(Giant zucchini from my courtroom assistant’s garden yesterday. It will soon be incorporated in Allie’s meals for the next, oh, month. In addition to other things, of course; currently in the freezer are pureed cauliflower, purple yam, sweet potato, a prior batch of zucchini, peach, pear. In the cabinet are pureed prunes and a variety of baby cereal: white rice, brown rice, oatmeal & banana, and mixed grains minus the allergenic wheat.)

Allie has been going through some changes. She’s resisting her napping for the 2nd week or so now. She’d fight her naptimes and then crash later from sheer exhaustion. She popped out her 5th tooth yesterday, right next to her bottom front-left tooth, so I figured maybe that was it, but she once again had shown no sign of any teething discomfort. The tooth was a surprise.

I spent 20 minutes on the phone yesterday with lactation nurse Kelsie, whom I’m familiar with and had all of my lactation clinic visits with, and another 20 minutes with Allie’s regular pediatrician, Dr. T.
Lactation Nurse re Calories
Kelsie noted that Allie’s weight had dropped to the 66th percentile although her height has remained in the 99th, but didn’t find it an alarming dip. She said babies are so active and growing at this age that the quick weight gains of early babyhood no longer apply. She asked where Allie’s sources of fat come from, and aside from breastmilk, I couldn’t think of any. Kelsie suggested avocado, which is the ONE THING Allie had rejected. I guess I’ll re-introduce it. “She doesn’t need a lot, so you can just hide it inside a food she does eat, like sweet potatoes,” Kelsie suggested. She said the only thing of possible concern for her based on what I was saying about Allie is that according to Jayne, Allie seems to still be hungry after bottlefeedings and solids feedings, so maybe higher fat in her foods would help the stomach stay fuller longer.
Re Waning Milk Supply
As for my milk supply, Kelsie was impressed I was still breastfeeding, saying that she often gets calls from moms who ask resentfully, “Do I still have to keep doing this? When can I stop?!” She says at 8 months, we’re approaching the end of milk being the main supply of nutrition for the baby, so we’re almost done. Babies at 1 year typically only nurse twice a day, morning and night, and all their other nutrition comes from foods outside of breastmilk. I’ve dropped an OUNCE per pumping since that maintenance guy walked in on me, which means I’m only getting 2-3 ounces per pump session at work, and 6-7 ounces at 4:30 a.m., which isn’t enough to keep up with demand and my freezer supply cushion is starting to show it. Kelsie says this is a normal drop as my body is responding to Allie’s lesser demands for milk now that she’s been on solids for a couple of months. This is how the body follows child-led weaning. It’s nothing I did or didn’t do.

Pediatrician re Milk & Food
In speaking to the pediatrician Dr. T, he said to hold off on meat until 9 months and to keep breastmilk the primary source of nutrition through this 8th month if possible. He said all the protein the baby needs now, she gets from breastmilk. If it really seems like my milk supply can’t keep up, then I can start adding more solids, increasing the frequency of feedings from 2-3 times a day to 3-4 times a day and that would encourage her to decrease demand on milk, altho it’s best to let this happen naturally at after 9 months. The variety of foods is good for acclimating her palate to different healthy foods, and if she’s doing well with new flavors now, it’s likely a good sign that she won’t have issues switching to cow’s milk at 1 year. Babies who are picky with flavor may need to be transitioned to cow’s (whole) milk with a breastmilk/cow milk blend, then slowly cut back on the percentage of breastmilk. Although there’s nothing “magical” about 9 months, he clarified, I should still make every effort to bridge the gap between 8 and 9 months so that I don’t need to put her on formula to supplement. Adding formula after all these months of breastmilk would only “invite problems,” such as with digestive issues and taste adjustments. But he agrees with the lactation nurse to also increase Allie’s bottlefeedings of breastmilk if Allie seems hungry after feedings, saying increase her 7-oz bottles to 8 oz, and her 5-oz late-day bottle to 7. So now the pressure’s on a little bit. Must.produce.more.milk.
Re Nap Resistance
With the napping disruptions, Dr. T suggested that we do either the delayed-response method or cry-it-out method. Allie has enough memory now to realize that things are different between the time she went to nap and the time she wakes up, even in things like the lighting from the sun, which means she missed something. “Babies used to think nothing happens when they nap; now they know that life goes on outside of their napping, and they don’t want to be left out.” So they’ll fight sleep. He suggested a 20-25 minute consistent naptime routine that will tell her, “We’re about to have naptime,” and then soothe her to sleep and put her in her crib. If she cries or fights the soothing, to end it and put her in her crib and leave. If she cries in the crib, to let her cry herself to sleep so she knows there are no exceptions. The fact is, she IS tired at all the regular times, but she just has more motivation to fight it and keep playing now. Jayne did leave her in her crib awake during a late nap yesterday, and reported that Allie put herself down after less than a minute of complaining. “If you want her to stick to her regular naps, and most babies her age still need 2 naps a day, you need to do this now or it’ll be harder to get her to do this at 15 months.” He doesn’t think this will be very difficult, since Allie already sleeps 10-11 hours through the night so that means she wakes up on her own and puts herself back to sleep on her own. Now she just needs to learn that dark or not, sleeping time is sleeping time.
Re Teeth Care
As far as teeth go, Dr. T said we can now buy a baby toothbrush and start brushing her teeth and gums with just water one or two times a day. This isn’t for any intensive cleaning, but it’s to get her used to the sensation so she won’t fight the toothbrush when she actually DOES need to be brushed daily, after she’s a year old.
Re Allie’s Weight
Re Allie being slender, Dr. T said that babies being chubby at 4 months or so are a result of mom’s nutrition, what she ate while pregnant, what she ate while nursing, etc. At this point, the child’s build is based on her own metabolism taking over so we’re seeing the shape Allie is naturally inclining toward. I guess she’s not going to be a fat kid. Then again, I was rail-thin to the point of concern for my parents until 6 years old, when we immigrated to this country and I discovered processed fast foods. =P

Both of them were super-impressed with the fresh organic purees I’d been making and feeding Allie. Dr. T, who also specializes in child nutrition, says this is exactly the kind of nutrition a baby needs to be on at this age, fruits and veggies and some grains, and breastmilk. Kelsie said she wishes all mothers could be more like me. All I know is that I want what’s best for Allie and will do what’s in my control to contribute toward that, and I am SO LUCKY I have a support system who does exactly this, so that I don’t even know of any other way. My cousin Jennifer breastfed as long as she could until her body couldn’t/wouldn’t produce anymore when she went back to work. Flip flop girl (Christi) nursed, pumped, pureed, cooked, and has been an invaluable source of information and experience for me. College roommie Diana does all the same things and with a baby close to Allie’s age, we’ve swapped experiences and tips and suggestions. I think all this would’ve been a nearly unsurmountable learning curve if not for these women in my life.