Still getting most of her nutrition from the breast at 8 months

[minties]

I'm having quite a different experience with Emma than with my others - I'm more relaxed about feeding her, and tend to just offer the breast when she is hungry.

Time has crept up on me and she's 8 months old now, but still mainly getting all her feeding needs from breastmilk and I don't have her on any sort of schedule for solids. My other kids were having lots of food, and also water or formula in sippy cups by now as well as breastfeeding a few times a day and night. Both shot up in weight about now, and were quite podgy, especially Sophie. Sophie quit breastfeeding at 11 months (Thomas I stopped nursing at 19 months as I had pregnancy aversions).

Half of me is thinking how we are going is fine, the other half is freaking out that I'll be harmed her somehow and she she's about to die from lack of iron and zinc .

I've been doing baby led weaning so no puree or iron fortified cereals.

Some days I'm so exhausted and busy (she wakes often at night) that I think I might forget to give her any solids at all, or maybe just a bit of toast or share some food off my plate at dinner . That's all she's really interested in also.

She is 7.7kg (17lbs), which on the WHO Expanded Tables is about halfway between the 25th and 50th centile for weight. She's about smack bang on the 50th for length. I have never, ever had any of my kids have a length centile higher than a weight one! Sophie was about 9.2kg(20lbs 4oz) at this age.

Her well child nurse says she should be having 3 meals and 3 snacks a day by now and eating solids before offering a breastfeed. This is what I did with Sophie and Sophie totally lost interest in the boob .

What have you done with feeding your baby around this age?

The top picture is Emma, the bottom is Sophie, I couldn't find pictures of them in the same pose.

https://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j10/a31cefiro/17553707_10208857642902261_4698743335764200170_n.jpg~original

https://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j10/a31cefiro/DSC_0656.jpg~original

 

[happynewmom1]

She looks perfect to me. They both look healthy. My girls tended to look like Emma at that age. I was always told food before 1 is just for fun and I agree with that. Our 3rd was just not as interested in solids until she was 1 and even now doesn't eat as much as the older two did but still nurses a lot. In the beginning I think offering food can be good for discovering and getting used to different textures and tastes but I certainly wouldn't worry or pressure yourself on solid schedules. If you are eating something she could have, offer it but don't freak out if she doesn't eat a lot at first and mostly plays with it. It sounds and looks like she is developing well and is doing great! You are doing a great job!

 

[jessmke]

My DD didn't have much interest in solids at 8 months old (we also did baby led weaning). She would nibble on things but didn't really consume much of anything until she was closer to 1. I always offered the breast before solids until she was at least 11 months old. She didn't really take off on the solids until about 13 months when she stopped breastfeeding. She is petite, was 16 lbs 4 oz when she was last weighed at 14 months, but is perfectly healthy and still has fat reserves despite her being petite. She has never been a podgy baby. Now at almost 16 months old, a typical breakfast for her is an adult sized bowl of oatmeal, 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup apple sauce, a handful of blueberries, 3 strawberries, half a banana, and 1/2 a piece of toast with nut butter! But despite eating so much she is still lean and petite. Food before 1 is only for fun, so try not to stress too much!

 

[minties]

Thanks very much!

See, that's half the issue here - food before 1 is just for fun is the total opposite attitude from my healthcare providers. My well child nurse is in such a flap with me! Both over the baby led weaning, and the lack of schedule. In the morning we are so busy getting ready for school, then by the time we get back Emma goes right down for her nap. Then I'm running around like mad trying to clean the house up, then Emma wakes up and I try and fit in a walk, then before I know it we are off to school again and then she's in bed for another nap the minute we get in. I do almost always share my dinner though, with her, or give her what we are having.

Emma was weighed and measured today, I was in a study during my pregnancy about lower blood glucose targets for women with gestational diabetes, and they were asking me all these questions about what she eats and were giving eachother alarmed looks. This was our last check in with the study team, but they've got me worried.

She does eat a good variety, and feeds herself just fine on meat, roast veggies, fruits and breads etc.

