Mums/Moms after Recurrent Losses (MARL) - Come join us!

[wookie130]

How many oz of milk should Lexi be having alongside how much solid food at 6 months? What did your lovely babies take? She is sleeping through for 12 hours without feeds but not without dummy pushing lol so I think she's getting enough. She's 8kg now which is 17.6lbs I just worry she is gaining too fast as she is only 20th percentile length still too. Lexi is having around 35oz milk a day plus say 2 tablespoons of some kind of 'solid' food. Should i cut out a milk and give her water and more solid food? I feel like I should go on a course!

I would kind of let her self-regulate how much she's taking from the bottle, while you're introducing solids. In other words, continue giving her her normal bottle feedings, and doing 1-2 offerings (2 T) of whatever solids, if you're doing purees. While you're increasing the amount/frequency of the spoon-feedings, she may begin taking less from her bottle. In any case, she'll still need about 18-24 oz. of formula a day until she's a year old...there really is no "right" or "wrong" way to configure it, Fili. Just follow her lead, continue to offer her a variety, and she'll probably start dropping formula feeds gradually.

 

[filipenko32]

Thanks wooks that's useful. Im so clueless I'm trying to read up on it! I may make her 6oz of milk per feed instead and give her two solid meals one breakfast and one lunch. I also need to introduce water but it says to use proper cups and not sippy cups as this is better for their teeth and encourages them to learn how to drink...

 

[tuckie27]

Amanda- thanks if D is still in a small then B can definitely get away with a medium in the Halo brand for awhile

Fili- I've wondered the same about B. I'm pretty much doing what Wookie said; not cutting out any breast or bottle feeds, but adding solids here & there. I'm wondering if anyone with older LOs can tell me when they begin to really enjoy & prefer solids...maybe it's just Bay, but she signs for milk the whole time I feed her solids lol she does like them and will usually finish or come close to finishing what I give her, but she still prefers the breast or bottle over solids and I'm wondering when that will change...? She especially likes fruit, but even with the foods she loves, she signs 'milk' over & over & I just say "You can have milk after lunch (or dinner)"

 

[filipenko32]

Ps I love your avatar! How cute is she!!? She's gorge! Ahhh and to think we thought we might never be mums! I remember when we used to have conversations about ov tests lol!

 

[filipenko32]

Tuckie how much milk is she taking do you reckon or can you not know that? How much solid food does she have in tablespoons worth?

 

[wookie130]

Ps I love your avatar! How cute is she!!? She's gorge! Ahhh and to think we thought we might never be mums! I remember when we used to have conversations about ov tests lol!

Oh, I know! That seems like 8 thousand years ago now, doesn't it?

Yeah, Hannah's my stinky winker. She's a funny kiddo. LOL!

I'm reading Annabelle Karmel's book on solid foods...she believes in introducing solids through purees.

But, I've also just ordered Gill Rapley's book on Baby-Led Weaning, and really, this sounds like a much easier approach then making a bunch of purees. I think I'm going to begin in the very early days making a few purees, but doing spoon-offering. She can take the pre-loaded spoon from me, and attempt to put it in her mouth with some help from me. From there, once she gets used to other stuff in her mouth, I'm probably going to launch full-speed ahead into baby-led weaning, and Hannah will be given large hunks of whatever we're having on her tray (minus salt or sugar). More food will end up on the floor or wall than in her tummy, but I'm lazy, and making all of that homemade stuff sounds daunting. LOL!

 

[tuckie27]

Fili- B eats several TBs per feeding...if she likes the food I'm giving her hard to say what her daily intake is with the breast feeds, but she takes 7-8oz from the bottle feeds.

Wookie- yes, that is a darling photo of Hannah in your avatar! Love her headband! I am still giving B puréed food. I once gave her a teeny tiny piece of my grilled chicken breast (no seasoning or marinade) and she liked it I'm too lazy to prepare all her foods too! Bad mommy lol I give her a mix of fresh food I've mashed or puréed and the organic pouches. She tries to grab the spoon all the time and often flings food or blows raspberries and spits food all over me she loves to just have the pouches squeezed into her mouth, but I know she has to eat with the spoon too. I just squeeze the pouches in her mouth when I want to avoid a huge mess or she's fussy.

