Is she trying to wean?

[PiscesMama24]

How can I tell if DD (almost 13 mos.) is trying to wean? The past few days she has been switching sides like crazy! She doesn't nurse for very long (maybe 3-5 minutes total), but then when I lay her down in our bed she cries and grabs at my shirt, so I know she wants more. The problem is...there is usually nothing left. I'm not sure what I should do. I take Fenugreek and drink Mother's Milk Tea, but when I try to pump barely anything comes out (I pump for a good 1/2 hour).

Any thoughts? I really don't want her to be done BFing, but how will I know when she is? What are the signs? Should I keep pushing it? What did you Mama's do?

[alegna]

She's WAY too young to wean. What you describe is her trying to increase your supply. I would consider oatmeal and other supplements and encourage her to nurse frequently to up your supply.

Pumping is no indicator of supply.

Could your cycles be coming back? or have they already? Many women have a drop in supply related to their period.

-Angela

[LianneM]

I agree, that behavior is intended to increase your supply. I'd let her have unlimited access to nursing and even try to keep her interested for longer periods of time than 5 minutes.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by PiscesMama24

How can I tell if DD (almost 13 mos.) is trying to wean? The past few days she has been switching sides like crazy! She doesn't nurse for very long (maybe 3-5 minutes total), but then when I lay her down in our bed she cries and grabs at my shirt, so I know she wants more. The problem is...there is usually nothing left. I'm not sure what I should do. I take Fenugreek and drink Mother's Milk Tea, but when I try to pump barely anything comes out (I pump for a good 1/2 hour).

Any thoughts? I really don't want her to be done BFing, but how will I know when she is? What are the signs? Should I keep pushing it? What did you Mama's do?

what do you mean by "there seems to be nothing left?" your breasts make milk while you are nursing, so strictly speaking there is never nothing left...do you think you have less milk than before for some reason?

i hardly pump much either. sucks. i started pumping a lot less a few weeks ago. part of it, i've heard, is just you can't pump as much as they get older.

[PiscesMama24]

Ugh!

Thanks for your thoughts mamas. I wanted to share with you what happened last night. (And has been happening for the past few nights). I tried doing as you suggested and offered her the boob throughout the day. She totally rejected it! The only times she wanted to nurse were before both of her naps and before bed. Then, every 2-3 hours throughout the night she would wake up and ask to nurse, but when I offered it to her, wouldn't really latch on. She would suck maybe once or twice, then switch sides, then repeat this OVER AND OVER AND OVER! This went on for about 1/2 hour each time before either the let down happened or she got too frustrated and started crying, and eventually took her paci instead and went back to sleep. I'm so frustrated...not getting much sleep and feeling upset that I can't provide milk for my daughter, especially when that's all she wants during the night. I'm just not sure what else to do.

Oh yeah, and my period should start within the next 4-5 days or so granted my cycles are normal and I'm not pregnant or anything.