Fight the natural wean, or not?

[LaurieG]

I know we have several babes on this board around the same age as Ellie (15 1/2 months). Just curious if this issue is starting to come up with you and how you are addressing it.

Ellie is starting to beg for other liquid every day. I thought she just enjoyed practicing cup drinking. But on my work days I'm pumping less too. Lately it has been more like 5-6 oz where we used to be 8 oz. Today when I got home she fussed until I nursed her and then fussed some more directing me to a cup, and then to the refrigerator. So I gave her a cup with about 2 oz of hemp milk and then she settled down. This was the first time she hasn't been satisfied after nursing for a long time.

As I know is the case with a lot of our food intolerant babes, she takes very little in solids and is extremely small for her age (27 inches and 18 lbs), though her dx of TS complicates the growth thing. So I had planned to stick to BM mainly for all liquids for another yr or so at least. But if she is starting the self-weaning process, and my body is happily going along, should I fight it?

[nalo]

Actually, your child really should be drinking a good amount of water at this age too (well, "drink to thirst" just like everyone else) - not just BM.. Just because she is thirsty for other things doesn't mean she is weaning - it just means she's thirsty. (I mean, it *can* mean a child is weaning, but not necessarily). My DD drinks lots of water throughout the day but she also nurses a lot too. Maybe I've missed the point of your post but I think it's important for her to be drinking water if she's thirsty, along with nursing during the day. Perhaps I am less sensitive about the "amounts" issue since I have never pumped and never known how much DD gets from the breast. She can have a big nursing session and then sit down for lunch or she can go for hours in between or, or, or. It varies but I don't think you need to get too freaked out about it. Just offer her water throughout the day. My DD always has one or two cups of water available to her so she doesn't need to ask. I really doubt she is weaning - she needs to drink more to satisfy her thirst I bet. JMHO.

[LaurieG]

Hmm. But if she's thirsty and she is underweight wouldn't it be better to give something with calories/ protein/ fat? Not that I'm arguing against water in general - I think its a fantastic drink for the average child. But for an underweight child I worry about filling her tummy with water and providing fewer opportunities to take in calories. DS, at this stage, was drinking water and cow's milk along with nursing. And DD drinks from my water at meals and whenever else she asks but I don't necessarily encourage water drinking in measurable quantity. If she starts to take many drink in a row I offer the breast instead.

ETA: I guess I'm also using the term wean to mean just what you're saying - she's turning to other sources to satisfy her thirst. It's a gradual process that starts with the introduction of solids and can go on for yrs (as is the case with my 4 1/2 yr old nursling). But for a baby with food intolerances (therefore the alternatives for nutritious drinks are limited) who has a stronger need for BM than your avg baby would you / do you plan to try to slow the natural progression of things in some way (taking Fenugreek, adding in pumping sessions, etc)?

[changingseasons]

Interesting. I just commented to DP that DD hadn't nursed since before her nap (so it had been about 4 hours, which is pretty unusual for her.) I too was wondering if this was the start of weaning. Honestly, I wouldn't mind it at all if her nursing frequency went down- she still nurses every 1-2 hours, 24 hours a day.

I have really never given DD water until just the past few weeks, and not on a consistent basis. I'll bring along her little klean kanteen bottle for her to sip on when we go for a walk, but other than that she just nurses. She might drink an ounce of water every day. I figured she's getting the fluids that she needs from nursing. And I agree- since DD is so small, I think that water would just fill her up, and I'd rather her fill up on something that has calories. Plus, she eats veggies every day that have lots of water in them (zucchini and steamed broccoli).

[lil_miss_understood]

I believe it was about 4 months ago that ds2 started slowing down some on his nursing (and not just because I'm pregnant, although that was a concern at the time). He suddenly started nursing every 3 or 4 hours instead of every 1-2 like he had since he was born. His weight gain has always been iffy, but not bad (he's 27 lbs now). Around the same time, he started asking for more to drink from a cup. I think it's just part of the natural progression.
If you're concerned about it, I would consider pumping and giving bm in the cup. Just a thought.

[Ruthla]

Yes, it's the start of weaning, in the sense that weaning is a process. Any time a baby drinks or eats something other than breastmilk, you're weaning. It's definitely appropriate for toddlers to expland their diets and eat/drink what they want (provided it's safe for them)- keep on offering the breast frequently AND keep on offering her other safe foods and drinks, and let her appetite and thirst be the guide for all her nutrient intake.

However, this is NOT a sign of "weaning" if you're talking about the complete cessation of breastfeeding.

You shouldn't stop the "natural flow of weaning" in terms of letting her body decide how much mama milk and how many other foods and drinks she needs. However, if she was completely refusing to nurse, I would recomend taking steps to get her back to the breast; to treat that as a nursing strike, not as "child led weaning" before age 2 or so.

[nalo]

Interesting discussion here. I believe I am not the best one to be commenting on this (but I am anyway ) since my DD has always been a big girl with 75% being the lowest she has ever been on a growth/height chart. She has never had gaining issues so I was definately insensitive to that part of your post and I am sorry. I totally understand the wish to avoid "empty" calories in an underweight child. Perhaps you could decide how much water you think you are comfortable with her having in a day and put that amount in a sippy in the morning. That way, you can just give her that sippy sometimes throughout the day and know she's never getting "too much" water. And then you can also supplement your milk with other high cal options. Are you extremely restricted in your foods or is it more that she is just not eating much regardless of what is available?

[LaurieG]

Here's another scenario to give a sense of where my mind is on this issue: For quite some time now the amount that I have been pumping while at work has been slowly declining, from 12 to 10 to 8 and now to 5oz. At the same time DD has been taking in more in the way of solids so that seemed quite natural. However, recently my concern was that I am not pumping enough to get her through the day without some sort of supplement and my feeling is that no other "milk" is as nutritious as BM. So I've been thinking about trying to up my supply some - maybe try to add in a pumping session, pump on my off days to supply extra, try some herbal or homeopathic remedies, etc in order to get more. But I haven't, mostly because I am so burned out on pumping and we've been getting by - even though she is taking in less BM during the day she seems to make up for it in solids and nursing sessions at other times. But now we seem to have reached that point where my supply really isn't satisfying her, at least on my work days. She's a picky eater (offered lots of a variety of solids but just doesn't eat much) so her fluid calories are still very important.

So, I'm thinking again about trying to intervene with my supply. But, on the other hand, I'm thinking she is nearly 16 months old and maybe it's okay and I'll just let things be what they are and we can start experimenting with alternative milks (I know rice milk upsets her tummy). So I'm sort of at a cross-roads and thinking about where to put my energy and wondering what other mamas of similar aged babies are thinking.

[Ruthla]

OK, I can see where you're coming from now.

Maybe try adding in some extra pumping sessions for a week or two, and see how that goes? It may be draining for you, or you may find that it's no big deal once you've adapted to the new routine. Your supply may respond favorably to the extra pumping, or you may find that your milk supply is pretty much "set" at this point (people with younger babies tend to respond better to attempts to increase supply). Why not try it for 2 weeks and see how it goes? You can always drop the extra pumping sessions if you find that the work isn't worth the amount of extra milk you're able to make.

[chlobo]

As the mom of a small fry (22 lbs at 18 months) I completely understand your concern. DS seems to drink a lot on some days & sometimes I hestitate and wonder if I should stop him. But I don't. I'm hoping he knows something I don't and will get calories in somehow.

I'm ont sure about trying to up your supply. What about trying to make some kind of more nutritous, fattening drink? Like a smoothly with coconut milk or other added fat?