Breastfeeding Questions. - Lidderdale,IA

I have breastfed all 3 of my children. My daughter for 21 months, my son for 19 months and my youngest son is still nursing at 23 months. I weaned my other 2 and I am thinking if my youngest doesn't self wean by this spring that I will have to help him.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding through at least the first year. After that breastfeeding can continue as long as mutually desired.

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least the first 2 years.

Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no solids (cereal included) until at least 4 months (preferably 6 months), and the baby has doubled his/her birthweight. Many people say that you must be starving your baby because he or she nurses so much those first few months, but no solids are needed. Breastmilk is the perfect food, and the calorie content will change to meet your baby's needs. I would recommend nothing but breastmilk until your baby is at least 4 months. If you start solids too early your baby could be at risk for food allergies, and your milk supply could go down. Your baby would then be missing important nutrients and antibodies that are in your milk. Just my 2 cents, but this is a topic I have lots of experience in. Take care.

You can breastfeed for as long as you want to! I breastfed my kids for 18 and 19 months. I believe the longer you breastfeed the better. :) Some people strive for the 1 year mark, but it doesn't work for everyone.

Is your daughter still 2 months old? If so, it's not really recommended to start solids/cereal that early. The general age range to introduce solids is 4-6 months (you can google "introducing solids" to find some great resources to explain more or ask your ped). We started cereal at 6 months, pureed/jarred food around 7, and the finger foods at 9 months when they had enough toofers in to help chew. Honey is a definite no-no before 1 year old, and dairy (yogurt/cheese) around 9 months, whole milk after 1 year, and no peanuts until 2 years. Those are just some general recommendations.

I don't think there is a "too long" for breastfeeding. Biologically speaking, if the mother is getting enough nutrients, breastmilk provides all the nutrients a child needs until they are about 5 years old... of course, breastfeeding a 5yo wouldn't exactly be practical these days, or socially acceptable :-) My point is that as far as nutrition goes, you're fine to breastfeed for ages. The official advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics is only breastmilk for the first 6 months, then slowly introduce some other foods while continuing to breastfeed for "as long as mutually desired by mother and child."

The AAP advises against introducing other foods until a baby is at least six months old because too early exposure to foreign proteins can cause the immature immune system to become hypersensitive, resulting in allergies, asthma, excema etc. in some children... most kids will be fine, but if you can avoid it why take the risk?

My boys had nothing but breastmilk until they were about 9 months old, then I started giving them a few tastes of apple sauce, mashed banana etc. I stopped breastfeeding when they were 18 months old. They would have happily kept on having breastmilk, but Alex got into this horrible habit of biting me (ouch!) and because Nick was born with a cleft palate I couldn't directly nurse him -- I had to pump and use a special bottle to feed him and after 18 months I was more than ready to ditch the pump!

a friend of mine is still breastfeeding her 20 month old son, said she did the same with all her girls, til about 2 yrs old or so

If you are breastfeeding the only thing she needs is breastmilk until at least 6 months. Starting them on any kind of cereal or baby food any earlier can pre-dispose them to food allergies later on. Breast IS best. With both my girls (who were both breastfed and the youngest who is 17 months and still nursing) were put on cereal at 6 months and foods shortly thereafter. She is getting absolutely everything she needs right from you at this point! They say babies should have bm at least until 12 months and exclusively until 6 months and I highly agree. On when at that point you should wean is completely a personal opinion. I've always been a person that believes in self-weaning. If that means she is still nursing at3 so be it!

There are many different views on how long you should breast feed your baby, any amount of breast milk does a baby great. My thoughts are it's your choice, no one else's. My son is 16 months old, after he turned 1 I slowly got him to only nursing in the morning, and I just stopped nursing him 2 weeks ago. My Mother-in-law, and one of my sister-in-laws thought it was very wrong of me to have nursed him so long. My pediatrician thought it was great I nursed him as long as I did. As for food, talk to your Dr. We waited until our son was almost 5 months old, but weighed 15lbs, and had doubled his birth weight. Best of luck with how ever long you decide to nurse your daughter!

I gave my baby cereal when he was four months old, and then started him on other foods at six months. The jar baby foods come in numbers 1, 2, and 3 (1 being the smallest in size and 3 being the largest). When you start giving her the baby foods, I would recommend starting with veggies first, because if you start with fruits she may become attached to the sweet taste and then not want to give the veggies a fair run. When you do start incorporating the fruits I would give her half of a veggie and then half of a fruit as dessert, that way she won't forget about those veggies!!! Right now my little guy (he'll be 8 months on Nov. 29th) is still eating the size 1 jars, but he can eat an entire veggie and and then an entire fruit in one sitting. I even found some meats that come in jars for him now. The meats are a little dry, so I put a little meat on the spoon and then top it with a fruit or veggie to help it go down a little better... He's a pretty good little eater, to say the least!!! Good luck with everything, and let me know how it goes!!! Take care!!!

