introduce one bottle of formula a day. If M seems satisfied drinking only one bottle while you are away, I wouldn't be too concerned. How long do you leave her for?

I've continued to nurse on demand while I'm with her / on the weekends, and so far this seems to be working. I'm wondering if your due date is also off from your LMP, and you're experiencing the same decrease I did a couple weeks ago. I've tried to increase water / eat oatmeal with no luck. I'm sorry I don't have much advice, but just know you're not alone. I have been feeling extremely guilty for introducing formula and feeling like I'm not producing enough for her. Hang in there, kdrake!!

[vthokie]

A only takes 4-6 oz when I'm away from her. She used to take 16. I think she just prefers solids. When I'm home on the weekend, or when we get home from work, she's still all about the boob. Maybe she just prefers boob to bottle now

[spaghetticat]

If she is still willing to nurse at all, I think that is a good sign! V had decreased her amount of nursing significantly as her solids went up. I was only pumping 2 ounces at work. Then she got a stomach bug and was on nothing but breast milk. She was nursing constantly and now I am getting 4 ounces at work. My point is, I think it might be a getting older thing, not a done with nursing thing. And it may not be permanent. As long as she is not outright refusing the boob all of the time, I don't think you need to worry about this being it. But I understand your worry, so hugs to you!

[kdrake8]

Mar 14, 2013 18:59:04 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

I thi k it sounds like is doing pretty well They make it pretty clear when they want nothing to do with it. Don't be hard on yourself, you are doing a great job. I can't imagine pumping during 1st tri. Keep offering if it is making you both happy.

Thanks Dahli. Hopefully she will continue to just nurse with me at least. I appreciate the kind words so much.

[kdrake8]

Mar 14, 2013 19:46:27 GMT -5 kcsp910 said:

Caroline doesn't refuse the boob either when I'm with her, but she has also decreased her nursing sessions, dropping the one when we get home from work and STTN sometimes. Unfortunately, she hasn't decreased the amount of milk she drinks while at DC, so we've had to introduce one bottle of formula a day. If M seems satisfied drinking only one bottle while you are away, I wouldn't be too concerned. How long do you leave her for?

I've continued to nurse on demand while I'm with her / on the weekends, and so far this seems to be working. I'm wondering if your due date is also off from your LMP, and you're experiencing the same decrease I did a couple weeks ago. I've tried to increase water / eat oatmeal with no luck. I'm sorry I don't have much advice, but just know you're not alone. I have been feeling extremely guilty for introducing formula and feeling like I'm not producing enough for her. Hang in there, kdrake!!

I'm glad we are so close together with this so at least there's someone else to bounce experiences off of!

Idk if they'll even give me an ultrasound. I had my info appt and bloodwork today and sge seemed to think it was unlikely.

[kdrake8]

Mar 14, 2013 19:59:53 GMT -5 vthokie said:

A only takes 4-6 oz when I'm away from her. She used to take 16. I think she just prefers solids. When I'm home on the weekend, or when we get home from work, she's still all about the boob. Maybe she just prefers boob to bottle now

thanks!! I'm glad someone else is experiencing it! This gives me hope. Maybe it's a solids thing (she def loves them) or just a dislike of bottle.

Maybe the sitters can try the milk in a sippy too.

[kdrake8]

Mar 14, 2013 20:08:30 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

If she is still willing to nurse at all, I think that is a good sign! V had decreased her amount of nursing significantly as her solids went up. I was only pumping 2 ounces at work. Then she got a stomach bug and was on nothing but breast milk. She was nursing constantly and now I am getting 4 ounces at work. My point is, I think it might be a getting older thing, not a done with nursing thing. And it may not be permanent. As long as she is not outright refusing the boob all of the time, I don't think you need to worry about this being it. But I understand your worry, so hugs to you!

She's not refusing so it seems like that's a good sign for now at least. I give you so much credit for remaining calm when pumping just a little. I've found it sad/irritating to take the time to pump 3 times per day at work when I'm only getting 4-6 oz total at the end.

[kdrake8]

Mar 14, 2013 20:12:52 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

It could just be coincidence. I'm not nursing, but J has periodically cut back on her formula consumption and then picked back up again. Keep trying if you want to continue nursing.

It's good to have a formula perspective too! Thanks! I'll definitely keep trying at this point and see where it takes me.

[spaghetticat]

Mar 14, 2013 20:14:51 GMT -5 kdrake8 said:

Mar 14, 2013 20:08:30 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

If she is still willing to nurse at all, I think that is a good sign! V had decreased her amount of nursing significantly as her solids went up. I was only pumping 2 ounces at work. Then she got a stomach bug and was on nothing but breast milk. She was nursing constantly and now I am getting 4 ounces at work. My point is, I think it might be a getting older thing, not a done with nursing thing. And it may not be permanent. As long as she is not outright refusing the boob all of the time, I don't think you need to worry about this being it. But I understand your worry, so hugs to you!

She's not refusing so it seems like that's a good sign for now at least. I give you so much credit for remaining calm when pumping just a little. I've found it sad/irritating to take the time to pump 3 times per day at work when I'm only getting 4-6 oz total at the end.

Yeaaaahhh, calm is probably not a word I would use to describe my reaction to the pumping situation. My calendar at school has numbers written all over it because I was trying to calculate how much I would need on certain days/weeks to make it to a year. I know a year is arbitrary at this point, but it was still something I stressed about. But you know what? She still nurses at home, she appears to be thriving and my coworkers aren't that exciting to eat lunch with anyway  So I will take the time to at least try to pump and if nothing else, I get some quiet time to come on PB. But it took me a looongg time to get to that point. 

[vthokie]

Yeah....Ansley has days when she eats a lot at daycare. That's usually when lunch there isn't her favorite. I think it's mostly related to what she eats there and how much. She also takes her milk from a sippy there. She gets pretty irritated with a bottle now. She only takes a bottle if she needs one at the house. It's only sippys at daycare. Hopefully it's just a change in her nursing and not weaning totally.

I keep feeling like maybe A is weaning, but she still loves the boob a ton. It's such a hard thing to try and figure out.

[kcsp910]

All OBs are different, so unfortunately I'm not surprised about an ultrasound. Just hang in there and keep doing what you're doing. It does suck pumping so often for so little output, but I figure its not for much longer. You're doing a great job. If she seems satisfied with one bottle and solids, I'd roll with it and continue nursing on demand when together. Even though I know I'm not producing as much, C is fine on the weekend and doesn't require any supplementing.

[claralou]

Mar 14, 2013 17:59:35 GMT -5 TrudyCampbell said:

(hug)

X2. I really hope it improves for you soon. Hang in there, mama.