Daily Feeding Schedule Post-Breastfeeding

Trying to figure out a daily feeding schedule as I weaned my 1 year old from breastfeeding was more of the same: trial and error. But I think I've finally figured out baby feeding schedule that works for her appetite. The challenge was filling in the holes left now that she's no longer nursing.

This is her...I just imagine her saying "Call me anytime, just don't call me later for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, or dinner."


As I explained previously weaning was a gradual process, which gave me some time to get the whole feeding thing down to a science. Now, I kind of think of her daily feeding schedule similar to the adult recommendation of six small meals a day. Before I show you a side by side comparison of my baby's feeding schedule from 9-12 months there's something else to factor in. As my daughter quickly approaches the one year mark, not only is her eating schedule changing, so are her daytime sleep patterns. Because she's going down for naps, even 30 to 60 minutes later than just a month ago, it's made the meal/snack issue easier. (Keep in mind, at this age (and until about 15-18 months) most babies are still taking two naps.)

Let's compare how the daily feeding schedule has changed over the last few months.

So what's a "snack" you ask? Well, that's a whole other post, but I'll be nice and give you few, dare I say...toddler...snack ideas as a preview.

Sippy cup of whole milk (babies should be getting 18-24 oz of whole milk every day) + one of the following:

Half a banana
Plain Whole Milk Organic Yogurt mixed with fruit or apple sauce
Three or four crackers with cream cheese
Slice of cheese served with half a peach/pear/apple

I've found tons of great baby food recipe ideas and inspiration on WholesomeBabyFood.com. They also have a sister site WholesomeToddlerFood.com for older children.

For endless meal ideas for babies and (even picky) toddlers check out the following recommendations. (The Petit Appetite Cookbook is full of organic recipes).



Related Baby Foodie Posts
Weaning directly from breast to whole milk (in a cup)
Making Homemade Baby Food
Why Milk Products, But No Milk Before 1?

Bye Bye Breastfeeding: Completely Weaning (Pt 2)

It's been 36 hours since I last pumped and 48 hours since I last breastfed my daughter. Sounds like I'm in an AA meeting, doesn't it? But no...I've just weaned my daughter after a year of nursing.

As I blogged about last week, weaning from 4 to 2 nursings a day wasn't as difficult as I thought. But as I also wrote, and expected, dropping the last two (morning and night) was definitely more of a challenge. But as they say: the deed is done.


Before I continue...for all those breastfeeding moms who are deadset against weaning until their child does it on their own (hello, 8 year old!), please don't bombard me with your hate mail. I am, by no means advocating for early weaning. I am simply trying to help mothers who are already planning on weaning their breastfed children, by sharing my own experiences...all of which were a combination of trial and error and pediatrician recommendations.

Since I've already written, in detail, about my experience getting down to these two last feedings, I won't repeat all that. If you'd like help on starting the weaning process by cutting all feedings except for the morning and bedtime, I suggest you read the post on "Bye Bye Breastfeeding Pt. 1" before continuing further.

So to pick up from where I left off...about a week ago I was only nursing my daughter in the morning and in the evening. I decided, since she seemed slightly more attached to the bedtime nursing I would leave that as the last to cut out completely. Before I can explain who I cut out the morning I need to explain our normal morning routine.

Olivia would wake up around 6am. I would go into her room and nurse her immediately in the rocking chair in her room. I would then bring her into our bedroom and let her play on the "big bed" while my husband got ready for work. Around 7 we'd all go downstairs and within a half an hour I would start her on breakfast. I would then put her down for her first nap around 9:15 or 9:30. When she woke up from the first nap (around 11) I would give her a snack and then feed her lunch around 12 or 12:30.

