13 month old still nurses often during the day - how do I go about...

Marie - posted on 08/08/2009

Well since raisins fall into the choking hazard category anyway so he's had 1 raisin from a friend of mine but that's about it.



Alex loves hamburger - especially with taco seasoning. I have to pay attention how much goes on his tray at one time or it's the chipmunk thing. He's getting better tho. I love giving him things he can feed himself.



Do you give your young ones broccoli? How small is it and how long did you boil it for. Maybe I'm just being paranoid... *sigh*

Emily - posted on 08/08/2009

Even with 16 teeth they still don't always chew up and break down things like raisins. :) My kids do the chipmunk/gagging thing too, and will often dump food on the floor when they're done (though I haven't had kids overeat and throw up).

It's funny watching them eat though... my kids also loved peas at that age... I wish my older ones still did. :)

Marie - posted on 08/08/2009

Oh he gets all kinds of table foods. I moved dinner closer to bed time and increased the portion a few months ago when I wanted him to drop the 1130pm (or 330am) feeding and we've been successful there. He also only just has 6 full teeth and is working on the 7th (and probably 8th right now). I don't want to give him some foods because he just doesn't have the teeth to break them down. So no raisins or carrots or broccoli. I occasionally put food through the magic bullet blender.



The problem I run into is his gagging on foods by doing the chipmunk thing and over stuffing his mouth. Also, I can't tell how much he has gotten into his stomach portion wise. His "I'm full" indicator is still fairly vague so he either gets over stuffed (and we end up with barf) or he gets fussy and dumps food on the floor, etc and he's barely had anything then wakes at 330am for a nursing session. It's a learning curve for everyone. :)



The other day I enjoyed watching him eat peas off his tray. *grin*

Emily - posted on 08/08/2009

I would start giving him more table foods. Personally, we don't do baby foods or cereals at all for our kids... it's just too much work. Instead, they just get bits of anything we're eating. When my kids were between 11 and 13 months they suddenly upped their solid intake on their own, and cut back on the nursing sessions throughout the day. Also, once they finished the teething (so they had 16 teeth), which was between 15 and 18 months for my kids, I night-weaned them... just so I could get more sleep. (With my last two kids, I've been hugely pregnant when we hit that point, so I REALLY need the extra sleep.) Once they stopped nursing in the middle of the night, their day-time nursings picked up again, but their solid intake also picked up even more.

Marie - posted on 08/08/2009

Still nursing 4 times a day (minimum), added 5tbsp of cereal at breakfast along with a few bits of scrambled egg and knackwurst, lunch is usually cereal but sometimes something more creative and dinner is 1/2 jar of toddler baby food occasionally with bits of whatever is for dinner.



His nursing pattern actually hasn't changed in almost 6 months. It increased when we went camping for a week (needed to warm up at 4am so nursing works). He will be 15 months old in 10 days. I guess he will drop feeds at his own pace, and as we increase his solids in-take. He's one of those weird babies - not chunky at all - he's really long and lean.



We recently added small tastes of peanut butter to his diet but we aren't giving him more than that.



Yesterday and today he has a fever over 100F and working on cutting another tooth or two (he cut one while we were camping).



I still pump twice a day while at work (or anytime I expect to miss a feeding). Thanks for the input ladies!

Emily - posted on 08/07/2009

Cabbage leaves are helpful at reducing supply if you're feeling super engorged... but you don't want to use them too frequently or for too long or you could be dealing with low supply issues. Basically just cut a hole in the middle of the leaf (you don't want it actually touching your nipple or areola), and wear it in your bra like a breast pad.

I would maybe cut out one pumping session and when you feel engorged put on some cabbage leaves for a half hour or so to help relieve the engorgement.

Marcy - posted on 06/25/2009

Quoting Marie:

and I forgot to mention... I plan to nurse long term if he wants to but I haven't a clue how to go about it.

Hi Marie-

First off, good for you for nursing.  my son is turning 3 and still "on the boob" a few times per day.  I guess maybe you could try and just pick a few times per day that you are going to nurse....we all get that "gut" feeling and when I am hoe on the weekends sometimes my son wants to nurse more often. At 1 year we gave our son regular milk during the day (he was at daycare) and he nursed at night.  Now since he is really only nursing at night before bed and sometimes when he wakes up he actually asks for "Big Boy Milk".  I wouldn' sweat trying to come up with a solid plan just go with it and do your best. 

In regards to engorgement you need to slow down on the pumping if you aren't using the milk.  I would try cutting out one pump per day and then wait a week or so and cut down again.  If you feel "full" just manually express some in the shower or sink....

Good luck!

Marie - posted on 06/17/2009

and I forgot to mention... I plan to nurse long term if he wants to but I haven't a clue how to go about it.