11mo won't drink in the daytime, catching up at night but my supply isn't enough! HELP!

[SpunkyLemur]

My (just) 11mo is barely having any milk. He started nursery seven weeks ago and moved onto bottles of formula, with me breastfeeding him to sleep and in the night. It took a little while for him to take much milk at nursery but eventually he got the hang of it... then he got sick and we've gone totally backwards.

He is averaging about 200ml of formula TOTAL per day (spread over three bottles - we make bigger bottles than this, it's just that he barely drinks any). He drinks a bit more with us but still probably max 300ml total per say.
My breastmilk supply has also completely tanked, one side is completely dried up - the other I have some so can feed him to sleep but he's trying to drink from it all night long (we cosleep) and is getting upset because there's not enough there to satisfy him.

He is doing okay-ish with solids, loves fruit, some veg and handheld foods but not great with meals, which means at nursery he's not eating much as they do more traditional hot dinners. I make him BLW handheld food at home as he does better with this. But either way he's not consuming loads. He does drink enough water and wet/dirty nappies are all fine.

My concern is that he's just not getting enough nutrition and is trying to make up for it at night, but my supply now isn't enough for him. We tried to give him a bottle in the night last night and he totally refused. We are giving him mutlivitamins and making sure we keep on top of this as formula intake is so low.

Other concern is that his hunger is causing soooo many wake ups, which is starting to wipe me out now I'm back at work. Last night was a particularly bad one 😖

He has consistently been on the 75th percentile but that went down slightly when he was weighed in Dec and I can tell he's slimmed down a lot now. I will try and get him weighed soon but slightly reassured that he had enough chunk on him previously.

Anyone been through similar? Also to add we have tried formula in all sorts of cups and with straws etc but it just seems like he's not a fan! I have also tried some soy milk in a sippy cup, as that's what my 4yo drinks, and he also spits that straight out. So I'm not holding on loads of hope that moving to cow's milk at 12mo will make a big difference.

Do we go hard and say no more boob in the night (but do bottles instead) and have a few hard nights until he (maybe) knows that's the deal now? That goes against all my responsive, gentle instincts... But I know my milk isn't enough anymore and we're both miserable. I just want him full! To add, he is quite a content baby and settled at nursery etc. Any advice really gratefully received.

Start today with cows milk, he may get comfort from a bottle at bed time rather then a cup,

Make sure last meal is filling him up, milk bottle before his bed time, have second bottle ready incase he wakeup,
It's sounds like he's not fully content going to bed, might need to adjust his meals, my two were hungry babies, learnt quickly that the evening meal was the trick to make sure their full, and warm bottle of milk when going to bed,

Swings and round abouts op just play about with the cows milk, full fat, babies need the fat from the milk, healthy fats, real butter, coconut oils,

At 11months baby will soon be crawling, standing and eventually walking so will use loads more energy needing more volume in foods and milk, quality healthy foods and fats, scrambled eggs are filling for longer compared to cereals as they have a sugar rush then crash so hungry again wanting something else and making them miserable,

You will find a way op but when you both tired and miserable its hard to reason, give yourself a hug, and plan some meals also batch cooked babies meals and freeze might give you some free time and not think about his food for a few days, my mum would cook say shepherd's pie, I would blend it down pot it up and freeze, anything you can pot up and freeze for baby would help,

Just reading back op, hand held foods great but try spooning in some other foods whilst he's holding onto handheld food if that makes sense

Good luck op 💐

Is he nursing at night for reassurance?
it might be that he’s just had a massive leap into nursery and is feeding from you because it gives him comfort.
I think at almost 1 then milk isn’t going to be his sole source of sustenance.
Think, kindly, you’re over thinking this.
DD2 stopped BF (her choice not mine!) and wouldn’t take any formula so switched to cows milk.
she still wouldn’t take a bottle or sippy cup. So we just incorporated milk into her diet in other ways.
But just at the moment, your baby needs to know you’re still there and not everything in their world has changed.
I think, even after seven weeks, he still had a lot to process

Thanks so much for your reply! All great advice. Will try your suggestions for foods to fill him up. Wish I could stuff him with milky porridge like I could with my eldest but he won't touch it and is sooo anti spoon. I'll persevere though!

It definitely could be some reassurance and comfort, which is fine by me. But when he drains the boob and is very unsettled it seems like pure hunger.
I had to go away for a night for a funeral last week and he had bottles every 2 hours still as it was a post-nursery day where he'd only had a nibble of banana and no milk, which confirmed to me that he is getting his fill overnight.
I'll give cows milk a go and see how that goes down. Thanks for your reply!

Hopping on to say it sounds more like reassurance at night. My DD ramped up her overnight feeds from 10 months and it got worse and worse until 13 months. We had to night wean her in the end and now she sleeps through and eats all 3 meals a day. She only feeds twice a day and has snacks too.

"He has consistently been on the 75th percentile but that went down slightly when he was weighed in Dec and I can tell he's slimmed down a lot now" - this is totally normal, because he's moving more now.
My daughter went to nursery at 11 months and refused any formula so we started cows milk at home (nursery wouldn't give it til 12 months), she barely ate anything at that stage. I didn't really worry as she was having wet and dirty nappies. She got on better with cows milk but still doesn't drink much (she's 16 months now).
I do think you're overthinking this. I really wouldn't do bottles at night, it's bad dentally and just something else to stop at some point. He'll pick up the food at some point, trust him to get there in his own time, don't push food as you'll create a negative association. I'd keep nursing at night for now.

My daughter only gained 200g between 7 and 13 months because she started moved and didn't eat solids until 13 months. Her HV said it was common as their appetites don't always increase with them being more active.

At 11 months it might be more helpful to try to start getting the calories into him in food whilst maintaining a level of breast milk/formula rather than increasing formula to then reduce it again

My daughter was a bottle and food refuser at 10 months when we had to make the switch from breastfeeding to formula. We had to try to get more food into her first before trying to over come the bottle refusal. She was only having a few mouthfuls of food a day so nowhere near enough especially considering on breastmilk alone she wasn't gaining weight.

I think it would probably be worth keeping a food diary of what he is having over a couple of days, try to include more formula into his foods and see if you can get an appointment with your HV. Get his intake reviewed, and up to date weight and if there are concerns raised ask for dietician referrals. In most trusts the HV can do the referrals. Ours offered to do the referrals but her paediatrician did it instead (reflux and allergies).

Thanks for your reply! That's good to hear about your experience, and doing a food diary is a great idea. I'll start that today. I have noticed his intake of both solids and milk is differing a lot per day so I guess I have to trust it's averaging out and will differ depending on teeth, illness, movement that day etc.
He's loving mozzarella so that is becoming a daily staple! 😂