Ped says: 5 meals/snacks a day, nurse 3-4x

[sky_and_lavender]

My baby is 9 months. She's doing great, meeting all the milestones, happy, energetic, etc. She's tiny, weight-wise but fairly long and has a round little belly.

Anyway, my holistic ped recommends 3 meals plus two snacks daily at 9 months, and de-emphasizing nursing. My daughter nurses a lot (4-6x on an average day, and a couple of times at night) and eats solid food 2-3x day. I'm sure she'd eat more solid food, or at least play with it, if I offered it more.

My ped said that emphasizing breastfeeding over solids at this age tends to lead to smaller, lower weight babies lacking essential minerals and nutrients. This doesn't fit with what I've read on kellymom and LLL sites. My ped is pro-extended bfing, but I question her version of it.

Any thoughts on this? Thank you for your input.

[Nicole730]

nak

my thought...your ped is wrong.

[rivkah]

That also doesn't square with my experience with my three. We never had any problem with health/weight and we never actively de-emphasized nursing until much, much later (like 2.5 years, because mommy thought it was time to move on). That just sounds like bogus advice. I'd shake my head and say thanks, then keep on doing what works for you and your babe.

[karika]

breastmilk is best always. dr is inaccurate. child is healthier on breastmilk than solids. My babies did eat food quite a few times a day too though. I offer a fruit upon awakening (after nursing most the night and a long session after our morning pee), then a protein, then a pancake or muffin (homemade GFCFSF). Then the rest of my day revolves around food it seems, since I try to eat mostly veg. I start a yam baking about 30 min after the muffin... then we might have a steamed veggie or quick cooked spinach, then some raisins...then a smoothie... hey I just saw your baby is 9 mo? wow, my dd1 did not even eat solids then. forget what ped said and tell them you disagree and tell them the info from LLL and Kellymom, or not if you don't want to... or shop for a different caregiver. Holistic sounds good, but FWIW we don't do vax (which creates damage and illness IMO) and we create health through nutrition here, so we do not need a health professional at all. I have a naturopath we have gone to a couple times when I was stumped on something, but TBH, I ended up figuring it out myself one of those times (my cough was related to my intake of canola oil). Glad you have the information and were not led to believe something so obviously untrue. If you are worried at all about minerals and vitamins, take one yourself and it will go through to baby...

[calebsmommy25]

The nurse practitioner we saw around our 9 month visit said the same thing. Pretty much the same advice. I don't agree with that advice at. all. My DS didn't really start having 'meals' until he was over 1. I would offer things when we were eating, snacks, fruit, etc throughout the day and would nurse on demand. Liquids were and are bm and water. Now, some fresh juice on occasion or a special juice box for a treat. My DS has been and is very healthy in height, weight, etc. and I credit most of it to all of the Mama milk he has always gotten.

Keep up with the breast milk Mama...Your instincts are right.

[Lit Chick]

Even holistic docs are sadly uninformed about BFing. Unless the doc is also a lactation consultant, smile and nod and pretty much ignore anything he/she says about BFing.

[pbjmama]

I've recently learned there is a big difference between doctors who are breastfeeding 'friendly' and knowledgeable about breastfeeding. I wouldn't even say your dd nurses alot. And I would def disagree with your doctors advice.

[pumpkin]

My DD is a boob addict and she is on the smaller side still at 14 months. At 9 months even though I offered food several times a day she just wouldn't eat much. If I tried to get her to eat solids without nursing first she would refuse to take a single bite.

I think its best to follow the kids lead. If the child wants to eat solids that is great. I can't imagine restricting the one thing I'm guaranteed to get my daughter to eat though.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

i have to agree with the others your dr. is wrong up until 1 the majority of a babies nutrition comes from breast milk and then even after that it is still a great source of nutrition my ds caden is 26 mths and still feeds more than that, he will feed anything from 4-6+ times a day and then 2-6+ times during the night.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Nicole730

nak

my thought...your ped is wrong.

[Asiago]

Seems like odd advice to me also.

