*Feeding Baby!*

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I would really like to get some idea of how people feed/fed their children in babyhood. I would love to hear

a) if weaning happened at child's own pace, ( whenever they began reaching out for and eating solid food, etc, with no pressure to stop breast/bottle-feeding ), or whether you actively and in a structured fashion, introduced solids, in order to wean them off milk

b) if you weaned your child at your pace ( ie. so that they completely, or almost, stopped breast/bottle-feeds by 12 months of age ), whether you proposed/"served" the solids before, or after, or instead of, the breast/bottle-feeds, and

c) whether you breast/bottle-fed on demand, ( or nearly ), or stuck to a schedule, based on work demands, other timetables?

I breastfed my son exclusively for first 4 months. It was meant to be on demand but in fact, ( until I realised what I was doing, at around four months ), I tended to unconsciously follow my own mother's clock-feeding rhythm of every 4-6 hours in that if my son cried sooner than 3-4 hours after last feed I had trouble believing/accepting/recognising that this could be for a feed, and would frantically change nappies, rock him, take him outdoors in pushchair, try feeding water, etc before resorting to breastfeeding.

Then I introduced fruit purees and almond-flour mixtures, ( because he was looking thin and peaky ... not surprisingly ), but can't remember whether it was as extras, between feeds, after feeds, or what. It wasn't very organised. At around 8 months he began reaching for and gnawing crusts of bread and other "portable" bits of food, ( unfortunately mostly wheat-based; it took us another year to realise the connection with his increasing diarrheoa ).

When he was a year old I stopped breastfeeding at nights, and his papa would take him a bottle of dilute juice to him when he woke up in the night crying, as he did frequently, sometimes twice a night, ( and which we understood afterwards had been because of the pain in his intestines from the gluten ). He breastfed about three times a day from then until he was about 15 months old. He was gradually eating more and more off our plates/put onto a small plate for him from our meal, but carried on breastfeeding at least once or twice or sometimes more per day until he stopped breastfeeding completely at 20 months.

NB. I was breastfed every 4-6 hours, by the clock, weaned onto solids from 3 months onwards, by feeding me cereals, custard, stewed fruit, chicken soups etc, before being allowed at the breast, and breastfeeding stopped at six and a half months. I would really like to hear from adults about their infant feeding experience too, but realise that most people can't reliably remember this; I only have details because I asked my mother for them years ago, and she had copies of letters she had sent her parents at the time.

I woud really be grateful for any and all replies. Thanks.
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Last edited by ouinon on 24 Apr 2009, 8:55 am, edited 3 times in total.

Baby 1 is my AS child. He was a preemie at 32 weeks. Starting off pumping and bottle feeding while in the NICU and for several weeks after before he could latch on. He was then breastfed until he was 26 months. We tried going back to the bottle, but he just couldn't/wouldn't take it.

We started baby food with him at 6 months, but he didn't take to it very well. We tried small solids like Cheerios and other finger foods and he gagged every time. He was about 18 months before he really started to eat much of anything besides nursing.

He began slowly to cut down his nursing time from then. When he turned two, I was only nursing him at nap and bedtime, and he stopped that a few months later. I'm grateful to have been able to nurse him for so long, first, because it was such a sweet bonding time, and second because I'm positive he'd have had failure to thrive if he hadn't been nursing.

Second baby is NT, born at 36 weeks with no problems. He nursed exclusively for 6 months. He loved the baby foods when introduced. He loved finger foods later. He was always a matter-of-fact nurser. When he was full, he was done! So he weaned himself by 14 months, as he just didn't NEED me for that anymore.

I was formula fed as a baby. My mom gave me cereal at 6 weeks, and progressed from there. I think I was weaned from the bottle at 12 months.

And for the record, I don't think the poll is crude at all.

Thank you! I just edited that out about the poll because the post is already almost too long, but it's nice to know that the poll is ok.

Thank you for all that info. Very interesting.

