I'm worried about the amount of milk (or lack of) that dd's getting..

[HeadFairy]

She's 10.5 months old so naturally her milk intake is supposed to be reducing but I think she's still supposed to have about 500ml a day. I bf her four or five times a day when I'm off work (four days a week) and twice on a work day (she has two formula feeds on those days too) but I think she's seriously short of that 500ml. Judging by the way she's swallowing (ie not much) and by how much fluid she's taking in in other forms (lots of water at meal times) I don't think she's getting nearly that much.

For some reason I'm obsessed about bfing her for a year (I did with her brother) and I've only got 7 weeks to go but I'm thinking am I being selfish to keep bfing her and should I start giving her more formula. I'm not that keen on the stuff I must say, I had hoped to get to 1 year giving her minimal amounts but my milk supply is really suffering now.

Why do you feel she isn't getting enough? Is it just the swallowing and water at meal times?

Or are you concerned because she is having scant wet nappies a day for instance?

Could you give her another feed on work days/weekends or would that prove unworkable around meals and bedtimes?

Are you bfing before solids still when you are at home?

Are you able to express at work is that not practicable?

You are not selfish to want to keep nursing her she's 10.5 months not years ! She obviously still likes to nurse as she's doing it when you are there. Hope you find the answers soon.

Argh not the answers to my questions but the answers to the ones regarding your supply/continuing to bf/etc sorry

Truth... I don't know, it's a combination of both, I don't hear her swallowing a lot, and she drinks tons of water which I assume if she was getting 500ml of milk a day she wouldn't need that much surely?

She doesn't have the wettest nappies during the day, I do give her water at meal times so obviously she is getting hydrated, but if I don't give her water with her meals she gets dehydrated (her poos turn really hard and her fontanelle sinks right in) hence I don't want to stop giving her water.

Do you mean could I give her another feed on days that I work? I doubt it really. I feed her in the morning then leave the house at 9.30am, I do pump at work at 6pm but I usually only get 2oz out in about half an hour of pumping, then I don't get home until 11pm so I do a dream feed and quite often feed her at night too (though I usually lie down for that feed, perhaps that's not helping, ie gravity would make the let down happen faster?) On days that I don't work I usually do a feed mid afternoon and at bedtime as well as the two I've mentioned above.

I do bf before meals, once before breakfast, once midafternoon, once at bedtime and dreamfeed.

I really would like to get to at least a year so if anyone has any advice as to what to do. I do think hormones might be at play a bit too, my supply does drop just before my period, but currently I'm mid cycle so I shouldn't be having these problems right now but I'm just not getting a let down at all.

I am also seeing supply dropping, DS2 is 7 months. If she is taking lots of fluids at mealtimes and you are feeding her before a meal then perhaps she isn't getting much. I am also worried about supply, but DS2 will not drink any water at all....

I am also finding feeding v difficult can only BF lying down in bed in dark as he's so nosy and distracted. However he will glug back bottle of formula, even right after BF!

So don't have much suggestions as I posted on similar yesterday, other than feeding as often as possible on days you aren't at work, and before each meal. Maybe also express more often at work, eg at the times you would feed when you are at home.

Don't stress about getting to one year though, if she's not drining enough milk better to have extra formula than be hungry.

Sorry to hear you're having similar problems MumNWLondon... I know what you mean about being distracted, dd has just learnt to walk and is so busy she's just not capable of feeding for longer than 10 mins, however she will also glug down a bottle - of course if time was not a problem the solution for me would be to hire a hospital grade double pump and express as much as I could and give her ebm in a bottle, but a) I just don't have that much time and b) I really don't think ds would tolerate any more of me sitting around all day attempting to feed dd.

Unfortunately because of the pattern of my working day I can't express midafternoon, only at 6pm. I could do it at lunch time I suppose but I usually have to dash around to the supermarket or some other trivial crap that I don't have time, plus it would mean me giving up yet another break to sit in the showers at work and pump which would piss me off no end!

Thanks for the support, I won't get too stressed about getting to the year, I'm going to give it a bit longer before I totally give up because it could just be a hormonal blip, but it's very very frustrating. I hear about all these people who have to slowly wind down bfing to avoid getting engorged, I have no such problems. Both times I've had to work really hard to string it out to a year!

Headfairy, have you read this on Kellymom?

DS is a 'lazy' gulper now, at 11 almost 12 months, he has learnt how to do it so well he does not need to be so open about the whole swallowing, not so laborious. He also has water with meals, as he is on solids he really does need them. He does not have bottles as he refuses, but we use milk in his porridge/cheese sauces and he has yoghurt/cheese. I had worried he was not getting enough, as my boobs never ever feel like they have milk in any more. We have just stopped night feeding, and the first night we did this, I had ENORMOUS boobs the next morning, and I missed the afternoon feed so by the evening I was very full. I was then reassured!

In terms of thirst, do you have your heating on high in the day, she might be getting thirsty because of that? Have you had her weighed? Is she doing ok in that respect? does she have other diary other than formula, like cheese/yoghurt etc?

Ineedsomesleep, that link you posted seems to be only about very young babies. She's 10.5 months old. I haven't weighed her since she was 16 weeks so I have no idea how she's doing but as she's already walking I'm guessing developmentally she's doing ok. She tends to do 1-2 poos a day, but her nappies aren't massively wet, even with the water. Her poos aren't hard or anything so I guess she can't be too dehydrated. If she didn't have so much water she would definitely be dehydrated.

Pavlov, no heating on during the day so that shouldn't be a problem. I do try and make sure she has dairy/milk in other things. She has porridge in the mornings, a yoghurt every day plus cheese/cheese sauce or similar as well, every day. She currently only has formula on the days I'm working, I'm wondering if I should give her formula when I'm off too, after bfing, as a top up. But to me that's a slippery slope. I already think she's getting frustrated with me because she's discovered what a bottle is like and can't be arsed to bf any more. I gave her a bottle of ebm on Saturday night (the product of my expressing at work - 3 days worth = 6oz :() and she gulped it down.

I wouldn't worry, if she refuses the breast then that is probably a sign that she is ready to stop, doesn't want to feed because she's frustrated. If she wants to latch on then let her and enjoy it!

One thing I forgot to add, I definitely think my dwindling milk supply is hormonal, I've got a migraine now and the only time I've ever had one before was 10 months after ds was born, which co-incided with the return of my periods. I think a big hormonal shift has just taken place because even though I was still feeding dd 4/5 times a day including night feeds I got my period back last month, and now the migraine and falling milk supply. It's exactly the same as what happened last time....