[echoecho1528]

I just recently realized that my DD seems to have made absolutely no progress in the areas of sleep and eating since she was born.
She still nurses every 2 hours or so around the clock, which of course means she doesn't sleep any longer than 2 hours in a stretch at night.
I can't get her to eat any substantial solids meals (purees, small chunks, off my plate, etc.) Usually she has just a taste of anything I give her, sometimes as much as two or three spoon fulls.
This has come up because I am in a mother's group consisting of some very mainstream mommies and all of their babies seem to be making some very natural progress in these two areas. Most are sleeping 6-10 hours at night, eating solids regularly, and nursing or taking bottles only 4-5 times a day.
Am I doing something wrong to encourage her to not make any progress? I am very responsive to her and generally nurse her whenever she seems to want to. We co-sleep and she generally nurses to sleep - every time she goes to sleep...
So, should I be concerned? When should I expect to see any progress??

Thank you for your time.

From one tired momma

Amber

 

[MountainMamaGC]

I co-sleep and i think you just notice every little wake up when you cosleep. I feed my dd (9 months) 2 or 3 times a night. Are you sure they are hunger cues? I used to think my dd was hungry all the time but sometimes she wanted something else. Sometimes she was just bored. At this point its totally ok if most of her nutrition comes from breastmilk. Some babies get into solids later. Just keep offering here and there.

I know what you mean about being tired. What i wouldnt do for even 6 hours of solid sleep.

FWIW I think you are doing a wonderful job.

 

[tamagotchi]

Your DD sounds perfectly normal to me. Neither of my kids moved beyond the "tasting" stage with solids until they were past 12 months. DS was just tasting until about 18-20 months when I lost my milk supply because of pregnancy, and he had to start eating solids for real! DD is still just tasting and she is 13 months.

 

[Justmee]

Avraham Tzvi is the same age. He's also not very interested in solids (excpet his sisters' tea bisquets, but he's #4 so if I can keep the big no nos away I'm happy

)

As for sleeping, some nights are better than others, but I don't think it's out of the realm of normal for an under 1 year old baby (heck even an under 2yo baby) to wake up several times a night.

 

[Twinklefae]

Other than the fact that he eats solids well, my 15 month old is still sleeping and nursing like he did as a newborn.

 

[accountclosed2]

My 9 month old feeds 14-20 times a day, and sleeps well, probably about the same as she did as a newborn (although she does sleep one slightly longer stretch at night. On the other hand, she sleeps more in the daytime now than she did at 4 months.)

 

[WyattsMom2008]

I'm in the same boat with my ten month old. I have the same insecurities about it. He won't feed himself any food besides teething biscuits. I have gone back and forth with self feeding vs spoon feeding and have finally decided to do both. So I spoon feed him but also offer him things like slices of banana. He still hasn't once eaten anything I've offered him.

He also breast fed almost like a newborn up until a couple of weeks ago, when his appetite markedly dropped. Now he will often only eat from one side per session. Often he will take a few sips and then roll away and not want any more at all. I take it as a sign that his growth is finally slowing down. He would probably be happy at this point eating every three hours, but I don't trust that yet. I'm worried it will lower my supply too much. So I still keep offering more often.

His sleep was starting to get better until he hit teething. I had a four day reprieve with great daytime napping and long stretches of sleeping at night. And then teething started back up. Once teething is over I think he'll only wake a couple times at night. I hope.

 

[guestmama9920]

Stop it you guys, some of us would like to live in darkness and imagine that by this age our babies will sleep through the night, granted deep down we know it's not true but the fantasy keeps us alive

My 1st didn't stop feeding like a baby until over 1 year, and he was supplemented too

 

[sparkly]

My son is 8 months, and nurses all day and night (at least every hour all day, usually every 1-2 hours during the night). He has no interest in food--he'll taste it if I give it to him, but doesn't seem to know what to do with it. I'm exhausted too...but I figure he knows better than I do what he needs.

Now, if he's still doing this at a year, we'll have to reevaluate...but for now, I don't think it's any cause for worry.

She's made tons of other progress, right? Sitting up, maybe crawling, interacting, playing...if my son wasn't doing normal developmental things at 9 mo, that's when I would look in to it. I don't think that food is part of that.

 

[AutumnAir]

Apart from the fact that my DD eats solids well, she sounds very similar, and she's 11 months old now. She nurses AT LEAST every 2 hours day and night, and usually much more often than that. Now that she's learned to sign for milk she asks me constantly. In the last hour I nursed her 5 times, for a minute or two a time. It's pretty frustrating, but at least she can tell me what she wants now.
I actually think DD slept better as a newborn than she does now. As a newborn she used to sleep a 3 hour stretch the first part of the night then up every two hours for the rest of the night. Now I would be shocked if she slept longer than 2 hours that first stretch, and she wakes more like every hour or less for the rest of the night.
I'm exhausted and planning on trying a modified version of night-weaning after she turns one.
So, I feel your pain, but at the same time I think this is well within the realms of normality for babies of this age. I know how frustrating it is to compare your baby with others, but remember that you are meeting your LO's needs, and that's the best thing you can do.

 

[echoecho1528]

Thank you guys for making me feel like I am not so alone in this.

Sorry to those who are not yet at this stage and are hoping it would have ended by now... all babies are different and perhaps you will have better luck

I definitely feel refreshed and reassured that she is doing fine and developing normally. I agree with a pp that one year sounds like a good time for reevaluation. Until then I will do just one day at a time.
Thanks again ladies!
Amber

 

[GooeyRN]

You arent alone! my 12onth old gets up hourly. I am exhausted!

 

[LadyCatherine185]

Hi mama! I have a 3 mo (who eats every 1-2 hours round the clock), so I don't have any BTDT advice for you.. but I just wanted to say that I have a lot of mainstream mama friends from church, and their LO's were STTN at 8 weeks, and only eating 5-6 times a day by 2-3 months.... That said, it was because they were all schedule fed, and I know at least one of them used the book Babywise, which recommends dropping night feedings at 8 weeks and only feeding a babe every 3 hours.... One 'had to' supplement with formula because she had low supply, another gave up BFing completely.... So trust your gut, and trust your baby, you are doing an amazing job and your babe is getting the best love from you that they can!

 

[Theoretica]

You're not alone

I don't know who says their babies sleep for ten freaking hours but I'd be worried if mine did that.

ITA when we are cosleeping and babywearing we are much more in tune w/their wakings and other bodily functions

Also re: food, I think they eat when they are ready, just like every other developmental milestone. There's a range for a reason, and I'll pretty much guarantee they won't go to college breastfeeding

HTH
Bellevuemama