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I breastfed my sons exclusively (other than some early, doctor recommended supplementation because they were so tiny at birth). We started with rice cereal at the age recommended by our Dr, but gave it after breastfeeding with no intention to wean, just giving them extra calories. They then moved on to pureed fruits and veggies (which they loved!), other types of baby cereals and pureed meats. We introduced each new food separately and carefully, because they were already showing some signs of allergy. I continued to breastfeed each of them on demand. At about a year (if I remember correctly?), I stopped nursing them at night. They seemed ready for this, and I certainly was!! ! By about 1 1/2 they were each down to 2 or 3 feedings a day, with the bedtime feeding being the last one they gave up somewhere around 2 1/2. They were just so "busy" at that age that they couldn't be bothered to lie down and nurse. Too boring! They had trains to play with!

We continued slowly introducing more foods and eventually realized (through an elimination diet for them and me because I was still breastfeeding and RAST testing) that they both had allergies to egg, peanut, tomato, most berries and most legumes (i.e. green peas) of varying degrees of severity. They were showing classic allergy symptoms like hives, vomiting, swelling, eczema, hayfever and asthma. I eliminated these foods from my own and their diets, and they felt much better. And yes we did try an elimination diet for gluten and dairy as well (twice at different ages), but it did not help them.

So to sum up and answer your questions:
a) Weaning happened at their own pace, but solids were introduced in a structured fashion at the recommended ages
b) solids were always served after as secondary to breast milk
c) we had no schedule, I breast fed on demand, but out of necessity when one wanted to nurse it was also offered to the other as well (unless they were asleep). For the first several months of their lives I pretty much did nothing but breastfeed the two of them. It was a very difficult time for me, but I am really proud that I did it.

I was exclusively bottle fed on a schedule as an infant, and weaned at whatever was considered the appropriate age back then.

Thank you very much for that comprehensive account.

I am wondering how prevalent certain feeding "styles/approaches" are nowadays, if it is common for babies to be "actively" weaned still, for instance.

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i bottle-fed all of my kids.....i initially planned to breastfeed, but I was worried that the drugs I was taking for the c-sections would harm my children..i tried to breastfeed once i stopped pain meds, but i was still so sore & postpartum that bottlefeeding was just easier..........all of my kids stopped drinking out of the bottle when they were ready to stop.

I breastfed both of my children until they were around 2 years old. Pretty much on demand during the first year; with rules and limits during the second. As much as I would have loved to nurse them until they gave it up, that wasn't going to happen until who knows when with either of them, and I needed to move on.

I had intended to nurse for the recommended year, but discovered that 12 months old is a dreadfully difficult time to wean a child, and I just couldn't do that to them. At 2, they were much more ready emotionally, if still not willing.

Solids were introduced around 6 months with both.

Bottles were used occassionally all along with both, but mostly with expressed milk.

Both of my kids (6 year old DS is PDD-NOS, 3.5 year old DD is NT) have been breastfed on demand. Both nursed exclusively till around 6 months when I started solid foods as a supplement (not to replace a milk feeding). I nursed all throughout my subsequent pregnancy and tandem nursed both kids for 2 years as well. My oldest weaned at 4.75 years (was down to nursing to sleep for many months before that), and my youngest is still nursing before bed now at 3.5. I am a firm believer in long term nursing as long as it is working for both mother and child. I myself have some spectrumy tendencies and was nursed exclusively for 6 weeks when my mom started rice cereal, then with solid foods till 4 months when she put me on whole cow's milk from a bottle.

I have nursed all my kids on demand for about as long as they wanted to, which was usually about ever 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night. Once I weaned because I got pregnant again and my milk dried up. I am too unorganized to schedule so I just nursed them whenever they were hungry. No solid food till about 12 months... they weren't interested.

To start off I want to say that I have 4 beautiful boys, all but the last were breastfed on demand (introducing solids in time with the pediatric recommended chart) up until 12 months, on their first birthday they were given a sippy cup of milk.

The last baby I nursed until about 7 months, being late twenties my food allergies kicked up to a new level, which is fairly common. When he started foods I didn't take into consideration that he was eating things I was allergic to then transferring them into my blood stream through his mouth on my skin. I would start to have a reaction and feel really bad, and apparently my adrenalin or SOMETHING kicked in and my milk was gross/acidic/tasted off because he would start to scream like mad and refused to eat. So at 7 months right around he started to wean whether I wanted him to or not. My goodness my breasts were soooo sore after that.

