Exactly as the title says, I'm done pumping at work (woohoo!) but we are still nursing on demand. So on the weekends & vacation do I need to make him take WCM during work hours or does it not matter?
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You likely need to give WCM during the day (weekends, vacation). You can (obviously) still nurse during the day, but your body may not produce much milk at those times so LO will likely still need WCM
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@jetsa: How old is your LO? Do you work full time? Your supply will likely go down quite a lot so im guessing LO will probably need wcm during the day.
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I have been doing this for the last three months and haven't had any issues. She's now phased out to where she just has one extra session most days if we are together, but for the first two ish months she would still nurse throughout the day. I always offer WCM through the day, but will nurse if she wants to. I haven't had any discomfort really on work days, maybe the first day back after a week off but not really.
ETA that LO is 15 months now.
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@Seattlemom: a year and I work 4-8 hour days.
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@Revel: good to know. If he's busy he just wants 1 session around noon if he's tired or sick or whatever he still wants to nurse for a minute every 3 hours or so
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@Revel: Does she still nurse in the AM/PM? He still nurses in the AM and twice after work, I'm hoping those sessions should be ok.
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@jetsa: Yes, we currently nurse AM, sometimes after work, and before bed, and then still a night feed most nights.
She has had days where she's nursed a lot more, but it doesn't seem to have much impact on me... she definitely gets milk on those extra sessions but I suspect it's not a lot.
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@jetsa: As your supply goes down he will prob need more fluids, so I would definitely offer milk even on days you are home with him. My LO is 15 mo and we have a water cup available to him almost all of the time. I offer WCM with every meal and snack (3 meals and 1-2 snacks per day).
Yay for not pumping at work anymore! I remember that day! Its so freeing.
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@Seattlemom: yep we do water currently. I'll start adding milk at meals as well. I expected to be so happy and while I am I'm also my kind of sad, he's not a baby anymore =\
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I probably wouldn't worry about it. When I was done pumping and nursing 2-3x per day, Liam's pediatrician said he didn't need anymore milk than that. I offered him WCM sometimes, but he didn't drink much and the doctor said it was fine.
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@mrs. tictactoe: interesting. We don't go back to the dr for 6 weeks but I'll definitely ask then thank you :). He still takes 8 oz of WCM at daycare I wonder if he needs that?
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@jetsa: When I gave up pumping at work, my LO nursed on demand, and on the weekends that was often a lot during the day. My supply adjusted, and we were fine. I felt full on Mondays after a weekend of nursing, but my body really did adjust to the varied "on demand" needs.
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@ballerinabee: yay that's great to hear!
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@jetsa: I agree with @ballerinabee, your supply is elastic and will adjust accordingly. My son is 15m and I nurse him on demand on my days off (always AM & PM and usually 1-2 other times during the day) and when I'm working I only nurse him AM & PM and it's fine. Sometimes I find I'm a bit engorged but nothing too uncomfortable. When he's at daycare, they just give him water. If he is still nursing, he doesn't need cow's milk.
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@QBbride: interesting, I guess I need to call his dr.
ETA: the nurse recommended WCM at daycare but said at home nursing is enough. -
I was just reading "toddler's first steps" (an info book put out by our government) last night because I was wondering about this. You can google it if you're interested, it has lots of good info. It is heavily in favour of extended breastfeeding.
It says:
Your toddler does not need any other milk other than breast milk if you continue to breast feed. -
We did and still do offer milk but moreso because it's something else besides water for her to regularly drink! And she likes it and prefers it over water. But if your LO is getting enough dairy from yogurt, cheese, etc I probably wouldn't worry about it.
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@QBbride: I will look for this, my dr office has been known to not be up to date on things. (One dr told me I should turn his carseat around at a year, and I said no he is fine rear-facing and she said studies had been done showing it was harmful for their legs
)@regberadaisy: He doesn't like chesse but loves yogurt so we'll see. He's just starting to drink more out a sippy so I'll let him take the lead.
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Our ped said the same thing about WCM as PP, that if LO nursed 3x a day WCM wasn't necessary. We have continued to offer just to get her used to it and for fluids, but we don't worry about how many ounces she drinks.
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@jetsa: yeah my dr is really old school and not up on current research at all. It drives me batty. I don't really care since I do my own research and do what works for me but she's telling others really outdated advice (like pushing solids over breast milk under a year). I think she's surprised I'm still nursing actually!
I send either yoghurt, cottage cheese or cut up cheddar cheese to daycare everyday plus nurse when I'm home and I think he's definitely getting enough.
Good luck!
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