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Expert: - 5/7/2008


Question
My 8 month old son has really lost interest in breastfeeding over the last month.  He eats good first thing in the morning (after 12 hours of sleep and not eating), then the other 3 or 4 times he breastfeed during the day are a chore to keep him at the breast.  I try going into a quiet room with no distractions, and he will suck a few times then stop and try to get down, I have to wait a few minutes and try again.  He eats solids really well, I actually sometimes think he eats to much solid food, he has at least 10 oz 3 times a day, usually more.  I've started pumping this week to try and get my milk supply up to give him milk from a cup, but I can't get more than an oz or 2 from pumping, even after 6 hours.    

I would rather not give him formula but I'm getting tired of forcing him to breastfeed during the day, and I want to make sure he is getting all the nutrition he can from milk.  I do always offer the breast before giving solids.

He likes to drink out of a sippy cup, but just started loving drinking from a real cup, should I just give him B-milk in a real cup with his food and continue pumping?  How many oz a day should he get of B-milk?

Answer
Dear Amy,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by breastfeeding him!

It sounds to me as if your baby wants to wean himself from the breast. Since he has not been nursing so vigorously, your milk supply may be decreasing. So I would suggest that you give him whatever breast milk you can pump in a cup, and if you don't get enough from pumping, to fill in with formula.

Since he enjoys solids, you can also mix milk in with his cereal or pudding.  He will get a few extra ounces a day in this way.

Your son should be getting at least 20-24 ounces a day of breast milk and/or formula.  Also, you need to watch and make sure your son is not getting constipated from too few liquids.  If he is, just increase the breastmilk/formula.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

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What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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