What size baby can exclusively bf? - Page 2

[alegna]

Size has absolutely nothing to do with how long breastmilk is "enough" My dd didn't eat as much as a tablespoon of food a day until she'd been 25lbs for awhile.

Your breastmilk is plenty.

Every organization says no solids until at LEAST 6 months.

After that, remember that solids are for fun in the first year. Nutrition needs to be your milk for the whole first year- minimum.

Another vote to skip the rice cereal. Useless at best.

-Angela

[onlyboys]

Nope! They don't need anything else!

Three of my boys have been more than 20lbs at 4 months, and none of the three ever had food before six months. In fact, for all but one, it was closer to a year, except for the occasional bite of banana or something.

You're doing great!

[mother culture]

Hi, I think that Breast Milk is compleatly nutritive for as long as baby is nursing regularly. I don't see why you would question the value of your milk if you have been the only food proviser for him and he is growing so rapidly. Sounds like he doesn't need any more calories especially not empty rice cereal. As soon as he can starp playing with toys of crawling about he will not want to nurse as frequently. Hang in there a little longer.
I like what Nourishing Traditions (Sally Fallon) has to say about Feeding babies. She reccommends feeding the cooked yolk of and egg a few times per week for the vitamin pack.

[Amris]

No matter how big your baby is, his gut is immature until 6 months old. If you introduce solids prior to that time, you risk serious harm to his digestive system.

As far as breastmilk being enough... your body will make sufficient milk for him, whether he is 5 pounds or 50 pounds.

How do you think your baby GOT that big? Not on solids! Obviously breastmilk was enough to make him 19 pounds, trust that it'll be enough to make him 20+, too.

He nurses frequently because that's the way he likes to nurse. Mine nurses rarely but she sucks me dry like a shop vac on a wet carpet. She sleeps through the night, gets up in the morning and takes in 8 ounces in 10 minutes. Then in the evening, she nurses every hour for 5 hours straight....

That's just her way. Your baby's way is to eat every 2 hours.

I'm a major over-producer, so my little one literally gets all of her milk out of one breast per feeding. I have to pump the second breast for the first morning feeding. That's just our way. For us, it's the right way. For you, it would be the wrong way.

But that doesn't mean there's a problem with your milk!

[tamagotchi]

Originally Posted by dbyrne

I am having to bf every 1 to 2 hours to keep him happy, except for his first stretch at night, when he sleeps 4 or 5 hours. I have assumed that the bfing frequency is because he is trying to stimulate the most milk possible.

My 17 month old nurses like that too. He's been eating solids for the last 10 months and it hasn't made any difference in his nursing frequency. Some babies just like to nurse frequently... it's normal.

[Momtwice]

Your baby's frequent breastfeeding is normal. My dd was a similar size and nursed at least as often, and she refused to eat any solids until 9 months.

The World Health organization says that solids before 6 months are linked with the baby becoming ill with frequent infections more often, compared to babies who wait 6 months.
http://www.medbroadcast.com/health_n...id=6140&rss=67

[Selesai]

I just want to agree with the others. My baby was 9lbs, 7 oz at birth. He is now 7 months old and 25 lbs. I believe he was around 19 lbs at 4 months. I pump, too. Some days he would take 25-30 oz of breastmilk while I was gone!

Things have now slowed down. My son only gets a few bites of solids a day, and he only eats about 12 oz max of breastmilk each day while I'm gone. He nurses every 2 hours (about) at night.

Perhaps it is a growth spurt. But know that you shouldn't start your baby on solids yet and he doesn't need anything but your milk. You ARE making enough, and no other food you could give him would be any better.

[SabbathD]

Originally Posted by ~Megan~

I think that nursing every 2-3 hours is very, very normal for a 4 month old. As you can tell they are growing and developing quickly at that age and need to eat a lot.

I nurse on the hour. DD weighed 8lbs exactly at birth and now weighs almost 20lbs at 7 months old.