 

[wookie130]

We're not going to begin any weaning/solids with Hannah until 5 1/2 to 6 months, but tonight we're going to begin having her try a tiny bit of water in her highchair, using a Doidy cup, while we eat supper. It'll be an interesting experiment, I'm sure. LOL!

 

[cazi77]

Tuckie, Freya was addicted to breastfeeding and I joked she be 8 and still feeding. Weaning started off very slow she just wasn't interested then at 7.5 months wow her apitite for food came out of no where! She loves her food so much and by 8 months I was struggling to breastfeed her in the day. She wouldn't latch at all and turned her head away. She still loves her morning a night feed but has no breast milk in the day. I was stressing over it but she is very healthy and the health visitor didn't seem concerned so now she just has milk morning and night and food in the day.

 

[wookie130]

Absolutely, Cazi. It seems like most stuff I've read emphasizes keeping a morning milk (BF or bottle, whatever your baby does) feed, and a nighttime feed, and whatever happens in between, i.e. additional milk feeds and solid food offerings, is fine.

 

[filipenko32]

Thanks ladies oh I can't imagine making all her food!!! I buy the pre made organic pouches they're lovely

 

[tuckie27]

Cazi- thank for letting me know! Ill hope for 7.5-8 mos with Bay too, but I know each baby is different!

Wooks- I forgot to say Happy Birthday!!!

 

[melfy77]

Wookie: LOVE your avatar I will also try a sippy cup soon, just so she gets use to it.

Fili: I try to give veggies at lunch time and oatmeal, sometimes mixed with fruit, at night. But some days she only gets oatmeal at night if we're gone during lunch time. For veggies I give half of a small jar, and for oatmeal, I mix about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons with formula (and sometimes puree fruit, like prunes, pears or peaches After about half hour (sometimes more, sometimes less), she also gets a bottle, although a smaller one (about 5 oz). At this age, food is for fun and for taste, milk is all they need, so I'm not too worried about solids. She still wakes up 1-2 times/night to feed, but it's wayyyyyyy better than the 4-5 times before I started her on solids. She loves her oatmeal. So far we've tried sweet potatoes, carrots, beans, peas (won't give it to her for a couple of weeks due to lots of gas pain, poor thing) and squash. They have organic pouches/jars that are delicious, but they're more interesting when they're old enough to have ''mixed'' food and meat. Mother hen is one of the best, so as soon as she's old enough for meat, I will try them And I'm not making all of her food either, just whatever they don't have in store and want her to try.

 

[croydongirl]

Fili at 6 months they are still supposed to be getting most of their calories from milk and just learning to eat solids rather than getting a bunch of calories from there. I would say it sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing. Perhaps offer her solids twice a day. I started very small with Levi and let him show me how much he wanted.

Ladies - I wasn't sure how much I would have time/energy to make all Levi's food. But I would advise you that if you wonder if you can do it to give it a try. I was so surprised how simple and quick it was to stem some veggies throw them in the blender and then freeze them in ice cube trays. I froze them in tablespoonfuls so it was easy to know how much to defrost. And one batch lasted forever! I totally get that its not practical - or desirable for some people, but don't be intimidated if you are considering giving it a go because you might find its so much easier/quicker/cheaper than you anticipate.

Still no real symptoms ever here and feeling ver disconnected and not pregnant. Doc called with scan results (officially) mentioned that the heartbeat was a llittle slow but it could be nothing because it is so small.
With Levi i had scans every week but with this regular practise they want me to wait 2 weeks so they can see real growth - or not. I go in on the 16th. Until then I guess its limbo land. Not that i want yucky symptoms but at least it would help me feel like it might be ok.

