K's Health Update/Feeding

Guest_kit_kats_mom wrote: Well, for some wierd reason, after her stomach virus, her appetite has increased slowly and she has been eating better. Today marks 14.5 months old and she has finally gained some weight! She is up from 17.2 lbs 2 weeks ago to 17.8 lbs! I am sooooo happy that all of this frusteration is finally yeilding some results. I've been drinking mothers milk tea to try and increase my supply a bit and we have decided to "start from the beginning" on feeding. We started with cereals (made with water...still wont drink/eat milk) peanut butter, and stage 3 baby foods. She seems fond of the Beechnut stuff over Gerber.

She is hitting the "terrific twos" a little early with her independant attitude . After some experimenting, she will eat the most while sitting at her kid sized table, watching a video, and if it is a meal that she can spoon feed herself. She has decided to not eat anymore finger foods for the time being & if I try to help, fergiddit! Yesterday was her best eating day by far...she ate 2 full 8 oz jars of baby food, 1/2 c of oatmeal and 1/4 c of choc pudding mixed with peanut butter! That's HUGE compared to the 2 T of food she was eating a few weeks ago. I'm soooo happy & proud of my little eater. The only potential problem is that she is nursing at night a whole lot more. So much that I've had to un latch her because I couldn't stand it anymore. We're talkin hours here. She was sooo fussy afterwards that I brought her downstairs at 3am 2 nights in a row and she has eaten like 1/2 c of oatmeal so apparently she is hungry. I don't really want to start that habit though...any suggestions? I dunno weather to just feed her at 3am since she is eating and needs the cals or if I should just not even allow her to eat after a certian time? Hmmm quandry.

DansMom replied: Sounds both promising for K and difficult for you! You must be exhausted getting up to nurse and provide solids. I'm glad K is eating better and gaining though. I don't have advice, just thanks for letting us know how it's going and encouragement for you. It has to get easier eventually.

MommyToAshley replied: That's great and definitely a positive step!! Looks like all your hard work is paying off.

I am not sure what I would do about the night feeding if I were in your position. Maybe when she starts eating a few more calories during the day then she won't need the night feeding?

ediep replied: thats great!! I am so glad she is eating and gaining well. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is when your baby won't eat! Jay has done this quite often!!
Wish I had some advice on the 3am cereal feeding.....Good Luck! Like M2A said, maybe when she continues to eat more during the day, she won't need that anymore

Good Luck and thanks for the update!

coasterqueen replied: that's great that she's eating now! As far as the 3 am feeding are you wanting to feed cereal vs. breastfeed? If it were me I would want to nurse over getting up and offering cereal.

kit_kats_mom replied:
That's the problem. She will nurse for hours if I let her. As soon as I pull her off, when she is asleep, she wakes up screaming. I know that there cant be much milk after nursing for over an hour (plus my bb's hurt and I'm ready to not be a pacifier) so that's when I offered the cereal and she chowed down. I don't mind nursing but I guess that I'm not producing enough for her at night.

aspenblue1 replied: That's great about her eating and gaining weight.

natjasem replied: I'm celebrating along with you- Emma is eating SOOO
well lately- I could cry! We think she's already gained 10 ounces in 5 days if we weighed her correctly. She's eating 4 meals a day- almost 1/2 cup of food each sitting!
Oh, the joy of having a child that eats!

jdkjd replied: Wow! She is really putting it down. She's probably going through a growth spurt and will calm down on the night feeding soon, especially with her eating more during the day.

The starting from the beginning is a great idea. I might have to try baby food veggies to try and start Bailey eating veggies again.

Kaitlin'smom replied: glad she is eating better, and like Jenn said she may be going through a growth spurt and need that extra food at night, I know its hard I had to break Kaitlin of using me as a paci at night. Hopefully she will not need as mcuh over ngiht and will continute to eat well during the day.

WTG K!

kimberley replied: glad to hear she is eating well. i agree with the others that she is probably going through a growth spurt. i would nurse as long as i could stand it since it increases the milk supply to what she needs, then if she is still hungry, go to the cereal. so basically just keep doing what u are doing. i don't think it will become a habit of her eating so late, she is just playing catch up for a little while

amynicole21 replied: Boy can I relate to the all night nursing thing. Sophia is worse than ever now - and she had such a promising start not too long ago! She went from sleeping through till 6am to nursing at least 3x a night. I think my business trip did it - she was retaliating The other night she nursed for about an hour straight and I was so sore and irritable I had to un-latch her. She immediately started crying, and I had to get up with her and comfort her. It has become a huge burdon, and I'm starting to consider quitting again. I know I just need to get past this hurdle, though.

So, in short, I have no advice for you. Just lots of sympathy and understanding. sigh...

I forgot to say CONGRATS to K for being a big eater!!!!