Posted by
Perthites
20 yrs ago
I'm interested in knowing what this means exactly. I thought it meant nothing but BM. My bubs is going to be 6mths in a couple of weeks and although i am keen to continue BF i think she made need to go onto solids. She is already having 200mls 5 times a day (i express BM). So if your BF exlusively how long can you do it before you need to move on to soilds and how much BM is your bubs having for you to sustian this?
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kar
20 yrs ago
It really depends on your baby. I could tell when my two wanted to start solids. They began to make mouthing movements when we ate and would try to grab some of our food. At that point, I started them on banana and then rice cereal. As for the amount of BM that they consumed, I have no idea as I breastfed on demand and did not express at all.
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thanks for your responses but is the meaning of Exclusively BF jsut that nothing but BM and is it even possible to do that longer than 6months?
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I've always understood the term to mean nothing but BM as far as the milk intake is concerned--so no formula feeds or supplements. Maybe I'm wrong, but I like to think of mine as being exclusively BF until ~16 mo when she (finally) started drinking cows milk. She started solids (purees) at 6 mo, however.
I think the mainstream introduces solids by 6 mo--it's good to wait until then if there are concerns about allergies in the family, but sometimes bigger or hungrier babies need to start earlier. And some babies really aren't interested in anything other than mummies milk until even 8 mo, but that's on the later side.
I'm not a nutritionist, but I did a fair amount of reading on this at the time. As I remember, one of the reasons to encourage solids by ~6 mo is that irons stores are beginning to deplete, and iron is necessary for healthy brain development.
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mythoughts thanks for your reply it's certainly cleared things up. Could you tell me how many feeds a day of BM your bubs was taking from the time you introduced solids to the transition of CM?
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It is necessary to start solids at 6 months because of the depletion of iron stores. Does your baby not yet show any interest in solids? Get a baby blender and puree some carrot or broccoli or a banana. Have fun!
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:-))
20 yrs ago
Blimey, if you have been exclusively feeding expressed milk for nearly 6 months that must have been tiring - you have to make time to express the milk and bottle feed as well. That's dedication.
I also exclusively breastfed for 6 months as is the current recommendation, which means no other food sources. But it was another 4 months before my baby started to eat solids in substantial enough quantities for her to reduce her breastmilk intake. That depends on the baby obviously - some take faster to solids than others.
Opinions vary on iron requirements - La Leche League say that the baby's iron stores should last much more than 6 months, but many medical sources say iron supplements are necessary after 6 months. It may depend on how good your baby's iron stores were at birth: premature babies, twins, babies of vegetarian mothers (don't know what other possible categories there are) may have lower iron stores than other babies. Doctors tend to recommend iron (in food, formula milk or iron drops) from 6 months just to make sure, because it is essential for your baby's brain development.
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Thanks :-)) it has been full on doing EBF but i really wanted her to have BM and i had a latch problem so after 6 weeks of trying BF i had to go to EBF which was the best thing for both of us! I am glad to see that it is the right/best thing to do starting solids at 6mths i will get started on the preperation. So:-)) are you still giving your bubs BM along with solids and how many feeds of BM did your bubs have a day?
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Sorry Perthites--just noticed you'd asked how many milk feeds mine was having. She's 3(!) now, so it's a bit hard to remember, but she continuted on about every 3 hrs for a good while after starting with solids. Her milk consumption didn't drop much as she took her sweet time developing any real appetite for solids.
In retrospect, I probably should have moved much more slowly with her....first just BM on a spoon, then when that was fun, thicken it just a wee bit with some rice cereal, then thicken it a bit more....So many of her friends were chowing down everything in sight, but, as I see now with the benefit of knowing her longer, she warms up slowing to most new things, food was just one of my earliest opportunities to see that.
Have you checked Gina Ford's schedules? She's useful as a guideline anyway, even if you aren't strictly following her feed/nap schedules.
Btw, I think it's tremendous that you've continued expressing and exclusively BF. It's a bigger commitment on your part, and a wonderful gift to your daughter. So good for you :-) How did the trip to the UK go? (and not to hijack your thread)
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Exclusively breastfed means no other food or drink but breastmilk. Health experts now agree it is best to wait until your baby is around 6 months before offering solids. An exclusively breastfed baby will take between approximately 700 and 1000ml per 24 hours.
If your baby is growing well and thriving on breastmilk you can continue exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Introduction of solids and iron fortified cereals with continued breastfeeding (through the first year), is recommended at around 6 months due to the decreasing iron stores in your baby.
Well Baby Clinic - 2849 1500
Matilda International Hospital
Hong Kong
http://www.matilda.org
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Hi my thoughts, thanks for your support. Yes the EBF is definatly a commitment getting up at 2-3am to express when my baby has been sleeping thru since 6weeks is frustrating but i wouldn't have it any other way. I really want her to have whats best and there isn't a day that goes by that i resent my decsion, i love her dearly and she is thriving and i know thats b/c of the BM.
I will check the GF book for her advice on solids and from what i've read i know the right thing to do is introduce solids at 6mths. I will remember the spoon technique you mentioned f i'm having problems.
