So....what happens at 1 year?

[maestramommy]

Well, Dora will be one in a month and a half, so I'm wondering what happens then. I decided I will stop pumping and gradually transition her to whole milk for the "necessary bottle", otherwise, still nursing. Other than that, what's the protocol for feeding? She's still hardly eating. I've been giving her Teddy Puffs for breakfast and given up on the cereal since they are also fortified. Her only guaranteed food is cheese, and even that she may refuse after a couple of bites if she isn't hungry (I ASSUME). She gets plain yogurt during her snack if she's so inclined (I mix it with applesauce or jam) and for dinner I'm currently trying rice with one chopped up TJ's chicken nugget, one broccoli floret mixed with a little melted cheese. The total volume of food consumed in one day is about 1/2 cup or less. One cheese stick is the most she consumes in one sitting.

When she turns one, do I start by offering her food, and top her off with milk instead of the other way around? Is there something magical about age 1 in that solids are now the main source of nutrition rather than milk? I'm just trying to figure out how to respond to my ped. if Dora's habits don't change before then.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Don't count on her being able to handle milk at the magical age of 12 months. I tried to start Logan and her system just wasn't ready. We tried again each month and finally were able to gradually introduce it at 14 months. I'm glad I didn't stop pumping until I was sure she was handling it well.

[hez]

Take your time-- it's good to have that end goal in mind, just be prepared for the game plan to change if necessary.

Nothing magical happened here. Payton just slowly ate more solid food and nursed/drank less. Of course, now that he's a toddler and has verbal preferences, he'd rather drink all his calories in milk (or eat them in cheese) if given the option ;)

But seriously, for some reason I decided that cow's milk would go in a sippy, not a bottle, so had to work that transition in amongst the slowing down of pumping. He was between 15 and 18 months old when all his day time milk (at the sitter's) was cow's milk instead of a mix, and ~15 months when I stopped pumping and lived off the freezer stash (plus nursing when we were together). I probably made it harder and easier on myself by deciding that cow's milk would never be in a bottle, but if I had it to do over, would probably choose the same method.

Good luck in your planning (and execution :)).

[sidmand]

I wasn't nursing by then, but we've been having problems with the transition to "food." I thought I took too literally the "solids are just for practice" the first year and then he turned one and I thought, "hmmm, now what?" Honestly, DS has never been all that interested in solid food. I never thought of him as a picky eater, but I guess he is. He's tried a whole bunch of things, but he doesn't eat all of them often and sometimes he likes something one day and not the next.

We're (slowly!) trying to get him to drink less and eat more, and some days are much more successful than others and it sounds like Dora may not be a huge solid eater either. I'm not so concerned (yet). We have our 15-month checkup in about a month. DS is very tall for his age, so I know he's getting enough nutrients to grow. Some days I give up and just give him what I know will work (milk, Os, Baby Mum Mums, corn cakes). I know some babies that will eat anything you give them. DS isn't like that and never really has been. We give him mainly adult food (small) 'cause he was never all that interested in baby food. Nothing magical about age 1 that I can find. :) But we're still working on it. On a really good day, he eats a cheese omelette for breakfast, snacks on Os, crackers, and/or Goldfish throughout the day and has a couple of fish sticks and a spinach pancake for lunch/dinner. That's a REALLY good day. If I had it to do again, I would try to introduce more solids a bit sooner (I went very very slowly), but you know, I don't really think he would be eating any more now if I had. He wasn't all that interested all along the way. Every child is different. Like I said, we're working on it!

Debbie
http://b2.lilypie.com/BI7Tm5.png

[maestramommy]

Oh yes. How did you know her system couldn't handle it? Did she get sick? And before you tried it the first time was she okay with cheese and yogurt. Dora seems to be fine with both, in fact nothing seems to upset her stomach, she just isn't terribly interested. Of course, that could be my problem during the transition. She just might not like whole milk. How could I blame her? (yuck!)

[buddyleebaby]

at one year, dd was still a nibbler, although I was giving her three meals a day, she didn't really eat to much.
She STILL doesn't really drink cow's milk. She will tolerate it in her sippy cup, but much prefers plain old water. She won't drink it all all out of a reguular cup. Her body had no problem digesting in though. I just went ahead and gave her some one day.
My dd lost weight at her one year check-up and the advice from my ped was to wean her. I am pretty sure if I had done that, she would be even more of a peanut than she is. The wise mamas here advised me that a little weight loss at that time is normal. It is true that between her 9 month and 12 month check-up, she started walking (running, climbing....) so it makes sense. I just wanted to give you a heads up if this should happen to you.
As far as when to nurse in relation to solids, I just continued to nurse on demand. Sometimes she would ask right before a planned meal, sometimes right after, sometimes not at all close to. I figured nursing is nursing and solids are solids, and I wasn't going to plan one around the other. I never found a difference in how much she would eat based on whether or not she had just nursed, or vice versa. Even now, she will nurse first thing in the AM before having breakfast. She generally asks to nurse immediately following lunch (before her nap). I just follow her cues.
She gradually started eating more as she got older. I just really made the effort to make sure she was provided with enough opportunity.
Also, I didn't worry about getting every kind of food into every meal. If she doesn't get enough protein at lunch, she'll make up for it at dinner. And I gave up on normal meal plans- today's breakfast was sliced kiwi and cubes of cheese.
HTH!

