Drying up? DS not discouraged...

[babyjoeysmomma]

I know there is another recent thread about drying up, but I have additional questions and didn't want to hijack. I think I have dried up, but DS (age 2.5) is going right along with his regular nursing sessions (morning, night, nap if I'm home). I really don't know much about drying up, but here is what I'm experiencing:

no sensation of fullness/emptying of the breast
don't hear any swallowing
DS has become a 'lazy latcher' and isn't getting a good, solid latch
nursing can become uncomfortable but is not painful (but I think this is due to his poor latch)

In spite of all this, he is still very attached to his nighttime nursing session (we don't cosleep so these aren't throughout the night, only before bed), and probably asks for his morning session about every other day. I do still get the gentle ache I've always gotten with letdown, I'm just not sure more than a few drops are letting down.

This has all been a gradual change over time. We both adore nursing and I had planned on CLW but I'm not sure we'll make it much longer, and clearly he is not ready to wean (and neither am I!). Can anyone give me advice on whether I am drying up, if there's anything I can do about it beyond herbs/teas, or offer resources that you've found useful? I am just beside myself--I had a vision for how our nursing relationship would end, and it definitely wasn't like this.

[babyjoeysmomma]

No one? I thought someone might have some advice, or at least a commiseration!

[babyjoeysmomma]

Can someone at least tell me why no one's replied to this thread? Seriously, have I violated the terms of this board in some way and I'm not aware of it?

[woodchick]

Don't be discouraged! Saturdays can be slow around here. It may also be that not too many have shared your experience.

My almost 4 yo nursed through my second pregnancy. She nursed pretty consistantly, though I do think I lost my milk somewhere in the middle. I had uncomfortable feelings (both mentally and physically) but I didn't discourage the nursing alltogether because she obviously still needed it.

I don't know about teas or herbs. How's your water intake? If you pump do you get anything?

The poor latch seems to be common around the 2.5 year mark. I personally think it has something to do with teeth + the size of a bigger kid's mouth. I was able to get DD1 to fix her latch by talking her through it.

Good luck! I wish I could be more help!

[meemee]

mama dont worry.

if your son wants to nurse he will nurse - whether you have milk or not.

my milk dried up when dd was 3. she is 7 1/2 and still nursing. i did not try to keep up my dwindling milk supply.

but by then it wasnt about nutrition for her though. she was more into the emotional closeness of it.

[babyjoeysmomma]

Thanks for your replies, ladies. For us, it's also about feeding him emotionally rather than nutritionally--of course any amount of mother's milk is good for him, but it's more important to me that his emotional needs are met. Nursing is our way of reconnecting at the beginning and end of each day, especially important to me since I work outside our home. As long as it won't frustrate him that there's not much there we're going to keep at it.

[woodchick]

Sounds good, mama! It's great that you're so intune with your DS's needs!

[walking burp cloth]

My ds, also 2.5 years, nurses about the same frequency as your lo. He mostly comfort nurses, only really drinking and swallowing every few days. This is how he has done it for quite some time. We are shooting for clw also. He gets a lot emotionally out of nursing this way, and he still gets enough actual milk for a taste often. It is like he JUST wants a little taste to wet his whistle. Often I think I have dried up and then he will suprise me with some guzzling!
Whatever works for you and you babe!! It could be that you are not proding as much milk because he is not taking as much, and is in it for the comfort of it.

[babyjoeysmomma]

I forgot to add to my post earlier, that there was some swallowing tonight!!
A friend of a friend is a doula, and she said it may be related to my cycle as well (producing less around ovulation). Which makes sense, as I am due to start any second now--my family and the kettle chips will thank me for that I'm sure! --but I have been worrying about this particularly in the last couple of weeks (but off an on for a few months). At any rate, I'm just glad it's not unheard of and doesn't mean the end of all things nursing.