Drying up 3 weeks before 1st birthday supplement with formula or cows milk?

[icegurl470]

My supply has taken a dip. It's taken dips in the past and bounced back, but it's been lower than usual for about a week now and seems to be getting lower. I worry it may be on its way out for good. I only planned on nursing for a year anyway and we're almost there, 3 more weeks to go. I can still do some breast milk, but I'm worried it's not enough.

Should I bother trying to supplement with formula or should I just start transitioning to cows milk a little early? And how do I do it? Replace entire feedings with cows milk or formula or add a little cows milk or formula to my breast milk and go from there? Thanks.

 

[MommyJogger]

If LO is eating a good deal of solids and has a varied diet, I would go with either one you feel more comfortable with. If milk is still a major source of calories, I would go with formula.
If you're pumping (that's what your post reads like, but hard to tell), I would mix them to begin with since the taste is so different. It might help her transition. I know some kids refuse outright if they're used to breast milk, but that's individual to each kid. Beyond that, I have no experience.
Congrats on hitting so closely to your goal! It would be pretty unusual to just randomly dry up, so hopefully you'll bounce back and won't have the added stress of figuring out milk amounts and mixing on top of weaning stress if you're still stopping at the year. Good luck!

 

[icegurl470]

I nurse in the morning and at night and pump 3x/day on wk days while at work. Nurse all day on wkends. I was able to pump 10-12oz while at work to send to daycare, but for the last wk+ it's been more like 8 - 10oz. I dont think that's quite enough, even with the morning and night feedings, considering she needs 18-24oz a day.

She gets 2-3 solid meals a day: fruit and cereal in the morning, yogurt, meat and vegi at night. It would be easier to mix a little whole milk in my breastmilk, but I know I'm jumping the gun a little.

I'm hoping my supply picks back up. It's hard to tell how much I'm producing when she nurses all day, so I should have a better idea while pumping at work tomorrow to see if it's picked back up. I've been just squeaking by for awhile though, so I think I need to supplement either way, was just hoping to make it to one yr

 

[MommyJogger]

If all you need is a couple more oz, have you considered temporarily adding a half-pump session first thing in the morning? If you have baby on one side and pump on the other, you'll get it much more quickly than you would without the baby on the other side. And then since the baby's so much better at getting milk out (and because it will be first thing in the morning, when your supply is more reactive anyway), your LO shouldn't have a problem getting your body to let down again and getting a full feed even though you pumped.
But really if baby is taking solids well and nursing on demand while you're at home, at this age I probably wouldn't worry about it. I imagined when you said you were drying up that you were only getting drops out or a few oz total for her to drink all day. If you're sure you're not pregnant, I'd just trust your baby to either nurse in the evenings/nights/mornings and get what she needs. Is daycare/caregiver saying she could use another few oz? Or do they say she's in good spirits during the day?

 

[icegurl470]

I do pump on the side she's not nursing from in the morning. If she hasn't gotten up in the night to nurse I can usually get an extra 3 oz that way.

During the day however I'm only pumping a little over 1oz out of each breast for a combined pouch of about 2.5oz. I used to be more like 3.5-5oz (2+oz from each breast) She is still wetting and soiling diapers and she isn't fussy. Daycare has not said anything about not having enough milk. Her weight has plateaued however. Her pedi thinks it's from crawling, which she started a little late. I may be pregnant.. we have not been preventing, but wont know for sure for another week or so.

 

[MommyJogger]

Weight does really plateau when they start to crawl, esp when they crawl "late", imo, because they've had more time to put on body fat stores that they'll pull energy for crawling from. And pregnancy generally takes at least a few months for your hormones to get to a place where they dry your milk up. Have you always nursed on demand in the evenings? Do you discourage night wakings/send dad in/give a pacifier at night? If you nurse on demand and offer the breast when she wakes at night, I know I've said it already, but I'd trust her to take what she needs while you're around if she doesn't get as much in the day. It's normal to be able to pump less as the nursling gets older (think of other mammals on supply and demand milk production-- cows have to be impregnated every so often to maintain optimal output). And then things like ovulation, minor illnesses, pump parts that could use replacing, etc can all affect pumping much more than they'll affect the volume she can get herself in the evenings and nights and weekends.
I don't think there's really a right or wrong solution for you-- I think your LO will thrive no matter which choice you make. If you're looking for a bit of a compromise, you could always offer cow's milk with her meals and snacks and she can take that if she needs it and then leave it if she doesn't-- if you see she's taking a lot, you could then get formula if you'd rather she have that.

 

[Dream.dream]

At a year old to be honest I wouldn't worry about either if the difference is only a few ounces . If she's eating a varied diet of solid foods you can also try adding more nutrition that way instead.

 

[icegurl470]

She nurses on demand when I'm home. Usually once in the morning and a couple times at night on days that I work. We've been discouraging night wakings, letting her cry it out for awhile and she's sleeping through the night at this time. Shes never likes pacifiers.

I was only able to pump about 2.5oz at a time yesterday (a little over an oz on each side). So, I have 10oz between yesterday and this morning to send to daycare where she will be for 9.5hrs So, basically I'm still a couple oz short. Talked to her pedi about it last night and he says it's okay to add a little whole milk to her bottles to increase the volume so shes getting full.. as long as shes still getting some breast milk and eating solids.

He offered to put me on a medication to increase my supply but I decided to just let it taper off naturally if that's what its doing. I'm going to try to drink more water and get more sleep and see if that helps. I also have mothers milk tea I'm going to start drinking in the morning and at night.

I was planning on nursing in the morning and at night after she turned one, even if its only a couple oz. I dont mind nursing so much, I'll just be happy not to have to worry about pumping! Thanks for your advise everyone. Hopefully everything works out.

 

[fieryphoenix]

It sounds like you have a plan, but if you are wanting to pump more, it maybe worth checking out your pump, it could need new membranes or something

 

[Sbmack]

I was in the same situation with my LO at that age. We ended up supplementing with goats milk for a month until we introduced cows milk. I'd just mix half goats and half expressed. Good luck.

 

[Itsychik]

Wow, I have to admit i'm actually quite jealous reading your post. I've been having a similar issue (this is the second drop my supply has taken and my DD is also only a few weeks away from being 1). I used to be able to pump 4 - 5oz at one session (combined from both breasts), then when DD was 7 months old it dropped to 2 - 3oz, and about 3 weeks ago it has dropped completely and now it's anywhere from 0.5 - 1.5 oz. My DD spends 8 hours at daycare but she only gets one 4-oz bottle of ebm in the afternoon, and lunch + a snack (4 - 5oz of fruit cut into chunks). In total DD gets 3 full meals, 1 - 2 snacks, and 4 - 5 breastfeeds per day (incl. usually 1 night waking).

Could you maybe try offering more solids during the day? Maybe that would supplement the amount she isn't drinking while at daycare?

You're so close now though, your goal is definitely reachable!!