Exclusive BF for big baby?

KC wrote:
I am curious about a baby's inability to use foods besides bm and
formula. Didn't people in the past get put on lots of solids really
early and still grow? Obviously bm is best, but is it really true
that the baby's can't use other foods?


Babies were put on solids early in the past few decades - many of us started
rice cereal obscenely early. However, solid food wasn't the majority of our
diet. And probably - certainly - there were people who would have been
healthier had their diet been exclusively breastmilk (or formula).

Formulas have been getting better and better - it's not all that common
anymore for a baby to die from being FF - but in the past, babies who were
deprived of human milk, such as foundling babies, died en masse.

--
iphigenia
www.tristyn.net

Alex was born on April 19th at 7 pounds 12 ounces. He is now 17 pounds. He
is getting plump with rolls. I started giving him some cereal around 2
months. I felt he wasn't being satisfied with just milk. He was eating every
2 to 3 hours. He likes his cereal and sleeps longer. I just think how I
wouldn't feel satisfied on just a liquid diet. I think he needed more than
just liquid. He seems very satisfied when I give him the cereal. I don't
replace a feeding. I feed him the food in between feedings. I started with
just a few baby spoons and now he gets a small bowl. I add apples now too.
The Dr. said it was ok, he's more old fashioned. A few spoons of rice cereal
won't hurt.
Kris
"Lana" wrote in message
news:G6pUa.131718$OZ2.25972@rwcrnsc54...
Hi, This is my first post, although I've been lurking since my son was
born
4/2/03. This group has been very informational for me, and I thought I'd
ask for advice.

My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18
lbs.
so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months.
He has been almost exclusively breastfeed since birth (except for the
first
few days when I was force to supplement w/ formula, due to my inverted
nipples, but thank god for breast shields, my BF savior, and he wean off
of
those at 10 weeks, but now is refusing bottles of EBM but that's another
story.) .

I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth,
(4-6
hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8
hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is
starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's
woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice.
Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking
his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. I readily feed him, and he
goes right back to sleep after 10 min or so, but I'm wondering if milk is

still enough for him. I mean I know that it is, but I kind of like him
sleeping through the night.

I don't think it's a growth spurt, I've actually not notice any except for
the 3 week one. I have a really good supply, but I think he can't drink
enough in the day sometimes to meet his intake requirement. The few times
that he has sucked my dry, my body does really well and adjust the next
day,
and I get engorged for several days. I nurse every 2-2.5 hours, but
sometimes he won't nurse for more than 5 min.most times he'll nurse for
10-12 min, but always refuses the other breast. In all I'm nursing about
7
times during the day. I'm debating starting solids.

I know about the allergies, but I'm worried that I can't nurse him enough
during the day for him not to be hungry in the middle of night. I know
some
babies, don't sleep through the night til much later, but I'm spoiled and
don't want to give that up. Any advice for me to either get him to nurse
longer during the day? Part of the problem is I think I have OAL, and
I've
heard that I should pump to relieve some of that, but that just don't make
sense to me, I mean if I pump won't I continue to produce more than I
need.
And at what point should I start trying solids, what the largest baby in
this group who has gone exclusive BF, and had the baby sleep through the
night?

Maybe I should just suck it up, and do what's best for my son and just
exclusively BF until he's at least 6 months. Reading this I'm not really
sure what I'm asking but for some of you guys to share your experiences
with
me. Especially those of you w/ larger babies, and how long you exclusily
breast feed for. I know I have enough and can produce enough BM to keep
him
going but at what cost to me, and at the rate he's gaining I expect the
problem to just get worse.. And a side note Dr. Sears said if your baby
is
taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try
to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations
he
needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that
apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do,
a. try to get him to nurse more during the day
b. try to add cereal to his diet
c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep
through the night anymore.

I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but
it
goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not.

Thanks,
LuLu and my chunky monkey.

I fed 3 of my boys cereal early, 2 to 3 months, and they all did fine with
it. They are all pretty healthy. My first 2 were formula fed and this one is
bf. They all grew and slept at different rates too.
Kris

"KC" wrote in message
om...
I am curious about a baby's inability to use foods besides bm and
formula. Didn't people in the past get put on lots of solids really
early and still grow? Obviously bm is best, but is it really true
that the baby's can't use other foods?

KC

OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote in message
...
My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18
lbs.
so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4
months.

Wow! Sounds like he's doing terrific on your milk!