The trip to the UK went really well on the way over we left at night aand arrived in the morning so it fited with her normal sleeping pattern and so the transition was easy on the way back however it was a different story. After about a week she settled down well and really it was only a few crys at 3am that kept us all up. Sh has been back to sleeping the whole night 7.30pm to 7.30am. I'm very lucky. This morning i went in and she was on her tummy so i might be the one getting no sleep now!
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mrsl
20 yrs ago
Pertites, I must say that is impressive. I am impressed that a breastfed baby could sleep so well so early on, but moreover expressing all that time!!! I thought that basic breastfeeding was a commitment, but not a patch on what you have done!!! Do you mind if I ask which pump you used?
On the tummy thing; if she is 6 months old, she'll be fine. I tried everything to get mine back onto their backs, but the paediatricians calmed me down saying that if they were strong enough to roll over that I should relax and let them sleep (and try to get some sleep myself).
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Hi mrsl thanks so much for your positive comments. I ended up full time expressing as i had a latching problem and so gave up the BF then and then swapped. It was the best thing i did my daughter settled right down i was less stressed and tired ( i was feeding every hour!)
At first i started with the Avent manual then when i started expressing full time i got the Avent electronic pump. As i was pumping every few hours and getting up in the early hours of the morning i went and then got the Avent double pump and thank goodness i did. I ordered it off the Aussie Avent website it was aroud $750.00 but i've more than got my moneys worth and it is so quiet and quick.
My daught isn't quite 6mths yet she is only 19weeks so not sure if i should relax just yet. We have a special matteress with holes in it which is to help Prevent SIDS but i usually put her on her tummy during the day so as she prefers her tummy and i can check on her but sometimes after she's just gone off to sleep i go in and see that she's fallen asleep with her face flat against the mattress. B/c of this i worry about her now she can turn by herself (at night i put her on her back)I know she has great head control and can lif her head very high but b/c of the aboved mentioned i'm worried.
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Hi Perthites,
I too have had the same problem with BF. This is my second baby, the first one took to BF like a duck to water and I had no problems at all but this new baby the whole thing was so stressfull, everytime she breastfed she became very stressed and it sounded like she was an aircraft taking off with all the air she was sucking in and then of course she would scream for hours because she had a tummy ache. Anyway, I just wanted to post this as i am expressing as well - unfortunately not exclusively but she is getting about 75% BF and around 25% formula.... It really is hard work but I agree it is worth making the effort. I have been using the Medela electric portable pump and have found it to be very good but I may try the Avent as perhas the Medela is the reason I can only pump 75% rather than 100%. BTW new baby is only 2 months and I really want to try to keep it up till at least six months. It is also interesting that your baby likes to sleep on her tummy as this has been a big problem with the new baby - I just can't get her to sleep on her back.... First baby had no problems at all but thhis one really likes to sleep on her tummy.. I have one of those monitors that monitor their breathing and have not had any problems with it and have found it to give me quite a bit of piece of mind... But I do still WORRY!!!!!!!! Also I have elevated her cot so that if she is on her back she is not flat - It is not 100% working but it is slightly better and she does sleep slightly longer with her head elevated. Anyway, good luck with the Expressing... and don't visit any dairy farms for a while..........
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meant to encourage you with this Perthites -
My sister in law expressed her milk for two of her children for a YEAR. She worked fulltime and managed to give them EBF and I was truly impressed. She never gave up on it and was thrilled to do it.
Her third she wasn't able to for health reasons, but if she had the chance she would have for that one...
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kudos to moms on EBM when bf didn't work out!!!
i wished i was emotionally stronger in the first few weeks after pregnancy and switched to EBM instead of caving in to formula. the day after i delivered, i found out that i had short nipples which made it tough for baby to latch on. the entire week became tearful and tiring struggling with a very hungry baby, nipple shields and finally, a breast infection. if i was not so teary/depressed then, i should have thought of expressing - but the silly me had thought i would have zero problems breastfeeding so all we had was a pathetic manual pump....at that moment, formula seemed on easy then.
3 months on, i still regret my decision but i can't do anything about it with my baby. i only hope i have no exposed him to more diseases in future as i know breastmilk is full of antibodies. hopefully with no. 2 next time, i'll be more confident and try again - who knows breastfeeding might work out!
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RiceT
20 yrs ago
Perthites - I had seen several of your posts back when you were trying to conceive, and so I'm extra happy for you. : )
I exclusively bf until 6mos 1week, then gave babe a teaspoon of rice cereal, and then when she wasn't interested, stopped again for 2 or 3 weeks, and then started some more here and there. I got a booklet from LaLeche about starting solids (I had heard about the iron depletion and was concerned.) and LLL said it was absolutely fine for a baby to BF exclusively even through 9 months if babe is thriving. My babe is doing fine with that and didn't show much interest in our food at all, so I've been going slowly with her.
Now at 9 months, she's still having a few teaspoons here and there, probably every other evening or so, so that we introduce her to various tastes, etc.. We're going slowy too since there are allergies in the family.
Since she doesn't have more than 1-3 teaspoons worth still, she bf about every 3-4 hours (more time in between if she's busy. ;) still too, but does go longer without bf'ing in the night...sometimes 7 hours, etc.. She's been great, big, happy, and any wellbaby checks have gone...well :).
:-)) I was encouraged by your post too. It's good to hear that others have been in a similar boat with starting solids but them not really taking off until later...months later. ;)
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