Can We Talk Infant Feeding (And Sleeping!)

[MNMum]

Hi all!

This one can be so different for every baby and parent. How do you all deal with introducing solids to your infants. My expertise is with the breastfed baby and waiting until close to 6 mos.

My current infant started here at 12 weeks (PT, 2- 9 hour days/wk). During pregnancy interview I clearly told the parents they would get the opportunity to introduce solids and get that process well underway before I would move into regular pureed feedings here. Well, they started her on solids at 3 months. Cereal and other foods. I also had to enforce Nannyde's policy of FEED THE BABY before arrival. They were doing the pop into carseat, bring to daycare game. Baby will be 6 mos in a week. I have started offering cereal and veggie at lunchtime. Mom said she feeds her solids with every bottle at home (4-5 oz formula + solids). I'm of the opinion baby could use more formula and fewer solids at this age. She is just starting to roll all around, is not sitting yet. Sleeps through the night, so is probably only getting 5 bottles/day.

Sleep... she wants to sleep with something over her head, or swaddled. Usually only naps 30-45 minutes at a pop here. When I have gotten her to sleep 1.5 hours, she is so much happier.

What is your policy with solids? When do you get your babies to nap closer to 2 hours?

[bice99]

I give all of my parents the USDA food chart for infants that my meal gal gives me. I show them exactly what rules I need to follow so we are on the same page. New parents have really appreciated having guidelines to follow.

[nannyde]

I wouldn't offer any solids now. At that age I would do six to eight ounces of formula every three hours. I don't do solids till the first day of the eigth month and even then I just do the minimum amounts on the food program. I only feed solids after they have had a full serving of formula or breast milk. I base the amounts of food on how well they are taking the bottles. If they start to shun the bottles I back off of the food. If they are taking the bottles great then I gradually increase the foods.

I also wouldn't do forty five minute naps. At that age she would be doing two full naps per day of at least two hours. It sounds like she's not getting the protein and fat she needs to be full and get to deep sleep.

solids at three months? wowie zops

Have they shown you how much food they are giving? The serving sizes are very small for that age group so maybe demonstrate for them what a few tablespoons of cereal looks like and the amount for fruit and veg. There's a reall good chance they are giving way more than what the serving size is. I've seen that many times over the last two decades. When I actually show them the amounts in the bowl they go because they are giving five/six/seven times more than the serving size. I've had parents of a six month olds doing half a bowl of cereal and a full big jar of fruit in the morning. When I show them that they are WAY over feeding most will back off of it. You can almost always tell a baby that's being given HUGE amounts of food because they sleep poorly, are usually having bowel issues, and start shunning the bottle or surrendering after a few ounces. When I see that trifecta I know that the baby needs to do all bottles until the get the hunger back for the bottles, the bowels settled down, and the deep sleep that goes along with doing the food and bottles right.

I've had a few serious issues with Doctors who don't know serving sizes and have had to go toe to toe with them over feeding directions. I refuse to have parents or Doctors trying to force me to do the wrong thing. Usually once the docs know I mean business and I can support my position with research and the current reccomendations of the AAP they back off. Food is worth fighting for and some times you have to fight the fight.

I ran into this A LOT with the centers I consulted for. After a few dealings with doctors I learned how to manage them and the parents who insisted on giving huge amounts of food or food too young. It seems to be a very common problem as the price of formula is getting parents to rely on day care paid for food for their kids calories. Is there any chance the parents are wanting to provide less formula and have you get the calories in with what you pay for?

I think we are doing infant food wrong now. I actually don't even agree with the food program or AAP on food for six to eight month olds. I hope and pray that with the obesity epidemic now reaching down to the youngest of infants that the CDC, food program and the AAP will again revise their reccomendations and REQUIRE that no food be served before the eigth month and then crack down on the serving size and reduce it to the lower limits they have now.

Just mho but I think it's too much too soon and it's one of the roots of the obesity epidemic we are seeing in this country. I also think it affects the core care issues like all around wellness, sleep, and general disposition.

[MNMum]

Thanks. That's what I needed to hear. I think I'll gather some information to send to the parents, and put my foot down until she is taking more formula. I'm not sure why they are pushing the food down her throat, I don't think it is the expense. When they started (secretively) at three months, the baby broke out with horrible diaper rash. Worst rash I've seen in a long time. I advised them to stop all food. Did they listen? Nope. Took my advice on diaper cream brand, though!

[nannyde]

Thanks. That's what I needed to hear. I think I'll gather some information to send to the parents, and put my foot down until she is taking more formula. I'm not sure why they are pushing the food down her throat, I don't think it is the expense. When they started (secretively) at three months, the baby broke out with horrible diaper rash. Worst rash I've seen in a long time. I advised them to stop all food. Did they listen? Nope. Took my advice on diaper cream brand, though!

Usually the really early feeding is either a result of them actually not knowing how unsafe it is OR that they want them to be advanced. Sometimes you see the second child in the family being the sacraficial food lamb for doing it wrong on the first one. You can see the second one getting vegetables and meats young because the older one started with applesauce and rice cereal and wouldn't touch anything but treat food thereafter.

[DCBlessings27]

Cereal at 4months

My pediatrician recommended that we start cereal at 4 months. We did that with my daughter, who I breastfed til 1 and used some formula with. She is not obese nor did she have issues with bowel movements or sleeping. My daughter is now almost 3--tall enough almost for 4T clothes and has an 18month waist. As a provider, I do what the food program requires without a problem.