ETA: I can't believe that she's almost a year!

[Moneypenny]

Oh, I had the same worries. For us, it was really a gradual transition from mostly nursing to mostly solids that started around a year. We started slowly with solids (per DD's interest level) and at a year, she didn't eat much. We started offering whole milk in a sippy but she would take literally 2 or 3 sips a day. She didn't really get into cows milk until we ran out of whole one day and gave her 2% and she gulped down the whole sippy. Since she's still nursing and getting whole milk from me, we figured the 2% was fine (she was about 20 monhts or so). We also gave her lots of cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese during the cow's milk dry spell.

I've found the best advice to follow with solids is very basic - offer healthy foods several times a day (we do 3 meals and 2 snacks) and let her eat what she wants to eat. Eventually she'll let you know what she wants.
Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif[/img][/url]

[maestramommy]

Thank you all so much mamas! It's very helpful to know that if she loses weight, I don't need to panic. My cousin told me that she could also fall off the charts completely, and that is okay too (already 10% for weight). Dora is so active these days (crawling laps) that I'm sure she's okay, but of course my ped only sees her once every few months.

I am already doing the nursing and solids as two separate tracks, and she seems to be fine with it. Yes, sometimes after eating an entire stick of cheese she wants to nurse, which usually means she's tired and wants a nap.

I have no intention of weaning when she turns 1, so any ideas for a worthy response would be great if the ped. brings it up.

[mudder17]

Okay, I'm probably the last person to give advice since Kaya still doesn't drink milk out of a cup. She actually asked for al ittle whole milk in a sippy the other day, but she only took a couple oz's and hasn't wanted any since. For her calcium and Vitamin A/D, I just give her some diluted kid's OJ and then offer her cheese and the occasional yogurt.

At a year, I did stop pumping, and at the time she was still drinking soy milk out of a sippy, but she stopped at around 13/14 months and she was still nursing a lot. I just nursed her on demand like Alicia did and didn't bother worrying about scheduling food around nursing, etc. She was still quite the nibbler back then and it wasn't until closer to 18 months (or even 2 years) that she seemed to eat a lot. At 18 months, I limited her nursing to before and after her nap and bedtime so maybe that's why she started to naturally increase in solids? In any case, her weight sort of steadied at that point and the pede was not concerned because she was developing normally in all other ways and she wasn't drastically losing weight or looking malnourished. These days, she does eat a lot more solids, but still, her days will vary depending on her mood or whatever. We don't try for a balanced day, but just sort of offer her healthy choices and let her eat what she wants. Over the course of a week or two, she does end up with a fairly balanced diet.

My suggestion is pretty much the same as the others--just let her nurse on demand and then offer her breakfast, lunch, and dinner (with or without snacks, your choice), and don't stress at what she will or will not eat. As long as what you offer is healthy, I wouldn't worry about how much she eats. You have to trust that her internal instincts are working just fine. :) If for some reason she doesn't like the whole milk (and who could blame her?), then offer her calcium in the form of cheese and yogurt, which she does like. Then just assume that she gets the rest of her calcium/nutrients from her nursing sessions. If she's doing fine otherwise, then I think that's what the pediatrician should be looking for.

Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 29 months...
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev317pp___.png
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33732.gif for Leah

[maestramommy]

Ah, thanks sis. Hmm, why can't you all be around IRL? I've got a nibbler surrounded by gluttons :-).

[stillplayswithbarbies]

yes she was find with cheese and yogurt. But with milk she got constipated and fussy and sleepless with even a small amount.

I posted here at 11 months to say I had a month supply in the freezer and should I stop pumping at work in anticipation of her turning a year old. The best advice I ever got was "wait and see if she is really ready for it yet". So I pumped until 14 months and used my supply for another month as we phased in cow's milk.

[maestramommy]

Some of the formula moms I know were asking about going to the toddler formula after one before milk. As bfing moms, in your opinion, would it make sense to give Dora this "toddler formula" to ease her into whole milk? My instinct says I'd rather give her whole milk than formula period (no flames please), but I know that the formula at least, is fortified, and whole milk isn't. Is it also different in composition than baby formula? I only ask because the dh of a friend works for Nestle and (interestingly enough) he works on Good Start, and was telling me about the intermediate formula for babies who can't make the sudden jump from baby formula to cow's milk. Also, I don't know why, but a ff mom told me I should hold onto my cans of (baby) formula if Dora were to wean before 18 months because she might not be able to handle cow's milk and the formula would make for a better transition. Does that make sense? Which reminds me, I need to give them away before they expire LOL!

