weaning from EBF

[slobberdeslobber]

I have been EBF my 6 month old and I have started to give him one pureed fruit and vegetables after each feed. So he's on 6 feeds a day and has roughly 5 different purees, each one after a BF.

I want things to go a little more smoothly this time, because when I weaned EBF DD (now 2.5) on purees I very quickly lost my supply and had to replace my milk with aptamil quite quickly. So her entire diet changed over the course of a couple of weeks. I didn't want to stop breastfeeding either.

I would like to continue breastfeeding DS, so can you give me an idea of how much puree he should be having?

His poos now seem quite constipated and he is struggling and crying to get them out. Should I be breastfeeding more?

How much puree should I be giving him? And should I be giving him any water?

HI slobber,

Do you mean five different flavours or he had purée five times a day? If so, I think you are giving him too much purée and that's why he's getting constipated.

I'm doing blw so it's a bit different but most people who do purees seem to go up a meal a week, so offer purée once for one week, then twice, then three times until baby is on three meals a day. As for portion size I read somewhere that a baby's stomach is the size of their fist so I've always used that as a guide for portion size.

I always offer DS a drink of water from his sippy cup with each meal and have done since I started weaning (he's 10 months now) but tbh it took him ages to figure out what to do with it so at the beginning if he seemed constipated I either gave him extra breastfeed or some pear which is meant to be good for constipation.

I agree that it sounds like too much purée (I also did BLW so not really sure!). Milk should be their main source of food for a long while yet so solid food is just to complement the milk.

With BLW, I wouldn't offer food after every feed. I would feed on my demand and offer food at breakfast, lunch and tea (if baby was awake and had BF recently).

Is there any reason why you've chosen purée over BLW? Just thinking that BLW might limit his food intake in these early weaning weeks to ensure he keeps breastfeeding.

kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-how/

Kellymom has some good information on solids.
I would definitely consider BLW, then he is in a lot more control of how much he eats.
You can just sit him down with you whenever you eat, some days he might eat lots, other days nothing. Breastfeed him on demand inbetween.

Your supply should be well established by 6 months. There is no reason you should stop breastfeeding if you don't want to. Your supply should just alter to meet babies needs. Don't forget, many people feed older children just once/twice a day and then if the child gets sick for example and wants to nurse all day, the milk supply just adapts accordingly.

I did purées and finger food from six months with combination fed DD. Started with a bit of purée at lunchtime. Then added in porridge at breakfast after a week or so. Then added in tea. By then she was having puréed meals rather than just fruit/veg. Yes, her milk requirement dropped but she maintained the same proportions of breast milk/formula because she was obviously getting calories from food as well as milk. Five times a day sounds like a lot.

And yes the breast milk supply adapts. She's now 14mo and only has one BF a day, unless she's ill, in which case she has loads!

The trouble is he seems hungrier all of a sudden. Up until last week I was just BF-ing him, now literally as he has hit six months it's like he needs more than what I can give him.

When you say he is hungrier, do you mean he wants to nurse more frequently? I think there is a development leap at around 6 months where they can go through a fussy phase, feeding more often.

Don't worry about him needing more than you can give him-you're body will make the right amount of milk he needs. Picture the milk like a tap-it doesn't stop/run out, he will keep getting milk as long as he is feeding from you.
It may help to have a good read of the kellymom site and maybe join some of the breastfeeding groups on Facebook if you haven't already. Might just help you to feel confindent that you have got enough milk for him.

Offer water after each puree to help with the constipation. I agree with pp who say 3 meals a day and to increase meals weekly. As you've already started purees I'd go for 3 meals. My dd's day looked like this:
Milk on waking
Porridge at 8am
Milk at 10
Puree and milk at 11.30
Milk at 1.30
Milk again at about 3
Puree and milk about 4.30
Milk at 6.30.
She dropped the milk on her own schedule and I just went with her mid afternoon I'd offer finger foods too.