breastmilk vs. babyfood

umdbride · September 2011

I'm asking the pedi too, but I'm just curious what you all think. Do you have any guidelines on how much milk vs how much food for a 6-7 month old? I've read milk is still the main form of nutrition so I want to make sure I'm not inadvertently substituting food for milk, but it's getting a little hard to keep the same feeding schedule he has at daycare on the weekends.

Any advice on the schedule would be really helpful too.

Basically this was his schedule:

7/7:30 nurse

8:30 cereal and/or babyfood

11:30 babyfood

12:45 bottle

3:30 bottle

5:30/6 babyfood

6:30/7 nurse

The problem is that at home, I can't make milk fast enough for two bottles within less than 3 hours in the afternoon. So I asked DCP to give him a bottle at 11:30 instead of food, and babyfood at 12:45 instead of milk, but that's hard for her to do because all the kids eat lunch at 11:30; so we decided on bottle at 8:30 and food at 3:30. But, that isn't the easiest for pumping or weekends either (I guess on the weekends I would just feed him a little later than 7:30, or feed him cereal rather than milk, but then I'm worried I'm not giving him enough milk those days). I can go up to 5 hours without pumping during the day and do ok, if that matters. He also wakes up around 10 pm and 2am for night feedings but I'm hoping those diminish soon.

sorry this is long and confusing - thanks if you read this far and have any thoughts

LMH1209 · September 2011

I didn't try to schedule nursing, even when DS started solids. We fed solids on a schedule, slowly working up to three "meals" by twelve months, but I just nursed on demand in between. I guess that doesn't help, though, if you're already used to scheduling bottles.

umdbride · September 2011

LMH1209:
I didn't try to schedule nursing, even when DS started solids. We fed solids on a schedule, slowly working up to three "meals" by twelve months, but I just nursed on demand in between. I guess that doesn't help, though, if you're already used to scheduling bottles.

So how did this work with daycare? I'm mainly trying to keep the same schedule he has at daycare at home so he's not totally thrown off on the weekends. It seems to nap well he needs to eat before his nap and so that kind of dictates the other feedings, maybe not so much a schedule as a routine I guess.

WinesNot Whines · September 2011

When M was up to 3 meals a day, we spaced his bottles/nursing out so he got milk every 3 hours or so. His schedule was something like this:

6:30/7 am - nurse
8:30 am - breakfast
9:30 am - bottle
11:30 am - lunch
12:30 pm - bottle
3:30 pm - bottle
5 pm - nurse (he wanted to nurse as soon as we got home)
6:30 pm - dinner
8:00 pm - nurse before bed

Why are you giving him bottles when you're home with him instead of nursing? Unless you're EPing (and it doesn't seem like you are), I would just nurse him on weekends and don't worry about making bottles. If he wants to nurse more often, it's ok.

umdbride · September 2011

I nurse and pump, but realized I make only 3oz or so in 3 hours and 5oz plus at 4 hours, so I try to space milk out so he fills up a little better.

oh, and I'm nursing on weekends, but try to stick to the same general times so his naps aren't thrown off. He definitely sleeps better when the naps are at the same time and he eats right before.

QueSrah · September 2011

Could you try pumping more often during the week to boost your supply (over time) so you can keep up better on the weekends? Or pump at night between his bedtime and the first nighttime feeding so you have some extra milk to supplement for the next day?

umdbride · September 2011

QueSrah:
Could you try pumping more often during the week to boost your supply (over time) so you can keep up better on the weekends? Or pump at night between his bedtime and the first nighttime feeding so you have some extra milk to supplement for the next day?

He eats so frequently at night (we put him down at 7 and he's up between 10 and 11, then again around 2 or 3) that I can't fit in any pumping at night. Its not that I can't necessarily keep up with the total amount, it's more the timing of when DCP gives him a bottle vs. when I can nurse. I guess it sounds like that I don't need to really worry about keeping the same feeding routine at DCP and home though?

northernvabride · September 2011

Especially if you're nursing rather than doing bottles at home on weekends, I would just go on demand. You can try to do his baby food at a similar time as daycare, but I don't think the schedule needs to be the same necessarily. I didn't make as much milk by that point either, but I just nursed more often then, which was soothing and filling enough for DD. We actually did babyfood and nursing/bottles together starting around 8months and then she would go up to 4 hours between eating sometimes. Every baby is different though.

LMH1209 · September 2011

I'd try to keep a similar schedule for sleep and for offering solids at home as at daycare, but I wouldn't worry about the breast milk part of the schedule on the weekends. Heck, nursing on demand at home may boost your supply to help you keep up with the pumping/bottles during the week. I also wouldn't worry about rushing to three meals of solids per day unless you have one of those kids who loves solids right away. We were barely at three meals at twelve months.

umdbride · September 2011

Thanks! he really does LOVE food

umdbride · September 2011

Thanks! he really does LOVE food

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