enfpea wrote:

Hi Lorilee!

I think the answer to your question, if I'm understanding the context correctly, is that solids replace breastmilk as your baby gets older. I would probably start offering solids before nursing and see where she goes with it from there. Jeremiah is almost 14 months old, and he *must* nurse in the morning. He'll eat breakfast first sometimes, but he's always still "hungry" for mama. We don't really have a set schedule, but I offer solids every 2-3 hours, and nurse whenever he wants to. Lately he's been asking to nurse when specifically when he's sleepy. I'd say that he's nursing 4-6 times during the day and 1-3 times at night.

He has a huge appetite, and frequently is very urgent about nursing when he can't possibly be hungry. I suspect that developmentally he's in a place where nursing has more to do with comfort than with nutrition.  

Whole milk (which can be introduced at this age) can be a convenient source of nutrients, but is not required as long as she's still nursing 3-4 times a day. Jeremiah gets about 4oz of whole milk over the course of the day (either cow or goat), and he really likes soymilk too. There are times when I just don't want to nurse Jeremiah at all and I give him a cup of milk instead, but this is the exception rather than the rule. I like having the option of giving him non-mommy milk occasionally, but I wouldn't say that I'm trying to wean him (others may rightfully disagree, but this is all my own perspective. ;)) I'm just trying to take a balanced approach.

Have you visited www.kellymom.com? It's my favorite resource for nursing questions. ^_^

Good luck! ^_^

Thanks for your response.  I would say that DD is nursing about as much as your Jeremiah, and that she also is nursing often times more for comfort than hunger.  She almost always has to nurse to sleep, as well.  I guess I was just hoping that by this age, she'd be nursing less frequently. 

I believe she has probably just gone through a growth spurt - it's about time, too, because from about 6 mo. to about 11 mo. she gained very little (probably close to 1 lb), but seems to have gained some weight the past few weeks.  Maybe that's why she's always hungry and nursing frequently.

We don't have a set nursing schedule, so it's difficult to just eliminate 1 nursing session at a time as many seem to do.  I'll check out that site - Thanks again!

Lorilee