Fitting solids around breastfeeding

[sunnyfields25]

Hi

I'm after some advice on how/when to fit solids in around breastfeeding and naps, if anyone has any pearls of wisdom.

DS is just over 7 months and I try to feed him both puree and give finger food at each mealtime. Finger food is mostly played with but he manages to eat a bit.

I tend to breastfeed when he wakes up as he's hungry and gets upset if I try putting him in his highchair. Then offer him solids about an hour later (three times a day). Then breastfeed again before his next nap. Something's going wrong though as some days he has no appetite for solids whatsoever. But then now and again he'll eat a load of food unexpectedly.

I don't know if I'm making a mistake by always doing a milk feed first. But like I say DS gets upset if I offer solids first as he's too hungry to even entertain the idea.

I think DS probably has quite a small appetite as he's 25th centile and even when he does eat, it's not as much as I've read he 'should' be having at this stage.

Tales of how other people approached the timings would be greatly appreciated I've read about dropping milk feeds, but it doesn't feel like we're anywhere near that point. And I don't completely understand how that happens anyway.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

You aren’t doing anything wrong. Babies and children quite naturally eat more some days than others.

If you are worried about his weight, I’d be feeding less solids not more. Not sure what you’ve been reading but the current NHS guidelines are to feed solids once or twice a day at this age, building upto 3 times a day between 8 and 9 months, you definitely shouldn’t be looking at dropping milk feeds yet. You are right though in giving him his BF first. You can offer solids before Bfing from about 12 months.

If you want some good, evidence based, information on starting solids then Kellymom is an excellent resource

[Jenala]

Sounds totally normal. At 7 months it's absolutely fine for them to get most of their nutrition from breast milk still. I'd just keep offering as you are.

I often give my 6 month old milk before food. It makes more sense for them to fill up on high fat, high calorie rich breast milk rather than relatively less nutritionally dense weaning foods.

[newmumwithquestions]

By that age i think we were down to 2 naps and I’d dropped some of the breastfeeds so it looked more like this for us:

Wake
Breastfeed (straight away)
Solid breakfast after about an hour
Nap
Straight up for solid lunch
Play time followed by breastfeed to sleep (it worked for us!)
Nap
Up and breastfeed
Solid tea
Breastfeed to sleep

But I had greedy little babies so maybe they would just take whatever food they could get!

[sunnyfields25]

Thanks all for the replies, they've been quite a revelation as I'd convinced myself I was getting it all wrong. But now I think I might be forcing it all on DS a bit too soon by offering three meals a day. Given that he never eats breakfast, and it just results in wasted time and food, I think I'll scrap that for now and reintroduce later.

Thanks so much for the Kellymom link @EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic, it's interesting reading. For the first time I feel a bit clearer on how the whole thing is meant to work!

Thanks @Jenala, it's good to know I'm not the only one offering milk first.

Haha @newmumwithquestions I sometimes find myself wishing I had a greedy baby so he would eat all the yummy food I've prepared for him. Your routine is exactly the sort of thing I've been aiming for. It's becoming apparent it might take a while longer to get there though!

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

If he won’t each breakfast, I think you are right to ditch it for now. I’d just bf as much as he wants. Offer lunch and dinner but don’t get too hung up on only offering solids an hour after Bfing. It’s something to aim for but if it’s been 10 mins or 2 hours it won’t harm him. Try not to worry if he eats hardly anything some days too. At this age it’s more about exploring tastes and textures. Filling them up with solids is a bit old-fashioned Advice. As Jenala says, your BM is far more dense in nutrition and calories than almost anything else you can offer

[newmumwithquestions]

Ha - that was the routine with no 2.
No 1 wasn’t napping at this stage. At all. For months. At 11 months they finally had a 45 minute nap - I could have cried with happiness (and exhaustion).

What’s ‘normal’ only works for some babies.

As long as you’re offering food and getting some tastes in you’re doing fine. I always ate at the same time as mine which I think helped as they were nosey as well as greedy little things and they wanted whatever I had.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

Could you mix some tomato ketchup with the mayo to make a seafood sauce? If he likes things with a bit of flavour, have you tried him with any of the cheese substitutes yet? Mine never liked bland food at this age either, DS used to pass it back to me if it was too bland.

