9 month old BF questions

vszapp

Hoping to draw upon your expertise for a few issues we have... 

1. We had our 9 month pedi appointment yesterday. We discussed her feeding schedule, and the pedi said that nursing every ~2 hours during the day is "too often" for a 9 mo and that we should try to be getting more solids in her (she currently eats lunch and dinner and bfast when she feels like it). She has always been a frequent nurser and just hasn't really shown any signs of wanting to slow down - she basically nurses before and after each nap/sleep period, but I have no idea how much she's actually taking in. I was under the impression that solids should not take the place of BM at this time, but pedi said that by 1 year she should get most of her nutrition from solids. DD like solids fine, but I haven't been cramming them into her. Thoughts?

2. DD still wakes twice at night (when we're lucky) to nurse - goes to bed at 7pm and wakes at ~1am and 4 or 5am. The broken sleep isn't great, but we're managing (she sleeps in her own room). However, thanks to an old injury and a baby that wants to "walk" all of the time, my back has gone out in a MAJOR way. So bad that I really can't even put her into her crib right now. Should we consider night weaning? DH is ready and willing but not sure if it is too early. If I were to get up and feed her and then pass her off to DH for going back into the crib, she'd be wide awake and we'll be up for hours... Not sure what else to do! 

Winomama

In my experience, pediatricians have little to no formal education on the importance- and natural course of breastfeeding. BM is more nutrient and calorie dense than any healthy solid food you can give to your baby. I think you should follow your DD's lead on solids. She will eat more solids when she is ready. Have you tried using a stool to get DD into her crib?

Have you tried co-sleeping to avoid having to get her in/out of the crib? If you are looking to night-wean, that might not be the best option though. We did co-sleeping for a few months but DS was up every 1-2 hours at night to nurse. No one was getting any sleep in our family! 

FWIW, DS still gets up between 1-2 times per night to nurse, but it's far less than before. Now, he sleeps from 6:30 to at least 3, a lot of times even later. Hang in there it does get better! 

mexicolombiana

I agree with PP above.  I wouldn't be too concerned w/the nursing during the day.  Eventually your LO will start eating plenty of solids and BFing less, it'll probably happen soon.  My 10 mo old is eating a lot of solids and still nursing but every 4 hrs or so instead of every 2.  She's also still waking up to eat but only once a night around 4/5 am and then she goes back down til 7 a.m.  

Hopefully your LO will stop waking up at the 1 am wake up time soon. 

ncbelle

My kids easily nursed that often at 9 months - totally fine and totally normal.  She's just more of a grazer (which is actually how humans are designed to eat vs. just a few large meals).  I'd let her take the lead and keep doing what you are doing.

On the night waking...I think 2 times a night is still totally normal; both my kids were the most wakeful from about 9-11 months or so - learning to walk killed sleep!  I'm in the camp that doesn't think you should push night weaning before 1 - others will say it's just fine.  I would consider just doing one wake first and see how it goes.  If it creates a big fight, then it's probably not time.  My solution was to bed share - not sure how you feel about that but it would solve the putting her back in the crib issue.  You could just do it after her second waking for example (and let DH handle her first waking offering water and snuggles). 

sosoph

well, yes, every 2 hours in the day plus 2 night wake-ups is very frequent for a 9mo old. If my 9mo old had been nursing like that, there's no way I would have made it to a year, personally, but if it works for you there's no need to change - it sounds otherwise, though.

A baby that age does not need to eat at night, so you should feel no guilt about night weaning. It's more of a comfort/dependence thing at that point. You might think about adding a yogurt or cheese snack in the afternoon as well.

JKB1986

Every two hours is not bad in my opinion. My first nursed before and after every nap and did not really take to solids until about 13 months. I would prefer them to have breastmilk over any solid food anyways. As far as night waking, DS1 was still waking twice a night until he was about a year and did not sleep through the night until he was 19 months. DS2 is 10.5 months and is still waking 2 or 3 times a night. I know he will sleep through the night when he is ready. If it is only a short time between wakings I will have DH go in and see if he can get him back to sleep. If he can't, then I go in and nurse. I say do what works for you and ignore what people say "should" be happening.

vszapp

Thanks ladies - I am glad to hear we aren't outside of the normal range. Our pedi is a mom so I'm a bit surprised at her apparent ignorance. 

As for bedsharing, I would love to but I am concerned that our bed is too soft (thick pillow top) and also that I would never get any sleep (I am an awful sleeper already). I will see if I can rig something to get her back into the crib. It's the bending over to put her down the kills me. We had to drop the mattress because she can stand, and it's just excruciating to bend over to get her in there! But, in my heart I just feel that we shouldn't try to night wean yet. Worst case scenario I'll pump and give DH a bottle for the night feedings...