 

[heart tree]

I couldn't agree more Croy. My husband was just saying tonight that when our baby was born, he had no idea she would be getting "gourmet" food every day of her life! LOL! I knew I wanted to make a lot of her food, but it has seriously become an addiction for me. It's much easier than I thought it would be and it's fun. I made huge batches of purees and froze the in ice cube trays with covers on them. Then I'd defrost whatever I wanted to give her. Usually I gave her a veggie and a fruit to begin with. But now that she's older, I love making finger foods for her that I know are healthy. I just made a delicious zucchini cheddar bread that my husband won't stop eating and some spinach ricotta bites that I would seriously serve as an appetizer at a dinner party. Yum! (both on weelicious.com) But I also agree that it isn't for everyone. There is certainly time involved, but I try and only make recipes that I can freeze so I'm not constantly cooking every day.

I'm actually going to pack a bunch of her frozen stuff in a small cooler and bring it on the plane so that I have meals for her for the few days we are in Kansas City!

I'm sorry you aren't feeling preggers and that they are making you wait so long. That must feel like an eternity. The fact is that you are still pregnant and there was a hb. Did they do a TV scan or an abdominal one? When we found Delilah's hb at 6 weeks exactly, the hb was 104. I really don't think yours is that slow. I have everything crossed for you.

I saw you post on FB that Levi is fighting his afternoon nap. Can I ask, how do you put him down? I'm struggling with that. Delilah doesn't fight sleep, but that's only because I rock her down for every nap and bedtime. Tim doesn't even do it. I like the tranquility of it. And she sleeps through the night. Even if she wakes at night, she is able to get herself back down without assistance. But there is no way she'll go to sleep if she isn't rocked. What do you do? What does everyone else do?

Wooks, happy belated!

Tuckie, I think Delilah always loved food. She loved formula and breast milk equally in the NICU. She loves sucking down any medicine. She loved every food I've given her for the most part. You are right, every baby is different. I was looking at the Kellymom website last night about cow's milk (I've decided not to give it to her) and that site says that babies really only need breast milk for the first year. I really wouldn't stress too much if she just wants milk and not solids. It will happen at some point. You won't be breastfeeding her when she is 15 I promise! LOL! Oh and I would make a quick appearance at the MIL's and say you have other places to be. Use Bay as an excuse. Say she only has a small window of awake time and you need to make the most of it. That's not even a lie!

Finally got a bigger car seat for Delilah today. I can't believe how big she's getting. For the first time since she's been born I had the pull to have another baby. Not enough to do anything about it, but it was a mental shift.

 

[filipenko32]

Thanks everyone, well she had 3 teaspoons of apple and banana mush for breakfast and seemed to enjoy it but didn't want anymore so I left it then she drank all her bottle. I'll do the same for her dinner with something savoury so she's just getting tasters! I'll cook more when she's older I think using your recipes too Heart!

Croy hang in there Hun, you could have easily ovulated later and I can't see how that heartbeat is low, when they told me my heartbeats were low they were 85 and below. When I have panic moments with this pregnancy I just think well I get pregnant quickly (so do you) and it will happen one day if not now and that really makes me feel better. I really think that you're going to be ok though. I only have mild sickness now, some tiredness / lethargy but my boobs are not sore at all! At all! they were a bit more sore by now with lexi I'm sure. I wish we were both 10-12 weeks with successful scans then too sigh...

 

[Justkeeptryin]

Hi ladies,

I think its often a guessing game as to whether wqe are giving our babies enough solids etc. but my health visitor also told me that milk is still their main calorie source until they are 1.

I've worked out that Emelia takes around 25 oz of milk a day along with 3 solids usually, She is a brilliant little eater. I started off with pureed foods and quickly moved onto textured and more lumpy probably sooner than they recommend but I can honestly say I think its a good thing.
She absolutely loves the baby pasta shapes and I add them to homemade sauces or organic pouches that I buy.
I also buy cooked chicken, ham, turkey and beef and I cut them up into tiny little cubes and add them in.

When I started Emelia on foods at 20 weeks to be honest she wasn't really that interested but she soon picked up her appetite and now goes into a temper tantrum if I eat in front of her and not give her any.

