How to Breastfeed and Introduce Solids?

When I was breasfeeding and introducing solids I always breastfed my son first and then gave him the solids. I would pump a little bit to mix with either oatmeal or rice cereal. I think I started out with 1 tbsp and then increased it to 2 tbsps. Also with jarred food I would give him 1/2 jar of stage ones, also after he was breastfed. I started out with one meal a day and then gradually increased it to 2 meals and then 3 meals. I hope that helps.

check out www.kellymom.com for some good info

at 6mos i was just doing ONE meal, typically at dinner, and always breast first, like an hour before the solids. but then i have a 22 mo old still nursing, so it was important to me that we not look toward weaning, but more just introduce solids to get her used to different tastes and textures.

kellymom has a schedule on their site about how much and when to introduce different solids, and it's a breastfeeding site, so you can be sure that it is geared toward maintaining breastfeeding!

Don't feel stupid to call the doctor when it comes to your child. Yes, breastfeed first then give solids after. I have a 5 month old who I breastfeed full-time. I breastfeed her in the morning, she has some breastmilk in the am at daycare, and daycare is giving her something to eat before I breastfeed her at noon (I don't care for this but I think she feeds her at 11 so she's hungry but not as hungry), then she has breastmilk later in the day, I breastfeed her when I get home and then she has cereal with either fruit or veggie. So, I'd feed your child once or twice a day and always breastfeed before. I mix the cereal with water but breastmilk will work too. I put veggie or fruit on the side. It's not good to dip the spoon in the containers because of the bacteria growth. Just an FYI :)

If you have questions, my first suggestion would be to contact your local La Leche League. Look online to find a meeting/leader in your area.
You can certainly breastfeed your baby first, and then offer him solids. That's a very good plan. When I started solids with my twins, I would breastfeed first thing in the morning when they woke up, and then offer them some solids when I had my breakfast. We slowly increased solids and decreased nursing sessions. By the time they were 9 months-1 year old, they were eating very well and breastfeeding 3-5 times a day. I continued to offer the breast and let them decide how much/how often they wanted to nurse. When they were littler and just starting on solids, the breastfeeding always came first, though.
good luck!

Don't ever feel like you can't call your pediatrition, your doc or the Lactation consultant. Your questions are legitimate. Remember in school... there is no such thing as a stupid question.

I have a 4 year old and an almost 3 year old and they were both breastfed. My 4 year old exclusively until se was 6 months old and then we started her on some solids, but we started her out on bananas, avacadoes, sweet potatoes. I personally wouldn't recommend starting a 6 month old on oatmeal or any of the baby cereals out there because it is such a heavy carb for their little bodies to digest. They are finding that it can also lead to other food allergies later in life. You can find alot of great information from La Leche league and if you look at some books from Dr. William Sears, he has alot of great suggestions about feeding and what to feed. If you want to stay with the oatmeal, I would breastfeed first and then give a few bites of the oatmeal. This will keep your supply up and keep giving your little guy the most beneficial nutrition from your milk. Good Luck!!!

I'm struggling with introducing solids too, but am not breastfeeding. The only think I can strongly encourage you to do is NOT feed your son fruits before veggies. There are very stong coorelations between kids who don't eat vegetables & those who were introduced to fruits first. Good luck to you!

I do not think you are ignorant. Learning how to care for babies is complex - so much that some people go to school to learn how!
So, my suggestion is this: I am assuming you are not trying to wean along with starting solids. (Extended breastfeeding is good for both of you.) I would suggest feeding solids when baby is hungry, but not *very* hungry. Its not essential to nurse right after feeding solids (as baby's tummy is only so big, can only hold so much). The best suggestion I can give, really, is to listen to baby. If he's hungry and interested in food, give it to him. If he's not, don't force it as this can delay interest in food, and leads down the path to obesity. . . I admit, I did feed my son cereal, but I think with a second child I would reconsider. For the most part, my son preferred (and still prefers) to eat "real food" - that is, food from my plate, rather than prepared "baby foods". Its quite easy to mash up a little of what you're eating (or use a blender) and feed to baby. And this too, is based on interest in the food and how hungry he is.

Mostly, relax, trust your instincts and your son to communicate his needs to you.

Good Luck!
Ray

well i feed everyday at 1020 am and 830 pm and my mom has told me she only eays 4 ounces between 2 and 8. so i have noticed her eating less too. i alwayse feed her first before i finish her off with a breast. is he fussy now that you are concerned??? because if he isnt i dont really think you have a problem. but i had to start off with fruits first so it might be different and i am only aloud to give her 2.5 oz of food a day. so in one day she gets less than 8 oz.

I started offering mine solids at a regular breakfast,lunch, dinner time...regardless if she had just nursed or not. I wanted her to get to know that that's when we all ate as a family...so she was included...even though she was eating mush...and we were eating yummy foods...she didn't care. Plus, when you first start feeding solids, they are not doing it for a nutritional value...they are doing it for practice to get used to swallowing, the nutritional value comes later. @ 6 mos, milk is still the main source of nutrition.

Since the milk is his primary food until he is a year old, you should breastfeed first before feeding him solids to make sure he gets the nutrients from the milk. Don't feel stupid about calling your doctor; but start out slow (once or twice a day) and increase that. My 7 1/2 month old daughter is still not eating every day.

At that age I always nursed before feeding solids. They don't really need the solid food yet, so you don't have to worry about them getting enough nutrition--it's all in the milk.

At this point in the game, solid foods are about textures and tastes, not so much about nutrition. You should absolutely breastfeed first and feed solids later. I would go so far as to say forget the cereals altogether, they have really no nutritional value. We started my son on solids around 6 mos, his poops got hard and he was straining so I concluded his tummy wasn't ready for them yet. So we backed off and started again in a few months.

LLL and the like recommend you feed them banana, avocado, and sweet potato as their first foods. They are soft and have good nutrition.

As far as "how much", my LLL leader told me that at 6 mos my son should only be eating a couple tbsp a day of solids. I would suggest that when you sit down to eat you put your baby in the high chair (if you have one) next to you and put a couple really small pieces of food on it. If s/he is ready, they'll go in the mouth. If not, it'll be entertainment and you'll get 5 minutes to eat your food in peace.

Good luck!

With my son, I started with one feeding of solids per day, I used 1 TBS rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. I gave him the cereal in the morning, since that was when he seemed hungriest. I would nurse him when he first woke, then around 9 give him cereal. Then I added an evening (around 5:00) cereal feeding. I don't remember it affecting our nursing until we started more solids and more often.

I think I would cut back on the amount at each feeding. I can also recommend a book called "Super Baby Foods" that I found very helpful while introducing new foods.

Good luck!

J.

SAHM to 23 month old Charlie and 3 month old Joey.

We intro'd solids at 6 months with my boys, our typical 'schedule' went like this....
4am wake and nurse, sleep until 7am.
7am nurse
8am a little bit of cereal (oatmeal, rice constipates)
11am nurse
1pm nurse
4pm nurse
6pm nurse
7:30pm nurse to sleep.

We made all our baby food, www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great resource for that. Intro foods slowly, and always make sure that you aren't replacing any breastfeeding sessions with solids. Breastmilk has all he needs and solids are just a little supplement.
So if you are feeding him in hte morning, wait about an hour after nursing and give him a little cereal. And if you are feeding him at night, give him a little cereal after his afternoon nap, or before your family sits down for dinner.