nursing moms/child lead weaning/calories needed?

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Belle_Fille
Belle_Fille Posts: 469
in Food and Nutrition
how many calories do you REALLY need to nurse a 14 month old? i was told 1800-2500 but i was told that when my baby was still a new born. do i still need that many now that hes older?
we are practicing child lead weaning, so im not looking to cut my calories if it will affect my milk supply

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  • MamaReebs
    MamaReebs Posts: 240 Member
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    You need 500 calories to produce 25 ounces of milk in a day. At least that's what I have heard. So figure out how many calories you need to eat to lose weight or maintain weight or whatever your goal is and then add 500 calories for milk production. And make sure you continue to drink TONS of water.
  • austepants
    austepants Posts: 356 Member
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    When I was nursing my sister gave me a book that was extremely helpful. It is called Breast is Best by Dr. Penny Stanway I don't have the book anymore or I would look for you but I know they have tons of info about nursing in it so it might be worth looking at maybe at a bookstore or library. I'm not sure if it will help but that's all I got :)
  • MamaReebs
    MamaReebs Posts: 240 Member
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    Also I am sure kellymom.com probably has all the answers you need.
  • fluffy831
    fluffy831 Posts: 30 Member
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    My last nursed to 32 months - after a year and a half, I pretty much didn't add the additional 500 calories per day as I wanted to lose some weight and it didn't affect my supply at all. My first weaned at 19 months (we did 'don't offer/don't refuse' at 18 months and about 6 weeks later he was done; his brother went another year past him!).
  • austepants
    austepants Posts: 356 Member
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    I learned from the book as well as my lactation consultant that if you drink too much water it can actually decrease your milk supply so don't go crazy on the water... I know there is a misconception out there that drinking lots of water will up the supply but i experienced this firsthand. Again don't know if it helps but it was helpful to me.
  • austepants
    austepants Posts: 356 Member
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    Also I am sure kellymom.com probably has all the answers you need.

    This website I agree is AWESOME!! My sister lived on this site when she had her first child
  • mommy2halfdozen
    mommy2halfdozen Posts: 52 Member
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    My son is about the same age. The pediatrician said to only add about 300 calories a day depending on how often he nurses.

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