~Tiff

Breastfeeding is a natural process and when she feels that she no longer needs to BF she will wean her self. My son is 19mts old and he only BF at nap and when going to sleep. I did not start my son on any solid foods until he was 6 mts old, but some Dr's will say at 4-5 is ok. If she is content with just the cereal and the Breastmilk then you could wait until 6 mts. If she seems to still be hungry then you may have to start early...It really depends on your own child. Hope this helps, if I can help in any way let me know!

I would consult my pediatrician if I were you about the cereal at such a young age. Small babies don't have the bacteria necessary in their gut yet to digest the solid foods so your child isn't getting any nutritional value from the cereal and it can lead to food allergies if started too soon. And at this young age they need all the nutrition that they can possibly get for their development. If all your doing is adding useless filler it will prevent her from getting the right amount of nutrients she needs for development.

I breast fed all 4 of mine and started them on solids at 6 months according to my pediatrician. One breastfed for 9 months when she weaned herself!!!! Overnight!!!! The next one for 6 months before I had to switch him to the bottle as he was feeding every 15 minutes and I just couldn't make enough to satisfy him...He's now 6'4 at 16 years old and towers over my husband and myself...lol. The next one was for 16 months and the last one for 14 months. It all depends on the child and your life circumstances to determine how long is long enough for you...but please don't let others make that choice for you or make you think that you are doing it "wrong" as they don't have to live with the decision to breastfeed or not. In Europe they breastfeed on average for 5 years!!!! So whatever you decide will be the right choice.

Just please check with the pediatrician on the solid foods before you introduce any more new ones.
Good Luck!!!

Hey Girl!!! Congrats on your Beautiful Girl! Way I look at it on the foods, if you feel she needs to continue w/other foods then you do it. But make sure you give her one at a time so if she has a reaction to it, you know which one it is. Now on the breastfeeding, my friend did it for a year w/her little one. I only did it for about a month. I guess it all depends on you on how long you want to do it. Or instead of Breastfeeding her just pump it and then give it to her, That is what i did for the first year. Good luck
K.

as far as how long to breast feed...as long as you feel comfortable with it. i nursed for 4 months, but it got to be too much of a hassle when i went back to work. i never got pump on schedule, forgot bads of breastmilk in the fridge at work, hannah was taking more than i was producing, blah blah. most doctors say not to introduce other foods till 6 months, but i started mine on fruits and veges at around 3 1/2 months. just make sure to give her one at a time for 2 or 3 days in row to make sure she is not allgeric.

well most doctors will tell u not to start on any baby foods until the child is between 5-6 months! just because the stomach is more able to handle things at that age! and as far as breast feeding goes.. i think most moms stop brest feeding around 6 months or so.. atleast thats the longest ive ever heard it recommended! as far as the cereal at such a young age i have heard of it! however from my experience its not necessarily a good thing! baby's tummy's arent ready for all that yet!
I hope that helped a little!.. but as always consult ur pediatrician or family doc first!
A little about me:
i am 22 years old and a first time mom to a 20 month old little girl she will be 2 in march! my hubby and i have been together for 5 years and married for 2 also!

From what I have read in some books and other places, and what my pediatrician told me, if the baby is taking more than 32 oz. of milk or has doubled the birth weight, then it is fine to start with rice cereal. Try hunting things on babycenter.com. It will give you advice as well as gerber.com. We started with cereal at 3 months. By 4 months she was eating 1st foods. Luckly mine started sleeping through the night by the time she started 3 months so feeding cereal at bedtime was not a problem. My doctor also said that make sure to give the cereal by spoon and not by bottle. They will learn to eat and know that food will be comming that way. Good Luck!

I was also 20 when I had my baby, i also loved the time we spent together during feedings. I Usually breastfed about 15 minutes on each side. It keeps you even and comfortable as well as the baby. If you are not sure about starting new solids ask your pediatrician. It all depends on your child's development.

I agree with the other poster- 2 months is a bit too early for solids. Most pediatricians will recommend that you wait until 6 months, but my daughter didn't start eating solids every day until she was about 9 months old. As far as how long you should breastfeed- that's ultimately your decision. My daughter is 18 months old and I don't think either of us are ready to wean- and that's fine with me. There definately are a lot of benefits to extended breastfeeding, and I recommend you check out kellymom.com- it's a great website with a TON of information. Also, have you considered attending a LLL meeting?

Hi B.!

My original goal was 6 months, then when 6 months hit it became 1 year, then when 1 year hit it became "we'll wean when we're both ready"...LOL. He's 17 1/2 months old and still going strong. You can nurse as long as you want to. Most LC's will encourage you to at least make it to the 1 year mark, better if you can get to 2 or even 3 but in most cases that's not reasonable just for convenience and what not. I don't think we'll be going that long though :) one of my LC's said that the longer you nurse, the more you decrease your risk of Breast Cancer up to 15%! That's pretty amazing. I think it's a total of 5 years - cumulative not continuous.

That's a long way to say...nurse as long as you feel comfortable and/or your daughter is willing. If I remember right, we started on cereals when Bright could sit up...But we didn't stay on that jag for too long before we moved to the baby foods at 9 months then shortly after that I started pureeing (sp?) his food (veggies and fruits) and freezing it. Worked out great!!!

