loving solids, but I'm trying to protect milk feeds...

[deckchariot]

In the last week or so, dd2 has fallen in love with solids....which is good, but I'm finding myself worried that if I increase it more she'll cut down on milk feeds.  Given that she is bf, I don't really know how much she's eating. She's on a 4 hr EASY and eats usually at 7, 11/12, 3/4, 6:30.  The problem is that with her afternoon nap, sometimes she sleeps til 4/4:30 and I feed her as soon as she wakes, but then between 4:30 - 7, she has bf, solids, and bf again.

Here's what she gets for solids:
8/8:30 - 2 Tbsp cereal, 1 Tbsp coconut milk (she's MSPI), 4 oz fruit
1ish - 2.5 oz chicken, 2 oz veggie (I"m going to increase this to 4 oz veggies)
5ish - 4 oz veggies (tonight she was signing "more" so we gave her 2 oz of fruit too)

When she bfs, she eats well for about 10-15 min.  She still wakes at night for a feed.  Any thoughts?

TIA
michelle

[Erin M]

What if you focused on finger foods at dinner? She might get less that way.
It seems like it's just dinner that is concerning you, is that right?  The other feeds seem spaced out enough that it shouldn't have an effect.

[deckchariot]

that was my thought too, so we've tried some finger food at dinner, and she just screams   She is limited in what she can eat, we're introducing things very slowly because of her reflux and MSPI.   And yes, it is just dinner that's concerning me, so maybe I'll keep trying with the finger foods.

[Lemonthyme]

I found bringing dinner earlier helped with breastfeeding which will be possible when her later nap gets shorter or comes earlier.

4 daytime feeds plus 1 night feed can be completely fine at this age though.   Just to be wary it is common to have a nursing strike completely at 8 months (we had one and I know loads of others did too) but they do pick it up again.  When I was going through the strike, he was having two night feeds but no day feeds.  My health visitor said that was completely fine.  Obviously it's not ideal and you want to have more than that but it just gives you an idea that 5 is not an issue.

[Buntybear]

Hi, Maybe it is a growth spurt? If she is having 5 good BFs then I wouldn't worry about milk intake  Be glad she is taking to solids so many don't!

Just watch if she starts to refuse the breast or gets fussy or finishes early. Then it may be time to review solid intake.

[deckchariot]

I'd like to bring dinner earlier, she did go down earlier for her pm nap today, so that may help.  But we've been feeding her while we eat dinner, but we eat at 5:30, and then I start her bedtime routine at 6:45.  I don't really want to move our dinner earlier, as our afternoons can get crazy and I'm not sure I could get dinner on the table by 5.  So maybe I'll feed her first and then try finger foods while we eat, maybe she'd take to them more then?

maybe I am worrying too much....it could be a growth spurt...she doesn't usually cry to eat, but has been the last 2-3 days, and today she was even pulling at my shirt and crying to bf (which NEVER happens).  Is there a GS at 8 mos?

[Shiv52]

TBH I would give her more solids and watch her milk.  M was a huge solids eater at 8 months.  And it never affected her milk.  With DD2 I had to cut back as I noticed her cutting back on her milk.

Maeve would have have had 2-3 cubes of savory then the same in fruit then a yogurt as well as finger food for lunch and similar at dinner. 

but I'm finding myself worried that if I increase it more she'll cut down on milk feeds.

So I guess what I am trying to say that unless you see her cutting her milk feeds and you will know even if you are BFing that it should be fine to offer more solids especially if she is asking.  And how clever to be signing more at 8 months!  Wee clever chops xx

[Lemonthyme]

Yeah we have tea after my son goes to bed.  I think it's going to be a while before he eats late enough.  He's 17 months and eats around 4:45pm but we were at 4:15pm for a long time.

[deckchariot]

well she will certainly be happy - I'll give her a bit more at dinner tonight and we'll see how it goes.

one more question - let's say she is happy with more solids and drops the NF - I'm happy with more sleep, and then she should be ok with 4 milk feeds in the day at 8 mos, right?  I know with dd1, we weaned the df about this age, and she just had 4 daytime feeds and sttn.  dd2 never took to a df, so we've had NFs all along - first 3, then 2 and last month we weaned down to 1 NF.  Honestly, I'd love it if she sttn, but I do want to be sure she's getting enough  milk.

[Shiv52]

The WHO recommends 4 milk feeds a day until 1 YO.  ANything else is a bonus xx

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

Michelle I feel like I'm always a few weeks behind you but have similar concerns! DD1 had 4 BFs a day and sttn at 8 months so as Shiv said anything else is a bonus.  Maybe earlier dinner for her and then some finger foods to try while you eat will make you feel better about the milk intake and keep her occupied while you eat  Avery is on a similar schedule (except her pm nap hasn't been good at all lately) and loving her solids too but it's so hard to tell if the milk intake is ok with BF isn't it?  She's been getting distracted lately and I always wonder if it's not distraction but being full on solids.  Then that makes me wonder about the NF being necessary or not.  Can't they just tell us?

[deckchariot]

we did tiny pieces of cooked carrot at dinner tonight and while she didn't eat any of them, she did have fun playing with them   I had dh give her purreed carrots (4 oz) and apricots (2 oz) while I got dinner together.  She seemed to eat well at bt, so we'll see.

I'm with you Dana - if she could just tell me, or if my boobs came with easy to read oz markings

[deckchariot]

she had a good night - slept from 7-11, resettled in 5 min, slept til 5, so I guess she got enough to eat

[Riley&Avery'sMommy]

That's great! Did you put her back down after the 5:00 feeding?

[Lemonthyme]

I think we got down to 4 feeds with no night feeds at around 9 months.  Sounds ok to me!