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June 2012 Moms
acbfreire
member
questions, many questions
acbfreire
member
We just came back from the 4mo appt. LO is doing fine. The doc recommended starting solids cereal first, then fruits/ veggies. LO is EBF and is nursing every hour during the day. I am afraid that introducing solids before 6 mo may lead to early weaning. ..
He also recommended putting her awake in the crib for naps - she's only been napping on me, but does fine at night (nurses to sleep and then I put her on the Every time I tried putting her down awake/ drowsy she cries and gets worked up. I don't want to do CIO. At night she will go back to sleep on her own, though.
I am afraid that she will get so worked up and will miss her naps. Yesterday she missed a nap and it was a nightmare to put her to sleep at night. She only went down at midnight
Anyway... what are you doing regarding solids and naps?
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Re: questions, many questions
If my LO were nursing that much during the day, I'd start solids. That sounds like she's not getting enough to stay full. Could you start with just one "solid" feeding during the day, and keep nursing the rest of the time? Like maybe give cereal on the second feeding of the day (I'm assuming you'd not want to skip the first morning nursing session of she STTN. pain!) and then nurse all the other feedings. Just see how it goes? Or maybe you could feed solids, and then offer the breast afterwards? (dessert? haha)
As far as naps go.. We put Elliot down while he's awake for all his naps and at night and he does fine. Sometimes he'll fuss for a little bit but I just check on him and give him his paci back or something and he'll go to sleep.
Good luck! Keep us posted if you start solids! Elliot has been taking 7 oz every 3 hours for the past week or so (He's formula fed. it used to be 5oz every 4 oz and suddenly jumped to this) So we decided to start easing into solids. I gave him cereal first thing this morning and he did great. It was obvious he was ready as soon as I started feeding it to him. He took a bite, didn't lose much at all, and then when the spoon started coming back to him he popped his mouth open ready for more. He didn't have any tummy upset either. I think I'm going to feed him some more around supper time tonight. It went much better than it could have. I'm going to keep doing two a day with him for a few days. Sunday I'm going to make a bunch of baby food, and on monday I think I might try an actual puree with him. Probably apples or carrots.
No experience with solids yet as LO is only 3.5 months old. As for naps and night time, I put him in his swing for naps awake and he falls asleep. For night time we swaddle and put him in his crib awake and he falls asleep by himself with the help of white noise and his pacifier. We have been doing this since 6 weeks about.
How is your LO after the vaccinations?
so far, so good. She is napping now and has a normal appetite.
She wants to eat every hour, and you DON'T want to give her cereal?! Girl, you are more woman than I! My son will be 4 months on Sunday, and aren't they supposed to naturally cut down to like 6 feedings a day by now? Perhaps she does indeed need a little something extra to "stick to her ribs".
If you're worried, remember another thing about solids. Babies really don't NEED anything besides milk until 12 months, but solids introduce them to new flavors to become more well rounded eaters, as well as, most importantly, exercises their mouths to develop little muscles for talking.
Aww your post is kind of scaring me because DS is starting daycare next week and he is normally a good napper at home so I'm scared how he'll nap at daycare.
Glad your vaccinations went well...Not looking forward to our appt tomorrow. My LO also nurses as often yours and only falls asleep while nursing, so I have not put him down awake either.
My LO doesn't show any interest in solids yet so I think I will wait until he's 6 months to introduce solids. My Pedi told me before that LO should be able to sit up unassisted before starting solids, and my LO isn't able to do that yet.
I'm glad little Isabel is ok and didn't develop a fever...GL on whatever you decide.
I am glad she is not the only one nursing constantly LOL. She is interested in food, we put her in the high chair by us every meal.
I am thinking about waiting another month before trying solids. She is almost sitting unassisted and she puts everything in her mouth. My concern w/ solids is that you need to put BM in the cereal and I barely pump enough for the bottles we need for the week, so I am going to be more of a slave than I am right now.
How is your LO doing with naps?
As far as the food, DS nurses every 1.5 hours around the clock. I have him on one cereal and one vegetable a day about 2 oz of each and that has cut the BF by a bit. I am hoping it helps him sleep longer eventually. He was totally ready for food and even tries to feed himself so I am glad I started out with the foods.
acb, I also have a barnacle baby who only wants to sleep on me. Recently, I started trying the EASY method and it is actually working. I think the key is to put them down in the crib ASAP before you actually think they are tired. DD is also digging a Little Giraffes snuggly blanket that she likes to rub on her face (I sneak in and take it away from her as soon as she falls asleep). She takes a long time to fall asleep and I keep popping back into comfort her (rub her belly, hand her the blanket, etc) because I don't want her to CIO either. But after about 20 minutes, she does fall asleep without any real crying, so it is some progress.
