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Breastfeeding
Liz17860
member
How much BM after starting solids, as a toddler, etc?
Liz17860
member
So I EP, and have a pretty good stash in the freezer already. I hope to have DD on BM up until she isn't drinking bottles anymore but how long is that? I'm FTM, so I don't know when babies tend to stop having bottles and exclusively eat solid food.
I'm not going to necessarily give her cow's milk in a bottle b/c I feel that cows milk is more appropriate for cow babies (although I do like some with my cereal and/or with an Oreo every now and then, I don't think it should be her "nutrition" but more of a component of a balanced diet. I don't drink pop/coffee/beer morning and night either but every now and then it's fine for an adult)
I have some formula on hand in case I should need it in an emergency, but I don't want to transition her to formula when I can continue pumping to meet her needs (I work full time but in a very supportive environment and no one questions my actions/decisions), I'm just not sure what those needs tend to be as they get older.
My pedi said BF for a max of 2 years, but she recommends 1. So does that mean that DD will be having bottles up until she is 2? Or that I shouldn't be putting DD to breast past 1 year, which I don't do anyway? Very confusing....
On another note, my "little" preemie (35w 4d) girl is eating like a little piggy! She will have 5.5 ounces every 2-3 hours during the day (she does STTN, tho). She has her 4 month check up on the 23rd and we are going to ask about starting to introduce solids b/c we question the maturity of her digestive system but she is VERY interested in what we are eating all the time and is displaying the cues that she may want to start on cereal already!
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Re: How much BM after starting solids, as a toddler, etc?
As far as solids I would hold off until 6 months. What you are giving her in nutritionally perfect, so why replace it with something that is not (ie. rice)? She may be showing interest, but I bet she shows interest in many things, both edible and non-edible
If you think she might be interested in joining you, you could always give her BM on a spoon. That's what I did for DD until she was 6 months, she loved it.
As for bottles I think it's best to lose them at 12 months. I still nurse DD twice a day and she gets a sippy of BM before she goes to bed. So you could just put your BM in a sippy when your LO gets older.
As for your pedi saying of max of 2 years, she is wrong plain and simple. Most of the rest of the world BF until 3 or 4. The WHO recommends at least two years and even the AAP recommends a year or beyond if mutually desired, there is no upper limit! https://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
I definitely don't get your bashing of WCM meant for "cow babies" but you are okay with giving formula, which by your literal opinion of WCM, is made for who? A laboratory manufactured baby?
I'm not an expert, but here is what we did.
I gave him BM in a sippy cup at 4 months so he could get used to that.
EBF- from birth until 6 months and 1 week. We then introduced solids by way of baby led weaning (though I did give him some pureed foods I made in the food processor and gave him the plum's first prunes from the store). He got water in a sippy at around 7 months as well.
He was off the bottle very shortly after his 1st birthday.
After his 1st birthday I gave him WCM.
He has never had juice, unless it's from the fruit itself.
As for you BF, it's completely up to you. Your pedi is just giving you her opinion. I am still BF though we only do it in the mornings now, it's our snuggle time. I haven't pumped since 12/1 (2 weeks after he turned 1) unless I am out of town for the week. Only you and your baby can deterimine when it's time to stop BF- the benefits of giving your baby BM are plentiful, and if you are ok with pumping past a year, then by all means, keep giving her a cup of BM a day to give her those antibodies!
I mostly wanted to keep BF to get him through the flu season, but he's still not ready to give up the morning session, so we'll just continue as is until he's ready to move on.
GL!!
You can BF for as long as you want to. Don't let your pedi tell you when to stop! Stop when you and/or your baby want to.
We also did BLW like PP did. No cereals or purees, just whatever we were having. I agree with PP - if you showed your baby a lit match, I bet she would want it. Doesn't mean you're going to give it to her. :-)
Water and milk should be the only liquids for babies (and I think for adults, but that is just me!). Cow's milk is an excellent source of nutrition for kids. If you don't want to do cow's milk, there is also almond milk (milk for almond babies?), soy milk, etc. All have pros and cons. There is no way a baby would be able to eat the amount of calories it needs in food alone.
We have started to introduce the sippy cup (with water, until LO figures it out). We will wean from bottles around 1 year, or after if it takes longer for her to master a sippy cup or a straw cup.
The recommendation from WHO is for breastfeeding until 2 and beyond as long as mother and baby desire. The AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding through 6 months and then to continue on until at least 1 year. There is no official breastfeeding must end date put out by any organization that I'm aware of. I'm still currently breastfeeding a 23 month old and will probably start thinking about weaning around 2.5 or 3. As your baby matures your breastmilk changes to meet her nutritional requirements at that age.
6 months is generally recommended for the introduction of solids but more for your DD to get used to different tastes and textures of food. At that time solids should not be replacing breastmilk feedings. Since she was born early you may want to ask about waiting until her adjusted age is 6 months.
When we started solids he got one "meal" of solids a day until about 8 months, we then introduced another meal and by about a year we were at three meals a day and one to two snacks a day. I still breastfed on demand but the number of nursing sessions decreased as we approached on year. By 18 months we were down to nursing in the morning, naptime, and bedtime with an occasional extra session thrown in there. At 23 months we've mostly dropped the morning session.
Once your DD hits a year I would still offer her breastmilk as long as you have some to offer. It still has benefits for DD even past a year. I'm not super knowledgable about pumping but my understanding that pumping past the year mark becomes more difficult. Someone more familar with pumping might be able to verify or dispute that.
I like the idea of BM on a spoon and/or sippy cup! That's great!
I'm not trying to bash cow's milk, i just would prefer her to have BM as long as she needs to be having any type of milk in addition to solids. The formula on hand is really just for an emergency, but it would kill me to have to actually use it (although the ultimate goal is to "feed the baby" as they say in the Breastfeeding class, I'm still having guilt issues over her prematurity due to growth restriction b/c I have a bicornate uterus)
So maybe we'll do the spoon BM thing for a while to see how she likes the spoon. When we introduce solids (time TBD), I'm hearing things about not using cereal (poor nutritional value) and going right to veggies and fruits, which I'm interested in, especially if she can get the hang of the spoon with BM.
I'm also thinking since BM changes as baby ages, I should start getting her my oldest pumped BM now since that milk was made for her at a younger age... Which means freezing everything I make at this age. Which means she will be getting milk made for her at a younger age for some time... but that's ok, right? I've looked at Kelly mom website but maybe I need to do a little more research about the BM changing as baby ages.
It's true that BM changes over time, but not significantly enough that it wouldn't still be the best thing for her. Think, formula is made for babies 0-12 months, that never changes and babies still thrive on it. So BM from any stage is just fine provided it is not expired. My DD is getting milk from last May (we have a deep freeze so it's still good).
As far as giving her frozen vs. fresh I would do both. Freezing milk does compromise some of immunological properties, among other things (still obviously wonderful for babies and superior to formula). But at the same time you don't want your milk to go bad before you can use it. So I'm not sure how many bottles a day you do, but maybe if she was getting 5 bottles a day I would do 3 bottles of fresh, 2 of frozen? This would all depend of course on how large your stash is, if you find that milk is starting to get old maybe do more frozen and less fresh until you get ahead. Keep in mind this is just my personal opinion and you really can't go wrong giving your baby BM in any form.