During my time becoming a new mommy, I felt there was good book resources out there, but at times I have felt like I needed to know more on the "real life" part of it! Having limited friends and family that had become mothers I used to browse the internet looking for others that might be going through similar things... below I have some real life tips/experiences that I hope can helps others that might also be looking. Below I have tried to summarize what worked best for my daughter and I, however, please keep in mind this is for informational purposes only.
But first... here are a few MUST HAVE items for nursing (and pumping) mommies:
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, by Ellyn Satter.
http://www.ellynsatter.com/physical-products-books-child-of-mine-feeding-with-love-and-good-sense-p-786.html
"Covers breast feeding, bottle-feeding, learning to eat grownup food, and normal
growth from infancy through preschool."
A GREAT resource that encourages the Division of Responsibility (parents choose what, when and where, children choose how much and if they eat at all- in reference to food). We have practiced this model with my daughter and she has so far responded very well to it. Now I am just trusting in the model to allow her to be a more intuitive eater as she gets older.
Pump Ease- allows for hands free pumping by simply strapping over any nursing bra
http://www.snugabell.com/
Any mom who has tried pumping and feel tied down with your wrist aching MUST try this!! After I purchased mine, I never wanted to pump without it and wondered why it was not more mainstream.
Now... my experience with breastfeeding
We know there are many great advantages for both mom and baby from breastfeeding and I had a personal goal to breastfeed my new baby for at least a year (and then we would go from there). I felt anxious, yet prepared as my upcoming duty to be able to provide the sole source of nutrition to my baby for the first 6 months and then to be a needed supplement for 6+ more months. I read up on some great resources (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, books by Ellyn Satter) and took a class on breastfeeding to ensure that I would feel totally prepared. However, during my days at home (when I felt energized enough) I wanted to find more real life schedules/routines of other mommies rather than a "book" response.
Month 1
Simply survive!! My daughter was a very good sleeper and not a good weight gainer in the beggining. Therefore, her pediatrician wanted me to feed her every 2-3 hours- 24/7. Especially tough at night... but we made it. I tried to feed her ~10-12 times per day. My doctor also had me pump after my daughter would nurse and then give her that bottle. This likely also helped build up my milk supply since she was not obtaining a full feeding herself.
Month 2-3
Weight gain was more on track at this time and I quit pumping after feeding. I also went down to only 8 feeds per day, averaging a feed every 2-4 hours. Wanting her growth to remain steady, I would wake her or offer a feed at ~4 hours if she had not nursed yet. Here is a sample 48 hours of feedings: 2am, 5am, 9am, 1:45pm, 5 pm, 6:45pm, 8:45pm, 11pm-- 3am, 6:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm, 10:30pm....
3 1/2 months
I had read the BabyWise book and really liked some of the principles. I wanted my daughter on a schedule, yet if she seemed hungry early I would just adapt my "schedule" as I never wanted her to go hungry. A schedule was nice for us, however, because I had to go back to work (let me know set times to pump) and I felt that it helped up know her needs better (was it time to eat or sleep? or is she simply board?) So, for the first ~3 months I simply fed her every 2-3 hours. Yet after I went back to work, I started having a set "time" in the AM to begin our day. I picked 7am. Why? Because this time was not too early for the weekends (as opposed to starting feeding at 6am) and it still allowed me enough time to get to work at 8am. We also cut down to 7-8 feeds per day at this time. Now there were days she woke up before 7am... I simply fed her at that time and adapted the schedule for that day. For example, an ideal day feedings: 7am, 10:15am, 1:15pm, 4pm, 7pm, 9pm, 10:45pm-- 7am, etc. However, if she woke up at 6am- I fed her, then my schedule went as such: 9:30am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 1030pm and then if she slept until 7am again we would be back on schedule.
