My pedi has 2 kids a little older than mine. She nursed them both 2 times a night until they turned 1 and then quit cold turkey. I nursed DD1 twice per night until 1and it was actually easy to quit the night time feedings at that age. I'm still feeding DD2 when she wakes up 2 times per night. I wish it was only once or none per night, but if she wants it, she's still getting it. Especially since her weight was a little bit down.
@babycakesday Q had the same issue when I upped his meals to 3 a day. The ped recommended a tablespoon pure prune juice in water and that worked better than I wanted it to
M slept through the night for 3 weeks in February. And now she's back up to nursing 2x a night. So you ladies are not alone. We have her 9 month appointment next week so I'm curious what the doctor will tell us.
For second time moms, I'm curious about how/when you cut out the bedtime feeding when they switch to cows milk. Did you just give them a cup of milk before bed? I'm wondering if she even needs that feeding anymore. I'm also wondering if I should give her milk only at big meal times, or with her snacks as well? Right now she has 4 bottles and 3 meals.
7am- Bottle and breakfast 11am- Bottle and lunch 3pm- Bottle and small snack 5:30pm- Dinner 7pm- Bottle and bedtime
(STM) I can't comment on getting rid of the night feeding, my oldest was on formula and sleeping through the night by this point. But as for cows milk, I gave it to her after she had eaten meals because I didn't want her filling up on milk. If she didn't finish it, I stuck it in the fridge until snack time. If she did finish the milk at meal times, I did water or a bit of juice with snacks. Im pretty strict (structured) on snacking at our house.
Most kids (shoot even adults) will eat out of boredom and graze all day if you let them. So I tried to get a handle on that from the beginning with my oldest and it seemed to work well. At 10, she's not mindlessly wondering into the pantry every chance she gets.
That said, once she was old enough, I always had prepped fruit/veggies in the fridge if she insisted she was starving So I'll be taking the same approach with M. I do plan to keep our night nursing session as long as she wants... which means when I'm at work I guess she'll be getting bedtime milk to keep bedtime consistent. But once she's done nursing, nighttime milk will be going away as well.
@ldsjm123 Elise does sleep through the night, but gets a bottle before she goes down for the night at 7. So I'm not sure if that's needed or not! We have an appointment on Thursday so I will ask. Thanks for the snacking and milk at meals advice!!! That is helpful!!
Structured snacking to me, is a bit of both, times and what they eat. 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day. I tried to follow a 2-3 hour rule once my oldest was around 1. Breakfast, 2-3 hours later snack (or what you didn't finish from the previous meal), 2-3 hours later lunch, 2-3 hours later snack (or what you didn't finish from previous meal), 2-3 hours later dinner, then depending on bedtime, maybe another snack or cup of milk.
Snack foods in our house aren't junk. And typically are very minimally processed. I love baking and we allow treats, but we prefer foods that are nourishing and filling. Snacks look like cheese and crackers, hummus, salsa, guacamole, veggies and ranch, fruit, pretzels, graham crackers with peanut butter, smoothies,etc. I also like snack time to cover 2 food groups. Research has shown that more smaller meals is actually healthier, so we've tried to embrace that idea. It also is a great chance to introduce a variety of new foods. There's no pressure for them to eat a bunch of it.
I also didn't want her to think that if she didnt eat all her food she could still have a snack later. So if she didn't finish it, it was there for her when she was hungry again. We did teach her to stop when she feels full but sometimes, 2,3,4 year olds like to try to pull a fast one on you, I promise we aren't too mean
One last thing I noticed over time, when quality, nutrient dense foods are served at meal times, often times they won't need/want a snack. But it's a great way to get some extra fruit/veggies/calories into them if need be.