So I'm unsure of what I should do,
a. try to get him to nurse more during the day
b. try to add cereal to his diet
c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it

I snipped most of your post, but I would definitely try to wait a little
longer
to start solids. Not necessarily 6 months, but he isn't even 4 months
yet,
which is really the bare minimum. Since it's entirely normal and common
for 3
1/2 month old babies to nurse at night, why not just feed him at night
if he
wakes. Maybe he'll go back to sleeping through in a few days, or maybe
not.
You could certainly try feeding him more often during the day and see if
that
will help, though if he's already eating every couple of hours during
the day,
he probably won't want to nurse much more than that.

(Before rushing to cereal, remember that, while he's a big baby, he's
still
only 3 1/2 months old, and so probably can't digest cereal yet. Do you
really
want to fill his belly with something that he can't make any use of?
Give it a
few more weeks. At 4 or 4 1/2 months, if you still want to try the
cereal, and
he's showing other signs of readiness, you can offer him some and see if
he
likes it/is able to take it.)


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to
e-mail
reply.)

K.B. wrote:
Alex was born on April 19th at 7 pounds 12 ounces. He is now 17 pounds. He
is getting plump with rolls. I started giving him some cereal around 2
months. I felt he wasn't being satisfied with just milk. He was eating every
2 to 3 hours.

That's a normal schedule for a breastfeeding 2 month old, although some
nurse even more often at such a young age. He grew that big *on* your
milk, so it didn't become in effective for him overnight.

He likes his cereal and sleeps longer.

That is probably just coincidence, or it's that his little tummy is
working so hard to digest food that he's not ready for, it wears him
out. It's the post-Thanksgiving effect, compounded.

I just think how I wouldn't feel satisfied on just a liquid diet.

Adults wouldn't feel satisfied with most of a baby's life, like being
carried around everywhere, diapered, sitting in a car seat, being sung
to off-key ;-), having lots of naps (*I* could sure do with someone
expecting me to nap a few times a day though!), but those things are
entirely appropriate for a baby. You can't apply that kind of logic to
children, I'm afraid.

I think he needed more than
just liquid. He seems very satisfied when I give him the cereal. I don't
replace a feeding. I feed him the food in between feedings. I started with
just a few baby spoons and now he gets a small bowl. I add apples now too.

It's good that you're not replacing a breastmilk feeding with the food,
at least. Apples can be very binding, along with cereal; have you
noticed any constipation?

The Dr. said it was ok, he's more old fashioned.

I'm not sure I'd call him old-fashioned. More like, not up-to-date on
the latest research. It would make me question his knowledge on other
issues that were pertinent to my baby's health. Although, maybe he's
just one of those doctors who green lights everything their patients do
to avoid conflict or feelings of guilt...that could be useful for some,
I suppose.

A few spoons of rice cereal
won't hurt.

Early introduction of solids increases a baby's risk of allergies,
illness, and anemia, and is linked to obesity in later life. Those
interested can find a few more tidbits of info on the risks associated
with early introduction of solids at these links:

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/solidfood.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...lids-when.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html



Emily

In article ,
(KC) wrote:

I am curious about a baby's inability to use foods besides bm and
formula. Didn't people in the past get put on lots of solids really
early and still grow? Obviously bm is best, but is it really true
that the baby's can't use other foods?

They were often sickly and child mortality rates were higher as a result. I
have a Jungle Doctor book which mentions one such society. The Jungle Doctor
was an Australian medical missionary among the Chigogo in what was then
Tanganyika -- now Tanzania -- in the '40s. The Chigogo believed babies should
be fed millet porridge (the staple food) practically from birth, and only used
bfing to comfort their children. You can imagine the mortality rate. The
hospital staff introduced the slogan, "Nothing but milk till the teeth come,"
which raised the weaning age to about four months, with a great improvement in
child health.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

"Beth" wrote in message .. .

It's always struck me as a load of hogwash about big babies needing more
than just milk (how did they get so big in the first place?).

Beth


This brings back memories My son was 6 1/2 pounds at birth and 20
pounds at 6 mnths. He was HUGE, 3 chins, rolls of fat on his thighs
and he had no wrists at all his arms were so chunky. He didnt start
solids til almost 7 months and everyone kept asking me "what are you
feeding that boy??" Even my ped. was impressed that he was strictly
bf. So, to the original poster, big babies do not necessarily need
anything else than mama's milk. Lots of things make babies wake up at
night besides hunger...teething, emotional or physical milestones,
etc. I would wait it out for a while longer and see how he does.

Diane

It's good that you're not replacing a breastmilk feeding with the food,
at least. Apples can be very binding, along with cereal; have you
noticed any constipation?
Actually he gets really watery poops. Somtimes it seems so bad. It's been
better latly and i'm not sure if it's because I don't have dairy or from the
creal and apples.
I really don't give alot of cereal. Just a few tablespoons during dinner.
Kris



:

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/solidfood.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...lids-when.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html



Emily