
Originally Posted by
@llli*gigi2961
karrieperry - Do you pump during the day if your baby is refusing to nurse? How do you protect your supply when she's just nursing at night (I'm sorry that is happening; you must be so tired!)
mommal - Is nursing slowdown something that is ok to let happen? i.e. are you saying that would be a natural part of her getting older whereas a nursing strike is something I need to work on? Why would she slow down if she's not getting liquids from other sources?
lllmeg - She had a major surgery for a spinal cord anomaly at 4 months old. I pumped 30 oz./day bedside in the PICU and "dangled" over her bed to comfort nurse her. Once we got home, she went back to nursing. I stopped pumping so much without the pressure of the surgery and my supply seemed to regulate such that I stopped getting so many plugged ducts. She seemed to have no problem extracting milk even with a less full breast because her weight gain was steady. But then around 8 months everything changed. I think she's still gaining (based on her 9 month check-up), more slowly now but I know that's normal. She wets about 4 diapers a day. Not soaking. She has energy, seems content enough. In fact, she seems content even when she hasn't nursed for 6 hours! I think that's why this causes so much anxiety. I actually have nightmares about her suddenly wasting away and I didn't realize it was it happening.
What's most confusing to me is how many times I should try, how long I should let it go on, before resorting to pumping and trying to feed her via cup. Yesterday, for example, she nursed at 4:30am, a little at 8:30am and then refused at noon. She had part of a peach for breakfast so it wasn't like she was full of solids. I tried again and again until about 1:30pm when I started worrying that I should pump. So I pumped about 4 oz. and gave it to her. Then at 5pm I tried again, and she was not interested. I tried a few times until 6:30pm when I pumped again and got about 3.5oz, which I gave to her. Should I not pump and just hold out a little longer if it happens again today? Will my supply come back up if she starts nursing again?
This has been so hard on my relationship with her and my relationship with others. No one understands why I can't just throw her in the car and go on a family outing for the day. She's 10 months old and I have never left the house for more than a few hours. I was really hoping things would get easier as she got older, and if they do, I'm happy to nurse her forever, but I need to figure this out soon.
Thanks again for the advice. I don't have anyone else to turn to right now.