I feel like my milk isn't satisfying DD anymore

[winecheery]

She's always hungry.  

She never was very good at going much beyond a couple of hours during the day, 3 at most, but now it seems worse, like she wants to nurse even more frequently during the day, and gets pissed off that the milk isn't coming out fast enough.

She has also been a beast lately, napping even worse then usual and crying when you set her down.  Stops crying the second I pick her up.

Soooo is this some weirdo growth spurt I didn't know about??  We're starting solids; will that help her feel more satisfied in any way, do you think?  fwiw, I KNOW breast milk or formula is still the primary source of nutrition, and solids are more for "play" and exposure.  Even so.  Does it help a bit?

I was fully preparing to wean at 6 months and either supplement or switch to FF entirely, because I feel good about reaching 6 months, but then another part of me thought I could go until solids were better established, around 8 months, but if she wants to nurse every hour…I might not make it!

Thoughts on the above?  tia

[Ashley&Scott]

Teething? Separation anxiety? It sounds like you've probably got a few things going on, I wouldn't automatically assume low milk supply unless she's losing weight or you've had ongoing issues.

[winecheery]

Feb 15, 2014 22:36:06 GMT -5 Ashley&Scott said:

Teething?

No other signs of teething that I can tell…though her poops have been greener then usual…isn't that a sign?  idk

[winecheery]

Feb 15, 2014 22:37:06 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

You should do what you want to do, whether it's wean now, at 6 months, or later.

But this is entirely normal honestly. If you've made it to 5 months, your supply is pretty well established unless somewhere along the way you've gotten sick, she's gotten sick, something drastic has happened to kill your supply. Cluster feeding isn't just relegated to the first month or two unfortunately.

I don't know how much stock you put in wonder weeks, but the end of a wonder 'week' is week 26, which you're about 3.5 weeks out from or so? If I remember right, that wonder week spans an entire month and is a lot of fun. (No really, so. much. damn. fun.)

Oh JOY.  lol Sooooo, when might I see relief from this "week"?!

And no illnesses for other of us luckily, so I guess she's just decided to eat more for whatever reason.  Lucky. Me. 

[Ashley&Scott]

Are you sure she's eating the whole time or could it be comfort sucking thrown in there too?

[curbsideprophet]

Is she like that all day long? How is she sleeping at night? What time does she go to bed?

I don't remember exactly how old she was, but at one point we realized moving DD's bedtime earlier helped a lot. We thought she was giving hunger cues, but really I think she was just tired.

Hope you figure something out and things improve.

[winecheery]

She's def eating, although not always for the length of time she typically takes. I try to pay attention to any comfort sucking because I pull her off when that happens and offer her Sophie or a teething ring, or wubanub, etc.

It's possible she is doing some comfort sucking thrown in there and I'm missing it.

[winecheery]

Feb 15, 2014 22:55:59 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Is she like that all day long? How is she sleeping at night? What time does she go to bed?

I don't remember exactly how old she was, but at one point we realized moving DD's bedtime earlier helped a lot. We thought she was giving hunger cues, but really I think she was just tired.

Hope you figure something out and things improve.

It has been all day long, yes.  She sleeps pretty great at night, (7:30pm to 7 or 8am, one wakeup to eat or alternately she'll STTN and wake up for the day at 6:30 on occasion.) When we STed a few weeks ago, we also moved up bedtime by an hour and that helped immensely!

I can't be too pissed about the lack of naps, even though it means no break for me during the day, but I'm more troubled that she seems so miserable and cranky without just a little nap, here and there, you know??  I am certain some of the daytime hunger cues are actually tired cues, but she fights naps SO MUCH at this stage.  It's like she'll nod off and then wake up immediately like she couldn't bear to miss anything.

And thanks, I hope this passes soon.  It's pretty frustrating.  

[curbsideprophet]

Have you tried wearing her for naps? It sucked, but sometimes this was the only way to get DD to sleep. We would put her in the Ergo, play some white noise and bounce on an exercise ball.

[winecheery]

curbsideprophet you know, she won't sleep in the carrier anymore!! She sleeps in the stroller though, so I try to do that when a crib nap fails, or I time an errand so she sleeps in the car. It's not ideal but it's sleep and if it gets her what she needs right now then I do what I realistically can. But there have been a few days where it was like, three walks in a day or trying to find an errand or place to drive that would give her time enough to sleep. It's not always possible.

@ojo this is a good reminder, about just wanting to snuggle. I do my best to give her the snuggles she needs (and that *I* need!) but maybe while she gets through this phase I should try nursing lying down and then letting her nap next to me for at least one of the naps. Shit, I wouldn't mind a nap these days.

[vmars]

I've heard greener poops can be a sign of hind/foremilk imbalance. Maybe she's not getting enough hindmilk and that's why she is not sleeping longer? When you BF do you start with the last side?

[winecheery]

Feb 16, 2014 8:06:50 GMT -5 vmars said:

I've heard greener poops can be a sign of hind/foremilk imbalance. Maybe she's not getting enough hindmilk and that's why she is not sleeping longer? When you BF do you start with the last side?

I do!

Also I thought the poops had to be frothy too, to indicate imbalance??  But I've wondered this too.

[winecheery]

Feb 16, 2014 11:36:36 GMT -5 suzubell said:

Jude still cluster feeds on occasion. I wouldn't automatically think it's a supply issue. Babies are strange creatures.

Yeah I wasn't thinking it was a supply issue so much as since it's a natural laxative, it wasn't "sticking" enough or something as she's growing. Who knows.  She certainly is trying to crawl and is going through a ton of other physical milestones so maybe she's burning more calories!

I think I'm buying into the wonder week suggestion, if only to have an explanation that make sense to me lol