Extended Nursing Support Thread part 4

[Khalam's Mama]

I  am doing morning and bt. No plans to drop it. If he gets up later I just miss it out but then do it when I can. I did the same with k until he weaned at just over 2yo.

[Papaya]

I am doing morning and bt too - but if she has a feed in the night, as she occasionally does with canines coming through, I just don't mention the morning feed and she rarely asks for it.

[Fiver]

Morning and BT here too.  Have had my parents here this week and they've just taken her for breakfast a few mornings and she hasn't been that fussed.

[amayzie]

yeah- i figure morning and night isn't causing anyone problems, i might just skip it on the mornings i'm at work but offer it other mornings.

[krispifsu]

So I think I qualify for extended nursing now - DS is just over a year old.   

We are currently doing 2, maybe 3 feeds most days - typically at WU, when I get home from the office around 4 or 5, and sometimes at BT. But - he's still nursing to sleep 2 or 3 times a night    Definitely sleep issues to tackle but another topic for another day. 

Has anyone had any issues with your supply dropping too much to continue with just 2 feeds a day? I have also been getting very sore nipples again almost like when we first started nursing.  Any ideas? His latch would occassionally change with teething, but he always seemed to adjust and it would be fine again a few days later.  This has been ongoing for a few weeks now. 

I'd like to nurse until 18 months and then wean completely. 

[Erin M]

I find that I have less milk on 2 feeds but still enough for him to nurse as I hear lots of swallows.  Make sure you're eating/drinking enough too. 

[Fiver]

Your body adjusts to how much you're feeding, so should be fine on 2 feeds.  The overnight feeds could be reverse cycling, where he's making up for lost time with you during the day at night.  Have you been back at work a while now?

I've got the same problem with DD and her latch/sore nipples.  She's not got that many teeth, but she definitely isn't getting her tongue in the right place for them not to rub, especially when she's tired.

[amayzie]

ah ladies- don't forget to try the ever rediculous- but effective 'football hold'- i tried that with my guy when he was about 10 months and i was getting heaps of pain- i think it was irritation after excess saliva during tonsilitis. But it worked! A few days in a different position let me heal...

So a question from me... Next week i'll be going to a training day in sydney- 2 hours away- and will probably be out ALL DAY- as in i may have to leave before hamish wakes up and get home after he goes to bed Other than me missing him to bits... I just make sure mum gives him some milk and water and such right? I don't need to pump for one day? Considering that he's been feeding overnight a number of nights i guess i won't really be missing feeds...

[krispifsu]

I hadn't even considered reverse cycling at this age...but that certainly is a possibility. I went back to work when he was 2 months old but just recently switched from 2 days in the office to 3 longer days. Plus hubby's been putting him to bed so I can spend some more time with my daughter at night. I don't get much "quality" time with my kids Monday-Wednesday...it's more of a whirl-wind of dinner, clean, bath, bed sort of thing. 

DS has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom and I think it's the 4 on top that are causing the soreness.  I might try a different position tonight and see what we can do. Plus he likes to latch and release 500 million times during a nursing session to make sure he isn't missing anything important and I think that initial latch on isn't helping either because he tends to clamp down harder than he needs to initially and then eases up as he actually starts nursing.     

[Erin M]

Ooh, the repeated latching and releasing sounds painful -- that bugs me when James does it.

Katy, you should be ok, might bring the pump jic of engorgement.

[Fiver]

Katy, you should be just fine
Football/rugby ball hold is a bit tricky when lying down, though

[katyusha]

Right, fellow nursing mums, a question from me. Misha is 20 months has two feeds (am and bt) and is teething. He has had a temperature with a virus on Fri-Sat and we had a long weekend so not quite the routine. My problem is he is nursing a bit less and is more impatient with it (e.g. latch, release, possibly a cry, a swipe, head turning away, 'no, no', then back to nursing, then repeat). I skipped one feed to do gardening (priorities, I know) and since then one side seems to produce near nil. He is fussing now on both sides. He has also been super clingy and has lately taken to sticking his hand in my bra for comfort. So I am thinking, are all these the signs that weaning is on the cards, or should I just ride it out and it will get better? I was hoping to feed till 2...

[Fiver]

Hmm, not sure.
Are you still making sure to drink plenty?

[katyusha]

Had to make real effort drinking, so you might be right. Anyone else has a groping child? It is not really discreet...

[trimbler]

How's it going now, Kate? My M's also 20mo (just 1 day older than yours!) and feeding at WU and BT. I've found he does go through fussy feeding phases, but then he'd done that from very young and it always passes, sometimes there's an obvious reason but sometimes I never work it out. The two most recent ones were (i) wanting to hold a particular object during bf-ing (might have to offer a suitably interesting alternative if I don't want him to have the first one!) and (ii) showing his angst when I'd been away from him for longer than usual - he initially refused to feed at all but cried in my arms for half an hour but then took an extra long feed. I would suspect that if your DS is being super-clingy and 'groping' (yes, we get this occasionally too!) then he's probably not done with the breast just yet - unless you want him to?