Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Weaning baby

I had intentions to let AN self wean but the PD AN sees here strongly encourage us to wean her off soonest possible in order for her to put on weight.

Her reasons were that coz the breastmilk now is no longer as good as it used to be before AN was 6 months old, it is pointless to continue. Especially now that AN needs to put on weight, the amount of breastmilk she takes is enough to fill her up but not enough to make her grow. And when that little amount of 'nothing-important' fills her up, she has neither appetite for food, nor formula milk.

She compared breastmilk at this stage to that of empty fillers .... hmm ... -_____-"

And so, I've been trying to wean AN off. It is as difficult as it was when we 1st tried to make her latch on, if not harder.

Personally, I can't bear to wean her off too. hee. And she obviously can't bear to wean herself off yet as well.

From latching her on as and when she wanted, to only nursing her to sleep and less than 4 times throughout the day (including naps), it's been tough. Even during the night, she will wake up asking for 'mem mem'.

PD also suggested not latching her on at night so that she will get really hungry for breakfast.

This is the hardest part of the whole weaning coz if I do not latch her, she will wake up and might not go back to sleep. I've not had the courage to try not latching her when she asks in the middle of the night yet coz we have not other ideas how to make her go back to sleep.

PD said most toddlers her age should sleep through the night already. But AN is not doing so..sigh..

Thank God she's more receptive towards pre-prepared formula milk now (we bought Pediasure & Parents' Choice. Both are high in calories and fats as recommended by the PD) so when she asks for 'mem mem', I'll just heat the milk up and feed her by spoon.

Well, as the Spirit leads then...


2 comments:

Happy Homemaker said...

First of all, Drs don't learn much about BFing in medical school, so don't expect them to know much about it. Second, does your dr have a growth chart for Asian babies? If he's using the standard US one, of course AN is going to be low on it! Here is a chinese one: http://www.fwcc.org/growthchart.html
Breastmilk has more fat and calories than most foods, so stopping will not necessarily help anyway. You might want to attend a La Leche meeting, I love my group and it has been so educational! http://www.lllofaz.org/

Boredlittleflower said...

Hi hi! Thanks so much for the chart you linked me to! I do have a chart for Singaporean babies which AN still falls short of in terms of her weight although by very little as compared to the standard US one. The chart that you linked me to has AN at 25%!! you don't know how comforted you made me feel with this. Thanks sooooo much! I don't understand the large difference..goodness me..but thanks again for making me feel more assured!

You have a group for mummies in Tucson!! That's just as amazing! Let me check out the information more and better still when I'm more mobile once I get my driving license! Goodness me, thanks soooo much for stumbling across my blog!