Is breastfeeding during AF related to DD's strange behaviour?

Just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas. DD is 10 months old, and today, all of a sudden, she didn't want to let me out of her sight. She was so clingy that she would scream if I turned around or moved a metre away. I had to be touching her at all times.

The main thing that was different today was that AF arrived for the first time since she was born. The last few days I had noticed my milk supply was dwindling and was a bit worried about it.

Until now, we'd gone down to 3 feeds a day. THey were 3 good feeds, and I wanted to go down to 2 good feeds a day, but I was advised to give her either whole milk or formula in a sippy cup. So I think that made my supply fall and then AF come.

For the first time ever, she pulled my top down, twice. And for the first time in ages, I BF her to sleep for her midday nap. And even then, she wouldn't let me be more than a metre away from her all day without screaming!

Did anyone else's little one do this while BF during AF? It's exhausting.

its sounds more like seperation anxiety which is very very common and normal for this age :hug:

Yeah, normal behaviour for this age.
Why do you think your supply is dropping? If it is, her extra demands to feed would be an attempt to increase supply, most likely.
Best thing when they're like this is to keep her close if that's what she needs. The more reassurance you can give her, the quicker this will pass.

Yeah, I found DD was very clingy and a good old velcro baby at that age and it is so tiring and broke my heart many days when she would be beside herself over the smallest of things. If you want to increase your supply then feed, feed, feed away. If you are wanting to limit BFs and DD isnt dealing with that then perhaps at your DDs age then maybe you need to have a substitute feed of anoter of either EBM or formula. At that age DD was having 4 or 5 feeds a day (I know they are all different though and your DD might be fine with that). We have never had issues when AF arrived except recently we both have pimple breakouts...its a great look for the 2 of us :D
Please dont get me wrong Im not attacking just wondering but I thought cows milk shouldnt be used in quantities like you would put in a sippy cup until after 1 year?
Good luck hun but it will get better :hug: I hope she relaxes a little for you soon

Thanks everyone. I think she may have been trying to increase supply. I could tell there was less milk cos I wasn't as full in the morning and at the usual feed times. As in drastic difference to just a few days ago. Today, I have given her some extra feeds and she is back to her usual chatty self and is happy to play on her own.

Lily, no offence taken. I was advised by a BF specialist to give her whole milk in a cup. I have done some reading and have decided to alternate it with formula in a cup. But if my supply increases, I'm going back to juice/water in a cup.

Pash, AF can cause fussiness at the breast, but it sounds like your DD's behaviour is more related to normal separation anxiety (it's exactly the right age for it!). It is very tiring but it does pass. As the others have said, keeping her close and giving her the comfort she needs is the best way to get through it quickly. The anxiety will only get worse if she doesn't get what she needs.

Did you particularly want to stop full bfing at this stage? 2 feeds a day doesn't seem like much for a 10 month old. Even 3 is on the low side, although some babies do drop down to 3 at that age. Many mums prefer to get past the 12 month mark before offering cows' milk - it is not recommended under 12 months. Also as the milk requirement for growth and development is so essential in the first 12 months and human milk protein is much more suited to meet this requirement than cow's milk protein (also in formula btw) which is very different and designed to develop calves' strength not human babies' brains. If you are happy to go with your DD's lead, feeding more frequently will build your supply up again if it is low. Otherwise if you do want drop feeds before 12 months, formula is the recommended bm replacement rather than whole cows' milk.

I hope it settles soon for you. It probably is even harder to deal with during AF too :hug:

ETA - just read your last post. Sorry to be a pain, but in the dietary guidelines juice is not recommended under 18 months either. Water is just fine!!

Oh dear, looks like I have some explaining to do.

I wanted to cut down the number of feeds so that by the end of the year, I could easily switch her to a cup of milk in the morning and evening instead of BF and to TTC #2. So I was advised (by la leche league) that I could give her small quantities of formula or cows milk to keep up the calcium & protein intake. So I use formula on her weetabix & formula+milk mix in her cup. She turns her nose up at formula but is ok with it in food. So the milk that I would have used in her weetbix/mashed potatoes/etc I mix with formula in a cup in the hope that she will have some formula. Cows milk is ok in food, just not as a replacement for a milk feed. Also, we're going travelling soon to places that don't have pasteurised milk & yoghurt, so I want her to be ok with formula that I take from here, even though she will have BM, just wont be enough to make her weetbix!

With juice, my understanding was that it was a no-no because of dental cavities, empty calorie intake and encouraging a sweet tooth. At the time, she had no teeth, was underweight and was eating pureed apples/pears/carrots/etc all of which are sweet anyway. So I didn't really see a problem with it. Now that she has teeth, I hardly give her juice any more.

Maybe I should ask in another thread, or I don't know if anyone has this info. But how are you supposed to drop feeds and move them to milk? As in, how many feeds per day and at what age? What did you all do?

Thanks for all the help & advice so far and any more that might come.

Ok, so you want to wean within the next couple of months? And you're on 2 feeds now? You've plenty of time, so shouldn't be too much of a drama.
Is she eating well? If so, I'd probably keep milk replacements to a minimum and aim to slowly cut back to 1 then 0 feeds by end year, replacing with food & water. If you're not breastfeeding, and your child is eating well, you probably don't need to add extra milk in after 12 months and it's probably easiest to avoid bottles if you can (only have to wean off them later as well). They do need calcium, but they don't need milk, per se, if that makes sense. And you don't need to replace all those breastfeeds with milk after 12 months (or thereabouts, depending on how they're going with solids etc). For now, maybe just get some formula in with the food, then cut that out later...? Mantaray will know better than me.

On juice, I think the big problem parents find themselves in is that kids learn to hold out for it - I've heard of quite a few with kids who "will not drink anything else". If they don't have it (or only rarely) then that isn't likely to become a problem. Same for other sweet treats and junk.

Also, if your cycles have returned, you don't have to wean completely to ttc again.

All the best