Solids
Given who reads this blog (you know who you are!) I feel like I shouldn't write that I'm somewhat frustrated with nursing. But I am. And I'd like help.
I came across this article about baby-led solids introduction and it made a bit of sense. Maybe I'll try giving John big pieces of food which he can bite pieces off of if he desires. The foods we've had the most success with are cheerios and the dissolve-in-your-mouth super-processed stars, which, of course, John feeds to himself. Maybe John would grow to like banana if he could feed it to himself?
Is there a way to let a one-year-old feed yogurt to himself without needing to hose him off afterwards?
When I started out on this journey, I thought it would be hard to get John to nurse for a long time. Dan's mom says Dan "weaned" himself at 7 months (right, Janet?) and I thought it would be a task to discourage John from doing the same. Yet, John is nearly one and eating, tops, 40 calories solids per day.
Why am I frustrated? Is it cultural? I try not to tell people about John's nursing habits unless I know them quite well and I skirt the question when people ask about solids. My "birth-pal" and close friend is in the process of totally weaning her son who is four days younger than John. Certainly, my frustration is partly cultural.
It certainly isn't economic! Nursing is probably about as economical as it gets!
It is health-related, to some extent. I wonder if my joint issues could be caused by breastfeeding hormones. Afterall, joints loosen during pregnancy. Maybe mine just haven't tightened up fully again?
We took a very hands-off approach to John's stiff neck, believing it would become stretched out as he grew up. Instead, it caused the deformation of his skull and John is now old enough to fight against neck stretches. Maybe if we had done neck stretches from the first weeks when we noticed it, we could have avoided the long term consequences. What I learned from that is to be more proactive about John's care.
Any encouragement for a somewhat discouraged nursing mama? Ah. Maybe I should have expected to EBF for a full year. Then this would just seem normal.
posted by emily @ 8:37 AM
2 Comments:
Sorry I'm not smart enough to figure this out--are you trying to KEEP nursing, or trying to wean? It sounded like you were trying to keep nursing. I don't really have advice since I'm still in utero; but you sort of go with what baby is ready for...if you were deperate to wean, then I guess what other moms do is just stop nursing and start feeding food...?
Hi Emily!
First, NO. There is NO WAY to keep a toddler clean while s/he is ingesting yogurt. Just so you know. :-)
I know I mentioned before how I worried about Petra, who would eat maybe a bit more solids than John but not much more, until she was about 11 months old, and then suddenly by her first birthday she was eating proper meals. I would imagine age at thinking solids are cool varies VERY widely from child to child, and John just happens to be way later than average. I think most of the guidelines are based on formula fed infants that had to start solids earlier to get enough nutrition? Just a guess. Because all the "this is what baby should be eating daily by 10-12 months" info made me feel like I must be a terrible mother - there was NO WAY Petra would eat all the things on the lists. And I worried that I was malnourishing her. So, just so you know, I've felt like this (maybe not as much so, but somewhat). And now, she seems to have weaned herself, and I miss her little warm body cuddled next to mine in the early mornings...
Don't feel bad about being frustrated. You don't know anyone else who has a baby John's age who's still almost exclusively nursing, and very few people around you understand what you're doing. That is frustrating. La Leche League notwithstanding, there aren't that many people who don't try to wean by 1 year of age. And he's still nursing a LOT, I imagine... Is there a local La Leche League group where you could link up with other moms of toddlers who are still nursing? Knowing you're not alone might really help. They may be able to give you some advice other than just, "wean him". Also, what does your pediatrician think? (BTW, the article you linked to made a lot of sense - we may try that with babe #2).
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