NURSING
MOTHERS, INC.
The Middle Months
Factsheet 19
The middle months, usually between 3 and 9 months, have been called the "reward period" and the "getting back to normal period." The family has adjusted to the new baby, the hard job of getting started is over, and everyone is enjoying a more sociable and usually less fussy baby. You are probably beginning to feel better physically and to feel more confident in your role as a mother. Nursing may be much quicker now, as your well-conditioned milk ejection reflex (let-down) teams up with a baby who can nurse more efficiently.
Keeping Up Your Milk Supply
While things are probably going well at this time, you should still maintain the good nursing habits you formed when your baby was little, especially those of resting during the day, eating nutritious meals, drinking to thirst, and getting some regular exercise. You should still be nursing on demand, or cue, as much as possible. Otherwise, as you start getting out more and doing more around the house, you may find your milk supply starts to dwindle.
If your baby is asking for more and more solid food and other drinks, or seems ever hungry, it may be because you haven't been taking care of yourself. If your baby has started on solid foods, nurse before offering them. Solids foods will fill your baby and could decrease his interest in nursing. Your baby still needs all the benefits your milk can supply him.
Don't be surprised if menstruation returns during this time, especially if your baby consistently sleeps through the night.
Teething and Biting
Teeth usually appear during this period. Emerging teeth can cause your baby pain and tingling in his gums, especially when he nurses. It can help to rub something cold or rub your finger on his gums before you start to nurse. This can numb and reduce the swelling of his gums.
One common myth about nursing is that you must wean your baby when he gets teeth. Actually, a baby cannot nurse and bite at the same time, since his tongue extends past his lower gum to cup the breast and maintain suction. However, your baby may try to bite at a time in the feeding when he is pretty much full and just playing at the breast. He may then try to nibble at you to relieve his discomfort. You may discourage his biting by:
· Watching him closely as he nurses. Remove him when he has finished actively nursing and begins to play or get distracted. You may even notice a mischievous glint in his eye when he is preparing to bite.
· If your baby does bite, firmly tell him not to bite and take him from the breast. Try not to scare him, or he may not want to nurse when he needs to.
· If the above suggestions don't work, you may then choose not only to remove him from the breast, but also to put him on the floor or at a distance from you. Ending this special close time with you may be effective in helping him see the error of his ways.
If your nipples get sore from the biting, you can use cold compresses prior to nursing and air dry after nursing as comfort measures. A change in nursing positions may also help. Try to pump a little if your baby does not nurse well, to help avoid plugged ducts and mastitis. You could try offering this expressed milk (some babies even enjoy a “sippy-cup”) to your baby if the biting is displacing feedings.
Breast Preference
Some babies at this age develop a preference for one breast over the other, and may even refuse one breast. This is an annoying, but not serious, problem as your breasts can become quite lopsided. You can try the following suggestions:
· Offer the least preferred side first, when your baby is hungriest
· Fool your baby by using the clutch ("football") hold, so she approaches the least preferred side in the same position as the preferred side.
Distractibility
Somewhere between 3 and 6 months of age, most babies discover a bright, beautiful, noisy world around them - and they don't want to miss a minute of it. Your baby may be calmly nursing, then suddenly jerk around as a door opens, or someone talks, or a bug flits by. She now seems to nurse in fits and starts, with lots of interruptions. This distractible behavior is not a sign your baby is ready to wean. It is just a passing phase. Things will return to normal as soon as the baby realizes the exciting sounds and sights will still be there when she is finished eating. These suggestions may help:
· Reduce the level of stimulation and distraction. Nurse in a dim, quiet room or cover the baby with a light blanket.
· Indulge your baby's playfulness, and then resume the feeding session.
· Nurse more frequently, for shorter periods.
· Add an extra late-night feeding, when your baby is half asleep. Try to nurse at times when your baby is just waking up, or slowing down.
· Nurse when your baby is really hungry, not after she has just had some solid food.
· Try walking around while nursing.
The middle months are usually an
exciting, pleasant stage in your baby's development. These are times to enjoy
and look back upon in future years. Hopefully some of those memories will
be of the loving, adoring way your baby now looks at you, especially as she
nurses.
Copyright on the Internet 1999, NMInc.
Revised: 1/03 Megan Allen
Nursing Mothers, Inc. is a
non-profit organization. We never charge for our
services, we would gladly accept your tax-deductible donations.
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