That was really long! I'm sorry. Let me know if she have anymore questions. Food is my jam
I agree with bringing the left overs back out. Love it! I hate seeing food go to waste but like the idea of letting them know it's ok to stop if they're full. I too was raised in a total junk food environment. A home cooked meal was if my mom boiled a can of green beans with a box of Mac and cheese! We definitely have no intention of going down that road. Love all the easy, fresh suggestions! Now that L is getting the hang of self feeding I think I need to stock up on more of those finger foods.
I am loving this snack philosophy. We don't keep junk snack foods around the house because I will eat them all in one sitting. I grew up on terrible food and had to teach myself nutrition, so I have little self control in that department. I don't want that for my kids! We keep fruit (I make fruit salad every Sunday for snacking through out the week), cheese, guac, veggies and dip, smoothies, and nut butters around but that's it. Q gets roasted veggies and fruit for snacks right now and I plan to keep it that way! I am going to strive to raise my children with a healthy view of food and snacking, unlike what I grew up with
I like hearing all the snacking ideas too! Though I was raised in a very healthy house with zero junk food except on holidays or the allotted 'treat' I could have after dinner, I would binge eat junk food at friends houses or school whatever chance I got because I have such a sweet tooth, lol. So I've been trying to think of how to handle snacking and allowing junk food if I have a kid like me! It has taken me a long time to learn self control with sweets and I still am bad about it, even though I have a very good upbringing in regards to healthy eating. My mom was a nurse and we ate all vegetarian, organic, etc. with very restricted access to sweets (though she did bake a lot, so it's not like I never got to have sweets). I was just the kid who loved soda and candy and junk food way too much. So I have always wondered if I would have thought it was so great if it wasn't forbidden fruit.
Married 6/1/13
BFP #1 7/2013 MMC 9/17/13
BFP #2 5/2014 MC 6/15/14
BFP #3 11/13/14 (Found in ER with ruptured cyst) Diagnosed MC 11/15/14
BFP #4 4/2015 MC 7/1/15
BFP #5 10/21/15 EDD 7/3/16 Praying for our rainbow!
I do a mix of snacks...my oldest was such a horrible eater esp from age 3-4 (hes almost 4 and finally getting better) if he wouldnt eat his supper I would offer that back to him later if he was hungry or he could have a healthy snack like fruit, yogurt, applesauce etc no candy etc.. on nights where he eats all of his supper he gets more of a treat for bedtime snack- cookie, piece of candy, popsicle. I think its good to do everything in moderation. I know kids too that arent allowed anything sugary etc so then when they do get it they freak out and go over board.
Love all this snack talk! We try to keep a balance here.. I have crackers, salsa, fruit, and cut up veggies on hand, but I bake a lot so we also have cookies, bars or banana bread around almost all the time, plus I can't live without my ice cream. For E, she sometimes gets her leftover breakfast or a Plum Organic teething wafer. I only let her have her puffs to keep her quiet during church!
All of this snack talk is making me hungry! Loving all of the suggestions. I wasn't raised with the best eating habits either and like so many of you other mamas I'm trying to change my own habits & raise my son with better ones from the start.
We trailed dairy last week with whole fat yogurt in small but increasing amounts. Ruby developed a terrible diaper rash and Beck's face broke out with eczema. We hadn't had either of those problems since we switched to amino acid based formula at about 2 months old. Removed the yogurt over the past few days and everything cleared up quickly. That means dairy fail for us. I am so sad about it. It's hard having super intolerant babies!
Oh dang, @shanparadise! If you have a Whole Foods near you (or similar market) maybe look into yogurt made with sheep or goats milk? If you're not weirded out by that, lol. I was surprised at the yogurt variety I saw when I was picking some up for L.
@TiffRox81 We do have one right down the street! I'll be sure to check out the different kinds when we're there next.
@winnie1122 I was terrified. But our doctor said most babies outgrow the intolerance by 9 months, so DH wanted to give it a shot. Since the fail, our doctor says try again at 12 months, and if it's still a fail, we need to get allergy testing done. Boo.
