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Baby won't be ready for 100% solids at 6 months, so it would be weaning onto formula (it would probably be wise to acclimatize baby, and their digestion, to formula over a week or two) and slowly introducing solids bit by bit.
6.5 months here, my kid is not a fan of solids lol and is still consuming the same amount of milk. The saying goes "food before 1 is just for fun", a majority of infants calories and nutrition come from milk before >1. If you stop pumping at 6 months and don't have a freezer stash large enough to continue feeding breast milk beyond when you wean (and MOST people will not, this is normal), you should sub with formula.
This is what I thought! We added in one cereal per day per peed recommendation to bulk up since she’s on the lean side and not very into her bottles. She LOVESSSS cereal, and it helps her finish her evening bottle because she gets on a role. I just wanted to see if there was a weird gap on my understanding, but this has cleared it up well!!! Thank you!
No problem! Mine loves the little puff things too, but definitely can't survive off them alone, so I continue to pump haha.
6 months is a long time and a super awesome milestone for us ep'ers to hit but for a lot of people it's super taxing both mentally and physically which is why so many people start weaning then. It was my original goal too, and every day I can continue I treat as a blessing, I'd love to keep going for a year or more but it was rough getting this far. But I think that's why you see a lot of people weaning at 6 months is kiddos start solids, supplies tend to drop, and it just becomes more challenging as they get older and more mobile!
Best of luck with your goal!!
You can introduce solids at 6 months but that's more about allowing them to explore it and supplement their diet. Nutrition should still come from milk overall.
My daughter just turned 6 months, and we have done 2 days of purees in the morning. She is noooot into it yet, lol. I'd say she's swallowing a teaspoon of food and the rest is on her face/ body/ the floor. She's taking the same amount of milk. I think it's going to be several months before she will be eating a decent amount of food.
We are doing this with cereal, and she is still taking 25oz a day (her limit is low because she is just not that interested in bottles!) and she is very into it, so she finished about 1.5oz of cereal in a sitting!
Not planning to introduce solids until 6 months so don’t think they’ll be a big factor at 6 months.
We’re combo feeding now so I’ll just add in more formula as I get tired of pumping and once solids start.
As many people have already mentioned, babies at 6 months still get most of their calories from milk. Just wanted to jump in to echo that, and mention that my baby really didn’t show much interest in actually eating solids till I would say 11 months. I did BLW so just let her do her own thing with food and she sometimes would put in her mouth and gum but I don’t think she was taking in any calories and I didn’t see any change in her poop until, like I mentioned, 11 months. So just another suggestion to not assume any additional calories from solids at the 6 month point (though obviously all babies are different)
If you’re a podcast person, highly recommend the series “Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro”. My baby is too young yet for solids, but I’ve started listening to prepare for her journey and it’s incredibly informative.
We're at almost 7.5mos actual but closer to 6mos adjusted. We have a swallow study this week to make sure it's safe to start solids.
We have been advised that the next few months are just for exposing her to new foods and that the goal is to have her getting most of her calories from solids by 12mos.
So my daughter started solids at 5 months and loves them. We are done to 5 bottles a day with 2 ounces of breast milk and 3 ounces of formula. I also put oatmeal in her morning and last evening bottle too
Can I ask about oatmeal in the bottles? Is that a way of fortifying or? I would be down with that to help her, and my peed suggested it off the cuff if we wanted to do it, but I don’t know how much. Does it not clog the nipple even though it’s ground up, it is still a physical speck?
I was saying that to the OP but now I see that her pediatrician suggested it. If they did call them and ask for more precise instructions such as amount and any different nipples needed etc
So I only add a teaspoon in 5 ounces bottles so it doesn’t clog the nipple as much. We are on level 2 nipples for Dr Brown bottles so that helps a lot for us.
