11 month old nursing

[whitney5388]

My 11 month old is still nursing about 9 x a day a total of 1.5-2 hours per day. This is on top of 3 solid meals a day plus snacks sometimes, and includes 3-4 feeds overnight. Is this common for him to still be nursing this much? I’m 12 weeks pregnant with baby 2 and am just not going to be able to keep this up for much longer

 

[skelendke]

@whitney5388 This is common - especially so when a mum is in her first trimester as the supply often drops a bit so babies nurse more to make up for it.

Usually we say that for solids we want to aim for 6x a day and include drinks for them as well.

Sleep is developmental - often this age babies wake more as they are going through gross motor skill development (pulling up to stand, crawling, walking, etc).

That being said, if it is something that you are wanting to change, there are things you can do to wean off of nursing so much or all together. It is 100% up to you what you want your days/nights to look like and whether or not you are planning on tandem feeding when your new baby comes. From there, a personal plan would be made to help with that.

Do you have an IBCLC that you are working with? If not, a La Leche League leader can help here too.

La Leche League country links.

Hope that helps! Cheers!

 

[whitney5388]

@skelendke Thank you!

 

[stairesdustin86]

@whitney5388 This sounds very normal to me. My baby is over 1 and still nurses around the clock while also eating lots of food. I think it’s a comfort thing. And still gets up multiple times throughout the night. When your milk starts to shift your current baby may or may not want to continue to nurse, but you can always stop whenever need to!

 

[whitney5388]

@stairesdustin86 Thank you!

 

[theodor98]

@whitney5388

Thank you!

You're welcome!

 

[psumoose]

@whitney5388 At his age, 0-2 overnight feeds max is normal. He could also go longer between daytime feedings (counting from the start of one feeding to the start of another). Around his birthday, he should be starting to switch from "food before one is just for fun" to eating gradually more and more table foods and breastfeeding less. You can also make the transition to cow's milk or an alternative if you want.

 

[whitney5388]

@psumoose So he eats a lot of solids- i’m not worried about him being hungry- but when i try to space out feeds more he wakes up more at night

 

[psumoose]

@whitney5388 That sounds more like a sleep issue than a feeding issue, tbh.