@shanparadise I've heard that same reintroduction thing from other people but our doc said to wait until he was FOUR! Which I was very surprised about. Granted, I still have very mixed feelings about our pediatrician based on what seems to be the most up to date things and what he says, but what do I know? I'm considering taking P to an allergist once we have more money, just to make sure we're actually handling his allergies the best way at this stage. I'd hate to miss some window of giving him a chance to get over his dairy/soy issues. Ugh, food allergies already suck.
Married 6/1/13
BFP #1 7/2013 MMC 9/17/13
BFP #2 5/2014 MC 6/15/14
BFP #3 11/13/14 (Found in ER with ruptured cyst) Diagnosed MC 11/15/14
BFP #4 4/2015 MC 7/1/15
BFP #5 10/21/15 EDD 7/3/16 Praying for our rainbow!
@shanparadise I hope they out grow it!! I was dairy intolerant (until I got pregnant now I can eat all the dairy I want) and I found so many alternatives! There is also yogurt made from coconut milk or almond milk, my fav brand was SoDelicious. There is dairy free cheese, snack options, and many places make dairy free cakes/pastries if you want to do a cake smash for their bday. It is hard for sure, but there are a lot of options out there
Just throwing this out there. I had dairy issues as a baby (same as the twins, it was super severe. Still do). By the time I was 1, I could apparently tolerate small amounts of things made with 2% milk fat or less (this is what I was told, but i remember having stomach aches a lot!). I do know however that some people can handle dairy products if they are cooked/baked into things. I think whether it is a lactose issue or a milk protein allergy also makes a difference. (Some of us lucky people have both!). We were told that L was basically guaranteed to at least have lactose issues, if not more (I have lactose and milk protein allergies, DH for sure had lactose issues, not sure about beyond that). Hoping they out grow it, but there are some great alternatives if not!
I agree with there being the potential to outgrow it. My niece had TERRIBLE allergies originally. If my nephew touched a piece of dairy anything and touched Elle she would breakout! This was in addition to wheat and nut. They live in so cal, and me in NorCal so we don't see each other super frequently. I was shocked the last time I saw them her only remaining allergy is nut!
so... feeding table food is terrifying to me. I am so afraid of her choking. I spend so much time cutting everything in teeny tiny pieces. I feel like all I'm ever doing is making food for her. Doing all of the meals and snacks is so consuming. I feel like I'm feeding as much as we were when she was first born.
I'm also wondering if I should start working on cutting out her motn bottle. She gobbles it up so I feel like she is hungry...but she is also eating 35-40 oz of formula a day plus her solids (puree or tablefood). That seems like a lot. I am considering starting to water down the motn bottle so it is an easier transition than just not giving it to her cold turkey...has anyone tried that?
@kmurdock925 40 oz is quite a bit at this age. My ped said we should be doing 18-24 and we were doing 30 so we backed him off one bottle and he is fine. So in my opinion, you LO is waking up for a motn bottle out of habit not because she needs the calories. I think that if you cut out that motn bottle cold turkey, it would be hard for the first few days but she would adjust. If you water it down, you are still enabling the wake up habit. So I say go cold turkey! When we cut out a motn feeding cold turkey it took about 3 days to get him to adjust, but it was the best thing ever. Getting a full night's sleep is a game changer! Good luck!!
I agree that 35-40oz seems like a lot! Our ped told us that at 1, M doesn't need any more than 20oz max of milk a day. As for the meal prep taking a long time, is she just eating what y'all are eating? M gets 95% of what we're having so I just chop it up right before we sit down to eat. Keeps snacks simple, fruit, veggies, cheese, and yogurt, are favorites here. If it's easier for you, can you do a bunch of prep and just have the food waiting? I know it's scary but their gag reflex is super impressive. Cold turkey is the best way to break the MOTN feeding. It's rough for a few nights but like mentioned it's more about habit at this point than nutrition. @kmurdock925
I feel like I'm always in the kitchen. However, that is because I'm feeding 4 of us healthy food. I cut up DD2's food skinnier than ours, but she's eating mostly what we eat. Example - DD1 and I eat homemade yogurt with toasted oat cereal and milk for breakfast. DD2 eats yogurt from a spoon plus she has dry cereal on her tray along with diced prunes.