Originally Posted by dbyrne

Dear Moms,

I am bfing my DS, just going to be 4 months old tomorrow. He is a really big baby -- almost 10 lbs at birth and 19 lbs already now (and 29" tall), and I am having to bf every 1 to 2 hours to keep him happy, except for his first stretch at night, when he sleeps 4 or 5 hours. I have assumed that the bfing frequency is because he is trying to stimulate the most milk possible. He wants about 24 oz. between 9 am and 5 pm. (I know because sometimes I pump.) I think about 40 oz. total in a 24-hour period.I was hoping to bf exclusively (no other foods) for his first 6 months but now I am questioning whether that will be possible.

My bfing books say "after 6 months milk no longer meets all of a baby's nutritional needs." My questions is: Do they mean caloric needs? Or vitamins and protein and things like that? Because my DS's 19 lbs make him the size of the average 9-month old -- and in addition he is growing faster than any 9-month-old. I just wonder how much longer I will be able to provide him with all the calories he needs. Also, it would be nice not to have to bf quite so frequently -- every 2-3 hours. Would be great. Should I think about supplementing with some rice cereal?

What do you think, webmoms?

Breastfed babies gain weight a little differently than formula fed babies. They tend to gain a lot of weight in the beginning and then level out at some point. Mine did at 6 months. She went from gaining many lbs. between visits to oz's between visits.

There are some great web resources for breastfed babies, here are some links!

everything you could ever hope to know on starting solids
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html

reasons to delay solids
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html

normal growth of breastfed babies
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/index.html

AND THIS ONE in particular for you
Is my exclusively breastfed baby gaining too much weight?
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...t-toomuch.html

[Benji'sMom]

Well, here is some info on solids and the nursing toddler, you can see that there is NO reason to rush into feeding solids at 4 months old. And keep in mind they're talking about even some 1 year olds still exclusively nursing, obviously a lot of 1yo weigh over 19 lb. :

We like to see breastmilk making up the majority (around 75%) of baby's diet at 12 months. Some babies will be taking more solids by 12 months, but others will still be exclusively or almost-exclusively breastfed at this point. It is normal for baby to keep breastmilk as the primary part of his diet up until 18 months or even longer. An example of a nice gradual increase in solids would be 25% solids at 12 months, 50% solids at 18 months, and 80% solids at 24 months.

Entire article is here: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ler-foods.html

Here's an article on why not to introduce solids till 6 months at the earliest:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html

I think whatever book you're reading that says you CAN'T exclusively BF past 6 months is full of it. Lots of kids do, there are a lot of babies with allergies that don't have anything but breastmilk for way more than a year, or even 2, and they don't starve.

Both my kids weighed about 24 lb at 4 months old - don't worry, it's not like they keep growing at that rate forever. Weight gain slows down after 4-6 months, they don't keep gaining a pound a week FOREVER, so it's not like baby's going to get so big that you can't provide enough milk. It just doesn't happen like that.

[Mama Poot]

My 20+lb 6 month old is still exclusively breastfed. He's doing just fine! Babies will nurse and bring your milk supply to meet their needs, some even exclusively breastfeed until 12 months- a friend of our family did that with all six of her kids. I let Henri sit in the high chair and play with banana slices and a sippy cup. He just squishes the banana in his hands, doesn't even try to bring it to his mouth yet, so I know he isn't ready for solids yet. He also cannot sit unassisted yet, so thats another indication that he is not ready. But there isnt any harm in letting baby experiment and play with food! That's all they really need to do in the first year anyway.

[CalebsMama05]

Originally Posted by dbyrne

Dear Moms,

I am bfing my DS, just going to be 4 months old tomorrow. He is a really big baby -- almost 10 lbs at birth and 19 lbs already now (and 29" tall), and I am having to bf every 1 to 2 hours to keep him happy, except for his first stretch at night, when he sleeps 4 or 5 hours. I have assumed that the bfing frequency is because he is trying to stimulate the most milk possible. He wants about 24 oz. between 9 am and 5 pm. (I know because sometimes I pump.) I think about 40 oz. total in a 24-hour period.I was hoping to bf exclusively (no other foods) for his first 6 months but now I am questioning whether that will be possible.