I knew that cutting out the morning breastfeeding session would mean that I would have to give her breakfast pretty much as soon as she woke up. But my husband brought up the point that we should probably change things significantly enough that she realized things were now going to be different. The biggest thing we did, is had my husband get her out of her crib in the morning. Instead of bringing her into our bed to play, we went downstairs. My husband would occupy her for a few minutes until I could get breakfast ready...usually fruit and a waffle, pancakes, or toast and a sippy cup of whole milk. (I tried to include something kind of dry so she would be more likely to drink the milk. But remember, by this point she was already a fan of milk, which made it easier.) Around the same time, she's also been slowly extending her morning wake time. Because she eats so early now, she needs a snack (usually some yogurt and apple sauce or half a banana) before her morning nap. This actually works out well because it's allowing me to slowly push her nap back closer to 10am. By the time she wakes up around 11:30 we play for a little while and then I feed her lunch around noon. I give an afternoon snack before the second nap which holds her over until dinner. I followed this routine for about three days before weaning from the last and final feeding.

Actually, the opportunity kind of feel in my lap. My husband and I were going out to dinner and my neighbor, girlfriend, and the mother of my daughter's same-age playmate babysat for us. (We do a baby swap so we can all have a couple's date every few weeks.) Anyway, I knew that when offered a bottle or sippy cup, before bed, my daughter usually refused it...but still went to bed fine and slept through the night. So, I told my girlfriend to offer her expressed milk in a sippy cup and/or a bottle. Olivia refused both, as I thought, but went right off to sleep. That was my opening (and it's now your excuse for a night out sans the baby!). I told my husband while at dinner, that if she didn't take the bottle/sippy cup that would be the end of breastfeeding. Even though she went to sleep without the milk, I wasn't sure how well she'd take it when I was there...ya know, boobs bulging with 24+ hours worth of milk. So tonight was our big night. Instead of nursing my daughter, I used that same time to read her a few books and snuggle in the chair where I normally breastfeed her. My husband and I laid her down did the normal routine and left. She didn't like that too much. In fact, she cried for about 10 minutes. I thought she might need a little extra snuggling tonight, it was her first night of non-nursing. So I rocked her and rubbed her sweet little face for a few minutes. I laid her down, awake and she drifted off to sleep.

It was tough not to nurse her...that precious little baby doing the baby sign for milk, not to mention I forgot what engorgement felt like...but we're done. With each day it will get easier for both of us. While I already miss the closeness and the special breastfeeding bond we shared, I think we're both ready. For us...it's time.


Recommended Links

Weaning 101: Tips for Breastfeeding Moms
More Breastfeeding Resources

And just to leave you on a high note...that's my girl (and the son of my wonderful friend, Christie!)

Bye-Bye Breastfeeding: My Weaning Experience (pt 1)

From what I've found there's no exact science to weaning. You basically slowly cut back on breastfeeding sessions one at a time and replace each with whole milk, formula, a sippy cup, a bottle - or a combination of them depending on when you wean a baby. I have been breastfeeding my daughter from day 7 (more on that later) until now, just shy of a year. Our breastfeeding journey has been a wonderful one, although I have to admit it's a miracle it's lasted this long. It's been filled with nipple shields, finger feeds, 24 hour a day pumpings, a brief return to overnight work, a week apart (with 100+ ounces of milk pumped and dumped), a nursing strike and a few bites. But as my milk supply slowly dwindles, due in part to my daughter's increasing appetite for solid foods, I'm slowly weaning her from breastmilk directly to whole milk in a cup. Am I doing it the "right" way? I don't know. Am I doing it the way it works for us? Yes!


Why am I getting teary-eyed writing this? To be completely honest I was never emotional about breastfeeding. Sure, I loved the bond that my daughter and I shared. She needed me to survive, even more so than a child who gets a bottle. She needed me. I was happy to provide a boob and a meal, but now the time has come. My husband might tell you it's been too long. About six months ago he was afraid my daughter would soon look up while nursing and say, "I'm done." That's when I reminded him that he was breastfed for a full year and when I added...some moms breastfeed their children far longer...like 8 years!

When I started I was nursing Olivia about 8-12 times a day, every 2 to 3 hours. It took forever...nearly 45 minutes per meal. It felt like as soon as she was done nursing she was ready to start again. But for the last two or three months it's been down to four times a day and now the last week or so I've cut out all breastfeeding except the morning and bedtime feeding. I'll need to back up a bit to explain exactly how I got from 12 to 2...so bear with me.

