Drinking Less BM?

So my 8.5 month old daughter has recently started eating more solids- 3x a day. Usually she'll have half a container of yogurt/baby food in the morning and finish it in the afternoon. At night she has a little of whatever we're having to eat and some cheerios, yogurt melts, etc. I'm sure my sister is giving her a taste of her breakfast/lunch as well. Now that she's eating so much, she seems to be drinking a lot less BM. She was having trouble sleeping through the night so the past week and a half we've been CIO. It's worked amazingly. She was waking every 45 minutes in her crib until we'd give up and put her in bed with us. Since starting CIO she's been falling asleep in 5-15 minutes and sleeping solidly from 9:00 PM- 5:30 AM. So since she's STTN, she's not nursing at night either. She nurses a lot when she wakes at 5:30 and then I try to nurse her a little when I drop her off at my sister's at 7:00/7:30- some days she'll take it, some days she won't. She's with my sister/daycare until 5:00 PM. She used to drink 3 5oz bottles in that time, but now with the solids, she's only drinking 2 5 oz bottles. If they try to give her the third bottle, she drinks maybe an ounce and they send the rest home. I nurse her then at 5:30 when we get home and then again at 7:30/8:00. I don't nurse her to sleep anymore since like I said that wasn't working and we started doing CIO. I also try to give her a little water with all her solids, but we're still on the hunt for a sippy cup she likes. I usually wind up letting her drink from a regular cup which she loves, but of course is messy and I have to constantly hold it for her.

Anyway, this morning she gave a grunt while nursing and when I went to change her diaper there was a poop nugget in there. It wasn't hard, but it was more solid than any of the goop I'm used to. She's been wetting about 5-6 diapers a day and pooping regularly once a day or every other day so I'm not sure there's anything wrong but the decrease in drinking milk and the poop this morning has me a little concerned. Her last check up was January 2nd and she's been gaining fine, but the change in her diet has really been since then so I'm not sure. Any advice? Does this sound like a normal nursing/solid schedule for a baby her age? If not, what should I do differently?

Message edited 1/12/2017 9:04:58 AM.

Drinking Less BM?

DD is now 10 months and I can say that I noticed once she was eating more solids she definitely started taking less formula -- not sure if there's a difference with formula versus BM. I will say thought that her intake of formula fluctuates tremendously day to day, as does her general food intake. She generally takes 3-4 bottles -- the first 3 are 7-8 oz but she doesnt take it all -- she takes the entire first bottle and then a lot less of the other two (may 5 oz) and then I offer her something before she goes to sleep -- she takes maybe 2 oz. So, she's probably getting 18-20 oz of formula in the day on a good day. Other days, not so much. But perhaps you should starting increasing the actual food you are giving her? In the morning, DD takes her bottle, then a full baby yogurt and some cheerios. For lunch -- she was eating veggie, fruit, meat, cereal (or sometimes some toast)-- but probably a good 4-8 oz of food....dinner is basically the same. Now, we've been giving her a lot more table food (chicken, meatball, etc.) so its hard to say -- if she's more interested in the food, I would say go with it...I know they still need formula and BM at this age, but I dont fight it....I go with it. Can't really force them to eat when they dont want to anyway! Sorry for the long-winded reply :)

Re: Drinking Less BM?

Is she getting the bottles before food? If not, I would give her BM first because food is mostly just for practice. I do remember the number of ounces decreasing as my kids started eating more solids, but they still drank/nursed a decent amount. You could also mix some BM in with oatmeal or other food if you're concerned about her not getting enough BM. I also found my kids were more easily distracted during nursing as they got older so the best feedings were first thing in the morning and right before bed.

Drinking Less BM?

DS is 8 months. He's on formula. He has a bottle first thing. Then around 10 oatmeal with a. Fruit/veggie and a bottle. I use some formula front hat bottle to mix the cereal so he finishes that. A bottle around 1. Half yogurt with a bottle around 3. Final bottle for the night 6/7 pm. Sometimes he doesn't finish each bottle.

He's a big boy and loves to eat. I remember my girls dropping a bottle around the start of food. I would say she is t hungry and I wouldn't worry. She's getting what she needs if she's not screaming for food. The change in poop is just from the change in food. If you are concerned give some pears or prunes for a day or 2 and see what's happens. Their bodies are adjusting.

Re: Drinking Less BM?

Thank you all! Yes, she always gets BM first whether it's being nursed or in a bottle- I try to feed her solids about an hour after she has milk so she eats like halfway between her usual nursing times. And yes there are times when she outright refuses to take the bottle or the boob. She'll take food or drink water from a cup and that's it. She just doesn't want milk. I guess I could give her BM in a cup, but as I said, it's messy and I hate to waste half of it being poured down her clothes. I didn't think of the BM and oatmeal though! Maybe I'll try that at night so she's still getting a bit of solids along with more BM. I just don't want her to get dehydrated and everyone pushes the "food under one is just for fun" so I feel like she should be getting more nutrition from her BM than her solids, but she doesn't seem to agree.

ETA: And she's really great with table food- she chews so well and feeds herself. Our doctor has been slow to say we can give her different types of food, but we've given her almost everything I've eaten since she really started chewing about a month ago- she's had several different types of meat, soft fruits, veggies that have been cooked and are soft, cheerios, every type of bread to ever exist , cheese, pasta, she even tried peanut butter the other night (no reaction, yay!).

Message edited 1/12/2017 10:27:01 AM.

Drinking Less BM?

My DS was like this. I just followed his lead and he is now a healthy 2.5 year old. Around 9 months old, he refused bottles at daycare and would only drink BM out of a cup. I figured it was because he was eating a lot of table food. I honestly was never concerned since he was gaining weight appropriately. My DS though nursed at 6:30 am, 4:30 pm, and 7:30 pm and in the middle of the night.

Re: Drinking Less BM?

Drinking Less BM?

My sister had been describing almost the same situation with her 8 month old right down to an occasional firmer poop! She loves solids, doesn't want to nurse for more than s minute or two at time but will do that all day if allowed. She's just very busy crawling,pulling up, and exploring but she's growing like a weed and doing everything she should so I tell her not to worry. She does sometimes give a bottle of pumped milk and she's just recently started taking to that.

I'll add that I remember reading in my breastfeeding book that by 6 weeks your milk supply peaks and stays about the same until 6 months. At that point it starts to slowly decrease as they start solids. I don't think they're should be such a huge emphasis on solids not being a source of nutrition before one. It should be a slow transition over time.

Message edited 1/12/2017 1:53:16 PM.

Re: Drinking Less BM?

Message edited 1/12/2017 2:15:14 PM.