Weaning

[Yinzer]

I hear we have some professionals in this area, so I need help with breastfeeding. My son is almost 9 months old and I need to start weaning so I can begin interferon treatment. The problem is that he wakes up literally 5 or more times in the night and cries until I give him a breast. What can I do that won't involve letting him scream himself to sleep while I play on the computer? I have read the Dr. Sears website and tried small things like beginning a bedtime routine and having a "transitional item" but he's not falling for it. I am also concerned for his emotional development if I wean him too early and too roughly. I also don't want it to change him from the happy-go-lucky baby that he is. What can I do?!!!

[jills]

Yinzer....for LOADS of excellent advice from very experienced mums, I'd suggest you go to babywhisperer.com and go to the forums/message boards and post your question. You will be inundated with helpful replies from a huge range of mums, lactation counsellors etc. Good luck!

[tracymort]

Are you sure have to wean? according to Dr Thomas hale author of Medications and Mother's milk interferon is a Level 2 drug - "L2 SAFER: Drug which has been studied in a limited number of breastfeeding women without an increase in adverse effects in the infant; And/or, the evidence of a demonstrated risk which is likely to follow use of this medication in a breastfeeding woman is remote " so you should be fine to still feed especially as your son is an older baby. get your dr to check a copy of this book. many don't bother and just tell you to wean. the BfN also have a drugline where you can chat to a pharmacist who knows all about lactation and drugs. http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/html/drhale_bio.html http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/supporterline/medicat ion.html Also i'd not go near babywhisperer for advice. I had to turn the tv off when her programm was on cos her breastfeeding info was so terrible. Ukparents and www.hunnybeez.co.uk and yahoo all have great breastfeeding forums. want to try calling one of the 4 helplines - National Childbirth Trust Breastfeeding Line 0870 444 8708 La Leche League 0207 242 1278 Breastfeeding Network 0870 900 8787 Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 0207 813 1481 this site has the best breastfeeding advice i've ever come across http://www.kellymom.com/

[tracymort]

actually here is the BfN drugline number http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/supporterline/druglin e.html

[enigma]

Poor you yinzer. I know exactly how you feel as my youngest daughter is now eighteen months and I had a similar problem with weaning her off the breast. I had previously bottle fed my first daughter and bitterly regretted this , so made a conscious decision to breastfeed second time round to give my daughter the best possible start in life but I didn't realise that although immensely worthwhile and a wonderful way to develop a deeper bond with your child , it is SO much hard work ! I didn't quite realise the full meaning of "feeding on demand" until I was waking what seemed like every twenty minutes through the night to feed her. I also made the fatal mistake of allowing her to sleep in our bed during late night feeds so that she could latch on when she wanted as I had become so exhausted with constantly feeding her. This posed a problem when we tried to make the transition from our bed to her little cot and she would scream persistently for feeds. I couldn't seem to express milk , so my husband couldn't take a turn to feed her. I eventually stopped breastfeeding her at fifteen months ! Does your baby drink ably from a cup yet ? What my health visitor suggested was to either express breast milk into a cup or bottle for her to drink so that someone else could feed her therefore taking the pressure of me , or give baby partial breast milk feeds and partial formula milk feeds by way of a bottle which can be given by someone else. I just didn't want to mix the types of milk though and decided to tough it out but if you NEED to stop breast feeding then that is a different matter. Why not try introducing one feed at a time with formula milk and gradually stepping it up ? For example , every morning for a few days give formula milk (baby will normally be hungrier and more willing to try the change first thing in the morning)then follow with breast feeds - introducing more formula feeds and cutting back on breast feeds until formula milk has been fully introduced.

[enigma]

Ps As long as you keep giving baby lots of cuddles and reassurance , you will still have the same happy go lucky baby. How you feed him is irrelevant. Although my daughter does not breast feed now , she still likes to nestle into me as if she was about to feed and she laughs and giggles all the time. Oh and research has shown that breastfeeding up until 6 months is all that is needed for a lifetime of immunity and all the nutrients required , so you have nothing to feel guilty about. Well done ! All the best and let us know how you get on x

[jills]

Tracyh....I know lots of people have issues with what Tracy Hogg (Baby Whisperer) teaches (I do myself)...but the point is the forum is used by hundreds, maybe thousands of mums world wide, and it's THEY who will reply to any post, not tracy hogg. I've found some invaluable advice and support from the mums on that forum when I really needed it, and as there are so very many women use it, you are almost guaranteed to get advice that will suit you and your baby, because different approaches and techniques will suit different people. I do agree tho that kellymom is about the best breast feeding website I've found.

[tracymort]

I've not been to that forum, i guess just the fact it's to do with Hogg would put me off and have found alot of well informed ladies at UKP. My local LLL leader is lovely too! My issue with Hogg isn't as bad as the problem i have with that other well known author! I won't start on that, i'll be here all day!

[Yinzer]

Hey thanks for all the support, I'll check out some of those websites and ask the doctor about the level 2 thingy. I'll keep posting.

[Philtaz]

Couldn't you express the milk thus leaving you free for your treatment?

[Yinzer]

I have expressed milk in the past for small maybe 1 week treatments of this or that, but the interferon treatment is for 6 months. I'd have to do a lot of pumping to save up that much!!! But I just read in the local paper that some desparate mother invented a strap on nipple! It comes with a small tube that leads to a bottle (or something) so daddy can help out with the night feedings. Maybe I should give her a call???? ;@

[tracymort]

lol could you persuade your dh into breastfeeding! men can sometimes do it would you believe. As can mums who adopt. have you tried the drugline? i'm still sure you'd be able to feed. weighing up the benefits of breastfeeding against the minute amount of drug your baby receives considering it's safety level i'm sure it will be fine. Even the milk of smoker is preferable to formula and the milk of someone with implants actually has less silicone than formula too! or you could start again after the treatment. relactation is possible. Sorry i do ramble on about this subject if you can't tell!

[zgma]

Aw Yinzer, how sad for you if you have to wean. About the strap-on nipple - google "adoptive breastfeeding" or something like that - I know that mothers that adopt use those for their babies... BUT it may not work for you, because the baby latches on to the mom's actual nipple and nurses - it's just that there's a tube that also goes into the baby's mouth and gives formula. Don't worry too much about scarring him - he know you love him and he'll grow up knowing it.

[zgma]

oops - I didn 't read carefully - maybe you're not talking about the same device that I'm talking about??

[Yinzer]

Actually they might have been the same concoction, although it won't work for me because any contact with my actual nipple will induce the "let down" reflex thingy. I just had a talk with my doctor today and after desparately explaining my situation he says he guesses we can wait another 6 months (with close monitoring) as Hepatitis is a slowly progressing disease. So I'll have some time to do a little more research and maybe by then baby will be sleeping more soundly. Thanks for everything guys! :>)

[zgma]

Oh yeah, 6 months will make a big difference. I noticed a major dropoff in nursing right when my son hit 1 year. He stopped needing bottles while I was at work, and I stopped having to pump. I think at that point I could have weaned him if I had wanted to. I'm glad you can wait a little bit :)