My bfing books say "after 6 months milk no longer meets all of a baby's nutritional needs." My questions is: Do they mean caloric needs? Or vitamins and protein and things like that? Because my DS's 19 lbs make him the size of the average 9-month old -- and in addition he is growing faster than any 9-month-old. I just wonder how much longer I will be able to provide him with all the calories he needs. Also, it would be nice not to have to bf quite so frequently -- every 2-3 hours. Would be great. Should I think about supplementing with some rice cereal?

What do you think, webmoms?

ok well my youngest is 7m and approx 16-17lbs and he nurses every 1-2hours.

breastmilk is easier to digest and so usually does so in about 90 minutes (an hour and a half) it is not unusual to nurse more often than a ff baby would get a bottle as formula is more difficult to digest (usually takes 3-4+hours)

ds#1 was 9lbs 10oz at birth and I wish I could say I EBF'd him but i didn't. not because he was too big but because I was too dumb.

[CalebsMama05]

Originally Posted by Amris

Mine nurses rarely but she sucks me dry like a shop vac on a wet carpet.

omg this made me

[mothragirl]

his size doesn't have anything to do with the frequency of his nursing. alice was a 5.5 lb peanut at birth and at 18 months weighs around 20lbs. she nursed constantly the first 6 months of her life.

[wasabi]

Originally Posted by jessemoon

My 10 and 1/2 lb at birth ds was exclusively bf until 6 months and then almost exclusively for several months after that as he didn't really take to solids well for a while.

Ditto. DD#1 was just under 10lbs at birth and grew very rapidly. She was 16.5 lbs at 4 months. I know she was 20lbs at maybe 8 months? She was 24lbs at one and 33lbs by 21 months. She didn't start solids until 6 months. Didn't have them every day until probably 9 months and didn't have them contribute any significant amount of her calories until she was older than 1. DD#2 was 10.5lbs at birth and just a hair under 17lbs at 4 months. Now she was smaller and so she was only I think 22lbs at 1 and is 26lbs now at 22 months. She started solids somewhat at 6 months. She didn't eat them with any sort of regularity at all until she was 9 months and didn't eat three meals a day until well even now she rarely has three meals a day. Both girls did nurse quite a bit and yeah a big baby may nurse more often because they are bigger and have more weight to support but overall it's totally doable even with a big baby. Good luck!

[Liam's Mum]

According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, the concern re: what bm might be lacking at 6 mos is iron BUT that is up for debate in other things I've read -- I think on kellymom.com (which others have posted links to) it suggests towards the 12 mos mark, iron and zinc MAY be a concern in an ebf baby but then, supplements are possible.

Anyway, just another vote to delay solids as long as possible. I will admit that we started DS (29 mos old) at 5 mos because he was showing signs and at that time, my ped was still recommending 4-6 mos. But he was born 9 lbs 3 oz, had doubled his birth weight on bm alone at 4 mos, and you know what? It was a good thing we didn't expect him to nurse less frequently after we introduced solids, because he didn't

As others have said, there is often a growth spurt at 12 weeks, so introducing solids at this point could interfere with the nursing needed to bring your supply up to his needs.

Also on kellymom.com, someone has probably posted the exact link already, there is a bit about a 12 mos old really only needing 25% of their calories from anything other than bm (or something like that).

[Leiahs]

Originally Posted by elmh23

At 18 months, my daughter was still about 98% breastfed. She would eat a couple crackers a day and that was it besides breastmilk. She was 25lbs!

Keep going strong! Breastmilk changes with the baby and meets his or her needs all the time. It is supposed to be the primary food source until at least 12 months.

Originally Posted by alegna

Size has absolutely nothing to do with how long breastmilk is "enough" My dd didn't eat as much as a tablespoon of food a day until she'd been 25lbs for awhile.

