(HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

tell me-how old is your baby and how many times a day are you BFing?
i am SO upset and worried. DD is 8 months-will not really BF during the day anymore. she is distracted and even has bitten me. it is frustrating. she really only nurses before bedtime now and for the early morning feeding. i feel like i have nothing to offer her too-don't know what she is even getting! i wonder if it's time to stop-but i don't want to. i don't even know if she'll take a bottle from me!
TIA very very much in advance for anything you can offer!

Message edited 2/22/2008 9:53:39 PM.

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

If you don't want to stop, then don't. Distraction is very common at 8 months old. They're more into looking around than eating.

Have you started solids? Maybe try breastfeeding her before she eats. Right now solids are for practice rather than nutrition.

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

thanks for responding!
yeah-she is a solids pro and maybe that is the problem...it's like she cannot be bothered with bfing she really loves to eat. the Bfing that she allows me seems to be more for comfort now more than anything else.
i will definitely nurse her before the solids and hope she takes!
thanks so much again!

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

I went through the exact same thing around the same age. She played, bit me, looked around. Morning and evening were best but the rest of the day was HORRIBLE.

I found that nursing in a quiet room helped. Also, a nursing laying down was good because it relaxed her and she got to "work". I supplemented from day one because DD didn't latch in the beginnng but if you are not comfortable with that idea, I would suggest pumping at letting DC take the milk from a bottle so you keep your supply up.

It is a phase and I remember wondering if it was time to wean and not wanting it "to end this way". Well, we got through it and now DD is one year and two weeks old and I am having trouble with the idea of weaning. I get sad and so I keep pushing it off.

As far as how often I nursed at eight months, I think it was 5 times a day.

Good luck!

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

Posted by Juliet

I went through the exact same thing around the same age. She played, bit me, looked around. Morning and evening were best but the rest of the day was HORRIBLE.

I found that nursing in a quiet room helped. Also, a nursing laying down was good because it relaxed her and she got to "work". I supplemented from day one because DD didn't latch in the beginnng but if you are not comfortable with that idea, I would suggest pumping at letting DC take the milk from a bottle so you keep your supply up.

It is a phase and I remember wondering if it was time to wean and not wanting it "to end this way". Well, we got through it and now DD is one year and two weeks old and I am having trouble with the idea of weaning. I get sad and so I keep pushing it off.

As far as how often I nursed at eight months, I think it was 5 times a day.

Good luck!

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

I felt very much the same way you are feeling. At 7 months, DD started to refuse me (& bite) and I wasn't ready to give up BFing either. I had been pumping some before that time and then just figured that was the second best thing to BFing. I exclusively pumped for 4 months. It was really hard b/c I felt like all I did was pump but I knew that DD was still getting my milk & that was the consolation. At 11 months, I was DONE. We transitioned to milk then.

If you aren't ready to give up, maybe start pumping.

ETA: I was feeding 5x a day.

Message edited 2/22/2008 10:14:43 PM.

Re: (HELP!)BFing moms of "older" babies PLEASE

Posted by ME75

Posted by Juliet

I went through the exact same thing around the same age. She played, bit me, looked around. Morning and evening were best but the rest of the day was HORRIBLE.

I found that nursing in a quiet room helped. Also, a nursing laying down was good because it relaxed her and she got to "work". I supplemented from day one because DD didn't latch in the beginnng but if you are not comfortable with that idea, I would suggest pumping at letting DC take the milk from a bottle so you keep your supply up.

It is a phase and I remember wondering if it was time to wean and not wanting it "to end this way". Well, we got through it and now DD is one year and two weeks old and I am having trouble with the idea of weaning. I get sad and so I keep pushing it off.

As far as how often I nursed at eight months, I think it was 5 times a day.

Good luck!

Thank you so much too-
feels so much better to know that it could be just a phase too. i despise pumping but know that i may have no choice if i want to continue. the one thing that is seriously worrying me is that she is not nursing near 5x day at all. i am only getting around 3x from her right now....and my supply feels low. i will keep trying.