My favourite DF pasta recipe is:

Cook your pasta, drain then coat with olive oil and black pepper. Mix in lemon juice and grated rind, plenary of rocket and smoked salmon and mix together. You could always give him a bit of mayo or tomato ketchup on the side for dipping.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

Really sorry, posted on wron thread!

[ALLIS0N]

Remember that food is for fun until they are one . Nearly all his nutrition is coming from the BM.

If he’s not keen on eating then just put him in the high chair when you are at meals and give him some suitable food to play with on his tray. It doesn’t matter if he eats it, he will mostly chew it up and then rub it into his hair before throwing it in on the floor ( mat under high chair ).

You are stressing yourself out by preparing yummy food for him and feeling rejected and a failure when he doesn’t eat it. So don’t make anything special for him, just give him bits of what you are having ( without salt and avoiding sugar obviously ). Toast, cereal, fruit, veg, cheese, eggs, meat , pasta , rice.

Just take a little out of the pot before you add sauces . So if you are making chicken curry, give him some pieces of veg, chicken and rice. Just a dessert spoonful is enough if he’s not eating much. He will enjoy playing with it and will be trying new things.

Some children don’t eat very much on the way of “ proper meals “ until they are two or older. That’s one of the many benefits of BF - you don’t have to worry because they are getting the perfect nutrition.

[sunnyfields25]

No worries @EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic, that sounds like a tasty recipe even though it's on the wrong thread

Ha that's reassuring @newmumwithquestions! I have just started trying to eat at the same time as DS too, as I've realised it's probably good for him to see me eating.

Yep I know what you mean about breastfeeding @ALLIS0N. I'll need to return to work when DS is 12 months, so although I'd love to carry on BF beyond that point, I'll need to stop or at least drastically cut it down. So it'd be great if I could get him interested in 3 meals a day before that. I must admit the times I've given him finger food to play with have been less stressful than the times I try to get him to eat purees, only for him to refuse. So I might increase the finger food and reduce the purees for a while, see how that goes.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

I wouldn’t worry too much about returning to work. I carried on Bfing and fed them in the morning, when I picked up, before bed and the odd time in the night. I worked part time and the days I was home they could BF when they liked. Your supply is established enough by this age to do that. If you want to come up with a return to work plan to continue, cut down or stop, I’d give one of the Bfing Helplines a call. Have you got the numbers?

[sunnyfields25]

Wow that's good to know @EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic as I just assumed I'd probably have to stop BFing when I return to work (hopefully part time). Did you have to express while at work to avoid getting too full? Sorry I'm getting a bit off topic here... I haven't got any numbers for the helplines, which organisation is it that runs it please?

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

I had to express once a day for a few weeks, then my body just sort of got used to it, you might not need to though.

The helpline numbers are here

[sunnyfields25]

Thanks very much @EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic

[ALLIS0N]

Of course you don’t need to stop BF if you don’t want to.

Your work have to give you a place and time to express, if that’s what you want to do. Many workplaces have a freezer and you can freeze the milk and take it home in a cool bag each Friday.

I went back PT when my baby was 13 months and I didnt need to pump either after the first couple of weeks as my supply adjusted to the new pattern. Baby fed A LOT when I picked him up and during the early evening, so it helps if you have partner to cook dinner and clear up afterwards while you sit on the sofa feeding.

Sunny - just because your DS won’t take solids from you doesn’t mean that he won’t take them in 6 months time from another carer ( nursery or relative ) . Lost of babies won’t take a bottle of formula or BM from mum but will do so from someone else . They know we have the genuine article up our jumpers and they are wee buggers .

[sunnyfields25]

Haha @ALLIS0N I'd never thought of it like that about him resisting solids because he can see the option of milk right in front of him! Fingers crossed he is less fussy when the time comes for someone else to feed him. He's now pretty much refusing spoon food (for a second time!) but seems happy to munch on finger food so just persevering with that as much as poss.

I like the sound of chilling on the sofa and BFing after a day at work My main concern is that I need to find a new job, rather than returning to an established one, so I'm not sure whether I can expect a new employer to accommodate an expressing employee. Hopefully it will all pan out as I would be gutted if I had to stop before I or DS was ready just for the sake of a few days a week at work.