18 month-old getting most of fluids through BM--a problem?

[lmintzer]

I am still nursing Joshua, and lately, he's more into it than he was around 15 months (when I thought he might self-wean). He nurses when he wakes up, before each of 2 naps, before bed, and at midnight (and sometimes even one extra in there). So we're talking at least 5 nursing sessions a day. Gosh, when I type that, it sounds like a lot, but I guess some of them can be brief, so it doesn't really feel like I spend my whole day nursing him.

He and I are comfortable with this for now. He's a young 18 mos. and seems to really need it. I probably would want to wean him around his 2nd birthday, but that's lots of time. For now, I'm just a little concerned because this is almost the only way he's getting fluids. We put a sippy with water or soy milk (he has a milk protein allergy) on his high chair tray with every meal. He might take a sip or two, but that's it. The cup seems to make him mad (as do a lot of things when he's in the high chair, but that's another story).

We also got in the habit of feeding him roughly 6 oz. of soy in a bottle around 4:30 p.m., after he wakes up from his 2nd nap. He is thirsty then and has no interest in nursing at that time. Not a problem, because I like others to be able to feed him milk. Before my move, I worked half-time, so he took all of his day time milk in bottles 3 days/week. Now that I'm home, we've replaced those bottles with bf sessions.

So, he's really getting (at most) 7 oz. of fluids/day outside of the nursing sessions. Could that possibly be enough? I feel like I have some milk left, but not as much as when he was a smaller baby. I hear him swallowing, and I let him nurse until he pushes away. Can I assume he's getting what he needs?

I wish he would take a little more from the cup, just so when I do think about weaning, I can be assured that he'll get enough. We had a terrible time with this with big brother (who self-weaned suddenly at 15 mos. and refused the bottle at the same time AND couldn't get much from a cup). He wound up with severe constipation problems, in part due to low fluid intake. I really really don't want to go through that again. Jack still is suffering the effects of this--and he's 4!

TIA for any advice.

[brittone2]

I'm no expert, but our situation is a bit similar at 15 months. DS mostly nurses for fluids, although I do offer the cup and he enjoys drinking out of it for the most part. He just tends to get most of his fluids through breastmilk.

My thought is that as long as he is peeing and pooping enough, he's getting enough fluids. If he's constipated, he might need more liquid, but if he's peeing and isn't constipated, I wouldn't worry. And constipation is basically judged on whether is poops are super hard/painful rather than frequency from what I understand.

Dumb question, but have you tried other kinds of cups? We don't do juice but maybe add a little juice to his water? WIll he drink out of an unlidded cup? DS likes using a shotglass to drink his water (I got this idea from some Montessori reading I had done). In fact, he usually tries to remove the lids of his sippy cups. WIll he drink out of a straw cup? Maybe try one of those "crazy straws" if he'll use a straw? Just some random ideas. Maybe some of the novelty of those things would help? If you are nursing on demand and not refusing him if he "asks" to nurse, I wouldn't think he'd let himself not get enough fluids, kwim?

Hopefully someone else will have more advice for you ;) These were just some things I thought about.

[Katia]

Not much advice, but just wanted to share that our experience has been similar! DS is 19 months and nurses much, much more than he did 3 months ago. He also has a mild milk protein allergy, so switching to cow's milk isn't an option for us right now, although we're hopeful he'll eventually outgrow the allergy. I'm mostly happy with nursing a toddler, although this particular week, it's really taking a toll on me. But that's a whole 'nother story! :-)

I second the recommendation for trying different cups. The take-n-toss straw cups have been a huge hit at our house. If your DS is fighting the highchair, would transitioning to a booster help?

Katia
DS 2003

[kozachka]

I would not worry about it. DS just turned 18 months and until recently has nursed twice in the morning, before and after his nap, once or twice in the afternoon and right before bed time. So 6-7 times all together. I've cut out the after nap nursing session couple weeks ago and he would now eagerly drink rice milk from an open cup with two handles as soon as he wakes up. I also try to nurse only once in the morning by getting DS out of the house, we have a no nursing in public rule these days.

We also keep a straw-cup in the backpack front pocket when we are out and about. DS knows where his cup is and will pull on the pocket's zipper whenever he's thirsty, which not that often. It's a rare day when he drinks more than half a cup of water. He likes to drink from a water fountain, another strategy you might want to try. I added a splash of juice to DS' water the first few times we gave it to him (gulped it like crazy LOL) but would not recommend doing it on a regular basis. My dentist says that juice is mostly sugar and unless you brush your DC teeth right away it's an open invitation for decay.

[lmintzer]

Thanks, ladies. I think I'll just have to try harder with the cup. I don't mean to wean him, but I DO want him to be more comfortable taking milk or water from a cup. Today, at breakfast, we tried a straw and open cup. He made a pretty good mess (and it was just water), but it was a start. At first, he just chewed on the straw. Then, I used my finger and trapped a little water in the straw and put it in his mouth to give him the idea. He caught on quickly and started sucking on the straw. The problem was that once the water was in his mouth, he started sputtering. The flow was a bit too fast. I'm sure he'll adjust, or we can try one of the straw cups (less messy and maybe a slower flow?).

Which straw cups have people found good for beginners? Someone mentioned "Take-n-Toss" (is that First Years?)

[mudder17]

Kaya started the Take-n-Toss (first years) straw cup at around 6.5 months, and she's really prefered those to sippies. But at 15 months, she now likes for me to take the cover off so she can drink out of the cup the "normal" way. She also likes the Munchkin straw cups (I think it's the cute pictures on the outside). She will drink out of my water bottle, but now prefers to drink it the way I do (not through the spout, but take the cap off so she can drink it like a cup). DH always drinks out of the spout, so she'll drink it for him out of the spout, but with me she likes the cover off, LOL! I guess it really is monkey see, monkey do. :)

Sometimes when Kaya gets too enthusiastic, she'll suck the water out too quickly and will cough, but for the most part, she's pretty good with it. It will take your DS some practice, but he'll figure out it, I'm sure.

Oh, and Kaya took EBM and soy milk out of the Take-n-toss sippies and water out of the straw cups so she associated the types of cups with the type of liquid. But she now refuses any sort of milk except mine (I haven't thawed any of my EBM to try with her lately), so she's nursing quite a lot these days. Fortunately, she still drinks all her water out of her various cups and seems to enjoy it.


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...n_gold_12m.gif , 15 months & counting
Kaya's cousin, due October 9th!!!