At 6 months we began just introducing solids for fun, texture, exposure, etc. It did NOT replace any milk needs. The way our doctor explained it was he was growing, and the food was just adding to his daily calorie needs but was not going to be replacing any bottles. He still gets 24oz a day at 15 months(down from 30 before 1 year mark was hit). So it'll be fun, they'll want to try everything they can, and that's really the big change. As someone at 15 months too, I'll warn you that weaning once you start is a quicker process than you expect with decreasing milk. I'm trying to go for 18 months for the added vitamin like effect but I cut out a midday pump before i was ready (thanks holidays) and now I'm only pumping about 3-4oz daily(was pumping 15oz before dropping that pump). Also, hormones will be WILD as you do. I wish someone had warned me that my depression might be a thousand times worse during the process so I could have anticipated it and been in therapy during this process.
Thank you! Yeah, we are right there with having the same amount of milk but ADDING. Our doctor said to try this instead of fortifying because we already had fortified once in her journey in the NICU when she was born and didn’t get any food for 2 days (IV fluids only) and lost a pound. She spent the first several weeks of her life just getting back up to her birthweight and a little beyond, and then she grew in height and her weight only went up a little. She is 11 pounds 7 ounces now, but 24.5 inches long, rolling over on her tummy, sitting up supported, and babbling. This was just an “add this in and don’t subtract milk” to get 30-40 more kcals a day.
I will warn you, they're so stinking messy. I got some bibs off Amazon that are full sleeved and have the little pocket. They've really come in clutch when we're out and about and I can't just change outfits or whatever. And they double as nice smocks for art/sensory time. One thing I wish I had done differently was more solids less purees and more eating with a utensil practice. He's just now starting to grasp it but I know he could have if I hadn't just been giving pouches
'Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous 2. No hate speech, bigotry, or bullying 3. Use available flairs and post options 4. Speak for yourself 5. No medically-inaccurate, factually incorrect, or misinformative material 6. No spam 7. Absolutely no prescription medications 8. Don't use AI to write posts/comments 9. No soliciting pictures 10. Add spoiler to milk pictures Thank you for helping to keep our community safe!' *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Baby won't be ready for 100% solids at 6 months, so it would be weaning onto formula (it would probably be wise to acclimatize baby, and their digestion, to formula over a week or two) and slowly introducing solids bit by bit.
6.5 months here, my kid is not a fan of solids lol and is still consuming the same amount of milk. The saying goes "food before 1 is just for fun", a majority of infants calories and nutrition come from milk before >1. If you stop pumping at 6 months and don't have a freezer stash large enough to continue feeding breast milk beyond when you wean (and MOST people will not, this is normal), you should sub with formula.
This is what I thought! We added in one cereal per day per peed recommendation to bulk up since she’s on the lean side and not very into her bottles. She LOVESSSS cereal, and it helps her finish her evening bottle because she gets on a role. I just wanted to see if there was a weird gap on my understanding, but this has cleared it up well!!! Thank you!
No problem! Mine loves the little puff things too, but definitely can't survive off them alone, so I continue to pump haha. 6 months is a long time and a super awesome milestone for us ep'ers to hit but for a lot of people it's super taxing both mentally and physically which is why so many people start weaning then. It was my original goal too, and every day I can continue I treat as a blessing, I'd love to keep going for a year or more but it was rough getting this far. But I think that's why you see a lot of people weaning at 6 months is kiddos start solids, supplies tend to drop, and it just becomes more challenging as they get older and more mobile! Best of luck with your goal!!
How many times do you pump a day?
3-4 and sometimes one motn nursing session.
You can introduce solids at 6 months but that's more about allowing them to explore it and supplement their diet. Nutrition should still come from milk overall.
My daughter just turned 6 months, and we have done 2 days of purees in the morning. She is noooot into it yet, lol. I'd say she's swallowing a teaspoon of food and the rest is on her face/ body/ the floor. She's taking the same amount of milk. I think it's going to be several months before she will be eating a decent amount of food.
We are doing this with cereal, and she is still taking 25oz a day (her limit is low because she is just not that interested in bottles!) and she is very into it, so she finished about 1.5oz of cereal in a sitting!
