Self Weaning..?

[Yulara_Mum]

Hi, my son is to turn a year old in less than 2 weeks and I have the feeling he is trying to self wean from the breast. Its almost a struggle to get him to feed, he squirms and plays with it. Comes on and off when he feels like it!

His feeds have gone down from 25-30 on both sides to less than 10 minutes. I'm worried he might not be getting enough! Hes a good solid eater during the day!

[Tam-I-Am]

I don't know whether he's self weaning or not, but I thought I should tell you that its really normal for feeding times to decrease as babies get older, the reason being that they get more efficient at sucking, so get more milk, more quickly, and also your body gets more efficient at letting the milk down.

10 minutes is acutally a fairly long time for a 12 month old baby to be feeding - DD is down to 3-5 minutes each side.

Also, be aware that most kids go through an appetite slump around 12 months because they grow so quickly in the first year, they need LOTS of calories, but their growth slows down in the 2nd years, so their appetite slows. Its normal, and nothing to be concerned about.

MarthaM recently posted this (http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article.asp?articleID=1702) link for me, and it really put my mind at rest. As always, go off your baby - is he happy and healthy, bright and alert when he should be, sleeping well, putting on weight appropriately (remembering this really slows down from 12 months on), having an appropriate number of wet nappies etc? If worried, consult your doctor or chn.

Good luck!