[sky_and_lavender]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I agree that it makes sense that being a doctor does not make one an expert in lactation issues. As the mother of a skinny minnie, though, of course I second guessed myself a little. Thanks to those of you who shared your experience and routines for this age.

I posted in the "beyond infancy" forum because I am planning to continue bf-ing for a while yet. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions, and I hope in time to share my own experiences for others' benefit!

[kiwiva]

Sounds like bad advice to me. My anecdotal experience with DD, I didn't introduce solids until almost 10 months, let alone meals plus snacks. Sounds like that would take all day at that age! She has always been healthy and not a lightweight at all. Physically she takes after my husband, a big, tall, sturdy kid. If your tiny DD has been sticking to her weight curve and her size seems to be in line with her genetics, I wouldn't be concerned since she is so healthy.

I might ask my doc for backup on those statements or I'd just ignore that advice. I generally take nutritional advice from docs with a grain of salt unless that is their particular expertise.

[Lit Chick]

Also - my son was and is skinny. Skinny when EBF, skinny when BF and food, skinny when weaned. It's his body type - what the Sears docs call a "banana baby" IIRC.
A good ped will not only be BF friendly, but remember that there's a whole bell curve of "normal" for kids and bodies.

[LadyCatherine185]

At 9 months old my DS was still nursing every hour or so around the clock. So 4-6 times a day actually sounds kind of low to me. He has always been in the 95% for weight, VERY chunky. He weighed 24 lbs at 9 months. He didn't start eating much in the way of solids until 15 months old. Your ped is wrong. Every kid is different. It sounds like your DD is just on the small side, as long as she is healthy and meeting milestones, keep doing what you are doing and follow her lead. Breastmilk is more calorie dense than any solids she could eat. If you are truly worried, you can up her fat intake by offering more fattening (healthy fats) foods such as avocado, butter, coconut oil, etc.

[rlmueller]

Parent size

I'm 5,2 my DH 5,9. I have a round tiny chub and the third smallest kid in the first grade. I fired our ped practice for telling us he needed pediasure regardless of our dietary practice (dairy free), wouldn't listen to my concerns (about anything) and after googling the ingrediants even recommending it. Of note he is proportional exactly and last I checked pediasure did not have hgh in it.

Do your thing mama.

[sky_and_lavender]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies!

I don't really consider my ped the authoritative source on my daughter, just A source, ykwim? Actually, the main reason we go to her is because I want to have a solid relationship with a doctor in case we ever run into anything serious and because she is supportive of my vaccination choices. It's also nice that she doesn't push dairy and seems relatively supportive of vegetarianism (not sure about veganism... we are vegan but I haven't told her that.) But she does see many more babies grow over time than I ever will!

For now I'm just going to keep following my daughter's lead and including healthy fats in the solids she does eat. As long as she's doing great, why worry, right? Thank you all for your ideas and support!

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by sky_and_lavender

Thank you for your thoughtful replies!

I don't really consider my ped the authoritative source on my daughter, just A source, ykwim? Actually, the main reason we go to her is because I want to have a solid relationship with a doctor in case we ever run into anything serious and because she is supportive of my vaccination choices. It's also nice that she doesn't push dairy and seems relatively supportive of vegetarianism (not sure about veganism... we are vegan but I haven't told her that.) But she does see many more babies grow over time than I ever will!

For now I'm just going to keep following my daughter's lead and including healthy fats in the solids she does eat. As long as she's doing great, why worry, right? Thank you all for your ideas and support!

just another thought-- if you are vegan I am sure it is difficult for YOU to get all of the fat you need.. try upping the fat intake in your diet as well so that it can transfer to your milk.

[sky_and_lavender]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185

just another thought-- if you are vegan I am sure it is difficult for YOU to get all of the fat you need.. try upping the fat intake in your diet as well so that it can transfer to your milk.

Nuts, beans, avocado, coconut, oils... It's actually not difficult at all!

[MountainMamaGC]

Your child is still an infant and most nutrition should be coming from breastmilk.