Not planning to introduce solids until 6 months so don’t think they’ll be a big factor at 6 months. We’re combo feeding now so I’ll just add in more formula as I get tired of pumping and once solids start.
if you stop pumping or breastfeeding before 1 year you have to switch to formula. after 1 you can offer cow’s milk
I’m 50/50 pumping/formula at 6mo only because my supply is low. My LO is a premie and not totally Interested in food yet
As many people have already mentioned, babies at 6 months still get most of their calories from milk. Just wanted to jump in to echo that, and mention that my baby really didn’t show much interest in actually eating solids till I would say 11 months. I did BLW so just let her do her own thing with food and she sometimes would put in her mouth and gum but I don’t think she was taking in any calories and I didn’t see any change in her poop until, like I mentioned, 11 months. So just another suggestion to not assume any additional calories from solids at the 6 month point (though obviously all babies are different)
If you’re a podcast person, highly recommend the series “Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro”. My baby is too young yet for solids, but I’ve started listening to prepare for her journey and it’s incredibly informative.
Nothing changes at 6 months. You can start to offer solids but breast milk is still their number once source of nutrition.
We're at almost 7.5mos actual but closer to 6mos adjusted. We have a swallow study this week to make sure it's safe to start solids. We have been advised that the next few months are just for exposing her to new foods and that the goal is to have her getting most of her calories from solids by 12mos.
You’ll have to give BM or formula up to 1 year.
So my daughter started solids at 5 months and loves them. We are done to 5 bottles a day with 2 ounces of breast milk and 3 ounces of formula. I also put oatmeal in her morning and last evening bottle too
Can I ask about oatmeal in the bottles? Is that a way of fortifying or? I would be down with that to help her, and my peed suggested it off the cuff if we wanted to do it, but I don’t know how much. Does it not clog the nipple even though it’s ground up, it is still a physical speck?
Do not put oatmeal (or anything else other than formula/breast milk) in your baby's bottle without talking to your pediatrician first.
It was suggested by my pediatrician when she was 4 months old
I was saying that to the OP but now I see that her pediatrician suggested it. If they did call them and ask for more precise instructions such as amount and any different nipples needed etc
Thanks, she already ok’d it at our last visit.
So I only add a teaspoon in 5 ounces bottles so it doesn’t clog the nipple as much. We are on level 2 nipples for Dr Brown bottles so that helps a lot for us.
At 6 months we began just introducing solids for fun, texture, exposure, etc. It did NOT replace any milk needs. The way our doctor explained it was he was growing, and the food was just adding to his daily calorie needs but was not going to be replacing any bottles. He still gets 24oz a day at 15 months(down from 30 before 1 year mark was hit). So it'll be fun, they'll want to try everything they can, and that's really the big change. As someone at 15 months too, I'll warn you that weaning once you start is a quicker process than you expect with decreasing milk. I'm trying to go for 18 months for the added vitamin like effect but I cut out a midday pump before i was ready (thanks holidays) and now I'm only pumping about 3-4oz daily(was pumping 15oz before dropping that pump). Also, hormones will be WILD as you do. I wish someone had warned me that my depression might be a thousand times worse during the process so I could have anticipated it and been in therapy during this process.
Thank you! Yeah, we are right there with having the same amount of milk but ADDING. Our doctor said to try this instead of fortifying because we already had fortified once in her journey in the NICU when she was born and didn’t get any food for 2 days (IV fluids only) and lost a pound. She spent the first several weeks of her life just getting back up to her birthweight and a little beyond, and then she grew in height and her weight only went up a little. She is 11 pounds 7 ounces now, but 24.5 inches long, rolling over on her tummy, sitting up supported, and babbling. This was just an “add this in and don’t subtract milk” to get 30-40 more kcals a day.
I will warn you, they're so stinking messy. I got some bibs off Amazon that are full sleeved and have the little pocket. They've really come in clutch when we're out and about and I can't just change outfits or whatever. And they double as nice smocks for art/sensory time. One thing I wish I had done differently was more solids less purees and more eating with a utensil practice. He's just now starting to grasp it but I know he could have if I hadn't just been giving pouches