Your breastmilk is plenty.

Every organization says no solids until at LEAST 6 months.

After that, remember that solids are for fun in the first year. Nutrition needs to be your milk for the whole first year- minimum.

Another vote to skip the rice cereal. Useless at best.

-Angela

:
My DS has been 25 pounds for at least a few months now, and is 17 months... and like both posters I quoted, only eats a few bites at best most days. I'm thrilled when he occasionally eats for a good 10-15 minutes at the dinner table with us, but when he does that he's usually eating one grain of rice at a time!

He is perfectly healthy, developing wonderfully, and LOVES his breastmilk. It kinda makes me proud to realize he's done so well with so very little extra. He didn't show any interest in solids at all (unless you count interest being the interest to smear it and throw it on the floor...) until 15 months. And he will only eat if he feeds himself, no help from mommy allowed!

Anyway, just know you're not alone. I know I came here freaking out when he was 8 months and still not eating, I thought I really needed to force him to eat solids, but guess what, I didn't! He's still been growing and developing wonderfully. :

[awood11]

I seem to be the odd one out for a loof these conversations, but my DS is 4 mo and we have stared some cereal. About 1 tbs a day. Our ped said the 6 month mark does have to do with iron because they have used up all the iron they stole from your placenta, but if you are eating healthy and taking your vitamins the baby should be fine;like pp said, they can check it if you are concerned. We are doing cereal because he has shown sooo much interest in foods and the timing has seemed right for us. Just b/c it works for us though does not mean it is for everyone(that seems to be our life statement )
Go with your gut, momma. We have the best instincts if we trust them and not let everyone else sway our decisions!

[dbyrne]

The Next Question

Fellow webmoms,

I can't thank you enough for all the info (particularly the links to www.kellymom.com and the WHO references ) and especially the support. What a wonderful community.

You've collectively convinced me I should continue to EBF my DS until at least 6 months if at all possible. Here's the next question: how do I pump enough to satisfy him while I'm at work? At the minumum (and let's assume for now that I can get by with the minimum) I have an 8-hour workday and a 30-minute commute on either end of that. DS stays at home so I have to have a 9-hour supply of milk for him, around 20-22 oz for the 9 hours. When I pump I can put aside maybe 14-16 oz. Anyway, that's a 4-8 oz. milk shortage per workday.

Things I have already done: I have a good quality electric pump (Medela) so that's not a problem. I always double-pump. I pump every 3 hours that I'm away from DS, as recommended to me by various breastfeeding books. For the record, tt takes me about 50 minutes to drain my boobs and I usually have to resort to extra manual stimulation of my breasts along with the pump. I also pump extra in morning and evening sessions. I pump weekends as well, but that only takes care of Monday's shortage and maybe Tuesday's. At night and mornings and evenings, I feed my DS on demand, which as I mentioned is every 1-2 hours until bedtime. I am being sure to eat a lot of soy protein (12-18 g/day) because of its reputation as a galactogogue and that does seem to help, it's just not enough. I've been looking into references for "how to increase your milk supply" and most just say "nurse more often" which is a laugh when you are 20 miles away from your baby all day. Another unhelpful suggestion I find in books and on websites is to cut back on working hours -- right now I am the sole support of my family so that is not an option.

Hence some of my motivation for possibly supplementing with cereal. If I am going to avoid that, I need your best suggestions! One was fennel and/or fenugreek -- any experience of this, good or bad? Any other suggestions? I'm all ears.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by awood11

I seem to be the odd one out for a loof these conversations, but my DS is 4 mo and we have stared some cereal.

Be aware that all major groups (including AAP, WHO, LLL etc) suggest waiting until 6 months for solids.

Cereal is nutritionally void.

Babies are not ready for solids until they can self-feed.

-Angela

[alegna]

Originally Posted by dbyrne

Here's the next question: how do I pump enough to satisfy him while I'm at work?

Is he sleeping with you and nursing through the night? Could you add a pumping session in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning?

good luck!

-Angela