8 month old not nursing enough?

[RuthS]

My 8 month old either completely refuses to nurse or only does so for a minute or two before pushing away (with the exception of bedtime and some naps). She is still nursing 2-3 times a night, which is longer than during the day but still not super long. She is loving solids and drinks about 1.5 oz goat milk (from our goats) a day. Her stools are generally wet and she has lots of lovely chub.

She eats a pretty wide array of solids, from pureed stews and steamed vegetables to lots of fruit and homemade goat cheese. We have given her a little pureed brown rice but besides that no grains.

Besides expressing more frequently and giving her a bottle, there is that great formula from Nourishing Traditions and I'm wondering if I should be making that for her. I am concerned that she's not getting enough nutrition, given that my understanding is most of her quality intake should be coming from breast milk.

I should also say that my older daughter nursed until shortly before she turned 4 and you could have had a 6-ring circus go by and she wouldn't have looked up from nursing! My little one is distracted very easily and often stops nursing b/c there's something she has to see!

Any advice/thoughts, etc. would be helpful.

Thanks,

Ruth

[Viola]

How long has this been going on?  Could it just be a nursing strike? I have the Nourishing Traditions book, but haven't read the baby formula recipe, so I just googled it.  It looks kind of complicated.  Do you think that would be easier than expressing, and has your supply dipped?

My thought is she could be getting more than you realize, and it sounds like she is eating well in terms of solids.  Maybe you could try adding in nursing sessions in a quiet darkened room to see if that makes a difference.

[transylvania_mom]

Originally Posted by RuthS 

Besides expressing more frequently and giving her a bottle

This is what I would stop doing.

[MichelleZB]

Now you say she still nurses at night and at some naps. She may be, therefore, nursing a good 5-6 times in a 24-hour period, which could be just fine for her age. You say she doesn't nurse very long, but she could be just getting efficient.

It's possible you also have a distractible eater! Try to make her take the breast again when she's popped off to listen to whatever conversation is going on around her. My son pops off the breast frequently when we eat--he is really distractible!

[HiMumumum]

My daughter is also 8 months old and has been extremely (extremely!!!) distractible during nursing since she was around 3.5 - 4 months old. What works for us is nursing while laying down in a quiet bedroom with nothing else going on. There can't be anyone in the room. If she's sleepy, she nurses even better (like before and after naps). It's not the most convenient arrangement in the world since we have to have somewhere quiet to lie down, but it has worked for us well enough. When I learned how to get her to nurse more during the day, she started sleeping better at night. It could be a coincidence, though. Hope it helps!