Dropping a feeding, going from 3 to 2 times a day?

Mary - posted on 11/06/2008

Oops, sorry forgot to mention the pumping. You can pump a little if you are sore and too full, just don't pump every bit of milk, pump only til you're comfortable. Your body will only take a few days to adjust to one less feeding. Unless you decide to feed him less at lunchtime and get him back to his nap time nursing.... :)

Mary - posted on 11/06/2008

Hi Sara! The whole point of breastfeeding is doing things "natural" right? So just follow your babies cues, and get your poor breasts out of those little teeths playground. lol. If he is still nursing morning and night, and he is reluctant to nurse at nap, don't nurse him at nap! He'll be fine nutrition wise. you can give him a bit of yogurt with his lunch for extra calcium if you're concerned about it, but you don't need to give him a bottle of formula. When he is a little older go ahead and get him drinking milk, but for now, he wouldn't be wanting to stop his naptime nurse unless he was getting enough at his other two feedings. If you really want him to get back to nursing at naptime, the thing to do would be to give him less food at lunch. He is probably full after lunch and has no hunger to make him want to nurse. If you were giving up his last and only nursing I would say, yes he needs formula, but as long as he is still nursing, he will get what he needs from you. If he refuses to nurse from his favorite mommy he is certainly not going to drink a bottle of formula any better.

Sara - posted on 11/06/2008

Tiffany,
Thanks for your response. I do nurse him in the nursery all the time now since being around my other two kids, the TV, etc. distract him. So that's not the issue. He still seems uninterested. I will keep at it and see what happens. If I have to do formula once a day that's okay with me.

Tiffany - posted on 11/06/2008

once little ones realize there is a world around them, they can be very distracted....is there any way you can nurse him while in a quiet room with no tv, loud noise, etc.? i agree with the other poster that he needs the breastmilk or if he's not nursing, then it needs to be formula. solids in the first year should not be for the main source of nutrition. the main source of nutrition should be breastmilk or formula......

Sara - posted on 11/06/2008

Thanks for your reply. I'd love to keep the third feeding and I'll keep trying for awhile. I can give him a bottle of formula w/ his lunch if I do end up dropping a feeding. I'm also having biting issues and they happen mostly at this feeding so I'm thinking he just doesn't want to nurse before his nap anymore. I'll keep trying though!

Joanie - posted on 11/06/2008

I'm not positive, but I thnk he still needs the milk at his age. If you aren't going to nurse him in the day, I think he will need formula. Solid foods are good, but they don't have all the nutrients that he needs like the breastmilk does. If I were you, I would just keep nursing him 3 times. That's just my opinion.