beansmommy
12-07-2004, 11:02 AM
For the past few days, 14 month-old DS has not been nursing at all-- he'll latch on for a few seconds, then sink 6 sharp teeth into my nipple and laugh. I take him off the breast and tell him "Biting hurts mommy's milky. Please don't bite. You may have milky if you stop biting!" and we try again a few minutes later, at which point the game starts again...
He eats a variety of solids and drinks water and orange juice from a cup in addition to nursing... We did delay solids as long as possible, but then he started literally grabbing food from our plates, so now he gets his own...
I work away from home 40 hrs/week, and until a about a month ago, I pumped twice a day, but I'm 17 weeks pregnant, and spending 45 minutes a day desperately trying to express an ounce or two (not even a snack for voracious DS), whereas before, I could pump 12 oz/day with ease, just didn't seem worth it... Until this nursing strike started, he was nursing quite a bit pretty much all night, then in the morning before I left for work, again when I picked him up after work, before dinner, after dinner, before bed, etc, and on weekends, on demand (this in addition to other foods)... I'm drinking tons of water and nursing teas, eating oatmeal, and trying to take advantage of all the pregnancy-friendly galactagogues I can find to increase my supply, but if the demand isn't there...
DS has been very "busy" lately, as he has gained more and more mobility, and I think he's about to pop another tooth, which probably explains some of the biting, but he won't even comfort nurse when he gets cranky... He's also had a cold (as do DH and I) for the past couple of weeks...
So... My bottom-line question is do I need to adjust my expectations (and dreams) of nursing him through this pregnancy and then tandem with the new baby, or is this just a nursing strike that we can to work through? My usually supportive mom, who nursed my siblings and me until we "self-weaned" between 8 and 10 months each, says "Maybe he knows he doesn't need milk from you anymore..." with a smirk, but I don't feel comfortable with that assessment. Any advice or commiseration would be so very much appreciated!
-katie
He eats a variety of solids and drinks water and orange juice from a cup in addition to nursing... We did delay solids as long as possible, but then he started literally grabbing food from our plates, so now he gets his own...
I work away from home 40 hrs/week, and until a about a month ago, I pumped twice a day, but I'm 17 weeks pregnant, and spending 45 minutes a day desperately trying to express an ounce or two (not even a snack for voracious DS), whereas before, I could pump 12 oz/day with ease, just didn't seem worth it... Until this nursing strike started, he was nursing quite a bit pretty much all night, then in the morning before I left for work, again when I picked him up after work, before dinner, after dinner, before bed, etc, and on weekends, on demand (this in addition to other foods)... I'm drinking tons of water and nursing teas, eating oatmeal, and trying to take advantage of all the pregnancy-friendly galactagogues I can find to increase my supply, but if the demand isn't there...
DS has been very "busy" lately, as he has gained more and more mobility, and I think he's about to pop another tooth, which probably explains some of the biting, but he won't even comfort nurse when he gets cranky... He's also had a cold (as do DH and I) for the past couple of weeks...
So... My bottom-line question is do I need to adjust my expectations (and dreams) of nursing him through this pregnancy and then tandem with the new baby, or is this just a nursing strike that we can to work through? My usually supportive mom, who nursed my siblings and me until we "self-weaned" between 8 and 10 months each, says "Maybe he knows he doesn't need milk from you anymore..." with a smirk, but I don't feel comfortable with that assessment. Any advice or commiseration would be so very much appreciated!
-katie