Have you started solids yet?

pcrock92 · April 2012

I know most people say to wait until at least 6 months, but I feel like milk (Breast milk or formula) doesn't hold him off at all! He gets formula when I'm at work (usually 4-6 oz every 3 hours on demand), and I nurse him when I'm at home. When I nurse him, even in the middle of the night, he wakes up or wants to eat EVERY 2 HOURS still! Some times more often than that. Today, he nursed every half hour for 5 hours in a row..

So just curious if any one has started solids yet? Or putting cereal in their LO's milk? Should I start? I'm going to talk to his Pedi as well, but just wanted some opinions! TIA

namara5532 · April 2012

I'm no medical expert, but these are the signs I've been told to look out for:

-loss of the tongue thrust reflex

-watching adults eat food

-trying to steal food off others' plates

If those signs aren't there, I'd venture to guess that maybe your LO is going through the 3 month growth spurt. I'd personally be hesitant to start solids any earlier than 4 months even if the pediatrician recommended it.

pcrock92 · April 2012

He'll be 4 months in about a week. We go in for his 4 month check-up on the 2nd any way and I plan on asking then.

anhg80 · April 2012

I've heard the new recommendations are to wait until 6 months. Considering our family history of food allergies, I'm going to try to wait this long. Lena's already looking at our food (and really has been "excited" by food since day 1 - always wanting to nurse when we are eating).

Every 2 hours is tough! How are you functioning?

Jess084 · April 2012

We plan on waiting until 6 months. My LO seems content with BM for now, even if he has his days where he wants to nurse more frequently. He will eat solids for the rest of his life so I am savoring these days of only breast milk. Plus, once you start solids your milk supply technically should dip a bit because your baby doesn't take as much milk. I want to hold out and keep as much milk flowing as I can so that I can save enough milk to last is to one year and avoid formula if we can.

Katie31759 · April 2012

I want to wait till 6 months. From what I was reading, cereal isn't even that great for them. BM is way higher calories and more nutritious. Suposedly it's better to start with something like avacados that are packed full of vitamins.

kali55 · April 2012

I say follow your gut. You are Mom and you know your child better than ANYONE else, if you feel like LO is ready try it out.

SoonToBeMsP · April 2012

We aren't even close to solids yet, but I wanted to bring something up. If you're not pumping while at work and only nursing at home your supply might be suffering so your DS may not actually be getting much at each session... Hence the extreme cluster feeding. I wouldn't think this if he was like that at daycare (when you know he is getting 4-6oz). Just a thought!

pcrock92 · April 2012

I pump while I'm ay work but there's no fridge so I have to dump it. He eats 4-6 oz every 3 hours when he gets formula. We'll probably hold off on solids until 6 months but these frequent meals are killing me!!

ryry1977 · April 2012

The earliest we are going to try is 4 months. We started at 3 months with DS and he didnt sleep any better

bleu928 · April 2012

pcrock92:
I pump while I'm ay work but there's no fridge so I have to dump it.

Sad!!!! Can you use a cooler and freezer packs? It breaks my heart to think of dumped BM that you worked so hard for!!!!

Thinkerbelle80 · April 2012

You dump your milk? No no no!! don't do that! How awful! You can bring a freezer lunch bag and ice packs and put the bottles in there. They stay safe in a freezer bag for eight hours then you can transfer them to a fridge where they stay good for a week. Then you won't be pumping for no reason and you can give him the breastmilk at daycare the next day.

I really wouldn't start solids yet. It's much too young to do so. I would try having him cluster feed at night meaning that you nurse him for a really long time right before he goes to sleep so he stays asleep longer before he needs to eat again.

Another thought... if he's getting a lot of bottles during the day do you think his latch may have changed and he has a weaker suck at the breast now so he is not getting as much when nursing? Watch his latch to see if it is a good one. Or you could try giving him a bottle of pumped breastmilk in the middle of the night to see if he sleeps longer. when my supply dipped, my daughter was waking up constantly and I finally gave her a bottle of bm and she slept many hours. Then I pumped a lot to up the supply back up.

crystalw13 · April 2012

My heart just sank, you dump your milk? I have the frozen thing that came with the medela pump, it cools my milk all day long, and it is cold to the touch when I put it in the fridge when I get home.

mudluscious4 · April 2012

Does he sleep more/eat less often during the day? He could be reverse cycling, some babies do this because well, they kind of miss you during the day and so they nurse a ton at night.

This was all I could find in the way of "help". I hope you get some rest soon! https://www.workandpump.com/reversecycling.htm

matthewsdm · April 2012

bleu928:

pcrock92:
I pump while I'm ay work but there's no fridge so I have to dump it.

Sad!!!! Can you use a cooler and freezer packs? It breaks my heart to think of dumped BM that you worked so hard for!!!!

This!! Definitely try bring a cooler or lunch bag with freezer packs.

LanaLoves · April 2012

We've been putting a teaspoon of begginers oat cereal in every bottle (4oz) since LO was two months. Results: He doesn't spit up anymore. He is full for way longer; sleeps from 9pm to 6am straight...with feedings every 3-4 hours during the day.

II listen to my family and friends and what has worked for them...I was sceptical about the cereal too because of what I've read online; but my God, we've all survived just fine and we were ALL fed solids way before 6m... People are too much by the book...See how your LO reacts and go from there; use your own motherly instincs and you and your LO will be much happier

Mrs.MauiBride24 · April 2012

matthewsdm:
bleu928:

pcrock92:
I pump while I'm ay work but there's no fridge so I have to dump it.

Sad!!!! Can you use a cooler and freezer packs? It breaks my heart to think of dumped BM that you worked so hard for!!!!

This!! Definitely try bring a cooler or lunch bag with freezer packs.

yes! Save the milk! Ask on here if you have questions about how to store milk. There are a lot of BF moms here to help.

pcrock92 · April 2012

Thank you ladies. I just didn't really think that the freezer packs would keep the milk "good" until I got home. But I'll definitely have to start doing that! It's such a pain to pump, so having to throw it away sucks!

His latch is still good, but I think I'll just wait on solids. He goes right back to sleep after only nursing for about 10 minutes in the middle of the night (even though he wakes up 3-4 times to nurse!) So I guess I'd rather wait.

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