Post by Ashley&Scott on Dec 21, 2012 15:50:41 GMT -5
This is rambling, sorry. I nurse on demand. I'm wondering if I feed him too much. He doesn't really have a "signal" sometimes he will he tug on my shirt but not always. He almost aways nurses when I offer. Right now I offer when he seems fussy or every few hours, whichever comes first.
I had hopes of teaching him the milk sign but haven't been consistent about it.
At 11 months he's nursing as much as he ever has, it doesn't really bother me but I'm a little worried about adjusting to pumping 1x per day after he turns 1 in a few weeks.
Currently I pump 3x per day. Next week I'm planning to drop to 2 sessions per day for 3 weeks. Then after his birthday I'll drop to one session per day. Will I still be able to nurse this often on weekends/evenings if I'm only pumping at lunch during the week?
Here were his feedings for the last week:
Friday, December 14, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 4:30 AM Nursed Right (6 min) 5:00 AM Nursed Left (5 min) 5:57 AM Nursed Right (5 min) 7:00 AM Nursed Left (7 min) 10:00 AM Breast Milk (2.50 oz) 10:30 AM Solids Cheerios 1:00 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (3.50 oz) 4:05 PM Bottle -Breast Milk (3.50 oz) 5:04 PM Nursed Right (13 min) 6:15 PM Solids Pears, Puffs 6:32 PM Nursed Left (2 min) 7:13 PM Nursed Left (22 min) 8:16 PM Nursed Right (12 min)
Saturday, December 15, 2012 (*he was sick this day, nursed a ton) Time Entry Description / Note 12:39 AM Nursed Right (8 min) 1:06 AM Nursed Left (4 min) 2:18 AM Nursed Left (5 min) 2:23 AM Nursed Right (21 min) 3:48 AM Nursed Left (6 min) 5:53 AM Nursed Right (6 min) 6:57 AM Nursed Left (3 min) 7:54 AM Nursed Right (16 min) 9:34 AM Nursed Left (5 min) 10:05 AM Nursed Left (11 min) 11:43 AM Nursed Right (20 min) 11:47 AM Solids Cheerios 12:27 PM Nursed Left (10 min) 12:52 PM Nursed Left (4 min) 1:39 PM Nursed Right (14 min) 2:02 PM Nursed Left (15 min) 6:37 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 7:20 PM Nursed Right (3 min) 7:44 PM Nursed Left (16 min) 8:45 PM Nursed Right (2 min) 10:30 PM Nursed Right (5 min) 10:35 PM Nursed Left (15 min) 10:53 PM Nursed Right (20 min) 11:54 PM Start L Nursing (16 min)
Sunday, December 16, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 12:10 AM End L Nursing (16 min) 12:40 AM Nursed Left (15 min) 12:55 AM Nursed Right (2 min) 1:23 AM Nursed Right (3 min) 1:31 AM Nursed Right (11 min) 2:05 AM Nursed Left (22 min) 2:27 AM Nursed Right (10 min) 5:55 AM Nursed Right (5 min) 6:50 AM Nursed Left (5 min) 8:05 AM Nursed Right (9 min) 9:14 AM Nursed Left (4 min) 11:13 AM Nursed Right (3 min) 12:37 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 1:50 PM Nursed Right (3 min) 2:30 PM Nursed Right (3 min) 3:22 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 4:14 PM Nursed Right (2 min) 4:27 PM Nursed Right (2 min) 5:20 PM Nursed Left (3 min) 6:50 PM Nursed Right (6 min) 6:58 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 7:48 PM Nursed Right (4 min) 8:00 PM Nursed Left (3 min) 8:41 PM Nursed Right (5 min) 10:04 PM Nursed Left (9 min) 11:28 PM Nursed Right (10 min)
Monday, December 17, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 1:40 AM Nursed Left (10 min) 3:33 AM Nursed Right (10 min) 5:07 AM Nursed Left (7 min) 5:50 AM Nursed Left (7 min) 6:40 AM Nursed Right (7 min) 10:00 AM Bottle - Breast Milk (2 oz) 11:15 AM Solids Apples (steamed) 1:20 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (3.50 oz) 4:15 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (3.25 oz) 5:31 PM Nursed Right (4 min) 5:35 PM Nursed Left (2 min) 5:52 PM Nursed Left (6 min) 6:20 PM Solids Apples (steamed), Black Beans, Rice 6:51 PM Nursed Right (19 min) 7:23 PM Nursed Left (6 min) Dream Feed 9:15 PM Nursed Right (3 min) Dream Feed 11:02 PM Nursed Left (13 min)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 2:00 AM Nursed Right (14 min) 3:54 AM Nursed Left (8 min) 7:04 AM Nursed Right (7 min) 10:10 AM Bottle - Breast Milk (3 oz) 11:00 AM Solids Apples (steamed) 