crying for....solids? 10 months

[Jiinx]

Hey all,

 I'm not too concerned with solids - this is more of a concern of her breastfeeding habits.

 She usually takes both sides for all feedings. With her As increasing, I've been trying to fit in her bfs and solids and, whew, that's a lot of meals! I don't think I even that much!

So today for her second feed she would only have one side. I tried after 5, 10, 15 minutes but she just didn't want it. I knew it wasn't enough though bc it had been over 4 hours since her last feed.

I took her out to the mall, and she was a bit quiet and I knew she wasn't herself. On our way home, she started bawling. I thought she needed to burp so I took her out but nothing. Still whimpering. i decided to try giving her some solids as she usually perks up after that. So I put her in her high chair and she's circling her hands and feeds, watching me microwave..whining. Whew, she nearly cleaned me out of my fridge - a dozen pieces of zucchini and blueberries, pieces of carrots and celeries, and many grapes.  Between signing and peeling everything, I couldn't keep up with her! She was reaching for the next piece as the first piece was in her mouth. She was much happier after her solids. So, she was hungry!

 I'm thrilled she loves to eat. I had to feed her before her second nap as her A time was nearing 4 hours and she needed a nap. She took one breast..I don't blame her. I wouldn't be hungry either.

So is this normal? Is she getting enough breast milk? I can't force her to drink more as she's not into it. I regret not feeding her after her nap now...

thanks ladies.. ANY thoughts are welcomed!

[anna*]

I KNOW we keep banging on that food before one is just for fun - but it doesn't happen overnight at 12 months old that all of a sudden they drop the milk feeds and start eating loads more solids! It's a transition, and it's starting now!! As long as she's taking a couple of full milk feeds, I'd say she's doing great.

[shivi]

I weaned the 11am feed with both of mine LOOOONG before a year....but kept four milk feeds a day till a year with Emma thro keeping the DF going....

I would say its fine....just intro more proteins at lunch and more calcium rich foods and you're fine....

Solids til one is just for fun is to STOP parents trying to stuff their kids with food they're not ready for but when you are doing BLW which is looks like you are, then you have to follow her lead to a certain extent.

How many feeds is she doing in 24 hrs?

[Jiinx]

I KNOW we keep banging on that food before one is just for fun - but it doesn't happen overnight at 12 months old that all of a sudden they drop the milk feeds and start eating loads more solids!

It's true. It makes sense. I never thought she would prefer solids to milk A bit saddening. Do you know if I need to drop a feed or continue as I am?

I would say its fine....just intro more proteins at lunch and more calcium rich foods and you're fine....

Solids til one is just for fun is to STOP parents trying to stuff their kids with food they're not ready for but when you are doing BLW which is looks like you are, then you have to follow her lead to a certain extent.

How many feeds is she doing in 24 hrs?

thank you for that. She's doing 4 feeds. I have started giving her meat.

[~*Nicole*~]

I don't know about BF babies as DD went to a bottle at 4 months, BUT by 10 months was only on 3 bottles a day as was less interested in the bottles and more in the solids...AND there was too much A time to fit anymore in anyway. She sort of consolidated the two midday feeds and had morning, middle, night from then on until we dropped to morning and night when she was older.

I think it's totally normal.

[Jiinx]

Forgive me for being daft...how do you consolidate feeds? How do you know their fussiness is not related to being hungry? Do you just kind of "skip" a feed? I feel a little wayward now as we're getting to that point in her life where meals aren't a "routine", ykwim? I don't know how to place meals anymore..

hmm I'm sure there are sample routines that I can look up

Thank you for the reassurance.

[~*Nicole*~]

I'm not sure when she is napping right now but....you can introduce a snack (often moms like a dairy based snack with maybe a sippy of water or something) mid-morning and hold off the midday feed until after her first nap. Then have lunch, maybe another snack mid-afternoon, then solids dinner and your nighttime BF before bed. That's sort of the routine you end up with after 12 months anyway. Some moms do a split feed...a little before a nap and a little after so basically what is happening with you now anyway, she just takes one side and isn't taking a full feed, but combined it would equal a full feed.

Depends what works for you and your routine/naps, etc.

[anna*]

I did consciously drop a feed because Stan was still BFing for ages and started to drop the amount of solids he was taking. I dropped the mid morning BF first: I think he was waking from his nap at 11, having BF, and then having solids at 12. So instead I just did solids at 11.30.

I don't think you necessarily have to consciously drop feeds, but do keep in mind that you may not want to still be BFing 4 times a day once she's 14 months old. So keep an eye on her feeding patterns, notice which feeds she is taking less at. So for example you might go to 3 feeds a day - morning, bedtime, and one after her lunchtime solids, half an hour before her pm nap.

[Jiinx]

thank you for your thoughts ladies. It's so helpful.

She's currently doing 3.30 for her first A, 4 hours for the second, short nap and 3.30 for the second.

4 feeds. She does (pretty) well taking full feeds for the morning and night.

Anne - when would you do the second feed if solids and pushed forward..follow her cues? About an hour and half to two hours after her solids?

I can't do many grains/dairy as I'm still unsure if she's reacting to MP in dairy and seems sensitive to pasta sometimes. Some days she's fine, some days she's fussy so it's all up in the air. so it's lots of fruits and veggies and some protein, which isn't quite fully as dairy/grains yk?

Just turned my post into a ramble of sorts.

My main question has been answered though. It's normal and I shouldn't be too concerned? Just follow her cues.

She slept through the night last night so despite her smallish feeds ..she managed to make it through until morning. She was ravenous upon waking though.

Ah! ramble over.

[anna*]

tbh hun, Stan never really acted hungry for it but I found if I didn't let him have a BF between lunch and nap, he would wake early cuz he was hungry. He wasn't having a huge lunch - I mean, he was eating well but a few tbs of puree can't keep a growing boy full forever! So I started to give him a BF right before his nap, so he had a nice full tummy for his nap, and that worked great for us. It was only 1 x per day and didn't cause any sleep issues, and obviously I wasn't feeding to sleep. I would feed, then start wind-down.