Breastfeeding at 15 months...

[roadlesstravelled]

Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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I'm still BFing my son who is 15 months old, and it's mostly 3 feeds a day, and then 2 overnight feeds. I'd like to get more solids into him (currently he has a good breakfast and dinner, but only grazes for lunch.) I figured I would cut out the BFs during the day. I'm not really sure. Or do you think I don't really have a cause for concern and to let things be? Wondering what other breastfeeding mums have done when their little one was around my son's age... how many breastfeeds a day etc.

Many thanks.

[marchbean]

Re: Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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Personally I wouldnt cut down if he was having two good meals a day. Toddlers do tend to graze so that sounds normal. Are you offering some snacks too? Maybe write down what he eats over a few days, you might be surprised how much it adds up to.

At 15 mths ds was having probably about 8-10 feeds in 24 hours. He was pretty much feeding every 2-3 hrs overnight and every 3-4 hours during the day.

Recently we nightweaned and his solids have not really increased, he sometimes has quite a good breakfast but the rest of the day is hit and miss. So cutting down breastfeeding doesnt always mean an increase in solids.

I think if you and bubs are happy, and everything is going well, I wouldnt change your routine

[Emily33]

Re: Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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My DD is 22mo and I'm BFing a lot. I've never counted the number of feeds she has so I can't be sure. But I'd say at least 5 day feeds and a few over night (sometimes none and when she's a bit sick every few hours). She grazes on solids. Sometimes she'll eat more but she is in charge. I'm not concerned - though it has challenged me as I haven't watched other babies fed on demand til this age. I'm not intending to stop either. When she is ready to eat more solids she will. I also did Baby Led transition to solids so this is part of this. However I did exclusively BF for the first year - while her immune system was developing - and only introduced solids at 12monts.

Are you enjoying BFing? Or are you just concerned about his nutrition?

I think for me this food subject presses my buttons at times because when I was a kid food and emotions were so closely tied. It made my mother so happy if I ate and she got upset if I didn't or wasted food and was constantly reminded what was good for me. I've just got to let DD do her thing - as I truly believe she knows what she needs to consume, in the same way she has been in charge of BFing - and when these feelings arise talk to someone about them.

[Amanda.R]

Re: Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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I wouldn't cut them out either, nutritionally I think if they still are breastfeeding it dosn't matter if they are eating a little less as they get so much goodness from it. Also if you start cutting feeds out you need to be prepared that your supply could drop a lot.
Thats just my opinion though, I bf for 3 years and 3 months and let him self ween, it was great to still have the milk supply when he was sick and not eating.
I never really stressed about how much solids he ate as long as it was healthy food as I think their little bodies know how much they need, over feeding children can actually lead to obisity later in life as they loose the ability to tell when they have had enough.
I don't think you have any cause for concern, if you are suppling him with a choice of healthy food and breast milk just trust that he knows how much he needs.

[~twiddlebug~]

Re: Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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Sounds pretty average to me! My DS3 is 14 months, feeds numerous times through the day and night and is probably getting around 10% of his calories from solids. He'll have a little breakfast, snack through the day and have a mini dinner.

At the same age my DS2 was getting more than 50% of his calories from solids. They vary so much!

[Greenmama2AJ]

Re: Breastfeeding at 15 months...

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I agree - no need to wean for nutrition.

If you want to bulk up his calories from solids try focussing on healthy proteins.
My DS has always been a light eater and was a feather weight for a while. He is very active - walked early and runs everywhere! I hated all of the advice to bulk up low weight babies with fatty foods, but my DS really needed some extra cal's, he was skinny.

I did some research and discovered the benefits of proteins (beans, lentils, cheese, dairy, eggs, meats etc). A small amount of protein will provide plenty of nutrition and build muscle and bone, not fat. It's the perfect solution for grazers who need to maximise calories. A few cubes of cheese, half an egg, some baked beans etc all fill up little tummies - important when your LO doesn't eat much.

So keep nursing and just offer some small protein based snacks through out the day