1:15 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (3.25 oz) 3:50 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (1.50 oz) 5:18 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 5:39 PM Nursed Right (4 min) 6:17 PM Solids Sweet Potatoes 6:51 PM Nursed Right (3 min) 7:22 PM Nursed Left (12 min) 7:36 PM Nursed Right (17 min) 8:18 PM Nursed Right (8 min)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 1:55 AM Nursed Right (5 min) 4:29 AM Nursed Left (2 min) 5:23 AM Nursed Right (12 min) 7:06 AM Nursed Right (2 min) 7:08 AM Nursed Left (7 min) 10:00 AM Bottle - Breast Milk (2 oz) 10:45 AM Solids Sweet Potatoes 12:55 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (1 oz) 1:55 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (2.50 oz) 4:00 PM Bottle - Breast Milk (3 oz) 5:52 PM Nursed Left (8 min) 6:30 PM Solids Sweet Potatoes 7:26 PM Nursed Right (5 min) 7:34 PM Nursed Right (8 min) 7:58 PM Nursed Left (19 min) 9:40 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 9:45 PM Nursed Right (6 min) 11:11 PM Nursed Left (5 min)
Thursday, December 20, 2012 Time Entry Description / Note 4:20 AM Nursed Right (8 min) 5:10 AM Nursed Left (5 min) 6:19 AM Nursed Right (4 min) 6:31 AM Nursed Right (3 min) 7:06 AM Solids Cheerios, Puffs 7:16 AM Nursed Left (14 min) 8:04 AM Nursed Left (4 min) Dream Feed 9:43 AM Nursed Right (6 min) 11:01 AM Nursed Left (8 min) 12:48 PM Nursed Right (4 min) 1:21 PM Nursed Left (5 min) 1:43 PM Nursed Right (14 min) 4:22 PM Nursed Left (15 min) 5:03 PM Nursed Left (9 min) 6:05 PM Solids Sweet Potatoes 7:24 PM Nursed Right (16 min) 7:40 PM Nursed Left (14 min) 9:40 PM Nursed Right (10 min)
Does the list reflect all the solid food he's eating?
We're just a month or two ahead of you, and struggling to transition away from nursing. Our issue now is getting him to eat more at meals so he needs less in bottles/sippies. But I don't know how he'd be nursing less unless he starts eating more.
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
DS nurses all the time when we're together and I haven't pumped at work since I went back at 12 months. You do not have to restrict nursing to give up pumping at the point you are at.
I'll admit I'm not going to read through all that, though. Holy long!
Only if it bothers you. There is no way I could have dealt with the nursing every 30 mins from 4:30 on, but that's your call. It looks like he's more into comfort than food, so as long as he's ok eating solids, I'd sure he's fine. Gold star to you. You're a trooper.
We started tracking with the Total Baby app when he was born & never stopped. We track more than feedings. (diapers, sleep, meds, etc.)
It is nice to be able to look at a given day & see why he might be cranky. (didn't eat or sleep well, etc) Plus my memory has gone to crap so I can't remember if I don't write it down.
Wow! That looks like a newborn nursing schedule. You probably have one of two things going on. One could be you are mis reading his signals and feeding him every time he fusses. Or you have gotten him used to snacking rather then eating a full meal. I can't imagine he is actually hungry that often. Personally I would work towards nursing every two hours, at the most. Since you track things it should be easy to get there eventually. Try and space each feeding out, 10 minutes at a time. If you think he is hungry distract him for at least 10 minutes, then feed. Eventually space the feeding out more and more.
ETA I just looked at the schedule again. It looks like eats a normal amount during the day, just nurses a lot when you are at home. I am assuming he has someone else that cares for him during the day? That is why he gets bottles, right? His schedules shows that he can go 2-3 hours between meals, he just doesn't do that with you. And some days it looks like you get home and feed him within an hour of having a bottle when he normally can go those 2-3 hours. I would guess he isn't really hungry, just fussy for another reason. A lot of kids get fussier by the end of the day.
