Delaying Solids Until 6 Months

When Enoch was young, we were told that babies should begin eating solids, namely rice or oatmeal cereal, when they are 4 months old.  So we, as good parents, attempted it on his four month birthday.  He did a rather good job of taking to the spoon; however, we soon realized that the oatmeal cereal was giving him bad constipation, even though we were only feeding him a little per day.

Even though Alaythia has almost reached the magic age of four months, I've decided to hold off on introducing solids this time around (we also waited with Karis).  My plan is to exclusively breastfeed for at least the first 6 months of her life.  Once we get to six months, we'll see where she's at in a few different areas before we dive in:

• her interest in food,
• her ability to sit up,
• her desire to learn about the spoon, and
• her digestive readiness.

Though I originally decided to hold off on solids because of my experience with Enoch at this stage, after doing more research, I've found that waiting until 6 months to begin solids is actually better (and recommended by many organizations like the WHO and the AAP).  These two articles below from Kellymom helped me confirm my decision.  The first one lists many reasons why waiting until 6 months is best.  The second one details how to decide when your baby is actually ready for solids and also goes through many common misconceptions about starting solids.  {I'm including one interesting fact from each under its respective link.  Check out both of them to learn more!}

Why delay solids?
{Adding solids replaces breastmilk in a baby's diet, meaning a lower milk supply for mom as well as lower immunity levels for baby.}

Is my baby ready for solids?
{Having a big baby is NOT a good reason to start solids early, nor is trying to help them sleep through the night.}

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5 Tips for Pumping & Freezing Extra Breastmilk Everyday

Last week, I wrote up Four Reasons why I Pump and Freeze Extra Breastmilk Everyday.  Today, I wanted to share a few tips on how I do this.

1. Rise early or sleep late.  I've found that the easiest way to pump extra milk is to either wake up earlier than my baby (even if just 30 min earlier) to pump or to go to bed a bit later than my baby and pump right before bed.  Some women do both.  If you have less milk than you'd like, I'd recommend doing both because more demand will produce more overall supply.  If you do it this way, your body will think your baby is actually nursing one or two extra times per day (which can also delay your ovulation cycle from starting up again).
2. Be consistent.  Help your body learn that you do want 4 or 5 extra ounces everyday by consistently pumping at roughly the same time everyday.  This sets the demand, and your body will regulate the supply.  
3. Growth spurts are your friend.  Babies have growth spurts fairly often, where all they want to do is eat, eat, eat.  So, in turn, your body meets that high demand with an abundance of milk.  Within a few days though, baby's appetite usually returns to a lower state, leaving your body with way too much milk.  This, my friends, is the perfect time to begin your pumping routine.  Since you already have too much milk, pumping can also help you avoid getting plugged ducts (or other not so fun issues) by emptying your breasts before bed. 
4. Get sleep.  Being rested does affect your milk production!  I honestly don't recommend beginning to stock your freezer (at least not by waking early or going to bed late) until you're getting plenty of rest.  The timing here will look different for every mama and baby.  What has worked best for me is to begin when my baby drops that last night time feeding (or after a growth spurt once baby is sleeping through the night).  
5. Get a good pump.   Otherwise you will hate every second of it.  I have a Medela double breast pump (pump in style), which I love.  It takes me 5-7 minutes to pump 4-5 oz every morning.  (I only use one pump and only express milk from one breast, since that's still how I'm feeding Karis - one side per feeding).   Getting a "hands-free" bustier can also make pumping more doable.  

*And just for a little laugh, I'll tell a quick funny..  There have been a few times where Enoch has seen my pump milk (like when we traveled to AR), but I was pretty sure that he didn't even really notice what was going on.. until last week.  The clever little fellow picked up one my pump shields (the part that goes over your breast) and swiftly brought it to his chest saying, "Enoch pump."  Haha!!  I wasn't sure whether to be proud, embarrassed, or horrified... so I settled on just laughing about it and telling him that pumping was only for mommies.  ;)

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4 Reasons I Pump & Freeze Extra Breastmilk Everyday

When Enoch was a baby, I began pumping extra breastmilk everyday and freezing it in 4-5 oz servings.  Now that I'm breastfeeding Karis, I have intentionally carried on this tradition since she was 1 month old (around the time she began sleeping through the night better).  Here are my top three reasons for using the ole pump everyday:

1. In case my baby ever experiences failure to thrive, I want to have breastmilk to supplement with, not formula.   {Enoch did experience this, and we used every single drop of frozen breast milk to help him get back on track with his weight gain.}
2. When my toddler gets sick, I can easily give him the extra breastmilk (rather than freezing it) to help build his immunity.  {This happened last week, and every morning Enoch got 6 ounces of breastmilk with his breaskfast, which he happily drank.}
3. Frozen breastmilk is great for sharing!  Though there isn't a milk bank near me, I am always open to sharing my stash with someone in need.  For instance, I received word last week about a mom with quadruplets wanting some extra breastmilk for her babies {see image below}.  There's another mom in our area who is also planning to share her stash of frozen liquid gold with this mom as well, meaning she'll have double the milk for her four babies.
4. Pumping once or twice a day helps keeps my supply up, which means that my baby is more likely to get enough milk.  This is especially important once baby begins sleeping through the night and once they drop down to 4-6 nursing sessions per day because your overall supply depends on the demand set by your baby (and your pump).  {I am convinced that Enoch experienced failure to thrive last year because I dropped down to 4 nursing sessions per day, which triggered an overall supply drop.}

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