At our last pediatric visit, our doctor suggested that we add in meat baby foods, yogurt and whole milk to Paisley's diet to try to increase her calorie intake since she's built like a supermodel (tall and skinny). I felt like that was a great idea, and I certainly don't want my baby to be hungry!
I really thought she'd hate the meat, but she LOVES it. All of it- turkey, beef and chicken. I think they all smell like roadkill and they're all terrible colors that stain EVERYTHING. But, she gobbles them up. Like an entire jar in a sitting. And then she'll top it off with some yogurt. She eats like her mama, which is crazy!
But, what I'm noticing recently is that she doesn't want to nurse as much. She started cutting back several weeks ago which is probably why her weight gain stalled out. It seems to bore her now, except in the evenings when she goes on a nursing marathon. :)
And our pediatrician isn't too concerned with that since we've made it past 6 months and she thinks it's time to start getting a wider range of nutrition. But I'm sad because I can see that breastfeeding will soon be over. It's not going to be our special bond anymore. Any ol' person on the street could feed my baby and she'd be fine. I'm SO not ready to quit yet, which is nuts since I wasn't sure I ever wanted to start before she was born. But it's went so well for us. And I have an entire deep-freeze full of breastmilk that I'm going to end up throwing out which is just totally sad!
What I've realized is that Paisley's growth is going to paralleled by my backing off. I have to teach her independence. She's going to get bigger and smarter and even more amazing. And she won't need me the same as she does right now. I totally need her more than she needs me! But I have to encourage her to become her own person and hope that I'm doing the best job I can as her mom. Even if it means no more "booby buffet"...
(The bright side is that I may be able to start wearing my own bras again soon and can stop planning outfits around which are easiest to feed in.)
I really thought she'd hate the meat, but she LOVES it. All of it- turkey, beef and chicken. I think they all smell like roadkill and they're all terrible colors that stain EVERYTHING. But, she gobbles them up. Like an entire jar in a sitting. And then she'll top it off with some yogurt. She eats like her mama, which is crazy!
But, what I'm noticing recently is that she doesn't want to nurse as much. She started cutting back several weeks ago which is probably why her weight gain stalled out. It seems to bore her now, except in the evenings when she goes on a nursing marathon. :)
And our pediatrician isn't too concerned with that since we've made it past 6 months and she thinks it's time to start getting a wider range of nutrition. But I'm sad because I can see that breastfeeding will soon be over. It's not going to be our special bond anymore. Any ol' person on the street could feed my baby and she'd be fine. I'm SO not ready to quit yet, which is nuts since I wasn't sure I ever wanted to start before she was born. But it's went so well for us. And I have an entire deep-freeze full of breastmilk that I'm going to end up throwing out which is just totally sad!
What I've realized is that Paisley's growth is going to paralleled by my backing off. I have to teach her independence. She's going to get bigger and smarter and even more amazing. And she won't need me the same as she does right now. I totally need her more than she needs me! But I have to encourage her to become her own person and hope that I'm doing the best job I can as her mom. Even if it means no more "booby buffet"...
(The bright side is that I may be able to start wearing my own bras again soon and can stop planning outfits around which are easiest to feed in.)
I haven't been on my real computer in a while...just keeping up on my phone but your last 2 posts I've wanted to comment on because I feel I'm in the exact same boat.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed like my suppy wasn't keeping up as well as it had in the past and I was worried that my supply was going away and we'd be having to pay for formula. Then, I saw your post on your pediatician suggesting whole milk for weight gain (and since Callie was a hefty 12lb 3oz at urgent care a couple weeks ago) I thought well maybe that's all we'll have to do if I'm out of milk. Like you, I have a decent stock in the freezer so I'd use it up first, then switch.
And now this post echos true here too because I feel Callie could care less about nursing anymore. She'll eat her food then I'll try to nurse and she might stay interested for a whole 3 minutes before she's done. I kept thinking is she full from the food or am I going to have to pump all the time just so she'll take it in a bottle? We'll just wait until her 6 month appointment next week to see what our doc wants to do.
Thanks for the recent posts - they have made me feel better about Callie's eating changes and I'm glad there someone else out there to share them with!
On another blog I read, she was able to donate her extra frozen milk to a charity where it was distributed to children in need.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link if you're interested: http://www.allthingsgd.com/2010/07/845.html
Plesae don't think that I am too forward but PLEASE don't throw it away! Call your local milk bank (all you have to do is a google search) and donate it. I ended up donating 1300 oz of frozen milk because my youngest refused it unless it was coming directly from me...yes, I was a cow!
ReplyDeleteMy local bank took care of everything. All I had to do was go get some bloodwork done (they paid for it) to screen for communicable diseases. They even picked it up! It was super easy and babies in need got it.
I agree with the milk donation. I looked into it for Jax, but he didn't qualify for donation and the milk banks that SELL it charged $3.50 an ounce - yep, an ounce. Ouch! so, my poor baby did not get breastmilk:(. There are some online mom to mom communities that do donation as well. Anywho, just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI know the hard part of parenting is watching your children need you "less," but I think it's more that they need you differently. She may not need to nurse, but a toddler desperately needs her mom to check in with all the time to make sure she is able to venture out into the world confidently and securly. Toddlers who don't have that "secure base" are not calm and independent - so it seems counterintuitive, but she needs you in order to move away from you:). Isn't mommyhood magical?!
I'm at the beginning of breastfeeding and would KILL for a few hours when Addy didn't need my boob and I could sleep:). I know it will get better, but I'm just saying I can't quite understand wanting her to nurse MORE right now...lol! I'm sure I will feel the same way, though, when our time comes for her to wean. I remember how sad I was to put Jax in the crib and have him not need me at night - but how long did I pray for that day?! lol! I guess the lesson is, enjoy every step, they're all good:)!
At Wes' 4 month vaccination appt, the doctor gave me the go ahead to start introducing rice cereal whenever I want. I'm nowhere ready to start solids- though to be fair, I don't think he's ready yet either. I love breastfeeding so much and I just want to go with that for as long as I can. I'm not surprised at all that you're mourning Paisley's decreased interest. Maybe she'd show more interest if you nurse before offering food? I don't know. Somebody needs to tell these kids to slow down!
ReplyDelete