Toddlers

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Iron Rich Foods for Infants and Toddlers

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Iron Rich Foods for Infants and Toddlers

At your baby’s 4 or 6 month checkup, your doctor may discuss starting your baby on solid foods.  It is an exciting time – up until this point your baby has been taking in all of his nutrition from breast milk or formula, and you get to shape his palate with new flavors and textures over the next 6 months and beyond.  Your doctor may have talked to you about introducing iron rich foods early on.  This is because iron stores in your baby typically start to become depleted around 6 months of age.  I typically recommend families wait until 6 months of age to start solids (although I have heard pediatricians recommend between 4-6 months). 

Breastfeeding the Older Baby: 12-18 Months

Breastfeeding the Older Baby: 12-18 Months

Written by Anna Choi, BS, IBCLC

Thank you for joining us for our third and final article in our blog series, Breastfeeding the Older Baby – What to Expect and How to Adjust. I’ve enjoyed writing these articles, as we have explored the evolving breastfeeding relationship between mama and baby, and I hope to have provided some insight for you about what this evolution might look like for you and your little one. In this final article, we will look at months 12 through 18 of your toddler’s life.

You Know You Are a Breastfeeding Mother of a Toddler When....

Jenn: You can have a conversation with him WHILE he has a mouth full of boob!

Julie: Your boob is visibly lopsided because it’s full and you’re at the park so your kids is too distracted to nurse.

Tiffany: Your nipples start reminding you of Stretch Armstrong. 

Stacy: Your lap is full of toys and your toddler is dangling off the furniture while he eats.  You have to tell your utensil-obsessed kiddo that spoons are for the table, not mommy’s milk.  You laugh when people say that nursing a toddler is for YOUR benefits and not for the toddler.  They have obviously never tried to get a toddler to nurse who didn’t want to, or stop one who does.

Lindsay: Your toddler offers her mommy milk to her teddy bear, dolls, toy animals, and daddy.  It’s so nice she is willing to share!

Cat: They ask you to hold their cracker.

April: When he/she is hurt, the first words are, “Boob! Mommy! Boob!”

Julia: They announce, “That kid needs boo-boo” every time they hear a kid crying.

Laura: He’s dancing all over your chest, tummy, chair, the floor, the walls, the dog, WHILE nursing!

Colina: Nursing begins to feel more like a Cirque du Soleil performance.

Sarah: You see nothing wrong with sittin on the couch with your boobs hanging out for the quick ‘run by milking!’

Paula: After nursing you find gum on your nipple!

Laura: You are simultaneously a food source and a raceway for Matchbox cars.

Ariel: You get bras that are specifically padded to hide your nipples from twiddling hands.

Elisa: Your aren’t phased by nursing with a baby standing up!

Shannon: When you actually pray that he will sit and nurse longer than 4 minutes at a time so that you can rest for just a minute!

Cindy: You have to remind your kid to unlatch BEFORE walking away from you.... or jumping on the bed!

Ariel: When they know you’re touched out, so they ask for ‘just a little bit’ oh, so sweetly.

Kristin: They are constantly upside down.

Jamelle: Sometimes they just want to hug their boobies.  They play ‘Tune in Tokyo” on whichever one is not being used.

Lisa: When you can’t make it from the dining room table to the shower without a nursing break.

Maryjane: When they put your boobs away after nursing! (I actually really appreciate this one!)  When they tell YOU having milk (just a tiny little bit) will make them feel better.

 

Check out some of our fantastic articles about breastfeeding a toddler:

Toddler Nursing Part 1: How it Helped Me Manage My Circus

Toddler Nursing Part 2: Toddler vs. Breastfeeding

Toddler Nursing: Part 3: Super Breastfed Baby!

 

Check out some of our awesome podcasts about breastfeeding a toddler:

Breastfeeding Beyond Two Years

Breastfeeding Toddlers: Frequency, Biting, and Staying Motivated

Breastfeeding Toddlers: Night Nursing and Weaning

 

How would you finish the following sentence: You know you are a breastfeeding mom of a toddler when....

 

 

Toddler Nursing Part III - Super Breastfed Baby!