[nannyde]

My pediatrician recommended that we start cereal at 4 months. We did that with my daughter, who I breastfed til 1 and used some formula with. She is not obese nor did she have issues with bowel movements or sleeping. My daughter is now almost 3--tall enough almost for 4T clothes and has an 18month waist. As a provider, I do what the food program requires without a problem.

Your Ped was incorrect.

The food program here doesn't require feeding solids until the first day of the eigth month.

[MNMum]

So, how do you get them to sleep longer. Said baby slept for 30 minutes, and is now screaming. Do you let them cry it out?

[CrayolaKids]

I'm also having the same issue with my almost 6mo dcg. She used to be a great sleeper, I could lay her down and she would fall asleep on her own and generally wouldn't fuss AT ALL during the day. They started her on cereal at 4mo and very soon after started her on other foods. They are now feeding her three meals/day, starting with cereal in the morning along with a full jar of baby food, only giving her a few ounces of formula and bringing her to daycare. Once they started feeding her solids, I noticed a major change in her behaviors...she was more gassy, irritable, poop issues, spitting up and wouldn't go to sleep unless I walked her for sometimes up to 20min. About two weeks ago (dcg is 5 1/2 mo) they bring me a jar of stage 3 baby food...before that she brought stage 2 or stage 2 1/2! I gave her the benefit of the doubt and attempted to feed her the stage 2 and 2 1/2, both of them she gagged on. When she brought the stage 3 jar, I didn't even notice it was a stage 3 until a few hours later, so at pick up I told dcd that I was NOT comfortable feeding her anything beyond stage 1 because of the choking risk.

At her check-up, the doc even told dcm that her main source of nutrition should still be her formula but yet they are still feeding her WAY too much solids and not enough formula. I've stopped feeding her solids completely until she starts to take her bottles like she should be...and like she used to. Now she has started bringing a sippy in the morning with formula in it...I'm assuming they don't even give her a bottle in the morning, just a sippy. Myself, I don't understand the logic in that because this child cannot even sit up yet..so what is the point in giving her a sippy that she cannot hold up to her mouth by herself yet:confused: At pick-up today, though, I'm telling her not to bring any more sippy cups at all, I don't allow the older kids to bring them so I can not allow the babies to bring them. Besides that, I have infant sippy's here so there is really no need.

Sorry to hijack the thread...some things are just so frustrating!!

[nannyde]

I'm also having the same issue with my almost 6mo dcg. She used to be a great sleeper, I could lay her down and she would fall asleep on her own and generally wouldn't fuss AT ALL during the day. They started her on cereal at 4mo and very soon after started her on other foods. They are now feeding her three meals/day, starting with cereal in the morning along with a full jar of baby food, only giving her a few ounces of formula and bringing her to daycare. Once they started feeding her solids, I noticed a major change in her behaviors...she was more gassy, irritable, poop issues, spitting up and wouldn't go to sleep unless I walked her for sometimes up to 20min. About two weeks ago (dcg is 5 1/2 mo) they bring me a jar of stage 3 baby food...before that she brought stage 2 or stage 2 1/2! I gave her the benefit of the doubt and attempted to feed her the stage 2 and 2 1/2, both of them she gagged on. When she brought the stage 3 jar, I didn't even notice it was a stage 3 until a few hours later, so at pick up I told dcd that I was NOT comfortable feeding her anything beyond stage 1 because of the choking risk.

At her check-up, the doc even told dcm that her main source of nutrition should still be her formula but yet they are still feeding her WAY too much solids and not enough formula. I've stopped feeding her solids completely until she starts to take her bottles like she should be...and like she used to. Now she has started bringing a sippy in the morning with formula in it...I'm assuming they don't even give her a bottle in the morning, just a sippy. Myself, I don't understand the logic in that because this child cannot even sit up yet..so what is the point in giving her a sippy that she cannot hold up to her mouth by herself yet:confused: At pick-up today, though, I'm telling her not to bring any more sippy cups at all, I don't allow the older kids to bring them so I can not allow the babies to bring them. Besides that, I have infant sippy's here so there is really no need.

Sorry to hijack the thread...some things are just so frustrating!!

This is it. See above

This is a textbook description of doing it wrong.

[nannyde]

So, how do you get them to sleep longer. Said baby slept for 30 minutes, and is now screaming. Do you let them cry it out?

I put them to bed wide awake with a full belly in a completely pitch black dark room. I use mitted sleeper sacks for this age group.

I don't get involved in the crying or not crying. I just want them to have the quiet, dark, warm comfy place to rest. As long as they have a dry diaper, full belly, warm cotton jammies, and a dark quiet spot... they should get a good deep morning nap. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for them to adjust but that's just part of the process.

The phrase "cry it out" is just a made up term. I don't have an "it" for them to cry out of.

I don't do the "let them" either. I provide for them the perfect environment for them to do what nature designed them to do.

[MNMum]

I didn't go in and get her this morning like I usually would. After about 20 minutes of pure on screaming, she went back to sleep. In the end her nap was about 1.5 hours. And I got her to take 2 additional ounces of formula with her next feed, because she didn't fall asleep while eating! It helped that I knew she needed the nap. Usually she sleeps a full 12 hours at night, straight. But mom said she hardly slept last night. Thanks. I'll leave nature to take it's course this afternoon, too.