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How To Get Breastfeeding Mom More Sleep
When they are first born, infants feed every 2 to 5 hours depending upon how big the baby is, and how much the mother’s milk has come in. Most babies eat between 6 and 10 times per day (24 hours). Unfortunately, it isn’t always very consistent. It is fairly rare for a baby to eat every three hours on the nose.
As you can imagine, this schedule can be brutal on new moms. Fortunately, once Mom and baby are comfortable breastfeeding, meaning that baby latches on and eats for a full feeding without any real trouble and without needing any real encouragement, you can start doing bottle feedings.
Many pediatricians recommend doing at least one bottle feeding per day once the infant has established good breast feeding habits. Make the most of this feeding by taking one of baby’s usual feeding times that would give mom plenty of extra sleep.
For example, if an infant normally feeds around 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM and then again at around midnight, followed by another feeding between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, consider doing a bottle feeding for that midnight feeding. That way, when Mom is done feeding baby in the evening, she can go to bed.
If she gets to sleep at 10:00 PM, she would normally only get 2 hours of sleep before having to breastfeed again. But, by having someone else (Dad, we’re looking at you) do the midnight feeding, she could sleep straight through until the 3:00 AM feeding. On a lucky day, maybe all the way until the 4:00 AM feeding.
Now, instead of 2 hours asleep, then awake from midnight to 1:00 AM, then two more hours of sleep (adds up to 4 interrupted hours), mom could sleep from 10:00 PM until 3:00 AM, all uninterrupted. That adds up to 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That plus a couple of hours in the morning and a nap or two here and there, and Mom can be way less sleep deprived than she would be otherwise.
The best way to make the bottle feeding work is for baby’s mother to pump breastmilk during the day and then store that breast milk in a baby bottle in the fridge for use during the night. Formula, of course, can be used as well, but check with your pediatrician first to make sure that switching back and forth between breastmilk and formula won’t be too much for baby.
If an infant will drink breast milk from a bottle with no issues, but won’t drink formula without a lot of assistance and encouragement, take that as a sign, that baby isn’t ready for formula yet.
What About Nipple Confusion? Feeding Infant With Baby Bottle
The conventional wisdom used to be that baby’s should be exclusively breast fed for a certain amount of time. Some experts said 6 months, and some said 12 months or even longer. However, since not every mother has the ability to exclusively breastfeed, there were always alternate suggestions as well.
Over time, it turns out that there may not be a need for newborns or infants to breastfeed exclusively for any fixed period of time at all.
The main concern of lactation experts when it comes to mixing breast feeding with bottle feeding is what is termed "nipple confusion." Nipple confusion is when the baby gets "confused" with how to feed from both bottle and breast. It turns out, that when breastfeeding properly, this is not much of a concern at all.
Good breastfeeding is dependant upon the infant getting a proper latch. Most hospitals have a lactation consultant that will work with new mothers on obtaining the proper latch. There are numerous techniques and breastfeeding positions, or holds, that can be used by a mother to ensure a proper latch.
What is a a proper breastfeeding latch?
Basically, it is when the baby has the proper hold on the nipple with its mouth. The key thing to a good breast feeding latch is that more than just the tip of the nipple is in the baby’s mouth. If the baby takes just the center part of the nipple that extends out from the mother’s breast, they won’t get a good latch and may release too soon. Additionally, such a latch tends to cause painful breastfeeding and sore nipples.
A good breast feeding latch is when the baby has all of the center nipple AND some of the surrounding breast tissue in their mouth. This is not easy to accomplish at first, and even if the baby gets it right one time, the next time, they may not.
It is thought that introducing a bottle at this stage may make it harder for the baby to learn the proper technique. Considering what is known about baby’s memory (they don’t have very much of one) and the fact that any infant kept in a hospital nursery during feeding time, or any baby that isn’t getting enough hydration or nutrition will end up getting at least a few bottle feedings and then go on to breast feed for months or more without additional difficulty, the conclusion that bottle nipples will interfere with proper breastfeeding might not have much merit.
Once an infant develops a good breastfeeding technique and uses is consistently, it is committed into the only functioning memory a young infant has, muscle memory. Every time a baby is presented with the same approximate situation as before they will use their muscles in approximately the same way. This is how a baby learns to breastfeed.
After the baby and mother have both grown comfortable with breast feeding and can do it pretty much every time, it is now thought that introducing a bottle at this stage is not only not detrimental, but perhaps beneficial.
Our pediatrician (from a very respected practice) recommended at our baby’s one-month checkup that we introduce a once a day bottle feeding. Whether that bottle is full of breast milk or formula is a personal decision for the parents to make.
There are several benefits to introducing a bottle feeding for infants, not the least of which is allowing someone else, like dad, to feed the baby. Timing the bottle feeding right can give Mom several more hours of uninterrupted sleep and lead to a happier, better rested, more healthy mother and baby. Don’t forget that the same rules for baby formula apply.
Check with your pediatrician to see if introducing a bottle feeding is the right move for your infant. Keep in mind that just a few years ago, the advice of doctors and professionals was different, so it is important to get new, up to date advice.
Also, make sure an ask your pediatrician specifically about breast feeding and bottle feeding, especially if it isn’t your first baby. Many doctors, nurses, and other experts will assume that as an "experienced" parent they don’t need to talk to you about such things. For them, they’ve been giving the same advice for a couple of years now, and may not remember that they told you something different when your 3 year old was born.
Why All Babies and Toddlers Eat Cheerios
Transitioning baby to solid foods from breast feeding or bottle feeding usually takes place via baby food, liquefied versions of fruits and vegetables. Whether you use jars of baby food or make your own baby food, the route to strained carrots and peas is a time tested one. What comes next is almost as universal.