I don't think you are doing anything wrong at all, and I can totally understand not knowing if they are hungry or not. But I would guess you could stretch the time out between feedings. At his age it wont hurt him at all.
How long are you planning to nurse? Are you going to do whole milk? My suggestions are different based on these answers.
Post by atouchofklasse on Dec 21, 2012 17:45:45 GMT -5
That looks exhausting, both the tracking and the feeding.
At his age you can be giving him much more substantial foods than you're currently giving, IMO. That should make him feel fuller longer and be less dependent on milk by the time he's 1.
Older babies and toddlers are not nursing super often because they're hungry. There are lots of reasons to nurse. Frequent nursing is only an issue if you want to change it, not in and of itself.
DS can not nurse for 9 hours on days I work, and nurse every hour on days we're home. I don't mind, so it's not a problem. I do agree you can offer more solids; we did BLW and offered food 3-5 x a day by then.
Mush- He gets solids 2x per day now. We give him food until he stops eating it. We're planning to increase to 3x per day in the next week or so.
Token- glad to hear it hasn't affected your bf relationship.
Jenny- we use an app to track, I just copied the data over.
Why are you tracking it? Does he have special medical needs?
I can't help much, I didn't ever offer to nurse from ten-ish months until they each weaned around three or four, and I don't know your baby. I wonder if he doesn't ask because you offer so often? It's quite unusual that at nearly one you're offering to nurse every time he's fussy. Is it hunger fussiness or just no other comfort works? If it's hunger, what sort of snacks does he have?
Wow! That looks like a newborn nursing schedule. You probably have one of two things going on. One could be you are mis reading his signals and feeding him every time he fusses. Or you have gotten him used to snacking rather then eating a full meal. I can't imagine he is actually hungry that often. Personally I would work towards nursing every two hours, at the most. Since you track things it should be easy to get there eventually. Try and space each feeding out, 10 minutes at a time. If you think he is hungry distract him for at least 10 minutes, then feed. Eventually space the feeding out more and more.
ETA I just looked at the schedule again. It looks like eats a normal amount during the day, just nurses a lot when you are at home. I am assuming he has someone else that cares for him during the day? That is why he gets bottles, right? His schedules shows that he can go 2-3 hours between meals, he just doesn't do that with you. And some days it looks like you get home and feed him within an hour of having a bottle when he normally can go those 2-3 hours. I would guess he isn't really hungry, just fussy for another reason. A lot of kids get fussier by the end of the day.
I don't think you are doing anything wrong at all, and I can totally understand not knowing if they are hungry or not. But I would guess you could stretch the time out between feedings. At his age it wont hurt him at all.
How long are you planning to nurse? Are you going to do whole milk? My suggestions are different based on these answers.
Nursing toddlers are often like this, but it's usually after they're one, and it's normally them asking -they do drive bys, playdates are funny at that age.
Post by speckledfrog on Dec 21, 2012 18:14:35 GMT -5
Every kid is different and every parent does things on their own schedule. Try dropping a session or two and see how it goes.
My little guy is eating a lot more solids at this point. Here is our typical schedule:
7:00 - nurse both sides 9:00 - breakfast (cheerios/toast/cream of wheat/etc and a fruit) 12:00 - lunch (usually leftovers from last night's dinner plus fruit) 4:00 - nurse both sides 6:00 - dinner (baby sized portion of what we eat plus a veg) 7:00 - nurse to sleep (more for comfort)
He's growing well and a happy little guy. It seems like your LO is using nursing for comfort, which isn't a bad thing if you're good with it. I would definitely try to help him start sleeping all the way through the night. I don't have any advice on that but I'm sure others would.
Thanks for your response. If it were me, I'd start giving him 3 meals and a snack or two. We bring something to daycare for breakfast and then he eats their lunch.
I'm kind of in the same boat of my son not really requesting it, but I end up nursing as my default if he's fussy. My goal over the next few weeks is to do the don't offer/don't refuse method.
FWIW, I cut down to lunchtime pumping only (down from 2x the past several months), and am still "full" morning and evening, and he nurses on weekends full time. This has been about a month, and supply seems to have leveled or isn't dropping any more. I'm going to keep my lunchtime pump, though, until we get on more solid footing for the days in terms of sippy/milk.
