My nursing schedule is completely out of whack!

[jd11365]

At just about 9 months, I thought I had this nursing thing down like a pro...but now I feel like I'm at a completely different phase. With the introduction of solids, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing anymore and when or if I should begin to remove any nursing from the schedule. She used to "snack" all the time, but all of a sudden is on more of a regular nursing routine...not a schedule...we definitely don't (can't) stick to schedules around here. I'm thinking it's because she's eating solids now she is nursing less. The only constant is that I try to do dinner time at 6:30 consistently.

Lately this has been the gig:
3 am nurse (for the record...ugh!)
7 am nurse
8 am breakfast if she's in the mood(cereal and smushed fresh fruit)
10 am nap
12 pm nurse or breakfast if she wasn't in the mood earlier
2 pm nurse/nap
4 pm nurse
6:30 dinner (2-4 vegetable cubes or 2 veggie 1-2 fruit)
7:30-8:30 nurse/bedtime

Anyhoo, I feel like there has been missing nursing in the day for some reason. It doesn't look that way from the schedule I wrote down, but I know it's not the same as before.

So here are my questions...I think...I don't even know what I'm really asking at this point anymore.

1. Does nursing change at 9 months or around about?
2. Should I nurse AND feed solids or try and just feed breakfast/dinner alone?
3. When does it come to that...when I introduce milk?
4. Have I lost what is left of my mind?

TIA!


Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[Momof3Labs]

Nursing definitely changes as solids become a larger part of baby's diet. For us, this happened around 9 months, but it is different for every baby. I would suggest that you nurse and then offer a meal about an hour or so later (kinda like what your schedule shows). We now nurse first thing in the morning, before his nap (which is after lunch) and at bedtime (after dinner). Try offering water in a sippy with a meal, or EBM if you prefer. Wait to introduce milk until at least one year.

[Momof3Labs]

Nursing definitely changes as solids become a larger part of baby's diet. For us, this happened around 9 months, but it is different for every baby. I would suggest that you nurse and then offer a meal about an hour or so later (kinda like what your schedule shows). We now nurse first thing in the morning, before his nap (which is after lunch) and at bedtime (after dinner). Try offering water in a sippy with a meal, or EBM if you prefer. Wait to introduce milk until at least one year.

[jd11365]

She drinks water from a sippy w/ meals. I've been nursing after, but sometimes she's not in the mood and doesn't "ask" for it. Should I still offer or nurse before meals?


Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[Momof3Labs]

If you try to nurse after, she probably won't take it because she is full. Try nursing before for now - once you hit the one year mark, if you want her to take more solids and nurse less, try offering after meals.

[jd11365]

Thanks Lori! I will nurse first then offer solids. I was confused because I know I can't start whole milk until 1 year, but she seems to want less BM. She will take it if I offer...she hasn't shown signs of weaning...just that she's not "asking" as much IYKWIM. I suppose if I nurse before solids she is getting the right amount of milk nutrition.

One more thing... Will she still be hungry enough for solids if I nurse first? Or do I interrupt her 1/2 way then offer solids like when we were first starting cereals at 6 months?

BTW...another HUGE thank you for ALWAYS being so helpful! I can't wait to (hopefully) make it to Chicago and finally meet you in the summer to thank you in person!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[Momof3Labs]

You're welcome - I do hope that you are able to make it to Chicago this summer, Jamie!!

When I was nursing before solids, I would wait an hour or so before offering solids, this gives them time to make room for the solids. Honestly, though, by 9 months, Colin preferred solids and would leave room for them. He kept nursing 3x a day (and still does) but was just one of those babies who loooved to sit up and eat!

There really is no wrong answer here - feel free to experiment and see what works best for Kayla! But know that it is normal for her to take less b'milk (shorter nursings or fewer nursings) as she takes more solids.

[lizajane]

i have found that nursing one hour before solids works REALLY well for us. my schedule is:

7am nurse
8am breakfast
9-11 nap
11am nurse
12pm lunch
2-3 nap (sometimes nurses before nap, sometimes after, depending on the quality of his am nap- sometimes the pm nap is 3-4, etc.)
3pm nurse
5pm dinner
6:15 nurse
6:30 bed

he has gotten an early am snack lately because he has been sick and therefore waking up at 4:30am (last night) or, more often, 5:30 or 6:00am

we have used this schedule since 9 months (with the exception of the MANY days that he has been sick, and gets to nurse whenever he wants to help him feel better.)