Good luck!

M.

The truth is, and the American Association of Pediatrics back, this, NO baby needs anything but breast milk (or formula) for at least 4 months. The AAP is now saying it's closer to 5-6 months. You could ask your pediatrician if it's too late to stop with the cereal, I hope it wasn't his/her idea to start considering his/her governing body doesn't agree! The AAP recomends at least 1 year of breast feeding, however internationally, the norm is at least 2 years and many cultures continue as long as 5. I know that sounds odd in America, but they have linked lower obesity rates in almost every other country to breast fedding! That said, I have no intention of nursing that long, if the kid can ask for it, it's time to stop for me:)
Check out your local Le Leche League group, they have them all over the city. Feel free to write me if you want more info on it: ____@____.com
You can also attend breast feeding support groups at many of the hospitals even if you didn't deliver there - I like the one at Community North.
The two books I would recomend are The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and The Breastfeeding Mother's Companion both of which I got cheap at HalfPrice Books.
Good Luck! And let me know if you want info on LLL meetings:)

B.,
My son is almost 7 months and I am still breastfeeding him. I wanted to nurse him more than he is letting me now but we are down to just at night before bed. He weened himself to this much and while it is not enough for me at least I get that much. He is on cereal and formula through out the day and not really interested in much else. His peds would like for him to be on more though! So you really just have to judge on what your little girl is ready for. You can take all the advice in the world (I did) and unless your little pea pod is ready I wouldn't do anything!

I am sure I am going to repeat everything that everyone has said but here goes. I didn't give anything but breast milk to my daughter until she was 6 months old and then gave her very mild things to get her tummy used to something else. I nursed her until she was about a year and she had no problems transitioning off. She really weaned herself. Make sure when the time comes, to introduce only one new food a week since she may have an allergy and you want to be able to know what it is. Also, there are some foods that you might want to wait on until she is older since there is a higher chance of developing an allergy (like peanuts)Good luck!

As a mom with a girl with food allergies, talk to your pediatrician about cereal. Try holding off till at least 4 months, 6 months is better. I breastfed two girls and am still nursing my 12 month old. I started both on solids (cereal) at six months and slowly introduced jarred foods. They don't need it for nutrition before that. I nursed my first till 15 months and who knows with the second since she is my last. I do love that special connection.

I have a 7 month old. He didnt start on solids til he was a week over 6 months old. he was nursing wonderfully. He nused as long as he wanted to. Sometimes it would be for 5 mins on a side or 15 depends on what he wanted to do. Take your time introducing new foods. They say not to do it too soon or it will cause allergies in children. ???? I didnt start til 6 months. Every baby is different though. If you have any questions or need more help let me know. I am a mommy of 4 breast fed babies.

You can breastfeed your baby as long as you want. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies are breast fed for at least the first six months. I stopped breastfeeding my son at 4 months (mainly because my job didnt accomodate me pumping and other personal reasons) but do it for as long as you and your baby are comfortable. I started with cereal at four months and then gradually added other things. Make sure you wait a few days between each new food to make sure she's not allergic to anything. Just hold off on dairy, meats, and things like honey and strawberries for about a year.

Everyone will tell you different times to start them on food. I started my daughter on cereal when she was 6 weeks old and when she was 3 months old I started her on baby food. I think it really depends on the baby's needs and the parents needs. My daughter did not seem to ever get full with just breat milk so that is why I started her early with cereal and baby foods. It took her awhile to latch on to both, but my the time she was 6 months old she finally started sleeping thru the night. I guess the best advice I can give you is to go with your gut feeling. That has always worked well for me. Plus I have a great mother and mother n law that I got advice from. Hope this helps!

I wouldn't have started her on cereal until she was at least 4 months old personally. AAP also recommends waiting to as close to 6 months old before starting them on any food at all. An excellent book to read about when to start them on foods and what kind of foods is "Super Baby Foods" by Ruth Yaron. There are certain baby foods you should not feed them until they are around 7 mo. like carrots... You have to be especially careful with foods b/c some can cause your baby to have allergies, that's why they recommend waiting.

You can breastfeed as long as you really want to. Many babies will wean themselves off. As far as how much to feed her, she needs to have 2 1/2 oz. of milk for every pound she weighs. For instance, my daughter weighs 13 lb. So, she is supposed to get 32.5 oz. a day. This is the best way to gaige it. When breastfeeding it is hard to tell how much she is getting, so you can figure out about 4-5 oz. a feeding would be safe estimate. Make sure the cereal you are giving her now DOES NOT replace milk, it only supplements.

I highly recommend reading the book above, or just get a book that will educate you more on feeding... it is very interesting to read the "why"'s of feeding your child certain foods! Oh, and feeding cereal or food to them this early WILL NOT help them sleep through the night. Food has nothing to do with their ability to sleep. A book that will help you with teaching them to self-sooth and put themselves back to sleep when they wake in the middle of the night is "Healthy Sleep Habits: Happy Child". I used this book and my baby was sleeping through the night at 4 months and she is now on a wonderful nap schedule 3 times a day!