If I ever have another and am able, I think I would most likely continue longer at least on the before bed feeding. Probably not past two years. I have a rule, that if you want to nurse you will do it my way, lying across my lap. We shall see though.

I was an exclusively bottle fed baby, my mom thought it was "weird" that people breast fed I guess. After seeing me nurse my children though, she has said that if she ever had another she would try the nursing. (My mom had me pretty early(18 ).[edit]my numbers made smilies!![/edit]

My son, now 11, was born at 32/33 and 2lb 2oz. He was hospitalized for the first three weeks and I had a nurse during the day after he came home for a few weeks who kept threatening to take him away if his weight didn't go up. (Yeah, btw this is a horrible way to treat people. I was horribly, horribly sick which is why he was early, induced and then had a C-section. I was a wreck and they didn't help.)

- I introduced solids on a delayed scheduled as he was delayed. I think 8 mo or so. At first I was real careful, but eventually I was just mashing up what we were eating or chewing it a bit for him. (He hates to hear this now, but it is a very natural thing to do.) I started when he became interesting in what I was eating. Since he was delayed he didn't get top teeth till he was 11 months old which considered with us moving in with my parents and it seemed like a good time to wean. I gave him a sippy cup but still snuggled with him and he wasn't really interested in nursing any more so I think it was rather consensual.

- He ate at meals which I didn't nurse at. I nursed him before meals. So he nursed and then ate what ever he was interested in.

- Since he was in an NICU for the first three weeks there was a very tight schedule. The first few days they were supplemented however I was a champion BFer and quickly stored up a good deal of milk for him to use. At first he was too underdeveloped and weak to nurse so he had a feeding tube. Feeding were added as he got stronger. Once he came home they wanted him on a two hour schedule like he was on at the hospital. I did to try to keep his weight up and I had to wake him up for feedings which seemed soooo wrong, but I did becuase Drs know everything For the first few weeks at home my sis bottle fed alternate feedings him some of the stored up milk. Eventually his weight held up and I got rid of the nurses and we went to a demand schedule.

Does that answer your questions?

Yes, it does. Thank you very much, and everybody else who has been posting. It is absolutely fascinating, and I really appreciate the time people have spent on answering.

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Child #1 - Was an early bird and arrived at 33 weeks. Breastfed exclusively, on demand, until he self weaned at 18 mos. Solids were given later than normally reccommended because it took him longer to catch up to his age/stage. Plus, he was getting what he needed nutritionally from the breast.

Child #2 - Arrived on time, was breastfed exclusively, on demand, until she self weaned at 16 mos. Solids were given later than reccommended because she was getting what needed from nursing.

So with both kids, solids were introduced when she showed an interest in them

DS 1 is my AS kid. I breastfed him until he was ready to stop, which was within days of his 3rd birthday. (Of course, by then, it wasn't all they time, just a comfort thing). I think the taste of the milk must have changed when I got pregnant with his brother, because that's when he stopped.

DS 2 is officially NT, but he has major issues with smells and tastes. I breastfed him, too, but at 11 months, he stopped abruptly because my milk tasted "yucky." That was weird, because I was completely unprepared for him to stop cold turkey like that.

editted to add:

I didn't go by any kind of schedule except in the beginning, with #1, when I was a nervous, new mom.

With #2, in the hospital, the nurses kept coming into my room, holding a chart, and saying, "How many minutes did you nurse him on the left side? How many minutes did you nurse him on the right side?" I'd say, " I don't know. I wasn't looking at a clock, I was enjoying my nice new baby. He nursed for a while and fell asleep, and now here he is, still sleeping." They'd say, "Oh, but you have to nurse him on the LEFT side now!" Puleeze! That worked when I was a new mother with #1, but not this time. They just needed to be able to fill out their silly chart. I wanted to say, "Listen, lady, I nursed my first son for three years. Don't worry, I know how to do it."

I give my ducklings regurgitated bugs.