How many times a day does your 9 month old nurse?
penguingrrl
member
My girls had a well visit today and my ped. seemed really surprised that DD2 is nursing 5-6 times a day (sometimes more). She said she should really be down to nursing 3x. My older daughter was bottle fed due to serious BF issues and was still taking 4-5 bottles a day at this time, so I feel like 3 nursing sessions is low. Maybe it's because DD is huge? She's 22 lbs (90%) and 28 inches (57%).
Otherwise the ped is very supportive of BF, so I know she's not going to try to get us to wean at 12 months (the patient before us mentioned in the waiting room that she nursed until over 2 and I heard the ped praising that to her assistant) and she has never once mentioned formula to me, even suggested cutting dairy and soy to help with her stomach issues when she was little. Just surprised that she's suggesting 3 nursing sessions.
Is this average at 9 months?
Re: How many times a day does your 9 month old nurse?
At 9 months DS was taking 3 bottles at daycare and nursing 3-4 times morning, night and overnight. When we were together on the weekend he was nursing about every 3 hours all day and 1-2 times overnight.
3 times sounds *really* low to me for 9 months. I'm sure a kid could do it if they were getting 7-8 ounces each time they nursed, but most 9 month olds I know don't have the patience to nurse that long. :-) DS is down to 4-5 nursing sessions a day within the last week...at 11 1/2 months old.
Around 9 months I think it was 8-10/day. Now that he is on more solids more consistantly he nurses 5x/day (wake-up, before naps, before dinner, bed) and 2-3 times over night (so I guess still 8/day if you include overnights).
I agree, 3x is REALLY low for 9 months. They're supposed to get most of their nutrition from milk for the first 12 months, I'm not sure how she can get most of her calories from milk if she's only drinking 3x/day.
I'd agree that 3x seems really low. That would be an average of 8 oz. a session which though I haven't tried, I think would be really hard on my body and supply. M isn't quite 9 months but nurses 6-7 times I think on a good day. Some days if we're distracted he'll go 5 hrs without noticing it, but most of the time that just means he makes up for the calories at night.
I've never understood why it is that seemingly every adult nutritionist will discuss the importance of spreading out meals into 6 small meals/snacks a day, yet so many push for their LOs to only have 3 square meals so early.
I would think it would depend on how much dc is eating that is not your bm. dd was eating 2 "meals" a day ... so she's wake, nurse, then have a breakfast at 8:30 or 9 a, nurse before an 11 am nap... nurse again before her 1pm nap. have an early dinner, then nurse before bed. sometimes she'd throw in another feeding of nursing. I believe ds was the same way. both were very active and didn't want to stop to eat. so calm times for nursing. then the feedings of purees and soft foods between. nursing 4-5x a day. both sttn by this time... bed by 7:30, up at 6a.
I'm sure some babies nurse only 3 x a day... maybe if they are eating more at a time or more purees. some babies nurse more. I know a friend's baby nursed every 2 hours during the day and woke at night, but she also delayed table foods, not starting to introduce them until ds was 9m/o. I wouldn't worry about it.