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Hi.
My daughter is 9 months old. I have nursed her from the start but will be teaching full time in about 2 weeks. She will not take a bottle. She hates formula (I've tried all the brands)I will be leaving her with her grandma from about 7 am til 4pm every day. I just don't know what to supplement her diet with. She will eat mashed table foods and drink from a cup (not formula...she spits it out). I would like to keep nursing her in the evenings and at night, I just don't know what to do. My mom, her grandma, will be watching her and I don't want to leave her screaming all day for mama's milk.
Can you please give me some advice?
Elizabeth
Dear Elizabeth,
First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!
Since your daughter won't drink formula, you can meet her milk needs by pumping a couple of times a day and offering her your breast milk in a cup, since she will drink from that. You can also give her yogurt, which has much of the same nutritional value as milk. And you can put breast milk or formula into cereal and puddings -- chances are, the taste of those foods will mask the taste of the formula, and she'll take it.
Continue nursing her evenings, night, and early morning before you leave for work. This will keep up your milk supply and help her get the nutrition she needs. Run through a few test days with your mom watching her before you have to go back to work full time. See whether the above measures will help. Check to see what time of day your baby seems to need to eat, and experiment with different ways of feeding her.
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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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Sally, Thanks so much for your advice. I'll let you know how it works out. Elizabeth. | ||
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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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