When I envisioned breastfeeding my daughter I imagined it would start a few minutes after she was born, in my hospital bed. Everyone kept telling me the sucking reflex is natural and is strongest in the first 20 minutes after birth. Well, for me and her it wasn't so smooth. Not only did she not nurse right away, it wasn't until about 3 hours later that we even tried..and we weren't in the delivery room anymore, we were in my post-partum room. The first few attempts didn't go so well. So much so that the nurses insisted we supplement with formula. I pumped and got a small amount of milk which the nurses then saved so we could finger feed. That was only supposed to last while we were in the hospital, but as you can see in the picture, that's my husband feeding my daughter expressed milk with a syringe and feeding tube...10 cc's at a time.

I tried constantly, but for nearly two weeks she couldn't or wouldn't latch on. Finally, frustrated and about to give up on nursing altogether I called a lactation specialist at the hospital where I delivered and she recommended a nipple shield. It's a silicone cover that goes over your nipple making it somehow easier for the baby to latch on. It worked instantly and from there our breastfeeding journey began.

At two months and after constantly being told by the pediatrician that my daughter had an enormous amount of gas and her stomach was always bloated, I put two and two together. I did a little investigating and realized that perhaps she was getting too much air while she was nursing because of the nipple shield. I took the shield off while nursing and she latched right on. At this point I was still nursing her at least once or twice through the night. That continued until she was about 4 months old when she started sleeping through the night. I did continue to give her a "dream feed" or an 10pm feeding which carried her through 6am. I knew she was ready to stop that feeding around 5 months when she stopped sleeping through it and started waking up and resisting it. I stopped offering it, but she still slept through the night. Around the same time we cut back on a few daytime nursings as well when she started solid foods. This was a complicated time for me. I wasn't sure exactly how to merge breastfeeding and solid foods. Doctors will tell you different things: nurse before the meal so the child gets the breastmilk, or nurse after the meal so the child gets used to eating and doesn't fill up on breastmilk. I tried several different methods and eventually found what worked for us. As the solids started to more closely resemble meals here's how I integrated both breastfeeding and solids: breakfast, lunch and dinner the nursing took on a different role.

Breastfeed at 6am when she woke up
Breakfast at 8am
Breastfeed after the first nap (10:30 or 11)
Lunch at 12:30 or 1pm
Breastfeed after the second nap (3:30 or 4)
Dinner at 5:30
Nurse at 7pm before bed.

This was our routine from about 7.5 months until 11.5 months. Around 11 months I started to sense that Olivia was getting hungrier earlier and earlier after nursing. She could no longer make it until 1pm for lunch or 5:30 until dinner. I was starting to feed her lunch closer to 12:30 or even noon and dinner around 5pm. I believe two factors played into this: she's more active so she's burning more calories and requiring more food and she's not nursing as long because of both the solids and a lack of interest in sitting still long enough to wait for a second letdown.

That brings us to now, when I decided to make a conscious effort to wean her. Here's how I'm starting to cut out the last four feedings. About a week ago (11.25 months) I replaced the post-nap 1 breastfeeding with a small, healthy snack such as half a banana or crackers with cream cheese AND a sippy cup of whole milk. (Introducing milk deserves it's own post, but I will say my trick was to offer it when she had something dry to eat so she wouldn't refuse it, which she did at first. You can also mix it with expressed breastmilk if you have any, I did not.) I then pushed lunch up to 12pm. (If she got up from her first nap close to noon I would feed her lunch and then offer the same type of snack as mentioned around 2pm, before her second nap). I did the same thing in the afternoon, offering a sippy cup and small snack to replace the post-#2 nap breastfeeding. At times I was so tempted to lift my first and offer her what she really wanted...afterall, how can you refuse a little baby pointing at your breast and giving you the baby sign language sign for milk (especially after working so hard to get her to use the sign)??? It was difficult, but after a few days she started to really accept cow's milk.

Now we're down to breastfeeding twice a day and I'm still torn on which I'm going to let go of first. The morning seems the most logical, but I think that's one the she's most attached to. There are nights she goes to sleep without having the breast or bottle first, so that seems the easiest to give up next. I guess we'll see what works for both of us. Until then...I'll continue to update you on our weaning breastfeeding journey.

