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December 2013 Moms
BoothBaby
member
BFing Ladies ~ question about food
BoothBaby
member
For those still BFing (or pumping and bottle-feeding), I am wondering how you are balancing BM and food? Up until now I have been very loosy-goosy with solids. I always BF first (upon waking from overnight/naps, and before bed, 5x/day), and then fed solids in between when I had time.....anywhere from 0-3 times per day. Mostly I've just been focusing on exposing him to all sorts of foods, and not really worrying about balanced meals.
We had his 9 month checkup today, and the doc said that I should start feeding him 3 meals/day + snacks, and that I should give food first, and then BF after if he wants to. This is such a huge transition, that I'm kind of scared. I'm a little worried about my supply as well, because when he went down to the 5 feedings, my supply dropped, so I had to add a pumping session before I go to bed, as 6 seems to be my magic number to maintain supply (I use the milk from that pumping session to supplement in the afternoon the following day when my supply starts to dwindle).
Everything I've read says "solids before 1 are just for fun", so I guess I hesitate to make food his primary source of nutrition. Am I being dumb?
P.S. He is right on track with growth/health, so there is no concern of him not having been getting enough calories, or anything like that.
We had his 9 month checkup today, and the doc said that I should start feeding him 3 meals/day + snacks, and that I should give food first, and then BF after if he wants to. This is such a huge transition, that I'm kind of scared. I'm a little worried about my supply as well, because when he went down to the 5 feedings, my supply dropped, so I had to add a pumping session before I go to bed, as 6 seems to be my magic number to maintain supply (I use the milk from that pumping session to supplement in the afternoon the following day when my supply starts to dwindle).
Everything I've read says "solids before 1 are just for fun", so I guess I hesitate to make food his primary source of nutrition. Am I being dumb?
P.S. He is right on track with growth/health, so there is no concern of him not having been getting enough calories, or anything like that.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: BFing Ladies ~ question about food
So I decided to stop stressing about it (easier said than done) and I am now offering her solids and bfast/lunch/dinner even though she is not nursing before. She does not eat much at lunch and I haven't noticed a supply issue although I did add in a pump when we wake up first thing in the morning bc she won't nurse immediately.
~*~*~You're Such A Pretty Melody, I'm Just Another Tattooed Tragedy~*~*~
All his meals are spaced out so it's milk and then food about an hour and a half later. My pedi pushed to have 3 meals and snacks at the 9 month appointment too.
Nurse when she wakes
Oatmeal within 30 minutes
Sometimes nurse before nap
Nurse after nap
Snack
Lunch
Nurse
Dinner
Nurse before bed
And MOTN nursing which lately is 2-5x
And whatever I'm eating she'll get a few bites too
I always thought of "food before 1, just for fun" but hearing her say that helped because I was stressing about the amount LO was drinking.
I like Kellymom for info. I always push the milk first, but I have been known to sit him down with some cheerios when I have to get something done before I can sit down & nurse him.
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-how/
Here was the section on this topic:
Should I offer solids before or after nursing?
What we’re aiming for during the first year is to have solids complementing breastmilk, not replacing it. This means that when solids are introduced the breastfeeding pattern is not interrupted at all, but baby is fed solids in slowly increasing amounts as his appetite increases. Baby will be getting about the same amount of breastmilk as he gets older, with increasing amounts of solids on top of that.
I think the main point in the matter is maintaining breastmilk as baby’s main source of nutrition throughout the first year. This is important both to baby’s good nutrition and good health. The nutrients in breastmilk are particularly important for growth and development during baby’s first year. In addition, some (but certainly not all) of the health benefits of breastfeeding are directly related to the degree of exclusivity of breastfeeding (the greater the percentage of baby’s diet made up of breastmilk, the greater the health benefit).
Nursing before (rather than after) the solids is a good way to help keep the transition to solids proceeding slowly so that mom’s milk supply is maintained and baby gets the breastmilk that he needs.
See also Sustained Breastfeeding, Complementation and Care by Ted Greiner, Ph.D.
On the other hand, feeding solids before nursing might work very well for you if:
My 2 December boys
A prev Pedi we had scoulded me for not giving my DS1 solids after he was 4 mo old. She literally laughed at me to my face when I said I was waiting for 6 mo as that was the recommendation I was reading for EBF babies. She said I was "oh so funny" and then proceeded to tell me how the theory on waiting for solids was "controversial." I never went back to her. Another prev pedi told me to limit nursings to 15 mins each breast with DS1. That conflicted everything I knew about nursing on demand.
I'm not saying don't trust your pedi, but I think when it comes to this, you have options. There is no perfect way for everyone, but you will find the perfect way for you. I was really OCD with DS1 about 3 meals a day & he did fine with solids. Today he is a terrible eater & there is a really short list of foods he will eat. This time around I am going with BLW... I nurse him at normal times & then letting him eat afterwards as he sees fit. On the weekends he will often get maybe 2 meals outside of nursings. I have yet to get into his 9 mo appt for his check up, but recent sick visits the Drs we have seen have mentioned how he was looking to be doing great (outside the cold/nose/pink eye whatnot we were there for in the first place.
)
Don't stress too much!
My 2 December boys
- morning feed (between 5-6am usually, & if it's before 6 she usually goes back to sleep for awhile)
- big bowl of oatmeal around 8ish?
- 9:30 nurse before nap
- noonish: solids lunch (fruit purée)
- nurse right after
- nurse before afternoon nap at 2:30/3ish
- nurse at 5:30
- dinner solids at 6
- nurse before bed at 7:30.
Like you, 6 seems to be my magic number. As you can see we DO feed solids first at lunch time, & that has helped her eat more solids which is good, because overall she just has never eaten a lot of it. Breakfast was never an issue because that's the one solids meal she has always done great with, & it's so far after my initial morning feed anyway. Dinner I still nurse her first, but only because otherwise if I nurse after solids then it's just too close to my last nursing session of the night. And of course then dinner ends up being when she will barely eat any solids - usually 1/2 a jar.
K is still such a milk baby, & she does okay with solids but if I skip a nursing session she'll wake up in the MOTN to make up for it. It makes me nervous about weaning since we only have 2 more months til she's one. I actually wish she was more into food, it would really help make the transition easier.