She hasn't really put on much weight over the last few months.

Sophie I was always in trouble for her being obese (she's JUST gotten into normal weight range these last couple of months, from being big since birth), Thomas is the shortest kid in his class by INCHES, and now Emma doesn't seem to be as big as we were all expecting.

 

[noon_child]

Sorry my quote button isn't working. You said - "Her well child nurse says she should be having 3 meals and 3 snacks a day by now and eating solids before offering a breastfeed. This is what I did with Sophie and Sophie totally lost interest in the boob."

It's interesting how different places have totally different practices and ideas of what is normal. I think here 8months would be a bit early for three meals, let alone snacks too - what's wrong with breastmilk as a snack? It's going to give her a wider range of nutrients than some rice cakes or a banana and will be kind on her digestive system which is still learning how to process new foods. It tends to be around the 10month mark when babies start to need food in addition to breastmilk in order to get enough calories (but that's an average and it depends on each child).

In fact introducing too much food too quickly can stop babies from breastfeeding (as you describe with Sophie) and health care providers here don't want that to happen too quickly.

Do your healthcare providers follow WHO guidelines? WHO says:
"Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life."
This means that between 6months where breastmilk will be giving 100% nutrition and 1year where it could be giving 50% nutrition, there will be a slow movement away from just milk towards food. Therefore at the point where you are now it could be classed as normal to expect breastmilk to be providing 75% of Emma's nutrition.

It does sound like sometimes you struggle to find enough opportunities to offer food, but that's what makes breastfeeding so great - it's portable and always on hand, and free to top up anything she needs that she isn't getting from food.

 

[loeylo]

She definitely doesn't look skinny to me. Gracie was probably slightly slimmer at that age (she was 75th for height and 25th for weight) and she is perfectly healthy and even now is a great eater.

We also did blw and I think they probably do eat slightly less than traditionally fed babies, Gracie was still having 4x6ox bottles per day minimum at that age and really did only graze most days (except the odd hungry day where she ate everything in sight)

She also changed centiles for height and weight a lot. She was born on the 25th for weight and 50th for length, then jumped to 50th for weight, went slightly over, then plummeted as low as the 9th. She is now on the 25th for height and weight but adjusted for our heights she is where she should be. We have the dietician on Monday so I will check again then!

 

[jessmke]

Oh I also wanted to add that Isla only started having snacks after she stopped breastfeeding. While she was still nursing I would offer three meals a day, but her "snacks" were breastmilk between meals. It seems awfully early to expect an 8 month old baby who is still breastfeeding to also have three snacks a day. My 16 month old doesn't even have three snacks, she has three meals and two snacks. The only time she gets a third snack is if she doesn't eat anything at supper time, then I'll offer her a small snack before bed.

 

[minties]

The well child nurse service here are partly funded by Watties (Heinz I think they are under/a part of) so they REALLY push solids, in particular that brands jars and tins. They do use growth charts from WHO and in particular says they are based on the UK WHO charts. I feel like all the nurses are very old and I've yet to meet one who breastfed her own kids past the first couple of weeks.

I've let Emma eat to her hearts content today, and she didn't want any more food than a usual day so I guess I'll let that be a guide? She had some meat and banana and a small sandwich, which she threw away. My OH looks agtert her on a Saturday morning while I am at work and she didn't seem keen to eat too much for him, but was excited to nurse when I came home.

 

[Bevziibubble]

She looks absolutely fine! Somebabies just prefer breast milk over food. Holly was the same and she wasn't interested in food at all until she was 9 months and even then she still got most of her nutrition from breastfeeding until she was around 18 months. She just wasn't a big eater at all. She was always small for her age but has caught up over the last year

 

[_Meep_]

Mine didn't really eat more than the odd taste/little bowl of something a couple of times a day for the first year of her life. Scheduled full meals before one really aren't an absolute essential in my opinion. She didn't properly chew anything until she was 14 months old!

