9-12 Month Questions

[westiemom]

Hi friends! DD is 9 months! I can't believe we have made it this far. I have a few questions I'm hoping you can help me with!

1). The last week she has decided she will not longer take my right boob. She has always been frustrated with it because let down takes longer and I think flow is slower on the right side but she has always taken it. Now, she just turns her head and sometimes cries if put on that side but she will immediately nurse if put on the left...

Should I just give up and let righty go? Pump for comfort? Pump all the time to keep up supply? I plan to wean at a year and currently only pump to replace feedings. WWYD?


2). I'm going on my first overnight trip next month without DD. DD will be 10 months. She currently wakes 2 times a night to feed. Should I pump twice at night while I'm away? I would love to sleep but don't want to risk supply.



3). This is my biggest question! In March (DD will be almost 11 mos), I am going on a 3 night/4 day trip without DD. Since I plan to wean at a year, should I just call it good and not nurse when I return? I have enough frozen milk for a few months. I'm torn because a year was my goal but if she has already taken bottles for 4 days, I hate to return to breastfeeding just to try to wean a month later?

4). Once I do wean, how many bottles should I give daily that last month? How many ounces per bottle?


Thanks in advance!

[saraml13]

I don't have good answers for everything, but:

2. At this age my supply was less sensitive. It sounds like you have plenty of frozen milk, so if you don't need to be bringing back every last ounce, I wouldn't pump more than once MOTN. I'm trying to remember, but I think I was comfortable not pumping MOTN but pumping just before going to bed and first thing early in the morning.

3. Entirely up to you. I used a long business trip at 12.5 months to complete the last step of weaning and it worked well. You could use the trip to significantly cut back on nursing sessions and only reintroduce a couple, for instance bedtime and morning.

4. The volume of BM that LO eats stays relatively constant, an average of about 25 oz a day. Talk to your pedi. Mine gave me the ok to start introducing WCM at 11 months. By 12 months DS1 was taking 3 small sippies of WCM at daycare, nursing around 3x at home, and ramping up his intake of solids. But every LO is different in terms of how they transition.

[westiemom]

Thank you saraml13!

[nikiswimr]

Hi lady! I haven't intro'd over here yet (need to!) but I also left E overnight at 9 months (for 3 nights, how many will you be gone?). At home we were still doing two MOTN feeds. I pumped late at night and in fairly early in the am. I was engorged but not miserable and supply didn't decrease.

As for weaning, totally up to you. You'll reach your goal of one year no matter what it sounds like, so it just depends on emotionally how you feel about weaning then. I'm going on a 6 day/5 night trip without E at 14 months and am just going to pump am/pm while I'm away then plan to BF again when I get back.

E also takes about 8-12 oz of BM now when I'm gone and we nurse 3x a day. She eats 3 full meals + sometimes snacks. Sippy of water with each meal.

[westiemom]

Jan 23, 2017 23:21:27 GMT -5 nikiswimr said:

Hi lady! I haven't intro'd over here yet (need to!) but I also left E overnight at 9 months (for 3 nights, how many will you be gone?). At home we were still doing two MOTN feeds. I pumped late at night and in fairly early in the am. I was engorged but not miserable and supply didn't decrease.

As for weaning, totally up to you. You'll reach your goal of one year no matter what it sounds like, so it just depends on emotionally how you feel about weaning then. I'm going on a 6 day/5 night trip without E at 14 months and am just going to pump am/pm while I'm away then plan to BF again when I get back.

E also takes about 8-12 oz of BM now when I'm gone and we nurse 3x a day. She eats 3 full meals + sometimes snacks. Sippy of water with each meal.

Thanks girl! That helps a lot. I mainly want my cycle back so we can TFAS so I guess I don't have to be all or nothing. I can try decreasing and see if it comes back and keep nursing. That's my perfect world dream of course. 😃