How to Nurse a 10 Month Old

I'm still nursing my 12 month old, but solids are now becoming more important in her life than in the past. I concur with other posters - at 10 months, continue to nurse first then offer solids. Breastmilk is more important for a 10 month old than solids.

Elizabeth,

As most nursing mothers will tell you, the longer the better. It's nature made and specially formulated for YOUR baby. Even when she gets past the point of needing it nutritionally, it's still such a wonderful comfort.

I'm still nursing my 19 month old (my oldest self-weaned a month or two before she turned two).
A couple of months ago, I quit "offering," quite so frequently. I still offer at naptime and bedtime (to expedite the sleep process), and occasionally when she wakes up in the morning (we co-sleep, and there are some mornings I like to "soak" a little longer).
Other than those, she'll pretty much "ask" when she wants it, but now she's pretty much dependent on solids. There are some days when she's not feeling well or is overtired, and will nurse more than usual, so don't sweat the schedule - it could change tomorrow. Breastfeeding was meant to be on-demand. ;-)

Good luck!
M. F

Do I understand that you want to keep the same number of nursings in 24 hr period? If you and your baby are happy with your schedule keep to it. There is no right way! My 11 month old nurses on demand. Our day usually looks like this...Nurse 2-3 during the night...we co-sleep so no problem there. Breakfast of solids, nurse to sleep around noon, lunch of solids when ever he wakes up, nurse again sometime during the evening and then to go to sleep. No set time just when he wants it!
Hope this helps
T.

I am currently nursing my 10 month old. I nurse her around 6am and she goes back down and sleeps until around 9am. Then I feed her "brunch" around 10ish (bananas, o cereal, a jarred food), until she is full. She has her afternoon nap around 1pm. When she wakes up around 3pm, I nurse her again, and that usually holds her until around 6 to 6:30ish. Then she has dinner (yogurt, a jarred food, and small bites of our dinner). Then I nurse her before bedtime 8:30ish. So all in all she nurses about 3 times a day. If she needs comforting or wants to nurse at other times I don't deny her the breast, I give it willingly. She will pull my shirt down and lean in to let me know she needs/wants some "nunnie". About two to three times a week she will wake up around 2am and need a top off...but other nights she sleeps right through. So, I guess to answer your question I keep solids and the breast separate. I didn't really plan it that way...it just happened to work out that way with our family schedule. (I also have a three year old son). I am not really anxious to wean her, I enjoy nursing as well. My DH is already asking when I plan on weaning...after a year old I guess, when I can switch her to cow's or goat milk. (I weaned my son cold turkey at 8.5 months but that is another story). Anyways, hope this helps some...are you in the San Antonio area? If so I am part of several mommy and play groups, I could send you some info. {{{hugs}}}

Well my little man is 8 months old, but I was facing the same problem. If you nurse first, they don't eat, if you feed solids they don't nurse. So here is what I do. When my son wakes up I give him cereal and fruit mainly so he does get his iron needs met. It is not a heavy meal so I nurse right after. He still naps twice a day, so when he wakes up from his morning nap I nurse him and give no solids. About two hours later I give him solids. About an hour after that I nurse him. When he gets up from his afternoon nap I nurse him with no solids and the same thing as before about two hours later I give him dinner. Anyway, here is how his schedule looks:
8:30 cereal w fruit
9:00 nurse
10:30 nap
12:00 nurse
2:00 meat and starch
2:30 nap
4:00 nurse
6:00 veggie and fruit or dessert
7:00 nurse
9:00 nurse/bedtime

This works really well for me because he has some time to get hungry after nursing and then again is ready to nurse after eating. Of course it flexes a bit daily, but he knows what to expect and seems to like it. Hope this helps!

Elizabeth,
For most 10mos old babies breastmilk is more important than solids. That typically switches at 12mos. Until then, solids are for experimenting with taste and texture. That said, I don't know if her being anemic changes anything. I would still recommend nursing your 10mos old whenever she wants it.
If your wanting 'schedules', I don't have one, but this is what a typical day looks like for us -- and it looks like I nurse my 13mos old more often :-) I'm really ready for him to not nurse as much as he currently does, but he's not ready to move on yet. He nurses probably 5 times at night, then around 7a, 9:30a (after breakfast), 11a, 1:30p (after lunch), 4p (after nap), 5:30p, 7p, 9p (down for the night....add to that all the little 'owies' that need soothing and little snacks throughout the day :-)

Also, I can't suggest going to a LLL meeting enough! It is an awesome resource! If you've been to one and didn't care for the leader's or groups methods/personality/etc - then I would suggest trying a different group. I've been to 3 different LLL meetings in OR and 3 different groups here in Austin, and no 2 meetings have been the same yet. I found a group that suits my personality, etc and have been going since I moved here last March. I don't go b/c I have questions; I go b/c it's good for me to be able to meet and talk with other bf-ing moms.

HTH and Happy Nursing!

K., mama to
Catherine, 4yrs (nursed for 2.5yrs)
Samuel, 13mos (and still wants lots of 'mama love')

I nursed all three of my children on demand. I would recommend that you find a LaLeche meeting near you. You can go online or call. They helped me so much!
Good luck...

LLLI | Find La Leche League Groups in the U.S.
www.lalecheleague.org/WebUS.html

Actually, until a year old, the breastmilk is still more important than the solids. So you should definitely keep breastfeeding BEFORE the solids. Because, yes, she will wean herself. Daughter weaned herself at 11 months so I had to give her formula for a month. Daughter was just too busy to sit and breastfeed anymore! So keep on nursing before the meal. Your schedule sounds fine, especially if you want to keep your milk up. My son weaned at 4.5 months and he's 9 months now and the Dr. put him on a regular breakfast, lunch dinner schedule. But you can't do that with breastfeeding! I'd keep your breastfeeding schedule, do the solids at a breakfast, lunch, dinner schedule and you should be fine. As for after 12 months, I don't know. If you're planning to stop at 12 months (studies show that the benefits beyond 12 months can fully be met by table food) then she'll be used to 3 meals a day and can drink milk. If you're planning to nurse beyond 12 months (biblical mothers weaned at 3!) you may want to call the la leche league or look for organizations that support this, for more tips. Good luck!

Hi. I nursed my oldest until she was 20 months old -- and then only weaned because my in-laws said they would take her for a week so hubby and I could go on vacation.

I found that, over time, we worked into a nursing schedule: wake up, before nap, after nap, before bed. She eventually ate solids at meals and for snacks in between, but with a healthy dose of cow's milk starting at one. She didn't take cows milk until after I quit breastfeeding.

But before we hit that schedule, we just nursed whenever she needed to nurse and I gave her solids when we were going to eat our meals or for snack times. And it worked well for her.

So, don't stress. I am sure that you are doing a great job with your baby! Keep breastfeeding for as long as it works for you!