Suggestions on Baby's Diet

Hi J., It sounds like you are doing a great job. If you don't have milk allergies in your family, and if she's doing fine with cheese and yogurt, it probably wouldn't hurt for you to start introducing regular whole milk. If you have allergies in your family you may want to wait or start with a little bit in her oatmeal and then increase to her drinking it. Just a little warning, kids tend to love cows milk and after a month or two you may see her food intake decrease as her milk intake increases. My only suggestion is that you don't give her milk with her meals, instead wait until after. Also, make sure you include a multi-vitamin into her daily regimen. Good luck!

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation. My daughter is 9 mos, and my milk supply has decreased a lot lately (about 2 oz). i breastfeed in the morning, evening when I get back from work, before she goes to bed and and middle of the night when she wakes up and needs a little nursing.
I don't want to give my daughter formula, and want to wait a little on regular milk (I do let her try it a little from my cereal bowl in the morning and she likes, and has had no reactions), so we give her yogurt. plain whole milk yogurt, watered down to a drinking consistency with tiny little sugar in it (to make as sweet as breastmilk). She likes the yogurt and this should hold us over for another few months until she can start drinking regular amounts of regular milk.
I would stay away from soy products, these are very processed, and full of all sorts of additives. Stick with the natural yogurt, especially if your daughter likes it.
hope this helps.

your body is adjusting so i wouldnt worry about your supply. if she were to need more, she should be able to get it. as for starting milk, if you want to continue nursing, you can. just because she is one, doesnt mean she has to stop. breastmilk is more nutritious than anything else.

for your question, i think she is eating alot if im understanding it right? in general, breakfast varies with cereal and such and breastmilk is included either before or after. then i feed 2 jars or equivalent per meal, usually nursing a little while later where the nursing is the mid morning or mid afternoon snack along with some puff or cheerios. then after dinner before bed is nursing. your baby might have a big appetite, but i think she isnt nursing as much since she is eating alot. although 3 jars is def on the higher end, it might be what she needs, but i dont think the before bed is needed. its a 4th meal that should probaly be another nursing session somewhere in the day.

no matter what you do at one- milk or continue nursing- she should do fine without that meal. i would offer her to nurse before the meals, so for dinner, nurse first then feed food. then another nursing session at bedtime and you have replaced the calories from that 4th meal. always remember, the first year, breastmilk should be the main food with solids complimenting it to help assist in getting ready for table food. after the first year, the solids become the main source with the nursing complimenting them. the amount of food may also be related to her constipation. good luck

I was told to start milk at 11 months but chose soy because I was uncomfortable with the idea of cow's milk. She took it really well and now drinks cow's milk since it is not her daily staple.

J.-
Hey. I started my son on regular milk at 11 months and he had no issues. I think you would be safe in starting milk. The only thing I will warn you of is sometimes when you switch to milk you will deal with constipation issues (since you mentioned that in your article). I did not realize that myself and was going crazy for a couple weeks. But over a couple weeks their bodies adjust. Just have some juice handy! Good luck.

J.,
If you want to breastfeed her more, feed her just before she has a meal. She will increase your milk, and she will get what she needs. She is eating just fine from what I see, and you don't appear to have any food problems at all.

If you are pumping at all right now, pump just after you feed her, and just a little bit after you pump (add an extra 10 minutes) You very likely will get little or nothing - it is for the added stimulation to produce more milk.

http://breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml should give you more information, too.

Good Luck,
M.

Its common for that to happen. If you only are able to pump 3 oz. then it likely that she is only taking that much when she nurses. She is getting the majority of her nutrition from foods and thats good. She has already started weaning her self from nursing by eating more foods.

You can give her milk. The doctors used to say start with whole milk. see how she tolerates it. You cant go by the she has yogurt and cheese to determine if she can handle milk because both of them are cultured. The bacteria in the culture they use gives up Lactace which is the enzyme that the body doesnt give off if you are lactose intolerant. So your body doesnt have to make it and you can eat the cultured things. Milk doesnt have that culture in it. I know this because I am lactose intolerant and I eat yogurt and a lot of different cheeses with out a problem.

I definately wouldnt go with formula. Its too expensive and if you are concerned about giving her cows milk, you can get calcium fortified soy milk, they are really good now a days. I usually drink 8th continent brand soy milk and it has a really good flavor. Has the added vitamins and calcium.

Every child is different. My son was eating like your child, my oldest daughter didnt want food for a longer time and my youngest daughter ate some but wanted foods. All ate regular table foods and all are fine. You have to do whats best for your child.

I hope this helps.

W. in Watkins Glen
Mom to 3 Kids
Korey_Mikel 16, Whitney 13 and Andrea 6

Hi J.,
While some parents may start whole milk earlier than a year, even at the suggestion of their doctor, the doctor is going against what medical research suggests, which is not starting cows milk til a year. Until a year, your baby's milk is her primary source of nutrition. Cows milk does not have what babies need for that primary nutrition, only breastmilk does and formula is considered adequate. Nothing else is considered adequate.
It sounds like your baby is eating a lot of food, but food should not be her primary source of nutrition yet. 4 food meals a day is too much. If she is only breastfeeding 3 times a day, that's not enough for her. Your post suggested 3 times of breastfeeding. If that's all the breastmilk she's getting, you're a couple of months ahead of yourself and I would add a couple of breastfeedings each day. Increasing the stimulation will also increase the milk supply.
Good luck