Q&A: nursing and teething 7-month-old

Mary writes:

"I have recently started introducing solids to my breastfed,19 lb., 7 month old son. With this introduction (2-3 oz./ 3x a day...on good days), I have found that he can go 3-4 hours between nursing sessions. Is this acceptable? I am just worried about juggling his new solid food feeding schedule with his once pretty stable nursing schedule (every 2-3 hours). Also, he has recently acquired 2 pearly whites...and his once restful 10-12 hour a night sleep time has been interrupted with 3-4 nighttime squawking/crying sessions. Is this due to teething and if so, what do i do? Right now, I just make sure he is A-ok and put a pacifier near his hand and he pops it right in...i do not nurse during this time. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)"

Some kids stop nursing as much when they start eating solids, while others keep on nursing just as much as ever. Before a year old, a baby's main nutrition is still breastmilk or formula, with solids just for practice. So I'd monitor how much he's nursing, but not necessarily by how often he nurses. If he's still nursing plenty (a few good sessions a day), and doesn't seem to be trying to give it up in favor of solids, then I wouldn't worry about the longer times between nursing sessions. If you really are concerned about it, you could offer the breast before every solids-feeding session.

Bear in mind that many kids go forward and back with interest in solids, so he might be really into them this month, but then refuse and only want to nurse next month. That's very normal, too.

Teething-related sleep disturbances usually happen before the teeth pop out, so I don't think he's waking up because of the teeth he just got. I wonder if he's working on some more teeth right now and that's what's causing the waking. You could try giving him some homeopathic teething tablets (either the lactose-based Hylands tablets--not the worthless gel, or the sugar-based Humphrey's #3 tablets) before bed--they'll dissolve in his mouth and don't have any side effects. If it's actual pain they won't do anything, but they're remarkably effective for taking the jittery, cranky edge off a teething baby.

If what you're doing at night to soothe him is working, then don't mess with it! Unfortunately, he's still too small to be able to find his own pacifier in the middle of the night (even the Avent ones with the glow-in-the-dark rings), so you'll probably still have to be in the loop until he goes through whatever this thing is that's waking him up. (It could also be his body learning to crawl, but you'll be able to tell that sooner than later if you come in and he's on hands and knees in the crib.)

It sounds like you're doing everything right, but he's just going through a couple of transition phases with the food and the teething. It's probably going to stay confusing and a little sleepless for another few weeks until he gets over these new humps. Cut yourself a little slack, and see if you can get to bed a little earlier to help make up for the middle-of-the-night wakings.

Comments

[Evelyn]

We're going through this exact same thing at my house!
DH stay's home with Mr. Littleguy and gives him expressed milk during the day and his consumption of milk goes from 5 oz one day (with 2.5 oz. baby food) to 24 oz the next (with .5 oz baby food). He's taken to refusing the bottle/boob when he really wants solids, but it's different every day.
I've given up stressing about his intake of BM and started to trust that his preferences signal what his body needs.

Since popping the 2 teeth in the last couple of weeks he still is waking pretty often too. Hopefully this is short lived and we can all get some sleep soon!

[Mary]

Well, we are definitely back to "normal as of late with sleeping, but I was sure glad to hear that eating solids was hit-and-miss, day to day. I'm trying my best not to stress with the newly acquired talents that pop up day to day. I'm just trying to enjoy every moment.

Ok...well the only question I'm currently pondering is..."Is he getting the iron he needs in his daily BM intake since he doesn't eat solids regularly???" Any calming answers will be greatly appreciated. For the record...he is 7 1/2 months, 20 lbs, mostly BF'd. :)

[Fahmi]

Mary:
I read that around six months, the level of iron and zinc goes down dramatically in breastmilk. My son still likes to nurse even when eating solid food, so I take iron supplements in addition to my normal multivitamin, in hopes that if there's extra iron in me, it will sneak into the milk. I try not worry, since I figure that as time goes, he will eventually adjust to eating more solids, and he can catch up then.

[AV]

On the iron issue:

The iron in breastmilk (even after 6 months) is far and away more bioavailable than other sources of iron. Here's where to read more:

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

Also the iron you take won't change the amount of iron in your breastmilk:

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,3wsx,00.html

[Becky]

Sounds like he can go longer without nursing, but still needs the calories. My youngest (#3)baby did the same thing. At 8 months I was able to stop pumping during the day because I get off work at 3:00, so he could nurse right away, but I noticed he made up the difference at night. We would just put him down in his own bed, and then when got up and wanted to nurse we would move him in with us, and let him nurse all he wanted. I suggest you just let him nurse whenever he wants, they grow up so fast, and the milk is so good for him. My oldest is now 13 and I laugh about how much I worried about "am I doing all this right". Enjoy those baby years!

[Rachel]

Help!!! I introduced solids to my little girl when she was 5 months. she is 6 months old now and i just started giving her squash..she never wants to nurse during the daytime and wakes to nurse twice at night. i force her to eat milk from a bottle 3 oz at least twice a day i am so scared she is not getting enough milk in her system..she will fuss and chew on her hands. i think she is teething but i am also worried she might be hungry...she refuses to nurse from me and stiffens out and cries but will take the bottle...any ideas as to what is happening here????? Help!

[Alicea]

My little guy is almost 7mos he has nursed like a champ, sleeps through the night, and eats at regular interval, until now. I work M-F so he has bottles of BM at daycare (I pump at work every 3-4hours). When I get home to nurse it is a fight. He nurses about 3min on one side and then stiffens and yells. He nurses 3 min the other and same thing. I know that I have enough milk, and he nurses if I get him really sleepy before bed like a champ. What is going on???? Does anyone have any good advise. I am taking solids away this 3 day weekend and nursing only to try and get him interested in nursing. HELP

[Jennifer]

My daughter had a reaction to the Belladonna and coffee seed (caffiene) in the Humphrey's 3 tablets. She is 9 months old and suffered from focal seizures. As soon as I stopped the tablets, the seizures stopped. She only had four total tablets. No one told me she may have a reaction to these. I guess I should have known that with anything you really need to beware when giving your child anything new.

[Jennifer]

My daughter had a reaction to the Belladonna and coffee seed (caffiene) in the Humphrey's 3 tablets. She is 9 months old and suffered from focal seizures. As soon as I stopped the tablets, the seizures stopped. She only had four total tablets. No one told me she may have a reaction to these. I guess I should have known that with anything you really need to beware when giving your child anything new.

[Mariella]

Hello, I've just started giving my son Brauer's teething mixture, and it also contains belladonna. Has anyone else had a reaction to this substance? It's difficult to get information on these herbal concoctions, but they seem like a better option than the more intense things like bonjela - have you tried that yourself? It's intense! Your tongue goes to sleep!

[mom21boyand 1girl]

You may want to take away the bottles for a few days to get baby back to the breast, sounds like they are prefering the flow from the bottle and refusing the breast.