You are right, at this age it is unlikely he will nurse any better. But
stranger things have happened, so, it's worth a try or several.
As far as encouraging him to eat more solids - it is a process that
requires patience. What might help is having him sit down with the
family when they are eating their meals. Offer him 1 Tbsp of each food
the family is eating (chopped or cut into bite-size pieces for finger
feeding) and let him decide whether to try the foods or not without
making any comments at all.
Also offering a bite from the mother's plate or father's plate is
sometimes more readily accepted by toddlers than the food on their own
plate, since toddlers are very scared of trying any new foods. So, when
they see that mom or dad are eating them and are ok, they might just try
it, too.
This especially works well when there is absolutely NO pressure on the
tot to eat or even try the new foods. Sometimes it takes 15-20+ times to
serve them what they won't eat before they will get the courage to try
it. Putting pressure on them or stressing out about it only backfires.
35# - wow, that's a big kid! Certainly is getting all the calories he
needs.
Larisa Walk, RD, IBCLC, Attachment Parenting International Leader
California
-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Liane Varnes
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 9:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: EP Mom wants to wean 14 m.o.
Permission from mom to post: I have a client with a son who despite her
best
efforts, never nursed consistently. I have lots of theories about why
this is,
as I have assisted her since his birth. But, nothing we tried seemed to
work.
This baby had a very traumatic birth, among other things. This mom
faithfully
pumped every 2-3 hours -- even during the night -- for the entire year
and is in
fact still pumping. She went back to work when her baby turned about 9
mos. He
did nurse on occasion from about 3 mos.-9 mos. but only when asleep and
stopped
as soon as he realized he was nursing.
The mom's goal was to provide her milk for him for only one year. Under
the
circumstances, I can certainly understand how she feels. She should at
least be
able to stop pumping while at work, I would think. The problem is, her
baby is
is refusing most solids and is revolting against her trying to give her
milk in
a sippy cup an/or no bottle at all. She says she tried to withhold the
bottle
for three days recently and "it was a nightmare." I have admitted that I
know
little re: weaning from a bottle but would expect it should be done
gradually
and with love and I support her in this mother-led weaning. I have
already
encouraged her to consider the option that he may even begin to nurse at
this
age if she keeps the "breastaurant" available when they're together to
maybe
help him deal with his tantrums. She knows it's not likely but is
possible.
When asked about how much of her milk he was still taking and how much
food, she
replied: "Well he was at 45 oz now he's more like an 8 ounce bottle in
the
morning and 8 oz at night at bed time and two - three 5-7 oz bottles
while I am
at work for 12 hours a day . he'll eat maybe half of a gerber crawler
meal 1 a
day and maybe a fruit cup of mandarins and maybe a chicken strip or a
biscuit
dep on what big jeremy feeds him. He has no interest and doesn't finish
a tot
sized serving all the way ..ever !! So 20 - 25 oz a day of momma milk
and maybe
1 and 1/2 meals through out a whole day ."
That adds up to more than 25 ounces of his mom's milk a day, to me. He
weighs
35# and is 14 month old on July 7th.
Just looking for any helpful input from you all. Anybody out there with
experience helping EP? This is new territory for me and working with
this mom
has certainly changed my feelings about exclusively pumping. I now have
a
realistic model in mind and know that this worked for this mom bc she
made it
work. I have met a few moms who have pumped long term for their disabled
children and I must say that this is quite a demonstration of love. Now,
when I
have a prenatal mom present who says she's going to EP -- I talk to her
about
how that's gonna work for her. It becomes obvious this is not something
that is
"easier."
So, any wisdom I can share with this mom?
Liane C. Varnes, IBCLC
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