Drying up & son is so upset..advice please!

[Kerimommyof2]

Hi Ladies.....

Well i am very depressed ,..I have noticed over the last few months my supply has started to go down & the last few weeks it seems like there is only a lil bit in each boob and whats worst is after a few minutes of him nursing it will start hurting,because i dont have enough milk...

My son is 3 yrs & 5 months so i know that he is old enough to wean ( same age my dd weaned) but he is not liking this idea..

Today he wanted to nurse and i knew i was empty so i told him not now ...well he got VERY upset and started crying..wouldnt let me comfort him either he would thrash around if i tried to hold him and run out of the room i had found him in ..i go find him again and he be curled up crying saying ,"mommy dont wont me to have boobie"

:_( after about an hour of me trying to comfort him & talking ect. i left him and told him id be in my room when he was raedy...After about 10 mins he finally came to me and let me hold him...and you guessed it nursed..i just dealt with the uncomfortableness because he obviously needed the comfort.....

I just dont know what to do because i cant seem to increase my supply and i know it will only be a matter of time before i completely dry up or he reaches the age where its like okay your too old ..

I really feel like this is a traumatic thing for him (my dd had no issues weaning)..i dont know how to bring my milk back or explain to him why this is happening & him be okay with it a not be so upset ....

advice?

[ElliesMomma]

have you tried eating a lot of oatmeal? that always helps my supply. also there is an herbal product called Mothers Milk Plus that can give you a boost.

honestly though it's about more than the milk. my (then 3 year old) DD nursed through my pregnancy, even though i mostly dried up. they like the sucking. think about how many children you know or have heard about, who still use a pacifier or like to drink from a bottle at the age of 3+. they like the sucking.

if you can stand it, i'd say, just keep nursing him and don't worry about the supply so much. that said, i believe in giving limits to a preschool age child. my DD, who is now 4, gets to nurse before bed, and usually on a couple other occasions during the day. but *not always* like her 9 month old brother does. she got to do it constantly too when she was a baby... she knows that she's actually pretty lucky to still be allowed to nurse, every other kid she knows has a mom who said "no more" and i think it helps her appreciate it and deal with the limits.

[stik]

There is something to be said for setting limits for the preschool-aged child. He is still a baby, and not being able to nurse is understandably a big deal and a thing that will make him upset. But that doesn't mean that you have to allow him to do so if it's uncomfortable for you.

I believe that there's a very important distinction between being upset and throwing a tantrum, and being traumatized. Learning new strategies for soothing yourself is hard. It's understandable that a 3yo would announce his discontent with this difficulty with a tremendous tantrum. But being inspired to throw a fit is not the same as being traumatized.

I weaned both my children when nursing hurt, because the discomfort (and anticipation of discomfort) was making me a less responsive, snappy and unpleasant parent. I think it's important to honor that point. If you can continue nursing without feelings of intense irritation, and you want to, than you should. If you don't, there are a lot of ways a three-year-old can find comfort without nursing, and it's never a bad time to learn them.

[tinybutterfly]

Moving this to Breastfeeding Beyone Infancy.



tinybutterfly