should I just trust the baby on this and move on to ...what?

[hightrees]

Baby is 13 months old and is b/fed. Today he hasn't taken any b/milk since waking from his lunchtime nap (i.e. his last real feed was in the morning). Instead, he started biting when I tried to feed him (v odd - not something he does).
Sitting here with an uncomforable chest and a lump in my throat. Does anyone know what to do about this? Is this the end of b/feeding? Should I be expressing now?

OR should I trust him/my body. He's well - has eaten well and drunk (some) water today.
Perhaps he simply no longer needs milk?
But if I do stop nursing him, should I be giving him a milk alternative (formula?). I'm not convinced that cows' milk is particularly beneficial. I'd just expected to b/feed until he was maybe 2. So confused. Believe babies know what they want, and don't believing in forcing them. Seems he doesn't want any more milk.
Thanks for any feedback...

I've no esperience, but you might find Kellymom useful:

(excerpt quote)
"True SELF-weaning before a baby is a year old is very uncommon. In fact, it is unusual for a baby to wean before 18-24 months unless mom is encouraging weaning. However, it is very common to hear a mother say that her baby self-weaned at 9 or 10 months old, or even earlier. How do we reconcile these statements?

What is self-weaning?
A baby who is weaning on his own:

?is typically well over a year old (more commonly over 2 years)
?is at the point where he gets most of his nutrition from solids
?drinks well from a cup
?cuts down on nursing gradually"

He sounds like he's teething. It'll change tomorrow. :)

Try not to worry. :)

Skipping one afternoon of feeding doesn't mean the end of breastfeeding I'm sure. Why not just see how he is tomorrow? You could try feeding him in his sleep to relieve your discomfort.

I think they need milk until they're 2, but cow's milk is fine from 12 months - they don't need formula at this age.

One of my twins started to do this at about 9 months. (she was receiving some formula too but mainly breast feeding). I found I could only really bf her when she was sleepy in the evening.

It was really difficult for a few days. In the end I let her move to more formula and kept bfeeding her twin for a bit longer, but then felt bad I was feeding one and not the other so stopped both.

Thanks all - I really appreciate the comments. Tomorrow may be different as you say. I'm just confused about whether I should feed him alternatives now/if this happens again.

Also, again, really not sure of the health benefits of cows' milk - why even bother with it? Are there really special elements in cows' milk that children need. Genuinely confused.

Nick - I hope you don't mind me saying but that's fantastic about you and the twins - whoop whoop. My friend has twins and couldn't cope with any b/f. Not sure if that makes you feel any better about the 9 months end, which isn't what you planned either, but...

Cow's milk isn't as good as breastmilk, but it's good enough after 12 months. Infants need milk rather than cow's milk specifically. Personally I'd rather use cow's milk than formula after 12 months as I try to choose less processed foods for ds when possible, and formula is just processed cow's milk with additives.

Young ones need a lot of calcium - dairy is a common source (easier than green veg or sardines!) hence cows milk.

If it continues, it sounds like a nursing strike. DS went on strike at 13 months - it lasted 12 days. Turned out he had an ear/chest infection, and went on to get v&d bug and conjunctivitis too. He's still bf now at 18 m.o.

During the strike, DS would still feed whilst sleepy ie feed to sleep, in the middle of the night and occasionally on first waking.

More info on Kellymom here and you can find lots if you google / search MN archives for 'nursing strike'.

If you want to use the opportunity to wean him from breastfeeding, you will want to make sure he gets plenty of calcium from another source.

My DD is 14mo and we recently had similar. She fed one night at bedtime then not again till the following bedtime. This was at a time when she was usually feeding 5-6 times in 24 hours.
I panicked a bit and phoned the health visitor but she said so long as DD was getting plenty fluid and calcium from things like cheese and yoghurt then I shouldn't worry.

I just treated it like a nursing strike and kept offering and after a couple of fussy days she went back to normal.

My understanding is that babies over one need the calcium from cows milk but if they won't drink it from a beaker you just need to give cheese, yoghurt and milk in cereal. I was told three portions a day.

I'm sure it's just a fussy phase.

Oh, and I would express for comfort if you're feeling engorged but I wouldn't worry about full on expressing for your supply at this stage.