how long can i nurse if only nursing once in morning, once at night?

[Lynnie]

just wondering if anyone knows how long i can hope that my supply will keep up. i am working full time and although i pumped for awhile, its just not working. My son is 7 months now, and i have only been nursing at night before he goes to bed and first thing in the morning for a couple of weeks now. is there anything that i can do to keep the supply there for at least those two feedings ?? (i know alot of people might think that i should suck it up and pump but i really just want hints on how to keep my supply if i just feed the two times, and/or any advice about how long i can hope to nurse that way)

thanks so much !

[sadie427]

Don't have time for a long answer, but basically I did about the same thing at about the same age and couldn't keep it up long at all, around 4-6 wks. My supply dropped after a few weeks, and although he would still nurse and get some milk, he would still be hungry after. It became impractical in the morning because he would nurse for so long, then would still need a bottle, it would take forever to get out of the house. The night nursing he just sort of lost interest in. Some people are able to keep this up longer, especially if the baby wakes at night or early in the morning for an extra nursing. Beyond that, I'm not sure.

[alkagift]

I don't know for sure, it may be an individual thing. I kept a two-feeding nursing session up for about three months, but my son was older at about 12 months and we had started solids. I would have thought that if your baby's demand was high enough it would be fine, but your mileage may vary. I do know that at about six or seven months I went through a huge dip in my supply--and I was pumping at work like a madwoman and driving to the daycare center at lunch for a nursing session, so it may have been a case of stress for me, or perhaps it is a time of adjustment for some women?

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[pritchettzoo]

I would think pretty much forever. ;)

We've been down to 2-3x per day for a couple of months now (DD is almost 14 months), and there's milk whenever she wants to nurse. I think your body will adjust to whatever you do, as long as you do it consistently.

Anna

[Lynnie]

thanks guys ! hopefully i can keep it up, because i do like it, and i think every little bit of breast milk he can get is only that much better for him. however, that said, i am selfishly NOT going to encourage him to wake up in the middle of the night !! although when he does on occasion i do like the quiet time with him, without feeling pulled to pay attention to my 2 1/2 year old or my husband. and he is eating solids (he is a pig, and the doctor had him start a little before 4 months) so maybe that will help.

anyway, thanks for the info... i guess i will just have to play it by ear and see how it goes !

[miki]

When we were down to 2, I seemed to have plenty of milk. But going from 2 to one, my supply dropped big time.

[lizajane]

we did 2x/day for a month from 12-13 months. and 1x/day from 13-14 months. i hardly drank any water (because i am bad) and still had enough. so i would suggest really keeping up your water intake and trying to get some oatmeal every day or so to naturally boost your supply. (oatmeal cookies count! just not the instant stuff.)

[stillplayswithbarbies]

can you add one session right after work? I think with three sessions a day you should be fine. But if you are going more than 12 hours between sessions, your body is going to get the signal that you don't need the milk. If your baby were over 12 months, I would say twice a day could be kept up for months or even a year or more, but at just 7 months your body is expecting to be nursing a baby and will react to the schedule of a baby, not a toddler.

Some babies do what is called "reverse cycling" which is where they nurse a lot in the evenings and during the night and hardly at all during the day. If you can nudge him into that by offering to nurse him during the night, even if he nurses in his sleep, then your supply would be fine and he would get plenty of breastmilk and you wouldn't have to pump.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/borntobebreastfed2.gif

[ett]

We've been nursing for 2x/day for a month now and my supply still seems to be enough. But DS is 14 months and getting most of his food from solids, not nursing.

[Lynnie]

i probably could... sometimes i do, especially if i am sore and need to nurse. that's a good idea, morning, right after work and then either just before he goes to bed, after his bath, or just before i go to bed while he is sleeping. of course, with him, my toddler and my full time job outside the house, i often end up going to be very shortly after he does !

thanks everyone.

ps LOVE the oatmeal cookie suggestion ! i love steel cut oatmeal, too, so one more reason to make a big pot of that !