So this is my 3rd and final DC. I have BF all 3 DC and I stopped with the first two at about 15 months so I could get pregnant again. I was looking forward to continuing BFing this baby as long as we wanted. I've recently gone back to work and we have run into problems. I've treated all 3 babies the same and never had supply issues with the other two when I went back to work, so I'm wondering if 3rd DC is self weaning, although I read that's really uncommon before 12 months.
I've been back at work about 6 weeks. I work 3 days but they are long days, I can be out of the house for over 12 hours. I always feed first thing in the morning and last thing at night before bed. On my 4 days off baby doesn't seem interested in BFing and I didn't realise until the last couple of weeks that we weren't BFing at all all day. She eats solids really well. I'd read it's rare for BF babies to self wean before 1yr and that babies should get most of their nutrition from milk. The resource I read encouraged BFing before each solid meal. I've tried and sometimes she'll take a little.
Sometimes now even at the end of the day when I'm trying to BF her before bed she just isn't interested. She seems to suckle for a only a few seconds and then get frustrated. She has a dummy and often just wants that and to go into the cot. Sometimes if she's unsettled before bed or in the night and I go in and try and BF it just seems to frustrate her. Sometimes I can cuddle her back to sleep and others she stays upset until my husband goes in with a bottle. When we do give her a bottle she drinks the whole lot and goes to sleep.
I was wondering if my supply has dropped so low that she gets quickly frustrated because nothing is coming out. I have been trying to express in the evenings to see if I can improve things.
I wonder if I hadn't noticed while I was on mat leave that she was feeding less and less (so busy with all 3 kids). When I did my first day at work I was expecting heavy uncomfortable breasts as not BFing all day but this didn't really happen. Yet at the time I was feeding on demand and thought she was feeding regularly.
Is she self weaning? Is it a supply issue I can work on? I feel sad as was hoping our BF relationship would continue for a for a few months yet.