Help! I think my DS may be weaning himself

[robynholly]

It didn't occur to me until today...maybe he is weaning himself. He nursed 24/7 for 7 months and then started sleeping through the night. I started rice cereal for his 8th month but he was still feeding well. Month 9 I added veggies and most recently oatmeal. I noticed my supply was less but I thought that was normal because DS wasn't going at it all day and night. I think he may not be getting enough even though he pulls away and seems happy. Plus sometimes my let down is slow and he gets frustrated and he is on the go so he doesn;t want to take the time to nurse. How do I know if he is weaning and if he is, can I prevent it?

[alegna]

He is far too young to wean.

First- I would stop any spoon-fed (by you) solids and just let him self feed.

Offer nursing VERY often (once an hour during the day and cosleep and offer at night)

No other sucking- no pacifiers, sippy cups, bottles, etc.

No other milks or juices.

good luck!

-Angela

[Dahlea]

Offer bm before solids, first of all. You may need to cut back on the amount of solids he's eating. He's really too young to be "self" weaning. If he's weaning, it's due to getting too many solids and other drinks and not being offered the boob first.

[LadyCatherine185]

Ditto to what both PP's said.

[robynholly]

I do offer the boob first. I spoke with a lactation consultant and she said 9 months is the age when a child may start to wean. She said 18 months is the next time. I guess different people have different opinions on the matter.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by robynholly

I do offer the boob first. I spoke with a lactation consultant and she said 9 months is the age when a child may start to wean. She said 18 months is the next time. I guess different people have different opinions on the matter.

Many babies may start to wean at 9 months, but that doesn't mean it is biologically normal. Babies need the immune boosting properties of breastmilk - which is why many medical associations say to breastfeed until age 2 at least - when the immune system has started to mature.

9 months can be a difficult age for many nursing dyads - but you can get through this stage! Offering to nurse before all meals, allowing baby to self feed, and not feeding any other milks will really help.

Other ideas - a nursing necklace to keep baby's attention when nursing, and offering often (even just a 'fly by' nursing session is better than none). Then baby will turn 16 months and be nursing every 30 minutes again and this lull will feel like it never happened Good luck, Mama!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by robynholly

I do offer the boob first. I spoke with a lactation consultant and she said 9 months is the age when a child may start to wean. She said 18 months is the next time. I guess different people have different opinions on the matter.

My DH self-weaned at 9 months. It isn't very common, but it happens. He was given no bottles, pacis, etc. he was just a very busy young-toddler and had 2 older brothers to keep up with.

That said, I would just make sure to keep offering, maybe offer in a dark quiet room, especially when he is sleepy, and first wakes up. Here is a page from kellymom.com with other tips for getting babe back to being interested in BF'ing.

good luck!

[paulamc]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185

That said, I would just make sure to keep offering, maybe offer in a dark quiet room, especially when he is sleepy, and first wakes up.

We've been having a similar problem - DS is 12 months, and tends to only want to nurse at night (a lot) and before and after naps during the day. He's not weaning, as I don't see the night and nap-time nursing stopping anytime soon. But I'd like to nurse him more during the day. We don't want to cut back on solids at all, because we feel they are helping him gain (he eats a lot of high calorie solids, like eggs, cheese, avocado, full fat yogurt, nut butters, and sweet potatoes - in addition to some fruits and other vegetables), and he's been a slow gainer especially prior to starting solids.

Anyway, we don't really have a dark, dark room, but the room he sleeps in has only our family mattress on the floor, and the light is somewhat dim. It is exclusively for sleeping and doesn't have many distractions. I nurse there before and after his naps and at night. But in addition, I've recently started taking him to this room and lying down on the mattress with him, to attempt to nurse another couple of additional times in the day. He seems much more willing to settle down and nurse there.

So if your baby is willing to nurse at night and naptime, try to leverage that association and get him to nurse in the same place at other times.