Drying up?

[LizziePizzie]

How do you know when you are drying up? My 11m DD has never seems satisfied and has to have both breasts with each feed, and feeds ALL night (we co-sleep). How do you know if you are drying up? I have tried to express but only seem able to get about 3oz out (that's both breasts!).

I EBF both DDs (6 years apart) for three years and both had periods when they wanted to feed all night. In the end I began to feel like a dummy and started to refuse to allow it because I felt it was comfort sucking not feeding. They both learned to sleep without it fairly quickly.

I have to say I never felt I was drying up as I was told that your body doesn't store much in the boob but produces milk as they suck and will just keep going as long as it needs to. I could never express more than a couple of ounces even with a DD on one boob as I expressed from the other.

Expressing is not a reliable indication of how much milk you can produce - some people e.g. my SIL are never able to express a drop but feed a healthy baby.

I agree it's probably comfort sucking, not hunger. It might be worth looking at the No-Cry Sleep Solution.

Reducing supply is often accompanied by a baby who is fussing and cross when feeding, I think.

How did you stop your DD's from using you as a dummy? Did you have a few sleepless nights? Did you wear clothes at night to stop them from finding your boob?

Yes and yes is the simple answer. I made an effort to sit up and feed properly, keeping them awake. I wore a maternity bra at night anyway because, although I couldn't express much I leaked a lot of the time so the boob was pretty inaccessible. I was probably lucky in that it didn't take long for either to get the message.

Getting them to sleep in their own beds was much harder but I don't feel that was a result of co-sleeping. I think it would have been hard at any point.

If it gets really hard to get her to sleep without it you could offer a dummy instead. One with a bit of breast milk on it could con her if she's very sleepy.

I will try that thank you! I have tried the dummy at night but she always rejects it, but i will try with a bit of breast milk on it.

Been away for the weekend but wondered how you were getting on?