Attachment Parenting

I am new to this board. I never really thought of myself as AP but from everything I read and see that others do I think I lean much more towards AP then away from it.

A little about myself....I am a SAHM with 4 children ages 11, 9, 7 and 5 3/4 months and a dh who travels frequently. Samantha was born on April 14 and will be 6 months next week. She is a very happy sweet baby. Many people have commented about how happy and content she is and I think that is in large part due to AP. She is BF. I used to pump but haven't had the time to do that in months so I am the only one that is able to feed her. I LOVE BFing her. This is the first child I was able to BF and am just so thrilled about it.

I started her on baby food 2 weeks ago. (I thought babies were supposed to start solids by 6 months of age but now I am not so sure that information is correct?) It seems like Samantha is struggling with eating now that I started her on solids. She barely opens her mouth when being fed her baby food. She prefers to suck it off the spoon. She'll open her mouth every 10 bites or so but besides that I sometimes feel like I am forcing her to eat. She seems to enjoy the food and will even try to grab for it if I am not feeding her fast enough but she just doesn't open her mouth for it?

She also is struggling some with BFing now. She pulls, thrashes and grunts when trying to BF. I am wondering if my milk supply has slowed down since she has started solids?

She used to STTN at 3 months old but then we went to the beach and her whole schedule got mixed up and she has not STTN since. She goes ot bed around 8pm, sleeps till 12am, nurses, goes back down at 12:15am, sleeps till 4am, nurses, goes back down at 4:15 am and sleeps till 6:15 am when she wakes for the day. Is this 'normal' at her age? I know a lot of friends and family are on me about her not STTN. It really doesn't bother me though as long as I am not creating bad sleep habits for her. Is there anything I should be doing or am doing wrong with her sleeping?

I look forward to being on this board and getting to know everyone!

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hi!

WHO says to start feeding solids after the 6 month point which is what most pediatricians follow these days. i live overseas, however, and here they tell parents to start at 4 months.

i just got my first AP books (yay) and what i read in the Baby Book by Dr. Sears is that if a baby is closing their mouth or turning their head, they might not be wanting to eat it. maybe she wants to eat something different? or maybe not hungry? what food are you giving her? my LO hates veggies but if i puree some avocado with banana he opens his mouth for the next bite before i even get the spoon back in the bowl!

when i first started solids with my LO i made the mistake of replacing one feed of bm with solids and my supply dropped. to fix my supply i gave up solids for 3 days and then i tried solids again but this time with a different approach. i bf him first and then give him some solids afterwards.

as for STTN, all babies are different and you cant expect them to STTN by a certain age because sometimes they go through phases of waking up. my lil guy STTN from 8 weeks old until 3 weeks ago and now he wakes up 2-3 times/ night. sleep patterns just change sometimes (unfortunately :-p).

Hi Callie,

Welcome. I would always nurse before solids. Right now they are just to taste. BM should be primary until the first year. Here is a good link on solids from kellymom,com which is the best BFing site out there: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html

And here's another: http://www.mother-2-mother.com/samplemenus.htm

As for STTN, totally normal! Its more normal imho to not STTN and it can be protective against sids. Here is another link with some stats that will put you at ease: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

I would stop the solids for now, get the nursing back on track and then slowly resume solids if she seems ready.

Well, the first thing that came to mind was baby-led weaning. Basicaly, we feed Isabella what we're having (doctored as necessary so she's not getting a lot of sodium). We put it on the high chair tray and she's free to eat or not as she chooses. No purees or baby food. Here's a couple of little vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVBdMDl4RXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV0Xtdhhc0c

And an article: http://www.askmoxie.org/2008/02/qa-baby-led-wea.html

It's great because I don't have to force her to eat and she looooves being able to feed herself. By the time she was 7 months, she was downing Indian and Thai like nobody's business. :) And the nice thing is, my suppy hasn't been touched. We didn't start out with 3 solid meals a day either; just once or twice a day I'd offer. If she ate, great, if not, no problem.

Do you think that perhaps your period is coming back or you could be pregnant? Either of those are also reasonable explanations for her behavior at the breast. You can also do breast compressions to help get your milk down and out faster. That usually works for Isabella. :)

In regards to STTN, she sounds totally normal, especially for a breast-fed baby. It takes about 90 minutes for your milk to digest, so waking up at night is common. In fact, most babies really don't sttn at an early age unless forced to do so. I'm hoping that our next child thinks early STTN is a great way to separate him or herself from his older sister, lol! You are NOT creating bad sleep habits, but you are meeting your child's needs.

And congrats on your breastfeeding relationship so far! That is great!!! And it sounds like it's really worked out for you too. Woohoo!

Welcome to the wonderful world of AP. So gad that you found your way here.

Loral

 

don't forget your purpose...

 

 

 

 

She is eating sweet potatos, carrots, apples and peaches. She loves the food most of the time but she has never been one to every open her mouth. She does seem bored or not interested at times too. I forgot about avocado. I will have to get some for her.

I did read that you should bf first then give solids after wards. I figured she would never be hungry for solids if I did it that way but it makes sense. How much did your little one eat at 6 months? Is it possible to over feed them?

I will have to start nursing her first them offering her solids. I do not want to ruin BFing since we both enjoy it so much.

I am not too concerned about her STTN. I am more worried about creating bad sleep habits for her with nursing her every time she wakes. We have tried rocking and a few other things and nothing else every works.