How do you know when to breast feed once you start to feed solids too?

I nursed my daughter for 14 months. As long as you are healthy and your nutrition is good, breast milk is always the best food for your child for at least the first six months to a year. As you start introducing foods to your baby, offer only a little at a time (such as a teaspoon or two at first) you want to do this slowly in case they have allergies and also to prepare their digestive tract. Then nurse afterwards. Also, start with the baby cereals (don't add sugar) first.(A little before bedtime helped my kid sleep longer between night feedings) Then slowly introduce them to vegetables like carrots, peas, squash, etc (don't add salt or gravy) Next try fruits like mashed bananas, applesauce etc. Meat should be introduced last as it is by far the hardest to digest... and then only mashed or in jars. Keep your baby away from sweets as long as possible and watch acidly juices.

Breast milk should be the staple until they are old enough to eat balanced meals (check with your health nurse or doctor). As they become more accustomed to foods, feed a bit more and then when you and/ or your doctor feel they are ready, give them three meals a day with maybe a little cereal before you nurse them before bed.

But keep breastfeeding until the child is old enough to drink regular cow or goat's milk (at about a year old). They need the antibodies in breast milk or formula as well as the higher fat content in it for brain development, and the calcium for bone/ teeth growth. (kids without this can develop rickets , grow rotten teeth and can have developmental/ intellectual problems )

When the teething starts and they can sit in a highchair, I used to give my daughter frozen peas and carrots and cheerios in her highchair for snacks.

When she was a toddler, I would only give her pasta if there was a little cooked spinach in it (she learned to love the stuff fast)

By the time the baby is a year old, they should be eating. I nursed in the morning before work, before nap time and before bedtime. I did this until I had to stop nursing due to getting very ill. I would have continued until she was two if I could have.

If you can't nurse, you need to still formula feed her until she is at least one... again, they need the vitamins and calories for normal growth and brain development.

The other benefits to breast feeding

It's free

It's always ready to serve

No bottles to clean

You bond with your baby better and for longer

It is best to wait until baby is at least 6-7 months old before giving anything at all besides breastmilk.

We started my twins at 6 months, I would breastfeed them and then offer some sweet potato or avocado mixed with expressed breastmilk, then offer another breastfeeding (as it is as much a nice thirst quencher as it is a meal). We did that twice per week for a month. At 7 months we fed similar things once a day, maybe 5 days per week.

They are now 9 1/2 months old and breastfeeding. They now breastfeed primarily but also have finger foods in the morning (right after they nurse and before the first nap) and in the afternoon they have some yogurt drops, cereal, and a fruit or vegetable. Cereal was reccommended by their pediatrician for the iron as they are not wanting much meat, and they have yogurt drops or another food with vitamin C with the cereal as eating vitamin C at the same meal as consuming iron helps the body to abdorb the iron.

It is my understanding that most babies get much more solids, but I am pretty much taking the cues from my twins as far as that is concerned. They love solids, but they love nursing much more, and they are very healthy (thank God) and growing very well.

Oh, we also use the Gerber organic brown rice for their cereal. I love it and am sticking with it. Brown rice is much healthier than white, as white rice was brown rice until being bleached and losing many nutrients.

Around 6 months you can start introducing solid foods. Start with just a tiny bit once a day. Your breastfeeding pattern shouldn't change any at that point - keep nursing frequently, on demand. The solids will be just a little bit extra, for practice. You should breastfeed first, then offer solids afterwards. As your baby gets older and gradually takes more solids, he/she will gradually nurse less too. You'll go longer between nursing sessions and start dropping a few. Keep in mind that breastfeeding is not just about food for your baby, it is also comfort, so to baby breastfeeding and solids are two completely different things. Just follow your baby's cues and keep nursing on demand.

Around 6 months you start with about 1-2 teaspoons of food once a day or every few days, then you gradually increase as baby shows more interest. You should offer the breast before any meal and after if baby wants! Babies don't need fluids other than your breast-milk it will hydrate enough!

learn more:

http://wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

My plan is to bring in solids at 4 months. N they can have watered down Apple juice too. He's almost 6 weeks n Wen he's four months I'm Gna give solids at breaky n lunch n dinner. N sum watered down juice with breaky n lunch. N breast feed inbetween breaky n lunch n dinner n before bed.

I formula feed so idk if it's diffrend but I stared my son on formla and rice wen he was 2months bc just formula wasn't flling him up. And I started oatmeal at 2 months. And stage 1 baby food at 4 months. And he would eat breakfast wit a bottle and oatmeal lunch is a bottle and fruit and dinner is veggies and a bottle. And b4 bed a bottle with rice or oatmeal. And if he wakes at night just a bottle.