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Offline bestsmilee

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How many times a day?
« on: July 18, 2013, 13:57:11 pm »
My LO is 10 months old and is nursing 5 times a day. His pediatrician said he should be down to 3 feedings by now (that was at his 9 month CU). He is very very tiny...in the first percentile. I give him as much solid food as he wants but lately he has become a picky eater but I still try to get the spoon in his mouth because I'm so worried because he's so tiny! I think he had a nursing strike about a month ago - it lasted a few days and it was around the time when the doc said to do less feedings. (He still nursed 4 times a day, just not for very long). I initially thought of dropping the feed after his second nap but there were days were he was really cranky and he didn't want anything else and nursing seemed to satisfy him. Should I be feeding him less? When should we pull back on the nursing? I would hate for my milk to be the reason he is not gaining weight properly (the ped said that as he gets older my milk won't be able to keep up with the amount of fat he needs because the milk begins to thin out). Advice?
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Offline Fiver

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Re: How many times a day?
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2013, 15:30:24 pm »
Scroll down to the 9/10 months sections in this article and read on to the 1 year bit too - http://www.thealphaparent.com/2011/12/timeline-of-breastfed-baby.html

It sounds very much like another doctor who isn't overly familiar with how lactation works giving advice based on bottle feeding.

Is your LO happy with 4/5 feeds a day?  Is he gaining weight, albeit gradually?

You might be interested to look at the calorie/fat content of breastmilk compared to various food as well - http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/babyfoodcalories/

The person/people best placed to advise you whether your number of feeds per day is optimal is/are your child and you.  You know him best and he'll ask for what he needs, which may or may not be the breast, but he'll let you know.
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Offline eva026

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Re: How many times a day?
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2013, 19:02:39 pm »
wow I must say I am surprised a Dr told you that. It sounds kind of like the advice given to moms 20 years ago.  If you are worried about your LOs weight surely the Dr should have told you to get more BM into LO not less.
We were on 4x feeds during the day and 2x at night at that age.
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Offline *Ali*

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Re: How many times a day?
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2013, 19:46:51 pm »
Mine were both on 4 day feeds and a NF at this age. I agree with others that your dr seems a little misinformed. The WHO recommend BFing on demand until 2yo and beyond.

There is some useful facts on this page http://kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/
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Offline bestsmilee

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Re: How many times a day?
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2013, 01:14:53 am »
Quote from: Fiver on July 18, 2013, 15:30:24 pm
Is your LO happy with 4/5 feeds a day?  Is he gaining weight, albeit gradually?

Yes, I think so. He did pull back about a month ago but I'm figuring it was some kind of nursing strike because now he is nursing is very nicely still. He went in for a weight check. I guess he did put on about a pound since his last visit, so yea, I guess he is putting on weight gradually. The ped said though he still needs to get more food in him...

Quote from: eva026 on July 18, 2013, 19:02:39 pm
wow I must say I am surprised a Dr told you that. It sounds kind of like the advice given to moms 20 years ago.  If you are worried about your LOs weight surely the Dr should have told you to get more BM into LO not less.
We were on 4x feeds during the day and 2x at night at that age.

I was also a bit surprised she had told me that. My sister who FF her baby who is 1 month older than my DS, gives him a bottle about 4 times a day (every 4 hrs while awake) too. I'm glad I haven't pulled back on the nursing, right now he is still interested. We are relocating shortly so we are switching pediatricians - I'm hoping the new one knows a bit more in this area.

Quote from: *Ali* on July 18, 2013, 19:46:51 pm
Mine were both on 4 day feeds and a NF at this age. I agree with others that your dr seems a little misinformed. The WHO recommend BFing on demand until 2yo and beyond.

That's exactly what my LO is doing too, except for us the NF is the DF and I don't think he's ready to go without it just yet (especially now since he has become picky with the solids and isn't eating too much during the day).

Thanks for the responses. Definitely helped me feel better!
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Offline Fiver

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Re: How many times a day?
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2013, 13:22:11 pm »
No problem.  It sounds like he and you are doing really well.  Someone has to be on the lower centiles and when they are they tend to gain weight a little more gradually and there's nothing at all wrong with that.

Hope the move goes well :)
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