[jd11365]

Ack...tonight we were at my dad's house...got there late and she was hungry. I fed her regular dinner (2 veggie cubes & 1 fruit) and forgot to nurse her first as I realize I should. When she was finished and after tiring herself out with grandpa she was exhausted and fell asleep in the car without nursing before bed. This is what happens sometimes as of late. But in retrospect and by looking at Schuyler's schedule, I guess as long as she is nursing at least 4x a day, (and right now it's still more than that) then it should be ok. She is still my little moose at 19.5 lbs., so I guess in theory I know she is getting enough to eat. It just seems all new to me all of a sudden...trying to do both nursing and solids while keeping up with everything else...KWIM? It was easier to just remember to nurse every 2-4 hours with nothing else to think about. And, on top of it all, my priority is BM not solids...I want her to have the best and most complete nutrition possible...not to mention I enjoy BFing.

I do feel much better hearing from you guys though and have to remind myself there is no real "right" way to do things. I definitely see that Schuyler's schedule is what Kayla is on her way to...for both of us. Honestly, nursing and feeding, though I don't know why, seems a lot at one time. I want to say that if she's finished with a meal of solids and doesn't "ask" to nurse then that's ok. I love nursing, don't get me wrong and have no plans of complete weaning any time soon, but taking one or two sessions out wouldn't kill me either at this point IYKWIM...might make me feel a little less like a vending machine sometimes. ;) I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support and perspectives. I'm in a funny place now...she's no longer an infant, yet not yet a toddler...she's like a Britney Spears of babies...ha!


Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[Momof3Labs]

Jamie, now that I think about it, from 9-12 months, I felt like all I did was feed this kid! Either he was in his high chair eating (he was doing 3 solid meals per day by about 9.5 months - nothing for you to worry about, just what we did - plus maybe one small snack) or he was nursing (3-4 times per day). There didn't seem to be much time for play, much less running errands or walking at the mall! But that has changed, too, finally.

As they say, as soon as you get used to one thing, baby goes and changes it on you!!

[lizajane]

it makes me feel good that i made you feel good. :)

schuyler is tall and skinny, but still right at 50th percentile for weight. (85th for height) but when i told the dr that he didn't tolerate solids until 8 months, and his weight might catch up a bit when he ate more, the dr said he did NOT want his weight to catch back up at all in percentiles. he said he likes 'em tall and skinny. and at 21+ pounds, he ain't starvin'!

that same dr said to go down to nursing THREE times per day. he didn't say it like i HAD to get to 3/day for any super important reason or anything. i mean, it wasn't an "order." but even if it was an order, i can't imagine figuring out how to nurse only 3 times. he goes almost exactly 4 hours between milk feedings. with his three solid meals and the timing of his naps, he would end up going 6 hours without milk and that just isn't ok with me. but if i try to nurse him more often than every 4 hours, he is not interested at all and won't take a feeding. he would rather go 5 hours between feedings than 3 (unless he is sick and pitiful.)

so (ramble ramble, waiting for dh to come home from a party) i think you are a-ok. my ultimate idea/goal is to get the pre-solids nursing closer and closer to meal time. then right before meal time. then after meal time. then slowly the nursing at lunch disappears and a sippy of EBM appears at lunch.. etc. etc. until he has a sippy of soymilk at every meal and a snack or two and zero nursing. (and the grande finale of this plan is the be preg again.) so i have about 4 months to make all that happen. and i don't want to put solids and nursing together (at the same time) until 12 months- to be certain that he is ready to get his nutritional requirements from food and not bmilk.

ok. going to bed now, even though dh is not home. sigh...

[deborah_r]

Jamie & Lori, it's getting like that for me now too. I feel like I'm always feeding him! And, BONUS, he bit me tonight and made me bleed and I screamed and he screamed and was really freaked out. I hope he doesn't go on a nursing strike.

[jubilee]

My DS is almost 10 months, and for the last 5-6 weeks our schedule has been:

6:30am nurse
8:00am breakfast
9:00am nurse to sleep (about half a feeding)
10:30a wake up and nurse
12:00p lunch
1:30pm nurse to sleep (about half a feeding)
3:30pm nurse
5:00pm dinner
6:30pm nurse to sleep (about half a feeding)

Once Logan began eating 3 meals a day plus nursing, I feel like all I do is feed him! He typically nurses for 30 minutes at a time. I am not really happy with his growth right now as he has been 20# for 2 1/2 months. He was at 90% before, and he still is a cute, chunky baby- but I know he is not gaining as before we started on 3 meals a day. But maybe it's because he is more active.