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
Post by rootbeerfloat on Dec 21, 2012 19:10:31 GMT -5
Ditto token pretty much. My kids probably nursed that frequently as young toddlers, maybe not everyday, but here and there. I wouldn't worry if he eats solids. But for sure, I would stop tracking :-)
Post by Ashley&Scott on Dec 21, 2012 20:00:05 GMT -5
I know he comfort nurses, it doesn't really bother me. I know this won't last forever so I'm just trying to enjoys all of the extra snuggles. DH is starting to wonder if he'll ever wean though.
5pm is one of the times he demands to nurse, he'll follow me around, pull at my shirt, cry until he nurses. It doesn't matter if he had a bottle right before I pick him up. I know it's because I've been away all day.
Not sure how long we'll bf. As of now I plan to continue until one of us decides to stop.
I don't know the answer to your question, but I just wanted to say I am amazed you are able to function with this kind of schedule. Your overnight nursing is more than I nurse in a 24-hour period. I am just in awe!
I don't know the answer to your question, but I just wanted to say I am amazed you are able to function with this kind of schedule. Your overnight nursing is more than I nurse in a 24-hour period. I am just in awe!
We bedshare, I wouldn't be able to function if we didn't. And on the weekends I often nap when M naps.
But you're still clicking to track, right? Doesn't that wake you up?
Overnight I don't always put it in the iPod as it's happening. I glance at the clock, go back to sleep & input into the app in the morning. 5-10 minutes is a guess because I went back to sleep after he latched.
Ashley.....holy crap! You are a champ. Yes, I think you are nursing too much, but if you are both enjoying it, it's not doing any harm. It's not like he's going to be 15 and still nursing.
My suggestion would be to start night weaning. We night weaned G about a month ago. And then, as I told you earlier today, she is getting 3 bottles a day, solids outside of those.
Post by Ashley&Scott on Dec 21, 2012 21:56:15 GMT -5
Bearysweet- I answered most of your questions in a previous reply but missed a few.
Yes he's in daycare while I'm at work. He's never really liked the bottle, some days he'll finish the 10oz I send, other days he'll only drink half. I don't think he would nurse as much if he drank more at daycare. I do think he's doing quite a bit of comfort nursing as well. (5pm is pretty much non negotiable with him, he wants to nurse after daycare)
Not sure about whole milk. Our pedi said no dairy before one year. Currently I have enough frozen breast milk to last a long time since we're only sending 10oz per day. Plus I plan to continue pumping on my lunch break, at least for a while.
Post by Ashley&Scott on Dec 21, 2012 22:06:01 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your responses. I should also clarify the past week probably wasn't the best example schedule. He cut a tooth & was sick last weekend, both meant lots of comfort nursing.
We're planning to offer more solids. I'll also try not to offer nursing at every fuss & see where that takes us.
I looked at the actual chart. He is nursing a lot and for quite a while many times. Lu nursed pretty constantly at that age, but I didn't offer and a lot of the time it was for a minute or two. Never 20 minute sessions.
The 20 minute sessions might not be totally accurate, especially the overnight ones. I was half asleep & trying to remember the next morning how long they were.
Bearysweet- I answered most of your questions in a previous reply but missed a few.
Yes he's in daycare while I'm at work. He's never really liked the bottle, some days he'll finish the 10oz I send, other days he'll only drink half. I don't think he would nurse as much if he drank more at daycare. I do think he's doing quite a bit of comfort nursing as well. (5pm is pretty much non negotiable with him, he wants to nurse after daycare)
Not sure about whole milk. Our pedi said no dairy before one year. Currently I have enough frozen breast milk to last a long time since we're only sending 10oz per day. Plus I plan to continue pumping on my lunch break, at least for a while.
Sounds like you are doing great and enjoying your little guy while he is little, which is perfect! If you think he is comfort nursing maybe cut back on a couple of the feedings by sitting down with him and cuddling with him for the time he would normally nurse. Of course keep the 5pm feeding and then just see if some cuddles will replace a couple of them. Maybe even explain to him that he can have a snack or something else if he is hungry. He might not understand completely, but he will soon. Of course this is only if you want to cut back on a couple of them.
I asked about the whole milk because I was curious if you were in a rush to get him weaned to milk. Sounds like you have plenty of time to slowly transition him away from nursing that much. I also agree that it would help a lot if he ate more solids. Maybe have day care help increase the amount of solids since he doesn't like the bottle.
And for your original question on cutting back on the pumping. I agree that your body will probably adjust just fine. And if he is comfort nursing he might not even need a lot of milk to be happy. It will work out!