She's an absolute pig now - she often requests three different foods for breakfast (usually banana, cereal and fruit and then a bagel!) and is very good about eating, though she is still breastfed too. She has pretty much always hung around the 50th centile for weight - considering how decently she eats, I would have thought she would be more solid, but she just is how she is and she is a beautiful, healthy child with plenty of energy, intelligence and a lovely attitude.

Around Emma's age, I would say mine was a similar build. Looking at her, she clearly isn't malnourished in any way! As long as she's finding relative enjoyment in the foods that she tries, and is following her growth curve, you have no need to worry.

 

[misspriss]

Neither of mine had a huge interest in solids at that age. We also did BLW. Probably after 1 year for DS and between 10 and 12 months for DD, if my memory serves me correctly. My ped was never worried.

DS was always quite thin with no chunk, being a preemie and all. DD seemed like a proper chunk but she was under 50th percentile for weight, just perspective. She dix drop in the weight percentiles, but doctors here use the CDC charts, where it is recommended to use the WHO charts for under 2, especially breastfed babies. Her drop was when she started walking and became active, around 10 months.

 

[babyjan]

My first really didn't have an interest in food that age. He mainly got by on breast milk only. His 5 now and still a very fussy eater tbh.

Emma looks good for her age x

 

[Zephram]

Oh my gosh, Emma is gorgeous! You've got such a lovely little family.

My first ate quite well by 8 months, but my second only just started eating solids much at all at 7.5 months, and he probably didn't have 3 meals a day until 8/9 months. He definitely didn't have snacks as well until close to a year. They both breastfed on demand.

I think the recommendation that she should have 3 meals and 3 snacks by now is flat out wrong. However, I personally think the phrase "food before one is just for fun" is misleading because it downplays the importance of food, but there's absolutely no reason to stuff her full of solids at her age either. 2-3 meals a day is plenty if she's still breastfeeding on demand.

Btw, I don't know if you noticed this too, but between my first and my second I noticed the plunket advice for solids changed. When my first was 6 months (early 2013), the handouts they gave me said to offer breast before solids until 9 months, I think, by 2015/2016 when my second was 6 months the handout said to offer food before breast at 8 months. I can't get my head around it, it may indeed have something to do with the evil baby food corporation being a sponsor.

Anyway, when DS2, I just did what I wanted and said screw to the literature. He had breast when he wanted and food when he was interested. Don't second guess yourself too much, Emma looks great.

 

[minties]

I think my particular plunket centre has been really told to push Watties, that's for sure! I have no problem with jarred or canned food but don't like the pressure.

I've started feeding Emma more solids anyway, I got worried after reading about how a lack of iron has long term effects on brain development. So she's eating two meals a day, and little mouthfuls of food she begs and steals off people haha! She's cottoned onto this cute "huh?" thing, when she says it to her siblings they love it and giver her food.

She still wakes a lot at night but at least I know she's getting her iron needs met fairly well now.

 

[KatO79]

It's funny because here in Denmark they recommend people to start introducing gruels, veggie mashes and porridges at between 4-6 months. So BLW isn't a thing at all here! In my case, I had to start my son at age 4½ months because he was losing too much weight and my HV told me that the recommendation from WHO which states that exclusive nursing for 6 months in developing countries is associated with lower rates of e.g. diarrheal disease which is not relevant for developed countries so she says she always recommends between 4-6 months, depending on the baby and how well (s)he's thriving on breatsmilk only. My son was definitely ready for food, he absolutely loves it!

I've also heard about breastmilk lacking certain things like iron and that it can affect brain development.

This article (https://breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.dk/2012/09/bullshitometer-food-before-one-is-just.html) brings up an interesting point:

Now I'll be honest; whenever I hear someone talk about "readiness" for anything in a child-development context, I tend to reach for my skepticism; has anyone ever actually proven that the ability to sit up unassisted or reach out and grab things has any particular relationship with babies' ability to digest food or their nutritional requirements for it? And if we accept the "babies need additional iron and zinc" thing already discussed, the idea that babies only start to need solids once they reach certain development stages becomes a bit problematic. Like... okay, are we all supposed to believe that children who are slower than average to sit up are the ones who are handily born with larger-than-average iron stores in their bodies, while the ones born with less iron conveniently start sitting up earlier, or something? It doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, and as it happens the only evidence that I’m aware of on this topic seems to suggest the exact opposite—we know that in fact, iron stores tend to be lower in babies who were born small and/or premature, and these babies are also slower to reach milestones, on average.

