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Oh my goodness...are you living my old life? I had a major drop in my pump volume at one point too! Be careful because the stress associated with not being able to pump will actually make you pump even less...no kidding! Relax and try to encourage nursing as much as possible in order to boost your supply. I had to nurse at night just to get mine back up. I also found that if I pumped myself dry and then waited 15 to 20 minutes and then pumped again I could increase my supply over 3 days. It is like a "pumping marathon". Just know that when you pump after the 15 to 20 minute wait, you will only get a few squirts, but for me it sent my body a message that said
"produce more!". Hopefully you will see an increase after 3 days. In the meantime, push the foods to keep her full and content - but always nurse her first so she stimulates milk production. At 7.5 month, the primary source of nurishment should still be breast milk. I saw a huge decrease in her desire for milk around 10.5 months. Based on my experience, you should really keep milk as the primary nurishment source until around that time (give or take because each kid is different). Good luck with the supply...

One more thing...she should be getting between 24 and 30 oz per day. If she is not getting that, then cut back on the food until she does. I know it can be hard to guage while nursing, but do your best.

Kellens Mom, thank you for the tip, I am becoming so frustrated... Did you marathon pump after each pump session? Night time, it will be okay. It is very hard to tell how much she is getting, she nurses from me all but 2 - 3 bottles a day and if it anything like the pumping it probably is not much. She did demand more today than usual. What I am confused about is the formula fed babies sometimes take 8 oz, Autumn has never taken that much! We really didn't start solids until she was about 6 months. I hope she is getting enough. BTW, thank you, you have been an absolute blessing! I have more questions to come for sure. I hope you stay on the forum after Kellen is weaned.

Yes, I marathon pumped after each session. Not to worry if your schedule will not allow it. Just try your best and all will work out. The key is remembering that it takes a few days to see the difference. I hear you when you question the formula babies eatting 8 oz. The most I ever got down kellen was 6 oz (or at least from what I recall). I guess I think of it kind of like stomach stapling. Those folks staple their stomachs so that they fill full faster. After the surgery they have to make sure to eat small amounts often or their stomachs will stretch out again. I bet some formula fed babies have bigger stomachs then most breast fed babies. If you don't have the time in the day to wait 15 minutes, just try waiting 2 or 5 minutes (or the best you can) and then pump. Maybe that will be enough to help. You are just trying to fool the brain.

One last question for the night I promise (it's night time here), how much solid food should I be feeding Autumn? I don't give her solids for lunch (I meet my dh for lunch and bf her), but for breakfast and dinner I am CLUELESS. I dish out about 1/2 of a jar of the #2 combined, fruits/veggies/mac and cheese at night and about 1/4 - 1/2 for breakfast... I haven't done the meat yet, it doesn't seem appealing. I know yogurt has good amounts of protein, but I haven't started that either (too early I am thinking). I don't know, I need an instruction book... Your philosophy on formula may be not too far off. The older Europeans believe the same. Thx again.

That is such a difficult question to answer because each kid varies so much. Personally, I think you are right on track. I really monitored the milk (which was easier for me because of having to pump so much) to make sure she was getting enough. I do think she was eatting about that amount. I think around 9 months we started offering her a snack every 1.5 to 2 hours. It could be gold fish crackers, cheerios, some cheese bites, some spoons of yogurt, dried fruit (apples, bananas). I think by then she was also eatting lunch. The key was to make sure she was getting enough milk first and then feeding her until she was full (she would stop eatting and look away when full). If she slows down dramatically on nursing, then you may be feeding her too many solids. It is a trial and error thing. Now at 11 months, I struggle to get her to drink milk. Food is definately prefered and at this point it is required to maintain her...which is the way it should be. One more thought, I would give kellen sips of water during a snack or dinner just to get her used to a cup or sippy. Even now, I don't leave the cup where she can easily get it because she will quickly fill her belly with water instead of food - she loves to gargle the water or let it run down her face. You will want to give her water soon - even if it is only a few sips a day.

Again, thanks for the tip, I have been giving Autumn a sippy cup but she really just chews on the handles. Tonight she did bring it to her mouth.. I think it could be the valve. Kellen sounds like such a ham!!!! How are you doing with downsizing your milk supply? Has it affected Kellen at all? I will be deploying when Autumn is 13 months old (I'm heartbroken) and of course will need to start thinking about the weaning a bit of time before that. I am really hoping to do this until she is a year old. Thank you again.

Kellen is just now starting to "Drink" from her cup - by that, I mean actually swallow a lot of liquids. Before now, she would just sip...almost like she was just doing it to make the food go down or to rinse her mouth. Now she is thirsty. She is definately a ham. You can check her out at lonandmindydotblogspotdotcom (no w's). She is pretty full of herself. If she glances over to see someone looking at her, she flashes them a quick huge smile that is so big you can't even see her eyes. It always catches people off-guard. My mom calls her a devilish little imp. As far as the weaning is concerned, all is going very well. I just cut back to pumping 2 times per day and eliminated our only nursing session (middle of the night). My milk is going down steadily and I keep increasing the whole milk in the bottles. When kellen stopped nursing (except at night), I was disappointed. Now I see it as a blessing because she is not dependant on "boob time" with mom. I really believe that this has made weaning a lot easier.

Oh my gosh, Kellen is just precious. I love the blog website you have set up, I really enjoyed reading the adventures of Kellen! Great job keeping up on her endeavors! I look forward to reading more. It looks like the pumping is slowly working. Wow, this is a lot of work! Have you ever taken the tea or herbs to increase your supply? I haven't but some women are swearing by it. Who knows. Thanks again for your help.

alveran - you are just a little ahead of me...I bought fenugreek today for the first time - Katie is 6.5 mo now. She rarely ever takes a 4 oz bottle completely and we are just now starting solids. She will tolerate 3-4 spoons of whatever I am dishing out then starts pushing it away and fussing. I am offering her a bottle and a sippy at each meal...feel like she might want a drink to wash something down. She only plays with them so I am not too worried about her getting too much water.

I don't have any experience with herbs or teas. I was fortunate to have an abundant supply. There were instances that it really dwindled due to colds or when kellen stopped nursing though. I would just pump like a wild woman...and stress over it. My only fear was that I would suddenly dry up and kellen wouldn't get a nice gradual transition to formula. Luckily it never happened. Unlike others who want to nurse longer then a year, I think I am glad to be wrapping this up. Maybe if kellen were more cuddly then I would enjoy it more. That kid is all "GO!" She only stops to eat because she has to! Most of my family lives in the west, so the blog is for them. I am amazed at how much it has helped my extended family to feel a connection to her. Kellen has a cousin that was born 3+months after her. No one ever mentions the cousin because they don't feel tied to her. EVERYONE talks about kellen...Even her great-great-great-great cousin who is in her 80's feels close to her. Every 4 months, we print it off and take it to be bound for $5 at the local officemax. It is her journal. I hope someday she enjoys it. Though I will say that it is mostly for family - boy do we get telephone calls and e-mails if it isn't updated weekly!