[buddyleebaby]

Well, I wouldn't give toddler formula under the assumption that as an EBF baby, your dd would have to adjust to formula just as much as she would whole milk. It seems like putting her on formula and then to milk in doubling your work, esp. since at a year she is old enough to be on Cow's milk.
Then again, I have never used formula and therefore am no expert.
Try giving her a small amount of cow's milk to see if she will drink it and if it agrees with her system. If all goes well, I really think that breastmilk, cow's milk, and solids will be perfectly adequate. At any rate I would at least TRY cow's milk first.

[CharmedOne]

I agree with Alicia. Let her try cow's milk first and see how she adjusts to it. My DS was EBF until he was 9 months old. I never wanted to put him on formula (no flames please), but my ped and I felt it was in his best interest to supplement. It was a combo of factors that led to it. DS was cutting his first teeth and caught a nasty virus which made him not want to nurse at all or eat much solids. He only wanted cold liquids. That in turn decreased my supply a lot. Poor thing lost a lot of weight. He has always been a peanut, so the weight issue worries me a lot. He wasn't even on the charts at his 1 year checkup. Otherwise he's developing beautifully.

Luckily he took to the formula with no problem. We started him on the Nestle Good Start. Now he seems to like the Costco Kirkland formula better. I gave him straight up whole milk one day. He sucked it down. These days he takes both formula and cow's milk at daycare. He mostly nurses at home with an occassional bottle of whole milk. (I'm trying to get him to drink it out of a sippy.)

I think you're doing a great job. Just continue to offer her a variety of solids.

HTH!

Caroline

http://b2.lilypie.com/3k5Am7/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif 13 months

[maestramommy]

Thanks Ladies! I didn't think I needed the formula, and since she is so close to one I'm thinking I may just give away the cans, even though Dh is insisting on holding on to them. Um, for a month and a half?

[DrSally]

Interesting suggestion to stop nursing. Doesn't really make sense if that's one sure thing she'll eat. There still is a lot of misinformation out there about nursing. I'll have to keep that in mind when my DS hits that age range.

[DrSally]

In your situation, I would only do formula if you didn't want to/ or couldn't continue pumping and nursing after a year. For instance, I've been delaying some medical tx b/c I want to nurse for a year. If after that time, my DS doesn't tolerate whole milk, I may try formula. I did hear that formula is more nutritionally matched for babies and might be good for up to 2 years before introducing cow's milk. Am I just imagining this? In any case, I may have too hard of a time giving up nursing and end up continuing past a year. The pp's are right, there's nothing magical about the 1 year mark, and I have no idea if we'll both be ready.

[maestramommy]

Well, someone who works for Nestle said that Toddler formula is great for babies who don't eat much. They can make sure they're getting all the necessary vitamins and other "nutrients" they need because cow's milk doesn't provide all that. I was more concerned about either cow's milk not agreeing with Dora's stomach, or (more likely) her just not liking it. I can always depend on bfing for the vitamins. I have heard that bm changes as the baby gets older to meet their needs, but I don't really know what that means. Same nutrients, but less fat?

[DrSally]

I think that's what it means. I think it becomes less fat dense, but just as nutritious as far as the other stuff is concerned.

[melbb]

My DD is 3 months away from a year, but I have wondered where she will be in terms of consuming more solids, too. I have a stupid formula question that maybe nobody can answer since you are all BFing, but I EP and do not plan to pump more than 1-2x/day beyond a year. I already have to supplement because I don't have a great supply. I imagine that 2x/day may provide 2 bottles for her, but I don't know. My question is, if she is not eating a lot of solids by one year, should she get infant formula or toddler formula? I always thought toddler formula, but I was looking at the back of a can in the store and it said that toddler formula is not a substitute for BM, which I took to mean that it doesn't have all the nutrition a baby would need if the baby is not on a balanced solid diet. Right now DD is interested in and eating solids, but she doesn't like a lot of foods (hates veggies, meat, yogurt) and at 9 months still won't eat finger foods (no pincer grasp), only pureed foods.

[xmasbabycomin]

All I can add to this is that age one means absolutely nothing in
terms of changing diet except that you can give whole milk i/o formula.
You don't need to adjust solids due to her age, only to her preferences,
growth,etc. Just keep on breastfeeding, offering solids. It doesn't matter
much the order, just follow her lead. Some bfed babies aren't interested
much in solids until they're almost one; both mine were eating 5+
jars daily at 5 months! (no, I wasn't force-feeding, promise ! :) ) Only
think my ped an my aunt (also a ped) said was give vitamins for iron
until solids make up most of her diet.

As far as pp question about toddler formula, I think I read that toddler formula
has more calcium than infant. I think when they say it's not a substitute for
breastmilk it's just a generic disclaimer, like breast is best, but I'm not sure.
Ask your doc at her one year checkup. Read this:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1487.html