Pediatrician's Advice

[@llli*heavnlyblessed]

I just left my DD's 12m checkup and I don't know what to think. Her doctor said that DD may not be eating solids because she is filling up on breastmilk so I should cut back because she should be getting her calories from solid food now. She told me to also start giving her a multivitamin with iron and to transition her to her crib so the night nursings stop. I'm a first time mom and I feel like everyone I know is giving me the same advice as my doctor. I offer her solids as often as possible but she just doesn't seem interested, is it possible that she is filling up with too much breastmilk? After that appointment I feel like I'm doing everything wrong...

[@llli*aphimama]

Is the pediatrician concerned about weight gain? Are you interested in night weaning or is it just the pediatrician pushing for it?

[@llli*yoginimama]

I agree with the above questions. Are you worried about her weight gain? Is she meeting milestones? Does the night nursing bother you?

In truth, my daughter didn't really eat many solids until she was closer to 16 months. Do other babies eat more solids sooner? Sure. I also think that many formula fed babies eat more solids sooner. But have you ever tasted or smelled formula? Who can blame them?

In short, if you wanted to gain weight - would you drink a whole bunch of milkshakes or eat some mushed up carrots? Breastmilk has lots of calories and lots of good fats. There's really no reason you need to do any of what your doctor is suggesting. In my personal opinion, it sounds like the doc is dishing out parenting advice - not medical advice. The doc is probably saying this because some parents ask for advice from the doc on STTN.

If you are doing everything wrong, then millions of moms throughout the centuries must really have been fouling things up. The way you are doing it is how it's been done. The crib, push to STTN early on and bottles are relatively new in the span of human beings. Oh, and if are supposedly doing everything wrong - I did too!

[@llli*heavnlyblessed]

Thanks for the replies, she's been at the 90th percentile for weight since she was a month old! Her doc said that she wasn't concerned about her weight gain because she's been moving right along on her curve and her weight to height ratio is good too. So she's growing just fine but she's concerned that her calories aren't coming from solids. She even suggested seeing a food therapist (didn't even know they had those). Anyway I would like to night wean but honestly, I kind of like cosleeping- I love having her so close but I imagine that's why she's waking up every hour too, pretty sure she's just nursing for comfort though. Sorry if I don't make much sense or this post isn't grammatically correct... Walking through the mall as I type

[@llli*oakdryad5]

with christine. I think the crib transition advice is parenting advice and not medical advice. as such feel free to do whatever you want and what's working for you two in that department. if weight gain is an issue you can focus on adding fattier solid foods (avocadoes) or adding a little olive oil to veggies, that sort of thing.

eta: sorry i just read that its not weight gain. why is she so concerned what calories are coming from where? i'd just be happy solids were being eaten at all and not take away something you know is being accepted (bm) easily and has her thriving, kwim? they all eat solids at different times and some are pickier than others. i'm glad to have bm to fall back on, especially those days when she's teething and wants to eat oh, three crackers and an orange..

[@llli*momtodom09]

Thanks for the replies, she's been at the 90th percentile for weight since she was a month old! Her doc said that she wasn't concerned about her weight gain because she's been moving right along on her curve and her weight to height ratio is good too. So she's growing just fine but she's concerned that her calories aren't coming from solids. She even suggested seeing a food therapist (didn't even know they had those). Anyway I would like to night wean but honestly, I kind of like cosleeping- I love having her so close but I imagine that's why she's waking up every hour too, pretty sure she's just nursing for comfort though. Sorry if I don't make much sense or this post isn't grammatically correct... Walking through the mall as I type

You just answered your own question mama. What matters is what YOU want to do and what feels right to YOU. It's so easy for a pediatrician to shell out advice when they aren't the ones who have to deal with the consequences. Your daughter sounds perfectly fine and I see no reason why you need to see a food therapist. She will eat solids when she's good and ready.

[@llli*aphimama]

I vote go with your instincts, not your pediatrician. Who cares where the calories come from as long as she's growing? I don't get that. I'd keep offering solids, but not make it an issue as long as LO is growing and meeting milestones. Personally I did do a multi-vit because DD1 would not touch solids until almost 18 months and she was in the 3rd percentile. I don't see the harm, but someone else may have advice on that.

And as far as co-sleeping vs. night weaning vs. STTN, you can try night weaning without having to sleep separately (not the easiest) you can try sleeping separately but nursing at wakings (I did this with DD1 because at 9 months it became very obvious that it was me or my husband waking her, and she actually did better on her own - I wanted to keep her with me, but it really did seem that co-sleeping was creating more problems for us than the benefits. But I would nurse when she woke and she would go down quickly or she could come and co-sleep with me sometimes. We used the "wing it" approach to bed in order to get as much sleep as possible).

Really, both of these decisions should be based on you and your LO. If you want to wean, you'll have to start pushing solids. If you're happy nursing, why not stick to that? If you want to co-sleep and enjoy night nursing still, go for it. If you're going nuts with sleep deprivation, your LO is old enough that night-weaning is a viable option. So you have to find your groove. But as PP said, I think your ped was giving parenting advice not medical advice, so I'd let my own mommy instincts trump it.

[@llli*wdsmom]

I know this is kind of off topic, but you can night wean and still co-sleep. Check out Dr. Jay Gordon's site for more details. http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

[@llli*krystine]

Your milk is very nutritious and I would not be concerned. Eventually she'll eat more solids and decrease nursing. Also off topic but we night weaned while co-sleeping. It just meant my husband did more for a few nights but now she's perfectly content to snuggle with me at night without nursing (we did this at 27 mos, she's 31 mos now).

[@llli*mommal]

Rotten advice from the pediatrician.

A lot of advice on sleeping and solids is based on assumptions about what parents want. Most people, and many doctors, assume that moms are eager to wean and desperate to get the baby out of the parental bed. Therefore they advise pushing solids, limiting nursing, and sticking baby in a crib in her own room. There's no medical reason to do any of those things, though. Just cultural reasons. And I pay my doc for advice on medicine and health, not for advice on culture.

It's very normal for babies to continue to be mostly breastfed until well into their second year. Until around the first birthday, breastmilk alone provides sufficient nutrition, and solids are just for fun with new tastes, textures, and motor skills. Around the first birthday, solids become an increasingly important component of the baby's diet, but the transition from needing only mama's milk to needing a ton of solids is a gradual one. You shouldn't expect a baby to suddenly start eating a huge amount of solid food just because she's a year old.

Often the solution to unwanted advice about solids and sleep is to just stop talking about it. When the someone asks "How's baby doing with solids?" you reply "Just great, she really enjoys them!" Of course, that could mean "she really enjoys flinging them against the wall and feeding them to the dog, and once in a while she actually eats some". When someone asks "How is baby sleeping?" you can answer "She sleeps so nicely all night long!" without mentioning that she also sleeps with you and wakes up 5 times to nurse.