Started weaning, now need milk back as baby ill and refusing solids...

[boognish]

DS is 7.5 months and has a bad cold. He didn't sleep for the whole of yesterday until just before dinner time, then collapsed, so we let him sleep on. He woke about midnight ravenous, but I didn't want to take him downstairs with his cold and feed him his dinner at that time. So I went for the breastmilk option and kept trying to feed throughout the night (we have a bedside cot, but I had him sleeping - or trying to - across my chest because of his cold). Now he's knackered and so am I (as neither of us really slept the night before last either) and he's also desperate because comparatively little is coming from either boob. He won't eat his breakfast (pancakes).

(By way of background, he took to solids from the off and we made great progress on a modified baby-led weaning type of diet involving lots of pasta, potatoes and thick meat and veg accompaniments, and his poos have been solid for about a month. But he's also a very clingy little boy who's just got his first teeth and started to crawl forwards just about, so this may also help explain why he wants the boob so much).

Question is: once milk production starts to fall, can you get it back up when you need it back?

[ShowOfHands]

Is he still bfing alongside solids?

Why do you think comparatively little is coming out?

The best way to increase milk production is to let him bf as much as he wants, offer 2, 3, 4 etc etc sides each time. If you ebf until starting solids then you would have an established supply. You don't say but I assume you bf alongside solids. If you let him suckle, the milk will come. It's made as he sucks.

DS (much tinier) has a bad cold atm and it looks like he's desperate/not getting anything when he feeds. It's v misleading. His unhappiness/unlatching/fussing is because he can't breathe through his nose and feeding is blooming hard work for him.

[Iggly]

I'm guessing he's BF? just keep up the feeds and he'll be getting milk. If he's not BF what milk does he have?

[boognish]

He was ebf before weaning, and I've been bfing him alongside his meal portions - it's just that the milk feeds have been getting shorter and less frequent. I'll get one of those snot sucker things.

[Erac]

In my experience, yes you can get supply back up as long as baby is demanding it. It'll take a couple of days to catch up though. My DD is 8 months and similar to your DS has been bf alongside solids during weaning, which started at 6 months. She was really unwell and extra clingy about 3 weeks ago and her BFs became longer and more frequent again. I also restarted expressing to build up a supply in the freezer, for emergencies.