So far we've been able to get her down for naps and at night unti she wakes up for her first feeding- then she comes into bed with us for a bit and ends up in her co sleeper. I haven't figured that out yet!
As far as solids, the APA recommends waiting until 6 months if you are BFing. If you want to cut back (you are a champ! for nursing hourly) you might consider it, but otherwise, I say do what feels right for you and your DD.
At night she can go 6h without nursing. She even went for 9h once, so I am not worried about the sleeping longer at night as much as her naps.
I have tried moving her right away, waiting 20 min, limp limb test, you name it. As soon as I move, she wakes up immediately.
Yeah that's frustrating!!
Abc, my DS sounds like your DD. He also loves nursing and hates naps. He is napping on me right now, but if I put him in his bed he wakes up almost right away. I SAH with him for now so I don't mind that he is more of a snacker either. If she's gaining well and has enough wet diapers I doubt it is a problem with her getting enough. She might just like to snack, and BM digests very quickly so it's reasonable that she's hungry again. There's more to nursing than just eating too. Cereal might fill her up more and cause her to nurse less frequently but it is very low in nutritional value. Kellymom has tons of great Info breaking down why the official recommendation from WHO, AAP, Health Canada, and many other organisations is to wait until 6m. I can't post a link from my phone but it explained the reasoning in a really easy to understand way and had links to all the studies. Personally, we will continue to EBF until 6 months. It can be hard to get things done, but I love the snuggles I get wih nursing and know that it's what is best for him now.
ETA: On a real computer now, here is the link on why delaying solids is recommended: https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/delay-solids/
At out four month appt. the dr. said we could start rice cereal once a day. But, he said it would not decrease the amount of formula she was drinking. It is only to get her used to solids. I was told I could start whenever I wanted after four months, but that she definitely had to start by six months because her diet would be lacking if she didn't start by six months.
We have been doing EASY since DD was 8 weeks and it really worked for her. She never falls asleep while eating anymore and I lay her down for naps and bedtime drowsy. Most of the time she goes right out, but if she fusses, I go in and giver her her paci and rub her head. She LOVES her seahorse that lights up and plays music and I really think it helps her fall asleep. She also has a Fisher Price soother that helps.
This is interesting stuff! I guess I am pretty lucky that DS goes to bed pretty easily-we have our bedtime routine (bath, a tiny bit of lavender lotion, bottle) and its worked pretty well for us. Naps, however, are a different story. He fights naps, even though I can tell he's tired. I usually end up resorting to the paci and holding him.
His 4 month wellness check is not until he's 4 1/2 months, but I plan on waiting until 5-6 months to start solids. He is formula fed but I don't see the need to give him extra calories if he doesn't need them. I'll wait until he shows a lot of signs and can practice with a spoon before I start for real.
Good luck with your LO!
I'm not always home for naps. If my mom is watching him, she puts him in the stroller and walks him and he falls asleep. When I am home, I either nurse him to sleep or we for a car ride and he is out by the time we get home. I usually do my errands around his nap time because he falls asleep better in the stroller or car seat....He fights his naps when I put him down awake...
My LO is so wired, she does ok with rides, but she never falls asleep!
this is basically what I was going to say. I also have a very frequent nurser, however he is getting plenty of food based on his weight, which has consistently been above the 90th percentile. I know he's not always nurseing out of hunger, but also comfort, which I'm totally fine with. We will also be waiting until around 6 months to introduce solids, and will not be giving him cereal at all. We will be introducing avocados first and then going from there....probably doing some form of blw.
This, do what feels right for you. Our pedi also said we could do cereal at 4 months, but it was up to us. I don't think we will start any solids until 6 months or so, and we'll probably skip cereal altogether.
One thing I have noticed about DD is that at daycare, she will go 4 hours between bottles of breastmilk. On weekends when I'm home, she nurses every 2 hours. I think it's a combination of her wanting to nurse for comfort but also me going to the boob first thing, rather than trying anything else to comfort her. But, that works for us right now so I'm not going to change it. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
For the pp worried about naps at daycare, don't stress! DD only naps in her bouncy seat at home, but at daycare she takes several hour long naps, in her crib, unswaddled! Your baby may surprise you : )
Even when I am gone she takes 2 oz every hour or so!
I started rice cereal at 10 weeks (on a spoon). So I know I'm not the norm. I switched to oatmeal shortly after and started mixing in fruit. Then we started veggies a couple weeks ago. Now he has oatmeal and a fruit in the morning and a veggie at night. He also drinks 4-5 oz of breastmilk right after each. (I'm an EPer) So as far as weaning early, I'm no help. But if you're not ready to start solids, don't. There's no rule that says you have to.
With naps, I'm definitely no help since I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. He's fine at night but day time is a struggle.
Oh wow! Maybe you just have a grazer? It'll be interesting to see if she keeps up this pattern of eating for the long term
I'm like that