Having a tough time... Night feeds, supply issue?

[El1en]

Morning ladies, I hope you're all well

My little lady is 11 months old, breast fed and has always been a bad sleeper.

We are about to start lambing on our farm and so Hoping to use this opportunity of my mum there at day times to put her on to cows milk. I was going To continue to bf in the evening but I'm struggling ATM

Im wanting to try and cut her night feeds to but at the minute she's feeding loads during the night and if she wakes she will scream until she's had a feed so I can't seem to not. Any advice on stopping the night feeds? Last night she fed at 830, 1130, 130, 4 and 6am that's what it's been like the past few days and I don't know why as before that she was only fed once or twice a night.

I haven't tried her with cows milk yet but I worry that my milk is drying up before I'm quite ready. She eats lots of food during the day but again the last couple of days she's pulling at my top often like every time I've produced a little bit she needs it

I hope this makes sense, any help appreciated

 

[CARNAT22]

Could be a leap or a growth spurt?

I can't help as I still bf Bee (14m) she is fine during the day - I work 3 days per week - but she still feeds several times a night.... its worse when she us poorly or teething or leaping. She has CMPA so can't be weaned to cows milk and she isn't fussed with soya milk.

I can't help but I feel your pain.

X

 

[Rose83]

My daughter is 15 months, I breast fed her by expressing until 7 months, I'd got pregnant again at 5 months and my milk totally dried up so I had to switch to formula but I would have carried on with breast feeding until 12 months if I could have. When my milk started disappearing I did a lot of reading about increasing supply, the one thing people seemed to swear by was fenugreek supplements. I tried it but if your supply drop is due to hormonal changes like mine was it wont do anything but might be worth trying for you.
I was lucky that by 10 weeks my daughter dropped all her night feeds and would have a 5oz bottle of expressed milk at 10pm right through to 7am only waking to have her dummy put in. So would it be worth you considering expressing so you can be sure she has had a big feed before bed and therefore It might last her all night. When I saw a health visitor at 13 months my daughter was on 3 X 5oz bottles of cows milk a day,'one at 7am, 7pm and 10pm and she was reasonably horrified, said I shouldn't be feeding her at 10 and to drop that bottle and that she also shouldn't need one in the morning and should go straight to breakfast. I thought this was all a bit too much and that she wasn't ready for that so over the last two months I've phased them out and now she only has 4oz at 7pm. I thought she would start waking if I dropped the 10pm one but she didn't.

Only you know what's right to try with your little one though and I think a lot of it is trial and error x

 

[El1en]

Thanks for your advice girls. I'm not going to express, I did at the very beginning and tried again at about 5 months but found it painful and this morning for the first time my nipples have bled I've always found bf so easy but the last 2 or 3 days have been painful and now the bleeding it's really got me down. I've never had any issues. I've put some cream on which in hoping will help but I don't know if my supply has dropped and she's trying harder to get milk is maybe why I'm in pain. She's napping right now and I'm going to try some cows milk when she wakes

 

[Rose83]

Oh no! That must be awful to start bleeding and be sore now. I use Lansinoh cream, have tried other types but think that's the best one. Also I got really damaged nipples when I got thrush on them and the only thing that solved it was getting the doctor
To prescribe a wound dressing called ActiForm Cool dressings. It was like a clear gel sheet which you cut to size and lay on the nipples and left in your bra as it sort of stuck to nipples. It was amazing, healed me in no time but it's expensive for Doctors to prescribe so you basically have to beg them for it x

 

[Birdie]

Although it's possible, if you are still feeding on demand, it is unlikely to be a longterm drop in supply. At that age my son went through a big growth & development spurt and it felt like we were up half the night! It did eventually pass. Hormonal fluctuations can also cause changes in feeding patterns - could you be ovulating or pregnant?

Between 9 and 13mo my son was waking every 90 mins at night - I was at breaking point & about to wean him when someone asked me if I fed him to sleep & if so to try letting him fall asleep by himself instead. So one night I didn't feed him all the way up sleep and cuddled him instead.... He slept through the night from that night onwards. Turns out his wakings were from wondering where the boob had gone & not really to feed.

 

[Karenb]

So sorry you're struggling Hun it'd be so sad to stop bf before you wanted to or felt ready so definitely try and see a bf support group for advice. My lg was also waking lots wondering where boob had gone, since I started putting her in cot instead of feeding to sleep, she either doesn't wake until morning or just wakes once. At 9 months, she was just ready for it I think. Don't think I've said anything helpful here but hope it improves for you soon xx

 

[El1en]

Thanks for the replies girls. I decided to try Lo on bottles during the day and boob at night. I've been using the lasinoh cream, I bought it when pregnant but never needed it until now and my nipples are much better.

I definitely think I've had a drop is supply. That morning I decided to go to bottles and went all day until 8pm and while my right boob was big and full my left barely changed even though I'm generally pretty good at swooping each feed. It was the same again yesterday left boob doesn't seem to be making much

I'm so disappointed in myself as I wanted to feed myself until a year but I do think this is the best way forward for me now

Lo's definitely going through some sort of phase to, she's being a fussy eater when she's always been great so we're just going to battle through

She's still been up 3 or 4 times s night to breast feed. I don't feed her to sleep at bedtime but when she wakes during the night no amount of cuddling or stroking will do and it's extra hard as my poor oh is currently up at 430am and going until 9pm lambing the first batch of our sheep. Poor guys shattered. Fingers crossed she'll be better when I start lambing the next batch next month.

Thanks again for the replies