advice to other bfing mummies if you want to kep bf past 8 months, make sure you bf at least twice a day

[spottyzebra]

i thought i could get away with only bf once a day and now sadly our very happy bf relationship has ended and if feel really pissed off

im spotty
im missing the feel good/mothering hormones that bf is supoosed to give, as for the 1st time in 8 months dds grissing has been bugging me
and ive just started my first period in a year a and a half and it hurts like hell

anyway my point is i wish i had bf dd twice a day at least to keep up thr milk supply
so don't let this happen to you
as it sucks

Sorry zebra - it's awful when they stop isn't it? Did your dd cut down herself or was it unavoidable? My DS cut down almost to nothing by 11 months and stopped by 12, I was really sad but I couldn't force him. Some kids just don't do it for as long I guess.

Big hugs, it is sad. It made me really broody when I stopped and now I'm pregnant again!

: (

For most women, breastfeeding once a day won't sustain itself....it can usually be done when the kid is well into toddlerhood, but not, I would say, in the first year. Most women will experience what you have, zebra - dwindling to nothing and the baby losing interest.

If you want to start again, you might be able to, though - you'd need a lot of patience and co-operation from your baby, but maybe it would be worth it?

thanks bb
its horrible when they stop i was hopeing to keep going till or 2 years old

the milk supply has just vanished

oh well next baby ill feed probably twice a day

congrats on your pregnancy, how many weeks are you ?

tt how would i start again ? today is only the 1st day i havent bf dd

how often would you reccomend bf between 8 months and a year to keep milk supply going?

i honestley can feel the lack of the mothering hormones

zebra - where did you get the idea from that breastfeeding could be sustained on just one feed a day? I feel so sad for you - no one could have told you that, surely?

8 mths to a year - this is going to be different from mother and baby to mother and baby, but just using my judgement, I would say 2-3 would be the minimum, really.

If you want to bring it back, you'll need to offer the breast to dd as often as you can without fighting with her

Try bf in the bath, in bed, anytime you feel she might go for it!

tt i think i must of made the idea up myself
ill try putting dd on now shes just had a nap
and ill try the bed in bath shes always liked a bedfeed the snuggly bugger lol

tt, i tried, dd did get a bit as i saw a tiny bit of milk on her cheek, ill try again later and keep trying
used to be so handy when i wanted to watch the tv, let dd have a nice long snozzy bf/nap
and it was great not having periods aswell, does that usually mean the baby is not taking as much milk whn periods return, yes i know some peoples periods return while ex bf[beforee evryone say i got mine after 4 weeks] but just in the general average term iykwim?

oh well, ill try her in the bath tonight too

Sounds like you might be getting there - well done for persevering . I'm down to 2 feeds a day now (DS is 16 mo) and supply seems to be OK so far. Could you manage 2 in your daily routine?

Also, DS went through a huge growth spurt at 9 months and fed loads, so you might have hit a good window for increasing feeds...

well shes napping again now ill try again after her nap
and tonight in the bath
and st thing in the am and see how it goes

My milk went when ds was 3 because I was only feeding once a day for a brief period
I thought it would go on for as long as he wanted it
not so

I know at 3 it is hardly a tragedy, but like you, I would have liked to have known

i dont why why the hell i thought i coould just do it once a day.

why didnt i ask you lot

sz kicks herself

oh well ill kep trying

im definatley moodier now though, although could just be my period i guess
[i hope]

actually do think it if i stick with bf it might get easier after my period
ive also got some more milk plus herbal stuff i took in the early days
do you think this would help?

One day shouldn't make a big difference on your hormones, because of Tink being prem and health problems, we had lots of odd days when she didn't feed, usually related to a hospital visit. It's possible it is all related to your period.

Mine are coming about every 8 weeks (I've not had a proper cycle in 3 years) and are very painful (partly to do with my scar I think) and heavy, they tend to be 3 days really heavy and stop. I also get really moody around my period - angry, argumentative, tearful, pretty much a teenager lol.

I've also heard, but haven't seen anything proper, that your milk can change in taste during your period, so that could put her off. I'm sure tiktok knows more about that than I do.

Tink slowed her feeding right down at 10 months and started biting quite badly, I persevered through a lot of pain even though a HV who was covering the group I go to said it was her way of telling me to wean. Eventually at 15 months we went on holiday to Menorca and she increased her feeds to 5 a day - I half expected it because of the heat - I also noticed she would bite her straw when she was drinking so I pinched the straw and as soon as she realised and stopped biting the straw, she stopped biting me! Since then she feeds about three times before I wake up and once or twice in the day. I'm sure that won't help you solve your problem, but at least I wanted to show you was that you can recover if you stick with it.