It seems that all babies and toddlers eat Cheerios as one of their first truly solid foods (the name being used somewhat inaccurately for jars of baby food which are not so much solid, as non-liquid.) Go to just about any day care, playground, or other place where there are groups of children, and you are likely to see Cheerios in the hands of more than one youngster.
What Makes Cheerios a Great Food
What makes Cheerios such a great food for toddlers and babies is that it comes already pre-made without triggering any of the usual parenting concerns. They are too small to be choked on by any child old enough to actually be eating non-strained foods, and even if they did manage to get lodged sideways in a child’s throat, there is always the whole in the middle.
Cheerios also taste good to children who are naturally inclined toward that “cereal” flavor, not just in Cheerios, but also in the form of rice cereal which is often a starter food for babies moving to solids as well.
Additionally, Cheerios are not sticky, don’t have to be cut or peeled, don’t spoil if not refrigerated, don’t make a mess (unless stepped on), can be carried around in just about anything, and can be grasped by little fingers just starting to develop the fine motor skills that will soon develop into the ability to use a spoon and fork.
Finally, while Cheerios are not free of any sugars or artificial flavors, most parents are less worried about that by this stage of development. And, whatever it does have in the way of those things is still rather low compared to other foods that meet the size and flavor criteria. As an added bonus, Cheerios come fortified with vitamins, so it is a little bit like giving a multivitamin to children who are too young to have actual vitamins, which is always a nice plus for parents who worry about whether or not the array of foods their youngster is willing and able to eat provide enough all around nutrition for a growing baby.
In the end, it seems that Cheerios are just an easy way to make sure that baby is getting at least a little nutrition, even when snacking. So, when you are wondering if your kid should get Cheerios too, the answer is, “Why not?”
Mac & Cheese for Toddlers Healthy Version
Does your little one love Mac & Cheese? Mine does, and it is so easy to make, especially when meal time comes and catches you a little bit off guard, or what you thought was going to be for lunch falls through (moldy bread!). But, Macaroni and Cheese doesn’t exactly conjure up images of super healthy lunchtimes.
That’s where Annie’s Mac & Cheese comes in. Annie’s is a food company that creates healthy kid friendly products. Some of it is organic, and some is just a healthier creation than the cheapest possible manufacturing method and ingredients possible. They make a variety of frozen and regular dishes, including a box of macaroni and cheese (both “natural” and organic, either one is fine). Unlike the Kraft version which has more chemical than you’ll find in a high school text book, Annie’s has just whole grain pasta (better than regular) and cheese plus sodium phosphate which is essentially salt. It’s hard to feel bad about that, especially if you throw in some fruit or veggies on the side.
Another option if you prefer the frozen to microwave route is Amy’s Macaroni and Cheese which is also very good and healthier than the standard box of Mac & Cheese. My advice is to get the regular one instead of the “kid’s meal” version. It’s just as kid friendly and it’s cheaper.
If you go shopping and see the regular price, don’t freak out. They both seem to go on sale with regularity at my grocery stores. Stock up then and look for coupons, and they really don’t cost much more. Sure, they’ll never be a quarter a box, but I can usually get Annie’s for $1.50 or lower, and since my toddler only eats half at a time, I figure 75 cents per meal isn’t likely to turn into a financial crisis anytime soon.
Use Apple Juice to Help Baby Eat Better
It turns out that the secret to baby and toddler nutrition is apple juice. Can’t get your young one to drink enough water? Offer them apple juice. Can’t get your toddler to eat oatmeal? Make it with apple juice instead of water.
100% Pure Apple Juice
Let’s start at the beginning. You want 100% apple juice. Not apple juice drink, not apple juice beverage, 100% apple juice only. Juice manufacturers are sneaky and are constantly trying to fool parents (and others) into thinking that they are getting good high quality juice when they are not. So, the only way to be sure is to check the ingredients list. It should say Apple Juice, and nothing else. If it says grape juice, or sugar, or heaven forbid, high fructose corn syrup, put it back on the shelf and buy something else, no matter what the price difference is. Otherwise, you are buying apple flavored sugar water, and the only thing that does is start your baby on the road to fatty town.
Once you have the right juice (remember Apple Juice as the only ingredient), you are ready to implement the Apple Juice Contingency. The apple juice contingency works by using apple juice to provide a sweet and pleasant flavor for your baby in a way that does no harm to them. In the oatmeal example above, the apple juice gives the oatmeal a sweet flavor without using sugar. As for getting baby to drink, apple juice is a desired drink for most young ones. Worried about giving them too much juice? No problem. Dilute the apple juice. A 50/50 apple juice water mix will still be just fine for most young ones. Many will be happy with even weaker blends. 30/70 isn’t uncommon to be fully accepted as “juice”. The good news is that your toddler is getting plenty of water along with that juice, and at that rate of consumption you have nothing to worry about calories and sugar wise as long as we aren’t talking about 8 cups a day.
The only caution required is getting your son or daughter used to drinking only juice. You know they are getting plenty of water, but they don’t. You don’t want them getting it in their minds that they only like juice, so be sure to offer plenty of milk and water as well. In fact, insist that they drink milk and water on a regular basis.
Other Juices
This technique can be used with other juices, but apple juice is what is considered a “clear liquid". In other words, there isn’t really anything in apple juice to interfere with absorption of other food stuffs, and it won’t really fill up your baby making them full instead of eating. You know this from your own experience. If you just came in from a long bike ride on a hot day and there was no water only apple juice or orange juice, which would you choose to help your thirst? The apple juice because it is lighter and closer to water. Same thing for baby.
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