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Breastfeeding/5 month old having solids 2x's a day

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Expert: - 8/11/2009


Question
I exclusively breast fed my daughter for 5 months. I tried to hold off giving her solids until 6 months, but she no longer seemed satisfied and was trying to eat off of everyone's plate for weeks. I felt it was a good time to start. For the first 5 months, I pumped for her to have bottles of breast milk when I work part time and I nurse her when I am with her. I try to only pump when she takes a bottle of milk when I am away, however, she has been sleeping through the night 8-9 hours now, I'm not complaining about that!!! The issue is that I wake up in so much pain after the 6 hour mark. I try not to pump, but I can't sleep if I don't get the pressure down. What should I do? I want my body to adjust to her needs and I want to get a good nights rest now that she is. She has cereal with bananas in the morning after nursing on both sides I nurse her on demand during the day or Dad gives her bottles, if I'm working and she has cereal at night after nursing on both sides, I bathe her and she usually nurses again briefly before going to sleep for the night. What do you suggest? I'm running out of room in my refrigerator and my freezer for milk storage. Thanks.

Answer
Dear Michelle,

First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her! She certainly gave you cues that she was ready to start with solid foods.

I can appreciate that her sleeping through the night feels like a mixed blessing right now. I would suggest that when you wake up after 6 hours, you pump or hand-express just enough -- and no more -- to relieve the pressure on your breasts. Since you seem to have enough stored milk for the times when you're away from her, don't bother to save these middle-of-the-night pumpings.

I think you'll find that you'll be able to go for longer and longer times between the last nursing at night and the first one in the morning. You'll eventually be able to skip those extra pumpings, and you should be able to continue nursing for as long as you and she both want to. You may need to pump during the days when you work so that you'll continue to have enough stored breast milk for those bottles.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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