When to switch to solids before breast/bottle?

[daniellechiasson]

My DD is almost 10 months and our routine is as follows:

7am - breastfeed (about 6 min total)
8am - cereal, yogourt, fresh fruit
9:45/10am - nap (about 1.5 hours)
11:30 - lunch - usually some veggies, cheese, bread, soup, fruit or combo there of
2pm - nap (about 1 - 1.5 hours)
3/3:30pm - breastfeed (about 6 min total)
5pm - supper - she eats what we are having, normally a vegtable, pasta/rice/potatoe item & a meat
6:30 - breastfeed, bath, bed by 7

I allow her a sippy of milk for the mornings because she started refusing her 11am BF. Normally she drinks water with her lunch & supper.

She is still getting a DF, normally she wakes and there is no way to calm her but to feed her. Last night she took 6 ounces of milk in a bottle for the DF. She always wakes at least one other time in the night.

I noticed Tatumsmom was advised by Kim/Lana/Jessica to make the switch to solids 1st because Tatum wasn't taking her entire bottle so I was wondering if this is something I should consider and that I might get lucky in terms of her starting to sleep thru the night. I am starting to get desperate.

Perhaps the sleep mods could read this post and advise also. Thanks for the help. Danielle

[Lana]

I am going to move this over to the Breast feeding board cause I think you will bet better responses there.

[jbepko]

I guess the issue to get at is whether she is waking up from true hunger or from routine- and it can be a little difficult to determine at this age. If its truly hunger, then she needs more calories during the day. Looking at your routine I might try to add a pre-dinner BF session, that way she will receive more calories from BF vs table food which might help with sleep. I would still nurse that last evening session also. Tracey always points out that a wake-up at the same time usually suggests a routine vs true hunger. You might have your work cut out for her since she seems to want a feed for the night-time awakening. Is the night-time wake-up at the same time or does it vary night to night?

[daniellechiasson]

Thanks for the reply.

Last night she went down at 6:30 and slept until 3:30, I was a bit scared to check on her when I woke at 1:30 and realized the time. She hasnt slept that long since about 6 months.

Anyway, back to your question, in general her night wakings are fairly consistent between 3 and 4am. I was going to try W2S but then we got hit with the teething monster (he will not go away) and a now a cold. There were/are nights when she is up for a few hours due to pain. 

FYI, I did do PD with her mid-August where it was fairly successful until the 1st teething session. Seems we never got back on track and perhaps she was playing me and I was falling for it thinking it was still her teeth.

I am also concerned about the adding more calories with breastmilk. I am going back to work in 2 months and want to have her down to 2 bfs a day, morning and bedtime. Should I be trying to give her the bottle more during the day? She really is stubborn when it comes to eating/drinking, when she's done, she's done, doesn't matter what I try to do to get more into her.

It's all a bit disheartening when you hear that she should be off the breast/bottle around a year. I can't get this child to sleep thru the night as it is! I also feel like I can't type a proper post because there are so many intwinned issues, where do I start!?!? I think what I really need to do is spend a few days writing everything down and see if there are any patterns. Sometimes when I try to think back to the night prior I get all confused thanks to be very overtired myself.

Thanks for listening to my vent. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[debo620]

I am wondering if she is bf well at bedtime?  You could try moving the 2nd bf before 2nd nap ie. maybe 1pm/1:15pm ---maybe she would bf really well at bedtime. I was personally finding it hard to fit in a bf after 2nd nap plus supper plus another bf before bed. my son would not bf that well at bedtime. this is what we are doing right now.

[daniellechiasson]

Just an update, she slept from 6:45 to 5:10 this morning without a peep and I dont think we changed a thing.