It's definitely an interesting read and brings up some good points. I definitely thing that the "food before 1 is just for fun" is very faulty in it's thinking although I'm sure many here will blast me for saying it Also it makes anyone that needed to start baby on solids before 6 months feel like they've failed as a parent which I don't think it supportive or conductive! I honestly don't see any harm in offering babies foods from around 4-6 months? Particularly those that may need it like my son did.

 

[minties]

I agree that it's a silly saying and I have no idea where it came from, but I don't believe in it. I think solids are very important, they need the zinc and iron. I don't think porridges or vegetable purees have much use though - that's just my thinking from what I have read.

Emma wasn't born early, as such, but she was born at 38 weeks, so 3 weeks earlier than my first baby.

Her appetite has ramped up a lot in the last couple of weeks, for solids rather than breastmilk, so she's eating lots more. She has a well child visit tomorrow so I'm interested to see what she weighs.

 

[minties]

She's dropped down the charts again, she was 7.8kg. Last weight check was 7.38kg in Jan 31st.

I have an app that tells me the exact centile on the WHO charts, so she was born on the 60th, went up to and stayed at the 68th (last check at this centile was 4 months), was 48th centile at 6 months and is 29th centile at 9 months.

Length is a bit more iffy, I don't think my nurse has any idea what she's doing, the centile for that jumps all over the show, been as low as 14th centile and as high at 75th. I think she is about 71cm though.

 

[happynewmom1]

I was always took the saying as more like.. Not to stress about baby eating a ton of food before one but to offer it. Since babies are all so different, some aren't as ready for solids early but then just take to it later. Our dd2 never really took to eating a lot of solids before she was one.. I always offered it and she would play in it or let me feed her a little but she didn't eat it more until closer to her first birthday. I didn't stress about it since she was breastfeeding and the majority of her nutrients did still come from me at that age. I think it's important to offer but unless baby is seriously underweight or something then not to put a ton of pressure on yourself to get baby to eat. I know that was a long explanation but the way I always thought of it until baby is older just enjoy the process as much as you can.

 

[KatO79]

Minties I make my own porridges and mashes. I add formula powder to them. They're from a recipe book that my HV gave me and are approved of here by the authorities so I doubt that they're not nutritious enough! Add a bit of fruit puree to sweeten and give more flavour. Hope your daughter soon gains more weight. What did they recommend?

I understand the thought behind the saying but it can definitely be misunderstanding and someone needs to come up with a new one. I don't entirely agree that babies don't really need food before 1 year though but that's my opinion.

 

[noon_child]

She's dropped down the charts again, she was 7.8kg. Last weight check was 7.38kg in Jan 31st.

I have an app that tells me the exact centile on the WHO charts, so she was born on the 60th, went up to and stayed at the 68th (last check at this centile was 4 months), was 48th centile at 6 months and is 29th centile at 9 months.

Length is a bit more iffy, I don't think my nurse has any idea what she's doing, the centile for that jumps all over the show, been as low as 14th centile and as high at 75th. I think she is about 71cm though.

They never really bother with length centiles here in the UK (unless they are investigating real growth issues)apart from very occasionally, because they know they are so unreliable.

I know it must be disheartening to see the weight curve dipping like it is, but you can't really make a child eat, only give them opportunities to eat. Also it has taken a full 3months for that centile drop, during which time it looks like she got pretty active and is now crawling. Some babies aren't moving round much at the same point so put on weight easier, some are burning it off.

I know some babies with Tongue Tie can really struggle to learn to chew and swallow and the extra effort it takes can make them late eaters.