10 mons and breast feeding only at night....water???

Martha - posted on 02/16/2010

Please remember that just because you don't feel "full" doesn't mean you aren't producing enough. If he is nursing without fussing and if he is content and havig plenty of wet diapers, there is probably nothing even wrong with your supply.

Kayla - posted on 02/16/2010

Thanks ladies. I am going to look into giving him formula. I have tried to increase my supply with all things mentioned above, but nothing has worked. By bed time I can feel that Im a little more full but after he nurses for a little while Im drained. He seems to only nurse for comfort. He wont drink out of a bottle or sippy cup but he likes straws so I have a little cup for him with a straw and will take water out of that. I am going to get the some info out of the Ped. today and see what they say. Thanks again ladies!

Martha - posted on 02/15/2010

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby...
There is some good info on how to get him to BF more during the day. As long as he is getting a good 4 or so nursings a day he's getting enough. The more you nurse, the better your supply will get. You could even pump during the day when he goes a while without nursing too build supply. And with the pumped milk you could offer that in a sippy so he gets more milk even when he doesnt nurse. He could be going through a nursing strike. You do not need to give him water unless he is dehydrated. The BEST way to tell if he is dehydrated is by counting diapers. If you notice he's peeing a lot less than normal, then you should worry. If he's peeing normally then theres nothing to worry about :)
Hope that helps! ♥!

Becky - posted on 02/15/2010

I would try to increase your supply first, if you can. Is he refusing to breastfeed during the day, or do you just not feel like you can? Or are you back at work? If you're at home with him, try putting him on the breast before you feed him his baby food, and as often as you can in between. Even if he only sucks for a few minutes and it doesn't seem like he's getting enough, it may help stimulate your milk supply to increase again. also make sure you're drinking a lot of water and you could try some of the lactation aids, like fenugreek or mother's milk tea.

If this doesn't work, then I would probably put him on formula. Breastmilk or formula is supposed to be their main source of nutrition for the full first year. They have all the nutrients a baby needs, while a diet consisting of mainly solids may not. Or the nutrients in solids may not be used as efficiently by the body. So, while it wouldn't hurt to give him some water to make sure he stays hydrated, I'd worry about whether he's getting proper nutrition if the only milk he drinks is at night.

If you're going to give water, I'd give it in a sippy cup at this age too, rather than a bottle, but that's just my personal preference, to avoid getting him hooked on a bottle and having to wean him off that too.

Kayla - posted on 02/15/2010

I really didnt want to feed him formula but I did buy some because he wakes up cranky at night and wants too eat but I dont have enough milk. I havent given it to him yet and also wanted to ask the Ped. if there are any concerns of putting him on it now, but they havent called me back. What do you think about starting him on formula as well as water and food now?

Shannon - posted on 02/15/2010

If you keep a bottle of water available to your son throughout the day and keep offering it to him every now and then he will drink what he needs. A good way to tell if he is getting enough liquid through the day is to check how full his nappy is how often you need to change it. The more the better. I had to stop breast feeding with both my kids at 5 months because I wasn't making enough milk and they were biting me. We put them straight onto formula and they took to it really well. But my partner had to do the first few feedings because they could smell my milk. Hope I have been some help x