[happygurl06]

Hi ladies,

DS has just turned one. He is still having a full breastfeed every 3 hours during the day and one (sometimes more) over night.

He doesn't eat a lot of food, so I'm concerned I'm BF him too much.

Here's a sample day:

5-6 ish wake up and a quick BF in bed so I get a few more zzz's. he goes back to sleep until about 7/ 7:30.
7:30 he has a small handful of dry cereal like nutra grain/rice bubbles/wheeties/cornflakes. 1/4 cup of fruit like 2 fruits/watermelon or banana. He feeds himself so I can get DD organized for school etc.

9-10 ish BF

11:30 ish lunch... Either small shell pasta with veg or a sandwich. Eats small amount. Try some fruit as well- eats about a tablespoon full

1-2 BF

3.30 - ritz cracker or similar while I set DD up with homework.

4-5 BF

6 dinner - some of whatever we eat, sometimes supplemented with peas and corn as he likes them but will only eat about 10 of each.
Fruit if I think he did not eat enough, most goes in floor or in his hair

7-8 BF

9-10 BF if he needs one to get him to sleep.

3:30am generally wakes up so I feed him in bed.

He is extremely active happy and walking/running all day.

He drinks about 300+ mls water a day

(Egg and dairy free)

So... Too much BF? Not enough food? Or am I over thinking this and I should just let him set the pace? All BF's are demand ones apart from the sneaky "go to sleep feed" at night.

This post has been edited by happygurl06: 10/12/2012, 10:34 AM

[rosiebird]

Sounds like my 12 month old DD. I want her to eat more solid food but she has a mind of her own and scrunched up her face or runs away. We did BLW but now I am trying all different tricks to get her to eat and she still won't. On days I work, she goes 10hrs with only 1-2 feeds during the day but if I'm home, it's a constant pestering for milk.

[AvadaKedavra]

It's up to you, really. Breast milk (as with all kinds of milk) does tend to 'displace' solid foods. 1 year olds are quite good at managing their caloric intake, so if they are still consuming a lot of milk/breastmilk/formula then they will eat less.

A 1 year old does normally eat every three hours or less during the day, whether that be solid foods or milk. At 1, with DS1, he would eat something at 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 2, 4, 5:30 and 7 (with three of those being milk, three being meals, and three bein snacks like fruit, savoury biscuits, cheese etc.

Breastmilk alone is not enough at that age, and your child is getting some solids which is good. Try and maximize the nutritional value of those meals. And over the next few months, you probably want to move towards more solids and fewer breastfeeds, but I wouldn't have thought there was any major urgency as long as your son is getting a few good meals a day of good quality food.

The best way to transition towards solids is to offer solids before the breast when he's showing signs of hunger. So give him some fruit, or some cubes of cheese first and then the breast if he still wants it. This will decrease your supply slowly and is a pretty gentle way to wean.

[AvadaKedavra]

Also - you should get some protein and veg in there.

[Tesseract]

Sounds fine to me, DD was exactly the same at 12 months. Agree with MsN about maybe some protein, especially at breakfast.

He is probably eating more solids than you think since he eats frequently.

What's he like when you're not around? DD (21 months) definitely eats more solids when I'm at work. They're pretty good at regulating their own intake, so I'd trust him, sounds like you're doing a great job.

Maybe just check the nutritional information on nutra grain, isn't it full of sugar? (Sorry I might be thinking of another cereal!)

[happygurl06]

Yeah, nutri grain has some sugar and I try not to offer it so much. I find it hard to think of breakfast that he will eat. Occasionally toast with Vegemite is eaten but more often thrown over the side of the high chair.

He loves spaghetti Bol so I offer that at least twice a week. Other protein is chewed and spat out. He can't have dairy and refuses any soy be it drink or otherwise. Due to both DD and DH having an egg allergy I don't have them in the house.

Any other suggestion in how to get him some protein?

He will happily snack all day on dry biscuits and a bit of fruit if I allowed it.

He refuses anything offered on a spoon

[divineM]

I must say it does sound to me like too much BF. My DD was only having 2 BFs a day at that age. Having said that it's only a problem if affecting her growth etc. I say this because I have a niece who is 6 months older than DD, both are still BFed but DD still only has 2x a day and eats solids while niece has multiple feeds and eats poorly. the result is mine is a robust healthy looking 21 month old and niece is tiny (seems too tiny for her age) at 27 months. Maybe speak to your MCHN (as long as she's the non-judgemental type...)

[Matthias' mum]

That's about what DS was having at that age. His growth was fine, and he was happy and healthy.

He got more interested in solids at about 15 months, but he breastfed pretty frequently until about 20 months. I offered food before solids from 12 months, but it really didn't make much difference to his eating. He just held out for boob.

I would only worry about it if he isn't growing well, or if you are over having to feed that frequently. DS fed less if we got out and about more, which helped to gradually cut back on his intake.

[rosiebird]

I offer solids first 90% of the time but sometimes she is upset/frantic for a b/f and she needs a feed before she can settle down enough for solids. Sometimes I do the double-offer meal (eat, wait 30min then offer food again if she didn't eat much) but we can't do that all the time because it would take all day!

I try to look at her weekly intake rather than meal-to-meal. Funnily enough, she loves all kinds of meat and veggies but is not fussed on bread or fruit. Pasta and rice are fine, cereal and bread go onto the floor. Tomatoes, corn, cauliflower, broccoli, peas and capsicum -acceptable, potatoes -blerch!

I figure that she looks supremely healthy and is growing along the 75 th centile so she must know what she's doing.

[bambiigrrl]

she sounds like shes doin fine but i would definatly try to encourage more solids cause breastmilk does not have everything she needs at this age. Also you might be needing a bit of space by now! i know I definatly was by the time my kids turned 1, its hey i would like my body back now please! lol

Also try and encourage some cows milk, pretty sure they should be drinking it by this age shouldnt they?