Comments on: Loss of Appetite & Milk Supply

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:02:22 +0000

Hi Ariana–as a follow up to my post above about my son, yesterday I finally saw a bit of tooth just under the surface of his gum. It looks like it might pop through any day now. He’s still not eating well (both b-milk and solids), but hopefully he’ll get some comfort once the tooth is finally out. (He’s been a real crankypants lately.) Good luck and hang in there!

By: ariana

ariana — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:05:42 +0000

Lelu, Jasper just went on strike today.. haven’t had the time (or the heart) to blog about it.

My new theory now is that it’s because my let down is taking so damn long he doesn’t want to stay on long enough to elicit it. Even when pumping I’m noticing it takes forever, but then when it does finally happen I’ll get almost 3 oz from one breast, so the milk is there its just not coming out!! GRRR.

Kimberly, wow, a second vote for mommynecklaces.. I’m definitely getting one, it’s just hard to choose one color and design because there are so many! Jasper also just broke the one necklace i’d been wearing to distract him.

I think you are absolutely right about the night nursing keeping supply up, this decline definitely corresponds with when Jasper started sleeping through the night. You trade one problem for another I guess!

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:34:49 +0000

Hi,
James is STILL eating less (it’s been at LEAST 3 weeks, maybe 4), although now he’s totally reverse cycling. Last night he must have nursed 5 times between midnight and 7 am! Needless to say, I am exhausted. But my supply has been fine, I haven’t altered my pumping schedule at all, so I’m actually a couple of bottles ahead of him. I think his night nursing might be helping to stimulate production too.

I am also a HUGE fan of mommynecklaces.com… check out the blog and you’ll see I’m a featured Mommy! ;) Raelynn is awesome, and her necklaces are addicting… I’m up to three now. They really do keep James’ attention where it needs to be, and gives him something to do other than pinch me while he nurses. :) I have a direct link to the website from my blog.

My advice: try to keep pumping and not stress about it, which will hinder your supply… easier said than done, I know. Try to do some compression and massage when pumping if you don’t already. And know that it WILL get better… he’s getting enough nutrition even on the lesser amount. Remember that our milk changes as the baby’s needs change, so maybe it’s becoming more concentrated so he needs less volume. :)

By: lelu

lelu — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:11:50 +0000

I nursed all five of my babies for a year and the only constant is that they are all different. I had one that nursed every two hours during the day and slept 12 hours at night. I also had one that never really fell into a schedule, he nursed when he needed to. But they all seemed to go through times when they weren’t as interested. Whether it be too many distractions or teething. But it wouldn’t take long and they were ravenous again. My baby just went on strike a few weeks ago. It was NOT comfortable. But after a couple of days he was back (may have had something to do with his ears).

Their weight gain always seems to slow down at about six months too. I always figured it was because they were so much more active, crawling around and getting into things.

Oh, and my third babies teeth took FOREVER to come in. Her gums would swell and I was sure they would cut through any day then the swelling would go down for a few weeks. That went on for a couple of months. Hopefully Jaspers won’t take that long.

Good luck trying to figure it all out. It would be nice if they could talk sometimes and tell you what’s going on. You’re doing a great job!

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:18:03 +0000

Look at those porky little leggies! I love it!!

By: Keri

Keri — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:20:45 +0000

We have had similar issues with feeding. Hadley will eat fine for a few days and then the next few days she will only finish half of each bottle. It is very frustrating… and while I have tried to blame it on teething, we still haven’t seen a tooth. I’m going to try the sippy cup, as suggested by another commenter. We have also tried just taking breaks and coming back to the bottle (within the proscribed one-hour feeding block) and sometimes that works.

I’ve discussed this loss of appetite with my doctor because I thought Hadley might be sick/ have an earache, etc., but my doctor didn’t seem too worried. And, Hadley wasn’t sick. My doctor did agree, though, that even while eating solid foods, a baby should maintain their milk supply since it is still the primary source of nutrition. It’s so hard when Hadley doesn’t want it, though! Overall, I have no real advice. Just wanted to share that I’m in the trenches with you. Good luck!

By: ariana

ariana — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:17:28 +0000

Jen, welcome to the no feeding club we’ve got going on over here :)

Jane, what a great friend you are.. those necklaces look great. I may have to order one right now. I also love that they call it “twiddling!”

Heather, I am very very familiar with homeopathy, we have tried teething tablets without much luck. Had never heard of hydrotherapy or the magic socks before. Very interesting..

By: heather

heather — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:29:57 +0000

When my kids wee teething I would give them some homeopathy – arnica or teething tablets and I constantly did hydrotherapy ( magic socks). Check out this site and on the left you will see, What is Homeopathy and Hydrotherapy.

http://www.drheathermanleynd.com/whole-healthy-living

Good luck!

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:17:42 +0000

I haven’t had a child yet, but I did give a nursing necklace to a friend of mine as a gift when she was going through a similar situation with nursing.

Here’s the website:

http://www.mommynecklaces.com/nursingnecklaces.html

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:03:39 +0000

Hi! My son is a week older than Jasper and has been doing the same thing…no signs of teeth yet, but he’s been getting cranky and has not been eating well for weeks. He’s not that keen on solids either, so I just keep trying and hope for the best!