Month 4
By the fourth month we were on a really good schedule of: 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm. My daughter, who as always been a great sleeper, was also sleeping through the night consistently at this time. Now, if we went out of town or our schedule was a little off one day, the reality is that you adapt... I never wanted my daughter to feel hungry and that I would not feed her until "it was time". Babies are great at asking for food when they are hungry and if you add in an extra feeding for a few days it might be just a growth spurt or your baby wanting more bonding time with their mommy. Reguardless, a nursing mother is the main source of nutrition and should be available as needed!
Month 5-6
At this time feeding went down again to 6 times a day most days, occationally 5 times a day. Around 5 1/2 months she acted like she needed more sleep at night which is why I would only get 5 feeds in a day: 7am, 10:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm, 8pm, then again 9-9:30 with 6 feeds a day. I eventually cut out the last feeding when going to 5 feedings per day.
Month 6
We finally started solids!! Rice cereal at first- 4 tablespoons with pumped breastmilk twice a day. I always nursed her first and then offered solids as breastmilk was still a main source of nutrition for her.
Month 7
We cut down to only 5 feeds per day with cereal at "lunch" and cereal + fruit or vegetable at "supper". These "meal" times were spaced between breastfeeding times at ~12:20pm and 7 pm. I also let my daughter be the guide on amounts... if she acted full, then we were done. Never force your child to eat "until their food is gone". The are a better indicator than a "standard serving size" for the amount of food they need.
Month 8
We were still having 5 feeds per day. At work I was pumping twice and getting about 8-10 oz per day. She was still having 2 solid feeds per day about 12:30pm and 7pm now with 1/4 cup cereal (barley or rice) and a fruit with lunch and a vegetable with supper. I first had them seperate with breatmilk in the cereal, yet later started adding the fruit/vegetable to the cereal as well.
Month 9
Continued with 5 feeds per day, yet I was only pumping ~8 oz total at work. The doctor also suggested starting 3 solid feeds per day and introducing dry "O" cereal and more chopped foods. We didn't quite start that immediately as she did not seem hungry enough...
However, after she began crawling at 9 1/2 months, she then began eating more. She would occationally have cereal + 2 servings of vegetables at supper. I also started soft solids- mashed peas, finely diced apples, yet she mainly picked at them as her pureed foods were the main source of solid foods.
Month 10
She was getting better at moving around and began eating more of what mom and dad had for supper, yet mashed/diced. Her eating schedule now looked like this: AM feed (7am), AM snack, breastmilk that I was pumping (less than 8 oz at this time), lunch, bottle of formula (as much as I wanted to supply all she needed, I wasn't making enough milk for her needs), PM snack, supper at 6pm and then breastfeeding at night. Still pumping 2 times at work.
Month 11-12
Breastfeeding on the weekends 4 times a day while eating 2 snacks, lunch and supper. Sample schedule: 7am feeding, 9:30am snack, 10:30 pumped milk (4-6 oz), 12:30 lunch (occationally ate just small amounts or skipped), 2:30 formula (4-6 oz), 3:30 snack, 5:30 feeding (became shorter and shorter- maybe 5 min...), 6pm supper, and then 8pm feeding (also shorter and shorter- her longest feeding was in the morning which is why she only had AM snack, not a big breakfast).
Month 12+
Celebration!! I had completed my goal of breastfeeding for 12 months... I then decided to continue feeding her until she was ready to stop. I slowly cut down to pumping only once at work, yet totally stopped pumping after I was getting only 1-3 oz at a session (not enought for one bottle). We also started whole milk at this time which thankfully she transitioned easily to. My daycare was also great at getting her switched from the bottle to a sippy cup. We slowly worked down to only have feeding sessions at 7am and ~7:45 pm, right before she went to bed. At about 14 months, I cut out the bedtime feeding (she was only nursing for 1-2 minutes max) and only days later she was no longer interested in the AM feed... she had discovered mom's cereal! She now likes to eat like a "big girl" in her highchair in the morning and soggy Chex or Quaker Squares are her favorite.
Living a healthier life is always a work in progress.