I'd say at this point L is getting around 16-20oz of BM daily. No clue on food ounces at this point but she's quite the eater! Being that my mom stays with her during the week days (and definitely does not cook!!) I do a lot of the prepping ahead of time. I do feel like I spend a lot of time cooking and prepping and try my hardest to give her portions of our meals. But I admit I am more neurotic about what she's eating than I am for myself, haha!! So while I take the time to feed her healthy, homemade organic meals....the hubby and I will be eating TJ's orange chicken and rice, lol!! So I guess part of it is my own fault, lol.
When i did the math on how much formula she is drinking i was like holy holy ill never have her off by 1, haha. I suppose ill try cold turkey. She has definitely slept through the night on multiple occasions so it is do-able. I find it interesting that her wake time has gotten about 2 hours earlier in the past 2 weeks. I try to give her what we are having but this week has been crazy with the hubs getting back and our routine being so off. That may easily be part of my frustrations too.
E won't eat food unless it's cut up in tiny pieces. Any tips on how to get her to eat bigger foods? Whole noodles, strips of waffle/pancake, whatever. She won't eat any of it until it's cut really tiny.
I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen making food, but I think it's because we eat foods that I wouldn't feed him (salty, sugary, fast food, packages, etc). I do all fresh fruits and veggies (or toast, oatmeal) for the baby, but I don't feel like it's enough that it'd keep us full. Maybe I just need to get better at cooking...
Do you just let them CIO when they wake up for the MOTN feeding?
Have any of your LO refused solids when they're sick? Or ever? Baby J hasn't had any solids since monday. She has been drinking plenty of formula, but no matter when we offer her solids she'll just refuse.
@babycakesday My LO refused to eat solids when she was teething/cutting teeth. I put it in the fridge so it would be cold when I served it, and that seemed to do the trick.
@babycakesday Yep, when she's been teething she's wanted nothing to do with the hot solids. She'd still eat her applesauces and yogurt, but not the hot foods.
@schaze Hmm...what about gradually increasing the size of the bites? Our LO isn't real into going after things in large forms either, and that's a thought I've had - I'm going to grow her into the bigger pieces. Of course I secretly kind of like it, because she can easily get the small ones down and I don't have to stare at her the whole time wondering if she's going to gag!
@TiffRox81 that's a good idea, I may try that too. I do like that she doesn't gag as often, but to need to cut a small elbow noodle in half because the normal size is too big?? Come on, kid.
Elise drinks about 16-20 oz of formula. She eats what we eat just in smaller pieces! She does however eat whole waffles, wholemuffins, pieces of bread, avocado, etc. She likes to chomp off pieces now with softer foods. I think she drinks so little formula because her meal portions are large. She eats soooo much. The pediatrician didn't seem concerned and said if she drops off more formula, then that is fine.
Regarding MOTN feedings, I did cry it out. She naturally cut out her 2am feeding. But after awhile I realized her 10pm feeding was just habit and I didn't need it to keep up my milk supply anymore because she weaned herself so we just cut it out. She cried it out for 3 nights and then was sleeping through the night. However, she was already used to crying it out and knew how to soothe herself so I think that made it easier.
Ooh S has a tiny cold and her top teeth will cut any day (seriously teeth...come on, youre riiiight there) so that may be playing into our weird week too. Good call ladies
Question for moms still pumping and sending to daycare...how many oz are you sending/is LO drinking? DS is only at ~8oz at daycare and this last week he's only been doing 4-5oz! He still nurses regularly in the morning, evening, and night. He does get 2-3 solid snacks/meals there and his cup for water (which he loves and totes around with him almost everywhere).
