Bf for 13 mths baby

E

eva

Registered User
Can any experienced moms out there tell me how much and how often do they breastfeed their LO after 1 yr old?
Are 3 sessions (one morning session, one 7:00pm and one before sleep 9:30pm) enough for a 13 mths old baby? Plus one lunch + dinner solids, one snack time usually of fruits during the day. I stopped pumping reserve for her, is that OK ? Or should I go back and pump some for her to drink since she has no milk at all during the day.

I am a bit worried as baby has not put on much weight for the past 2 MONTHS !! although she seems fine and energetic at times.

Planning to bf until she gives up herself, is that gonna happen ? I mean is she going to not want her milk anymore eventually ?

Pls give me some insight !
Thanks !:bfeeding
 
I wouldn't worry. A 13 month old knows how to tell you they are hungry. Mine walks up to the fridge, opens it and tries to reach for what he wants!

The fact that your daughter hasn't put on weight in a couple of months is not unusual at her age. Once they're a toddler weight gain slows down.They are so mobile that they burn up a lot of energy. Ours (at 14 months) has just started putting on weight again but he stopped for at least 2 or 3 months. We give two to three bottles a day, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks!

You might actually need to increase the amount of food you are giving her but not necessarily the amount of milk.
 
Hi

I agree with aussiegal that she's probably getting enough milk. Of course, if you want to offer her one more feed during the day, you could do. I'm not sure that you'd need to pump; if you put her on the breast, the milk should be there and your body will adjust over a few days/weeks to make more.

At that age, my LO was bf twice a day and I dropped the third bf in favour of cow's milk from 12 months. You can freely supplement your breastmilk with cow's milk at 13 months.

HTH
 
i think 3 times is sufficient. you might want to add a meal of solid for breakfast, though. if you use your milk to mix cereal than youo probably need more reserve. & if you do feed her bf in the bottle & don't plan to supplement with formula, i would suggest you get some reserve for the freezer.

i used to nurse my 13 mths old, upon waking, once a nap time, once at bedtime & once in the middle of the night (she'd wake up and ask for milk). eventually she dropped the waking up one. if you plan to wean her by herself, it depends on your child. my friend's girl wean herself at one year old. there are toddlers who nurse until 4, and need a weaning party. so we can't really tell which kind your baby is. you can ask LLL leader to borrow some books regarding weaning your baby just to give you an idea. i read 2 which were very good but i forgot the names.
 
Thank you for the introduction, Joanne.
I would recommend the following books:

1. How Weaning Happens, LLLI
This book includes the personal experiences of mothers who have weaned in a variety of ways. It covers the kinds of questions parents have about natural weaning, explains how weaning can be accomplished at various ages, what to do if weaning is necessary for medical reasons, how to handle pressure from others, how mothers feel about weaning, and what to do if weaning isn't going well. Above all, it reassures parents that weaning is a natural developmental process.

2. Mothering your Nursing Toddler, Norma Jane Bumgarner
Practical, reassuring, informative, and supportive book for the mother of a nursing toddler. Emphasizes meeting child's needs. Discusses importance of breastfeeding relationship, natural weaning, temporary changes in lifestyle, society's expectations vs. child's and family's needs.

3. Nursing Mothers Guide to Weaning, Kathleen Huggins & Linda Ziedrich
Explores all aspects of weaning beginning with an historical survey of weaning practices and ending with weaning a child over three and life after weaning. Discusses reasons for weaning as well as reasons to delay weaning; offers practical and helpful advice that respects the needs and feelings of both mother and child.

LLL in Hong Kong has these books available to members in the library. If you are interested in this book please contact either:
Sarah ? 2548-7636 in Mid-levels or
Maggie ? 2817-7475 in Happy Valley
or [email protected]

For meeting details please check out our web site at www.lllhk.org

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
u're welcome Sarah ;). i am so forever grateful for LLL, i never hesitate to recommend you guys!!!

eva, i read no. 1 & no. 3, both are beautifully written books & it's a lovely way to understand other breastfeeding mothers' experience.
 
btw, my personal experience:

i started replacing the midnight feed with formula at 12 mths. at 13 mths i replaced the morning feed with formula, i nursed her at naptime 10am & 2pm, at bedtime 5oz formula with breast topup. at 14 mths, i replaced afternoon nap with formula. at 15mths, i replaced morning nap with formula. once in a while, when she hurt herself or was upset, she'd tug my shirt & i'd nurse her until she settled. at 15 mths i started planning i had to wean her cos i had to leave her for 1 week at 16 mths & didn't want to express anymore. and i was struggling cos i didn't want to wean her yet. so i called LLL leaderMaggie & talked to her. she recommended those 2 books. i bought them instead of borrowing from the library cos i wanted to take my time reading them. i was contemplating whether or not to wean her while reading these 2 books. as i have finished reading these books & finally decided not to wean her & bring her to the trip with me, she weaned herself.

what i'm trying to say is, i think my daughter feels that i wanted to wean her, and hence she weans herself. since i'm already giving her formula for most part, i think she's getting comfort more than nutrition from me. 2 mths after she weaned herself, every time i asked her if she wants mommy's ni-ni (mommy's milk), she'd ignore me as if she doesn't understand. now when i ask her (she's now 2), she says no, but smiles. but when she sees my breasts now, (i've been hiding them from her since she weaned) she breaks into her biggest grin & says "ni-ni!!!" and grabs my breasts. so i think she had a good weaning experience & i'm happy i chose to let her wean.
 
Thanks so much for everyone 's reply. Will definitely look up the books and read them first. What are the usual breakfast treats for bb coz I always give cheerios and she's a bit tired of it. won't take any bread nor yoghurt either.... running out of choice here.
 
Bty, Kashismum, when you say cow's milk, do you mean formula or normal adult whole milk like Dairy Farm?
 
Thanks Joanne!
For sharing your wonderful experience, it makes me smile....
I hope my weaning will happen as smooth as yours.
 
eva said:
Bty, Kashismum, when you say cow's milk, do you mean formula or normal adult whole milk like Dairy Farm?
Click to expand...

I give my LO "normal adult whole milk like Dairy Farm". I just prefer the idea of giving her a naturally occurring substance rather than a synthetic one. She was breastfed for 16 months, so I didn't see the need to switch to formula at that stage.:bfeeding

And, I just asked my doctor about the choice between brands and she's of the opinion that Dairy Farm and the others you can buy in PnS and Wellcome are fine.
 
I had a different experience to Joanne with weaning. When I started to put pressure on my daughter to wean she definitely sensed it and seemed to need to nurse more. When I relaxed and decided that we were pushing weaning too much she also relaxed and needed to feed less.

The best thing about breastfeeding a toddler was the ability to let her ?touch base?. I call touching base having a minute long breastfeed. This is clearly not for the food she gets but for the comfort. As she moved towards being more independent it seemed that every now and then she needed to come back to me. Thus as she ventured into more things she actually started having more feeds but most were only a minute or two long.
 
eva, you can try toast fingers (light brown toast cut in strips); rice cereal (baby ones) mixed with fresh grated apples; oatmeal (by itself or mixed with mashed bananas).
 
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