I think it's time....

[KatieGrace]

to start solids. I had read that delaying solids was a good thing to do to help decrease allergies, and since I have allergies, I was gonna wait till 7 months to start Katie on solids to hopefully decrease her chances. But, I am pumping about 18 oz at work, and this week she has been eating it ALL! I am eating oatmeal now to try to boost my supply, but I'm scared I won't be able to keep up with her. I have been VERY consistent in how much I pump since going back to work, and it's always 17-19 oz.(closer to 17 oz lately) I hope the oatmeal works,,,I've also picked up some brewers yeast, too,but now I don't know if I should take it as a lot of people have told me it doesn't work. Katie is sitting pretty well now, and she is now reaching for our plates if we are eating with her on our laps....so I'm wondering if I should start offering her something? I was going to start with avacado mixed with breastmilk. What do you all think? Should I start now? What was your schedule like when you started solids? I don't want her to be hungry because I can't pump enough for her. I pumped last night while I was feeding her to get a total of 19 1/2 oz for yesterday, so I sent it all today so I guess I"ll see if she eats it all. I always had some left over to freeze until this week, and now I'm starting to feel a little bit of anxiety of being able to give her enough HELP! Formula isn't an option either...Should I start taking Fenugreek too??

[clb]

If she's sitting up well and reaching for your plates, it sounds like she is ready to start exploring solid foods. And good for you for waiting this long . Since allergies run in the family, you should stick with low allergy foods. We just started solids this weekend with avocado and he seemed to really enjoy it, and have now moved on to sweet potatoes. Here is some info from Kellymom on good starter foods.

As for your pumping output, unfortunately a pump is never as efficient as expressing your milk as your baby is. It is my understanding that solids should not be introduced as a replacement to breast milk this early, but rather to compliment it and to let baby explore different tastes and textures. Keep pumping and nursing your baby as normal and try not to stress about output (as stress can decrease your supply). If you are not pumping the same amount during the day, it is possible that your little one is actually getting more from you when she nurses at night. Try not to think about ounces and just follow her lead, if she wants to nurse more when you are home, let her. As long as she appears healthy and happy and isn't loosing weight, she will be okay. Your baby won't let herself starve and will let you know if she is hungry.

Sorry I don't know much about supplements to increase supply, but hopefully another mama will reply. Good luck - you guys will be fine - she is lucky to have such a good mama who worries so much!

[KatieGrace]

clb...thanks for the reply! I'm gonna try to get my supply up a bit this weekend by lots of oatmeal and pumping...I'm hoping that maybe this is just a growth spurt, and she'll go back to eating 16 oz, but I'm not so sure. She just does finish all her milk at the end of the day (around 6:00) at my SIL's , so I was hoping that maybe adding a little solids around lunch time might "take the edge off" of her being quite as hungry around her dinner time at my SIL's until I get home just so I know she's not going hungry when I'm not there and she's out of milk. I know they can reverse cycle but her appetite has always been really good. She just went to her ped for her 6 mo check up and was 15 1/2 lbs ( between the 25th and 50th%), so she's gaining well. She was 6 lbs 6 oz at birth. I'm atcually pumping the same amount I always have, she's just eating it ALL instead of leaving some. Thanks a bunch for the support!!

[Raspberry's mom]

I agree with the pp. Also, I go through the same stresses about pumping since my DS seems to eat a ton when he is at my MIL's. I just wanted to add something about Fenugreek. I bought some to take (in one of my freak out moments) and since my ds had a Dr. appt. that day I took it with me to ask about the "do not take when you are pregnant" warning on the back. His Dr. told me that Fenugreek stimulates the uterus, so it is an abortive. So, while I am not prego, we also are not stopping it should it happen and I would not want to accidentally abort a baby, so I returned the Fenugreek and have just been drinking a lot and eating oatmeal.
So, just my (and my ped's) about fenugreek. However, if there is no chance you are prego, or going to be, then I have heard from a lot of moms that it works great. Good luck!

[GoodmamaMel]

Hi, there is also a tea called organic mothers milk by traditional medicinals. It does have fenugreek in it but not as potent as the pill form, so it would be less of a risk. I drink it every day and it has helped me!

[Emmaleigh3699]

I wouldn't call reaching for your plate a sign of being ready. Shae has been reaching for my food and plates since she was 2-3 months old. Its baby curiosity. Everything goes in the mouth at a certain age Your baby is only a month older than mine and I know mine isn't ready. Yours might be, I don't know her - every baby is different - but I would look into other feeding options before solids this early. Try pumping every time you nurse her - you'll get more that way and it will help build up your supply. Add another pumping session in at work if you can. Oatmeal works - but it takes longer than a day or two. It took about 3-4 days to work with me. I take oatmeal cookies with me too they're great and every little oatmeal helps. I've heard that lactation tonic works like a champ.

[KatieGrace]

I guess I should update this thread as it's been a while since the OP My supply came back up and we're still EBFing at this point. I have noticed a slight drop in my supply at the end of last week, but I've been pumping and nursing more frequently, so we'll see how it does this week at work. So far I've been able to pump enough for her for the next day's feedings. I think she was going through a growth spurt at the time of the OP because the amount she's been eating has since gone back down to what it has been. I'm thinking about starting solids on her in the near future, probably, but for now things are going great how they are. She's almost 7 1/2 months now and we're still going strong. Thanks for all of your advice and tips!!