Need Help with Feeding Schedule for 8 Month Old

To keep him from waking up hungry in the middle of the night you may want to try a little bit of cereal as a snack before he goes to bed and I would still breastfeed to at that time. May help fill his tummy. Just an idea.

A. M.

I have a 7 1/2 month old and he has been eating solids since around 5 months. We are on 3 meals a day too and my problem was He was either not nursing much or he was falling asleep. And waking up at night was becoming way too common (before solids he was sleeping 8-4:30 or 5). I am not sure the waking up had to do only with our feeding schedule being mixed up. Since December when we started solids, we have taken two out of state trips across time zones, moved, and he had a bad cold, along with teething really hard.
When we got home from our trips, I started nursing him before meals instead of after, no more than an hour before, but sometimes less. He also has reflux and so if I nursed him too close to feedings, he had too much food in him to keep down and he would spit up a lot. That is why I allowed that hour in between. It ends up working out that he nurses in the morning when he wakes up, then eats breakfast, then he plays for awhile and goes down for a nap. When he wakes up close to lunchtime I nurse him again, then wait a little bit before I feed him lunch. Then he playes some more until he is tired for his afternoon nap and he sleeps until close to dinnertime when I nurse him again then wait a bit and feed him dinner. Sometimes though, he wakes up so close to dinnertime that I just go ahead and give him dinner and then wait to nurse him until somewhere between dinner and bed (maybe about 7ish). If I nursed him before dinner, I try to nurse him one last time before bed (which is around 8, sometimes later), but I do it before I get him ready for bed, so if he gets drowsy (which is normal if it is bedtime!) he will still have to stay awake to get ready for bed. As far as the night-waking goes, he has still been waking up lately about once or twice, but that is an improvement from what had become the norm. Things are improving now that we are settled into a routine he can predict. I really think he just needed some solidity in his life! Trying to start a baby on solids is tough when you take into account you are totally rearranging their schedule. Then add to it a few other non-constants in their life and you are bound to have a confused little one for awhile. Hang in there! No matter how long it takes him to get back to sleeping through the night, at least you know that it will happen. He has done it before!

Somewhat opinionated today! Take what you like and leave the rest. I'm a breastfeeding mother to 5 ages 11-1.

Is what you are going through normal, unfortunately, yes. Peds and even lac consultants giving bad advice is very normal! (I read your update.) Why would it be necessary to only nurse him after feeding solids? That is sure to have a negative impact on your milk supply. And pumping is not an accurate indication of milk supply. You would never starve your baby! You are offering him solids at every meal, water and nursing- he knows when he is hungry.

I guess I'm not understanding why a schedule for nursing is necessary or desirable. 8 months is so young, and before you know it he will be 8 YEARS old! Just hold him and love on him while you can! Breastmilk is nutritionally superior to juice and unlike juice doesn't cause tooth decay, plus you get that time to bond. Your baby is not going to starve if YOU want to nurse him before giving him solids!!! He is 8 months old and eating, that's wonderful. He doesn't have to choose to do anything more than taste food at 8 months, if he is nursing well. Remember supply and demand are entirely related.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing for at least one year, not weaning by one year, which is is how many people including doctors and lacation consultants seem to interpret their policy statement!! Nursing only after eating and limiting nursing to certain times is well on the road to weaning. Do you want to wean early? If so continuing what you are doing is the right track, disregard the rest. We have chosen to nurse for at least one year, so here's the rest if you're interested:

If you aren't ready to wean yet, dump that lactation consultant, and go to La Leche League. Get a recommendation for a new pediatrician there, from a committed breastfeeding mom in your area. (Leaders can't recommend doctors, but moms at the meeting are free to give referrals.)
Find a meeting in your area here:
http://www.llleus.org/state/Tennessee.html
You do NOT have to be a member to attend meetings or call for leader support. LLL is a free non-profit.

Nursing an 8 month old on demand is healthy. So is offering regular meals and water. But there is no need for you to be told that you must limit nursing, only offer after feeding solids, or any other claptrap. What do YOU want to do, how do YOU feel when you are nursing or refusing or substituting. You are the mommy, you get to decide, not the pediatrician or the lac consultant.

Maybe you are looking for a schedule because you think it will help with the night waking. Night waking and nursing may be related issues, but there are so many other issues related to night waking as well- teething, pottying, comfort.

Do you know how many pediatricians have taken detailed courses of instruction on infant sleep and what is "normal?" Zip. They may like to set themselves up as the experts, but you know better. You are the mother. You can choose to follow someone else's advice, set a schedule and try to force your child into it, or you can try to work with your child to find a schedule that works for both of you, built around your child's emotional as well as physical needs. So many moms have gone through what you are going through. You are not alone.

HTH

Fenugreek tea, Mother's Milk Tea, and the Traditional Medicinals brand of nursing mom's tea really helped increase my milk volume when I was nursing. I nursed till my daughter was 17 months.

try nursing before you feed him the solids, to make sure that he gets enough breastmilk and to keep your milk supply up. your breastmilk has a lot more nutrients and calories (and much more important) than the solid foods that he is eating and will keep him from waking up in the middle of the night hungry. this will also keep him on the eat, play, sleep schedule better. solid foods at this age are really only for his eating enjoyment. the nutrition still comes from you. hope this helps!

I would like to add to Allison's FABULOUS response, just this:
Doctors only take an average of 3 hours education in nutrition among all their courses. They just follow general consesus in nutrition from our government. (yeah, the government sets the standard our doctors advise us on, and have your noticed the health of our nation???)

Do you really trust your pediatrician's advice over your own knowledge of your child?