This is a sauce that Emelia loves with her pasta shapes:
I blend a tin of chopped tomatoes, fry this up with garlic, onions, peppers and spinach and then blend it all. I freeze that, its makes me about 8 portions.
I've came to realise that its much better and cheaper to buy frozen peppers, onions and spinach.


I ended up having a debate with my husband last night as he now says that he isn't willing to try for another until next Summer when Emelia is 1 1/2. That was not my plan and wanted to be trying when she turns 1.
I understand what he is saying in that he really thinks she will be at a good age next Summer and wants to properly enjoy her then and going holidays etc. without me being pregnant and anxious etc. always resting up.
Im not going to get into an argument about it with him just now but eventually will be discussing it more.
I have to remind myself that my priority is right now with Emelia and enjoying my time off with her.

Heart, I can understand the whole car seat thing making you think about baby number 2. We packed away the moses basket up into the loft 2 nights ago and I felt like I could have shed a tear, I really hope to see that basket in use again, and I know I'll be the exact same with the car seat

 

[KatM]

Hi Ladies,
Just another quick pop in.

Heart,
Have a wonderful trip.

Croy,
All my fingers and toes crossed for you hon.

Tuckie,
Glad DH got to go home for his bday. Must be so hard to have him gone for so long. I know you two are so close. Bay is getting to be a chunky monkey. 18lbs is great. G is only 3.2lbs more and he is almost baby obese, lol.

Wookie,
I am doing a blend of BLW and tradition weaning. I am not pureeing anything. I am giving soft foods and will let him eat by himself soon. I want him to eat what we are eating, so I will have to cook organic, veggie meals from scratch on a regular basis. I like that G knows to chew his food right from the start. Happy Bday hon.

Fili,
You have been busy on here, but I simply can't remember much. I like that you advised Croy she was being parlanoid about the dentist because you were the most scared out of all of us. Now you have gotten so calm.

Just,
Hi hon. I can't remember anything, but glad E is enjoying her solids.

AFM,
Still busy making house. Decided to not ttc and have been making DH pull out since I know I am ovulating. I can't imagine having another at this point. It's just too much work taking care of G and making house... and Croy has brought back all my worry from being pregnant with G. I know I would worry the whole time too. Just spent $2600 on a whole house filtration device and several thousand on painting. Now I want to get new furniture and a roomba scuba, so I dont have to mop/vacuum. Having a home is expensive. Thank goodness DH's business is doing well. Catch up properly soon.

 

[heart tree]

Kat so lovely to hear from you! I know you've been so busy, but I've been thinking about you. Sounds like you are doing as well as you can. I don't blame you for not wanting to TTC right now. It's such hard work with a baby and a home. You still have time. No need to rush.

Just, I like the sauce you give Emelia. I haven't given Delilah tomato sauce yet, mainly because of the mess it will make! LOL! Sorry your DH isn't ready to TTC again. It sounds like a good plan in my opinion though. But as you said, it's a discussion that will continue to happen.

Pad, I think I forgot to mention how gorgeous that picture is! I can't believe Leo is 10 weeks old already! Thank you for sharing.

I just got back from a 4th of July BBQ. We Americans have to celebrate our liberation from you Brits! Delilah is terrified of all men. It's frustrating. She cries and clings to me. Even Tim isn't good enough. I know it's a phase, but it makes things difficult. We're going to be around a lot of men during our travels. I really hope she acclimates. Otherwise I'm going to be exhausted.

 

[KatM]

Heart,
What do you give D to drink when she is eating? Is G to young to give carrot and spinach whole juice (with fiber pulverized in)? I do NOT want to pump anymore. I am so tired of it. I also don't like to offer him the boob after a meal because then he wants to go and off dozens of times since he isn't truly hungry. Has D had any issues with peanut butter again? I'm unsure of the weaning process and truly do not have time to research it in detail right now. I just know that I am feeding organic and doing no purees. He has only eaten 4 things so far: avocado, egg yolk, peas and banana. Any input is appreciated it.