Well it's official Baby J is a food strike! It's been about a week now. She just refuses solids. I've tried them cold, pureed, regular. I've even tried yogurt melts and puffs. Nada. Any ideas?
My LO gets a 4 oz bottle in the morning, I nurse him over lunch, and then he usually doesn't get milk again until I pick him up at 4:30. He does eat solids for breakfast and lunch though, and sometimes an afternoon snack.
If I didn't come home I'd guess he'd be around 9ish oz total in 8 hours. We're starting new childcare at the end of May and I'm nervous about keeping up supply just because we're in a pretty good rhythm now and our current babysitter is great about not overfeeding milk.
Re: Feeding Your Baby
7am- Bottle and breakfast
11am- Bottle and lunch
3pm- Bottle and small snack
5:30pm- Dinner
7pm- Bottle and bedtime
Most kids (shoot even adults) will eat out of boredom and graze all day if you let them. So I tried to get a handle on that from the beginning with my oldest and it seemed to work well. At 10, she's not mindlessly wondering into the pantry every chance she gets.
That said, once she was old enough, I always had prepped fruit/veggies in the fridge if she insisted she was starving
Snack foods in our house aren't junk. And typically are very minimally processed. I love baking and we allow treats, but we prefer foods that are nourishing and filling. Snacks look like cheese and crackers, hummus, salsa, guacamole, veggies and ranch, fruit, pretzels, graham crackers with peanut butter, smoothies,etc. I also like snack time to cover 2 food groups. Research has shown that more smaller meals is actually healthier, so we've tried to embrace that idea. It also is a great chance to introduce a variety of new foods. There's no pressure for them to eat a bunch of it.
I also didn't want her to think that if she didnt eat all her food she could still have a snack later. So if she didn't finish it, it was there for her when she was hungry again. We did teach her to stop when she feels full but sometimes, 2,3,4 year olds like to try to pull a fast one on you, I promise we aren't too mean
One last thing I noticed over time, when quality, nutrient dense foods are served at meal times, often times they won't need/want a snack. But it's a great way to get some extra fruit/veggies/calories into them if need be.
That was really long! I'm sorry. Let me know if she have anymore questions. Food is my jam
@joberkiser
I love the if you didn't finish your meal, it's your snack! I was definitely the kid that would complain my sandwich and then eat all the crap later.
@winnie1122 I was terrified. But our doctor said most babies outgrow the intolerance by 9 months, so DH wanted to give it a shot. Since the fail, our doctor says try again at 12 months, and if it's still a fail, we need to get allergy testing done. Boo.
Hoping they out grow it, but there are some great alternatives if not!
I'm also wondering if I should start working on cutting out her motn bottle. She gobbles it up so I feel like she is hungry...but she is also eating 35-40 oz of formula a day plus her solids (puree or tablefood). That seems like a lot. I am considering starting to water down the motn bottle so it is an easier transition than just not giving it to her cold turkey...has anyone tried that?
Have any of your LO refused solids when they're sick? Or ever? Baby J hasn't had any solids since monday. She has been drinking plenty of formula, but no matter when we offer her solids she'll just refuse.
@schaze Hmm...what about gradually increasing the size of the bites? Our LO isn't real into going after things in large forms either, and that's a thought I've had - I'm going to grow her into the bigger pieces. Of course I secretly kind of like it, because she can easily get the small ones down and I don't have to stare at her the whole time wondering if she's going to gag!
Regarding MOTN feedings, I did cry it out. She naturally cut out her 2am feeding. But after awhile I realized her 10pm feeding was just habit and I didn't need it to keep up my milk supply anymore because she weaned herself so we just cut it out. She cried it out for 3 nights and then was sleeping through the night. However, she was already used to crying it out and knew how to soothe herself so I think that made it easier.
If I didn't come home I'd guess he'd be around 9ish oz total in 8 hours. We're starting new childcare at the end of May and I'm nervous about keeping up supply just because we're in a pretty good rhythm now and our current babysitter is great about not overfeeding milk.