Breastfeeding & BLW

[topaz]

My little girl is almost 5 months, she was born at 33+1. I am breastfeeding on demand, 3 hourly through the night, more often during the day if she is awake, cluster feeds in the late evenings.

How will I know when she is ready to start solids?

I want to continue breastfeeding, aiming for a year old at the moment, how do I manage that around the feeds? I'm confused about it all, no-one else BF in my family so I have no-one to ask, and HV won't be supportive as shes already warning about tooth cavities

I just want to ensure my baby gets her milk for as long as possible but I just don't have any idea what kind of routine we would be in?

Any advice gratefully received xx

 

[Lu28]

Personally I think it's best to keep with bfing until 6 months unless she's obviously not satisfied with her milk anymore before then even if you keep feeding on demand.

Does your day have any kind of routine at the moment? If not, I'd just try with solids after a bf at a point during the day when she's generally happy and relaxed and just build it up. If it's any help, our day is like this:

7am - bf
8am - breakfast - porridge
10.30am - bf
11.30am - lunch - usually something on toast
2.30pm - bf
5pm - bf
5.30pm - dinner - whatever we're having

 

[topaz]

Thanks Lu28, we aren't in any hurry, just thought we had better start thinking about it so we had a plan
Thanks for posting you routine, thats really helpful for me to see what kind of thing we need to aim for x

 

[purple_socks]

sorry to crash but just wondered what ur HV was talking abt with the whole tooth cavities?...i dont understand?

 

[SwissMiss]

Heya hon,

Its def important to start her on solids when she's in a good mood... For Lindsey that was around lunch time, after her morning nap. I'm still bfing too and I must say its a bit of guesswork at the beginning. Our routine looks kinda like Lu's at the mo, I'm still trying to figure out evenings though...

6.30/7am - bf
8.30/9 am - breakfast of cereal/fruit
10.30am - bf
12 - lunch (carrots/potatoes, zucchini, etc)
3.30pm - bf
4pm - fruit (dont' always give this...)
6.30pm - dinner (still workin' on this meal, she doesn't usually take much...)
8.30pm - last bf and bed

Good luck hon and whatever you do, don't freak out if it doesn't work the first little while. I tried Lindsey for a full month and a half on solids with nothing but gagging and up-chucking and frustration, and then suddenly sth clicked and she eats like a champion now!

 

[topaz]

Thanks SwissMiss, I've drummed it into myself not to make a big thing of it....x

Purple_socks the HV told me that continuing to breastfeed could cause her teeth (when she cuts them lol) to rot....although I thought that the action of breastfeeding meant milk didn't pool in the mouth anyway....that and the fact that milk teeth are called milk teeth for a reason? Flippin woman, I sometimes think I should just tell her not to come

 

[angelstardust]

Topaz, you must have magic sugar making boobies!

 

[Faerie]

OMG I think your HV should be sacked immediately!! What a load of b*llocks! Please, ignore her.

Annnd PMSL angelstardust!

 

[Faerie]

Oh, and I started sitting Sofia up at the table around 5.5 months, gave her a spoon to play with, then some veggie sticks, at first she was just bashing them around but within a week she was sucking and then by 6 months she was eating bits. Now she's doing really well, she had beef stew for lunch today (though the monkey picked out her favourite bits) and pitta bread with tuna paste for supper.

 

[purple_socks]

OMG thats surely thats such rubbish!...i'd get a new HV straight away! (well actually i'd prob stop seeing her coz i dont really bother with my HV but if u wanna see a HV i'd def see a different one) is she getting confused with bottle feeding? i have heard prolonged bottle feeding can damage teeth but breast feeding is recommended by the world health organisation until 2 years!

have u read the BLW book? that talks abt continuing breastfeeding alongside BLW. It says continue to FOD and introduce solids after milk feeds (food is a toy at first so LO shouldn't b hungry or they wont b intersted) then LO will naturally drop feeds/ take less each feed. u dont have to do anything urself...just trust LO to progress from milk to solids at her own pace