As promised, here's your update (8/10/09) with more on how I've successfully completely weaned my daughter after a year of nursing.

More Breastfeeding Resources

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Tips for Breastfeeding Moms When Returning to Work

Breastfeeding & A Baby-Free Vacation

Donate Unused & Sample Formulas

TSA Rules for Traveling with Breastmilk (with and without baby)

Pumping & Dumping

Nursing Strike??? My Baby Won't Breastfeed

The Real Smart Pill: Breastmilk

Why Milk Products, But No Milk?

If It's Not in the Diaper Bag, Forget It

This is my 100th post as New Mama and so I thought I'd share a special story, fit for all new mamas, with you! Now, don't laugh too hard because I'm warning you, this will be you one day. (While you're reading I want you to think about the fact that not too long ago I sold a lot of 11 purses on ebay...my description said something like "because I tote a diaper bag, instead of a purse 99% of the time.)


A few weeks back I was sitting with my girlfriend and her son (who's a week younger than my daughter) and I was noticing the enormity of my diaper bag. For God's sake I had my life in there....or at least the toy box, the changing table, my daughter's closet, the snack shelf of the pantry and my entire financial life aka "my wallet." Anyway, I looked at her said "Ya know, Christy, I'm so use to lugging around this diaper bag, that one of these days I'm going to go pay for something and not have my wallet." No sooner did the words come out of my mouth, did they come to fruition. And at the worst possible place.

Since we'd been on vacation, I hadn't been to the grocery store in nearly two weeks. So, as I do nearly every Friday, I ran around like a chicken with her head cut off after breakfast, but before the first nap, and tried to squeeze in my weekly shopping trip. There was no need to take the diaper bag...was I really going to plop my daughter down in the middle of the frozen food aisle to change a poop? So I grabbed a few toys, the sippy cup, and a binky (ya know, the essentials) and threw them in my purse. Olivia was very cooperative as I nearly filled the cart. When I went to the checkout lane I started loading up the conveyer belt. The receipt just kept getting longer and longer. Finally when the nice cashier was finished loading my groceries in my bags and into my cart she said something like $150. I weeded through the toys, the binky, the sippy cup, the keys, sunglasses, old receipts...I had the kitchensink but I didn't have my wallet. Through the mortified expression on my face I told the young woman I did not have my wallet. She politely looked at me and said, "You can run out to your car and get it." Apparently she didn't understand. I knew right where it was...at home in my diaper bag. (I just look at this picture and imagine my little girl saying "Here it is mommy."

So we left the cart at the end of the aisle, I put Olivia back in the car, drove the 5 minutes home (did I mention she fell asleep in those 5 stinkin' minutes) I grabbed my wallet and drove back to the store. Oh, and then I waited in line with no groceries behind a woman who had nearly two carts full so I could pay for my pre-carted groceries...which must have looked a little odd to the man behind me. I just look at him, smiled, and said "I'm a new mom."

Ehow's Legit...Don't Say I Didn't Tell You So

By now you're probably thinking, "Enough about Ehow." But I just have to pass along proof behind my success and that of so many other stay-at-home moms. This month I published a whopping seven articles, and with three days still left until payout I'm already more than $20 over my next highest earning month. For the first time, I'll pass the $200 mark in a month. For about 4 hours worth of work, I'll make $200+ all while staying home with my daughter. Could there be anything better? Well, yes, I suppose I could be Maria aka Writergig who makes 5 to 7 my monthly earnings (and has obviously figured out the ehow secret)...but hey, I'm getting there!

And for anyone who still thinks eHow is a scam, not legit or whatever...Ehow got some major press this month. Both NBC and Time Magazine published articles on the success of eHow and its writers. Both articles point out what a great gig it is for moms who want to stay at home with their kids.

So...if you know something, anything about anything start writing for eHow. It's totally free to sign up and there's no referral program so I'm not making any money off referring you.

Recommended Reading:

Make Money Mondays: Ehow Pays Moms for their Expertise