Blessings,
Angie

Yes this is completely normal. If you want to nurse him longer after dinner, move the dinner time about 30 minutes sooner for him. But sometimes after the meal, they don't need much more nutrition wise. With my second, I had to pump at nite before I went to bed, otherwise I would be engorged by the time he was ready to nurse again. He didn't nurse very much at night either right before bed, sometimes he'd wake between 3 and 4, and other times he slept all nite. My body was getting confused lol, but eventually it all worked itself out in the end.

First, let me congratulate you for sticking with nursing this long. I bet your baby is so healthy and happy from the nutritional and emotional benefits of breastfeeding. It seems your baby isn't really hungry when goes to the breast for milk when it's time to nurse? If this is so, maybe try to nurse him before lunchtime and if possible a mid-afternoon snack. Then maybe try to nurse him before dinnertime, if dinner is late or if you guys can work out that type of schedule. You mentioned he isn't at the breast long when nursing, he is now a professional breast emptier and is probably getting that milk so much faster than he once did. Also, you mentioned him waking up at night and my 15 month old went through the same nighttime thing where she would wake up and cry out for me. I am still breastfeeding and like every nursing mother I remember thinking, she's not getting enough milk! This is probably not the case; your baby may be going through a normal stage of being alert and aware of his surroundings. He may be waking up alone, and realizing that makes him call out to you. My pediatrician told me to go to the doorway and talk to my daughter for as long as it took her to get herself under control and then walk away. I would time it out and go in every 3-5 minutes and delay my visits after that to 5-7 minutes, etc. It was extremely difficult not to run in and hold her and nurse, but ultimately, I am glad for the advice from my pediatrician because she sleeps through the night every night and eventually she recognized that mommy was at the door and everything was going to be all right. As soon as she heard my soothing voice, she would wimper and cuddle up with her teddy bear and listen to me for a couple of seconds before going back to sleep. Congratulations again on continuing to nurse and please don't take my advice as fact, I am a firsttime mother myself, but thought i would reach out to you because you're nursing and it is so much harder than just feeding your baby filling formula!

H. C.

children need frequent snacks until they are about school age. they have tiny tummies and relatively high calorie needs so they have to eat very frequently. my 10 month old eats breakfast at about 7am, than has a sippy with his formula in it(about 6 oz, equal to about 30min of nursing i think) then he has a snack at 10am, lunch at 12pm, followed by another cup with 4oz in it. he has another snack at 2pm and then dinner about 4:30. after dinner we do baths and jammies, then he has a final before bed cup at about 6pm with 6-8oz. i feel like i am feeding him non stop, but he is the right weight and hight for his age. make sure all the snacks are healthy. we usualy have fruit, cheese and cheerios for snacks. i hope that this answered your question.

At his age, the meals he eats in a day will be enough to sustain him through the night without needing that nighttime nursing. What time do you put your baby to bed? Most of the time, the nightwakings are due to the baby being put to bed at too late of a bedtime. They get overtired, and because of that, wake up at night. Their sleeping patterns change around this age, so it could be he is trying to drop a nap? If so, an earlier bedtime is always a better idea to help them adjust.

Try breast feeding him before offering him the solid food. This way he will get the nutrients that he needs from the breast milk first, and then he will get the rest from the solid foods.

You can also call the hospital and talk to the nursing specialist. The health department also has one.

Try breastfeeding before you offer him solid foods. That way he doesn't fill up on solids and will get the nutrition from the breastmilk that he needs.

I have an 8 month old daughter who has NO schedule. She eats when she is hungry and plays when she wants to play, etc. She too still wakes up early to eat. I am not too worried because that was how my 5 year old was when he was that age. He is well adjusted, active and healthy now. He did start taking long naps by the time he was 10 months old. Once they start moving a lot, they tend to get themselves tired out and are more willing to abide by a schedule. Hope that helped a little.

Hi J.,
I have a 7 and 1/2 month old who is my fourth child. She is still not sleeping through the night yet. She Goes to bed around 8-9pm then wakes up from 1-3 am. I don't remember my other children still waking up at this age, they were sleeping through the night. She doesn't take more than 30 minute naps maybe twice a day either. I think she is just not going to be a big sleeper. I'm still hoping for a solid nights sleep any time. As long as she is still breastfeeding I think she will wake up. The only thing I can suggest is to maybe offer some cereal right before he's ready for bed. Also try giving him a bath in the lavender nightime baby wash, this seems to help some. Just remember before long he won't be a baby and right now he just probably wants to be near you. The next baby will be totally different if you decide to have more. Good Luck!!!! Let me know if you find anything that works. L. P

Hi J., I was told by my lactation consultant that until a year or so the baby's major source of nutrition is the breast milk so you should nurse before giving any food. Also do you know for sure that you are still producing enough milk for him? Towards the 9 mo. mark I started pumping all but one time a day and gave him breastmilk in a bottle that way I knew just how much he was taking in. To avoid the bottle, then food, then nap, thing I would give meals at times other than nap/sleep times and that worked great. I do believe strongly in a schedule w/ some flexibitly. Babies like to know what is coming next and if you scatter things daily it may create upset. Imagine if you didn't know when you were going to eat or sleep next. Just some thoughts-good luck.

The eat, play, sleep routine is definatly the best thing to do! Is he napping 3 times a day? Some people don't like the book On Becoming Babywise, but I think it is a great help with scheduling - you should check it out. Have you tried letting him stay in the crib for 15 minutes or so and see if he goes back to sleep? It may be a habit and not hunger and not ready to get up.

I would try nursing him before giving him any solids. So for me, the daily feeding routine would look like this:
breakfast: nurse, then cereal and fruit
lunch: nurse, then veggies and/or fruit
dinner: nurse, then veggies, cereal and fruit
nurse before bed
Don't know if that will help, but it worked well with our 5 children.