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Infant feeding

"There's no milk mummy" = losing latch? <hopeful>

9 replies

DitaVonCheese · 09/02/2013 10:09

DD has started to complain sometimes that's there's no milk. No complaints from DS. Could she be losing her latch or is my supply dipping?

OP posts:
notMarlene · 09/02/2013 10:12

She could well be, yeah. Is that a good thing? Probably more likely than supply dip with tandem feeding. I'd say.

DitaVonCheese · 09/02/2013 10:24

It would be great :)

OP posts:
NotADragonOfSoup · 09/02/2013 10:28

Can you encourage her to think that it's because she is a Big Girl now? Really play on that aspect complete with other bribes if it would work to your advantage.

EauRouge · 09/02/2013 10:40

Hello, twin Grin My DD1's been saying this for a while. I've been asking around and found that it's more unusual for a child to lose their latch before they start cutting down on feeds but it does happen. One person I spoke to said her DC went on like this for a year.

I know there are no problems with my supply as DD2 still glugs away. DD1 also says that it's not coming out quick enough. She tried her own version of breast compression once but was soon told to stop!

You could try offering her something else when she says there's no milk- favourite drink or snack?

DitaVonCheese · 09/02/2013 11:00

I will try to talking to her about it being part of growing up. We have talked a bit before about how one day she won't want milk but she doesn't really believe me. I always feel bad though, like I'm emotionally manipulating her. I'm livid when my mum tells her milk is just for babies!

Hello Eau Grin Lol at breast compressions! A year you say ... ? Sigh. Ah well, maybe it's a start. We're down to just mornings and evenings now forced by me This only seems to happen at evening feeds so drink/snack probably not appropriate but sometimes recently she's nursed briefly then asked me to cuddle her to sleep so perhaps that will work. She's very clingy generally atm (sitting on my knee while I type this and I've promised she can sleep with me tonight), I'm worrying that I didn't cuddle her enough when she was little!

OP posts:
EauRouge · 09/02/2013 11:16

Aw, DD1 cuddles to sleep now as well. Her latch is just too damn awful for me to let her fall asleep on the boob. It's been a fairly smooth transition from feeding to sleep to cuddling to sleep, I can't actually remember her putting up a fight. She'll even go off to sleep in her own bed now, she comes into our bed about midnight though. We'll get there in the end!

I was speaking to a friend the other day whose daughter self-weaned and she said she remember being in tears thinking she would never wean. A few months later she had. It was quite quick, not like dropping one feed a month or something. They are all different, I don't think you can predict it. DD1 will be 5yo in October, maybe she will wean by the end of the year. Bit scary when I think of it like that!

Don't worry about what you did when she was little, I co-slept, BF on cue, used a sling, never left DD1 for more than a few mins etc and she is like this too. It's just her personality. DD2 was raised exactly the same way and I'm lucky if I can pin her down for a cuddle these days.

EauRouge · 09/02/2013 11:18

Forgot to say, DD1 will happily have a drink of water if she wakes in the night, have you tried that?

DitaVonCheese · 14/02/2013 09:25

(Belated) thanks Eau. She's night-weaned now, though occasionally she does fool me into nursing her in the small hours if she comes and gets into bed and I'm too tired and confused to notice it's not 7.15 Blush

I've remembered with horror that she kept nursing all the way through my pregnancy despite claiming there was no milk, so perhaps she will just go on nursing forever, milk or not? I've tried suggesting maybe she can't get any milk because she's so big and grown up but she is massively unconvinced.

DD will be five in September. Really was not my plan to feed this long! The universe is punishing me for being judgey about ebf in my twenties Wink

OP posts:
EauRouge · 14/02/2013 10:01

I know, it feels like they'll go on forever doesn't it?

My DD1 has definitely been asking less the last few days and she's also been eating constantly (she also says she doesn't like pink any more so maybe the real DD1 has been abducted by aliens and replaced with a clone). I know everyone says children wean gradually but I think sometimes you do get these sudden bursts of development where they change almost overnight. I'm sure it'll happen for you when you're least expecting it.

I remember watching that documentary (you know, the one with the 9 yo) and thinking WHY?! Never thought I'd be one of those lentil-weaving extBFers either Wink

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