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My son is still nursing 8 times a day and not eating very much baby food. Is this normal?

Shannon - posted on 09/02/2009 ( 2 moms have responded )

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7

My son is 6 months old and I started baby food pretty soon after he turned 4 months because my doc said I can go ahead and start. Well all my relatives and friends who nursed their children said that when they start eating baby food they will nurse less often... My son is still nursing every 3 hours even through the night. I don't know if this is normal or not but he is also only eating about half a container of gerber 1st foods and only 1/3 of 2nd foods. I nurse him before I feed him baby food because I was told to do that and I feed him baby food 3 times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) Am I doing this right? is it normal for my baby to be nursing this often at 6 months and not eating the whole container of baby food?

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2 Comments

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Stacy - posted on 09/02/2009

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16

Up until 11months my daughter nursed every 2-3 hours. She also ate 3meals a day while nursing that often. Right around 12months she dropped down to nursing every 4-6 hours and currently that is what she is still doing with 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. So in my opinion that is totally normal. I am not sure about how much baby food he should be eating because I didnt start my daughter on cereal until 6months and then I think it was 7months when I started baby food.

Bethany - posted on 09/02/2009

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Well, we didn't even start solids until much later, but I'd say your son is just fine. Really, until about a year of age babies only need breastmilk, so anything else is just extra. It does seem odd that your son is still waking up every 3 hours to nurse through the night, though.



I wouldn't necessarily associate sleeping through the night with solids, but with routine. Meaning, babies with a consistent routine of when to get up in the morning, when to go to bed at night, and regular naps tend to sleep better at night. At this point it's probably just habit for him, not a need. Try reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. I agree with his ideas most, but I'm sure there are other books out there that would fit your particular parenting style if his doesn't.

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