Is My Nursling Getting Enough

[Raisingarrows]

Baby is 8 mons old and I just found out I am 8.5 wks pg. She seems to be very fussy and wanting to eat all the time. Is she getting enough from me? She eats 3 meals a day at the table w/ us, but nurses a ton as well. Should I be adding something else to her diet? It just seems as if my milk supply is low.
AmyR

[nichole]

i think since she is under 12 months old, you might want to consider supplementing. i am not telling you to supplement, just that you might want to consider it since she is so young. can you call a lac consultant or la leche league. also at that age my son was eating snacks too i think??? but maybe she will need formula i'm not sure. anyway, my supply is definately down too so even though i think breast is best and works on supply and demand, i would look into what the "experts" say. just my opinion...

[LoveMyLil'B]

We're supplementing here too. My ds is 14 months old, so he gets the occasional sippy cup of organic whole milk. I'm not sure if I'd be in that boat anyway if I wasn't pregnant.
I'd check with an IBCLC or someone from LLL too just to see. She might just be hitting a growth spurt.

[rosemorningstar]

got enough milk?

I also have a 10 mos old who is nursing and I am at 8.5 wks pregnant. At first, I had all these concerns about my milk supply and dd wanted to nurse alot more often. I have calmed down since then and just let it flow... I am realizing that she loves some solids such as ripe avacado, steamed peeled apples, egg yolks mashed (for fats that babies need which her holistic pediatrician recommended, his new book Child Health Guide is out and his name is Randall Neustaedter, OMD ... check it out!), also sweet potato, broccoli, mango and canteloupe. He recommended waiting until 12 mos to introduce cereals like rice since they are more complex carbs and can lead to allergic reactions. So, he's not worried and I'm not worried. I am eating extra protein and fats to make up for the increased demand.

As a side note, I know toddlers can live on almost air at times. So relaxing and not supplementing formula when baby is healthy, growing, peeing and pooping, and thriving seems like the best approach to me. I respectfully am losing my need to rely on "the experts," since much of what they recommend is plain wrong and can just complicate what a mother and baby can know intuitively. I mean if you want to increase your supply now, why supplement?

Trust you body, trust your baby.

Lisa

[hankiesmama]

When you get to about 6-8 weeks, your milk flow won't change in volume a whole lot but will change in composition. Your milk will become a lot more salty which is why they want to nurse more.

[LoveMyLil'B]

That's really interesting. My ds had really slowed down on nursing, and was starting to refuse for a few days before I found out I was pregnant. (nursing strike, I guess). I thought for sure he was weaning and I was very sad. I am a teacher, and I was so looking forward to the summer, and to be free to nurse anytime, and no more pumping. Then a few days later he really stepped it up. Maybe it's b/c my milk is so tasty!

[Raisingarrows]

Well, I put off buying any formula-and called a good friend of mine who said she'd consider a milk donor b/f she'd give her child formula. She suggested upping baby's food intake and when I got to thinking about it, I know her caloric intake isn't real high, so that's what we're trying for now. I've got two other children, so I get kind of lazy when it comes to feeding baby solids and this is the first time I've nursed completely by need. My friend also suggested that baby might be bored. She isn't crawling yet, which is really frustrating to her and so maybe she's wanting to nurse for something to do. So, I'm trying to distract her at times when I don't think she is really hungry. We'll see how it goes.

All the comments were very interesting. I've never fed her real conventional foods, so it was good to hear that reassurance. And salty breastmilk--hmmmm...I just love how my body makes such cool and interesting food!

AmyR