Written by guest blogger, Andrea J. Blanco, IBCLC

My seven year old is really, really into the Super Diaper Baby series. So much so (embarrassing story for which I will pay for dearly in 10 years coming up right now) that the other day, he fished through all the dirty clothes to find 8 (yes, 8!!!!) underwear to put on simultaneously along with a cape so that he could reenact parts of the book. I’m not entirely sure why clean underwear couldn’t be used, but hey, welcome to the gnarly world of 7 year old boys. I’m still getting adjusted.  Anyway, whenever he yells “SUPER DIAPER BABY!!” all I hear is “SUPER BREASTFED BABY!!!” (you better have read that in your booming announcer voice; if not, please go back and reread).

Toddler Nursing Part II – Toddler vs. Breastfeeding

Written by guest blogger, Andrea J. Blanco, IBCLC

Have you ever read Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea?

“ROAR!! I’m a dinosaur! ROAR! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!”

It’s a cute little book about this dinosaur who faces many challenges, and wins all but one. The dinosaur is FOR SURE a toddler. I just know it.

In my previous post, we talked about some of the reasons why nursing a toddler can be a helpful transition for you and your little one. Dealing with a little person who has so many changes going on all at once can feel a lot like those battles in Dinosaur vs. Bedtime. Here are some suggestions for turning the tables on your little dinosaur or dinosaurette.

I want to keep nursing, but am being pressured to quit.

Toddler Nursing and How it Helped Me Manage My Circus – Pt I.

Written by guest blogger, Andrea J. Blanco, IBCLC

When my first son was a baby, he absolutely hated car rides. On a trip to the bookstore, I came across Dr. Seuss’ “All Aboard the Circus McGurkus!.” I read that book to him every day and soon came to find the only thing to keep him calm during those car rides was my reciting lines from the book.

“The Circus McGurkus, the World’s Greatest Show. On the face of the Earth or wherever you go…” 

My son is seven now and I still remember most of the lines. So, when I asked a group of moms to give me one word to describe toddler nursing in preparation for this post, imagine my delight in realizing their answers could fit right into our beloved book:

“Amazing. Demanding. A Haven. Stupendous.”

“Loving. Convenient. Tantrum Fixer. Endless.”

Ok, so maybe no one said “stupendous”. But, you get the idea.

When a Toddler Bites While Nursing

Written by guest blogger, Leigh Anne O'Connor, IBCLC

Nursing a toddler is a confounding joy! He demands you sit. He does gymnastics and yoga while slurping your sweet nectar. Nursing is a great tool to calm a wild child or heal a skinned knee or a broken heart. These little people are growing rapidly. One day they are crawling, the next they are waddling toward the stairs or the dog food dish.  One day they mumble “mama” and “gaga” and then they learn the power of “NO!!” 

Another big change going on in the little body is the mouth – teeth are multiplying like bunnies in there. If a baby is latched correctly, his teeth are covered by his tongue.  Ah, but the older nursling has teeth on top and bottom! Yikes! As he is feeling those incisors pushing through his flesh nothing will sooth that sensation like biting down on something nice – like a breast!  Ouch! 

So, what is a mother to do?

Entertaining a Toddler While Breastfeeding a Newborn

I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are about the 100 or so amazing questions submitted to our article, What Breastfeeding Topics Would You Like to Know More About?  From inquiries about breastfeeding after reduction surgery to dealing with a teething infant, our blog calendar is now FULL for the rest of the year, just answering your questions!  YAY!!! 

For the rest of the year, Thursday will be the day we delve into our readers’ questions, adding to our series, Help A Breastfeeding Mama Out!  We will also answer your questions on our ‘Ask the Experts’ segment on The Boob Group online radio show.

 

Here is our question of the week:

Dear SDBFC,
I would love to learn more about nursing a second baby with a toddler running around. I remember how hard it was with C and how it consumed everything for the first couple weeks getting my daughter to latch, and nurse, and stay awake to nurse...and I am due in October when C will be two and the thought of doing that with her running around terrifies me. Any tips?
 
Alicia

Managing a Toddler and a Newborn

This is Kim, Robin’s sister-in-law. I have three amazing daughters, one which was just born 4 days ago. In my 4.5 years of being a mom, I’ve read a fair amount about parenting and have gotten some really great (and some really terrible, uninvited, and/or borderline-criminal) advice along the way. I thought I’d share some of the highlights with you from time to time.

When my second daughter was born, my first was 22 months old. Like most moms adding another child to the family, I was concerned about how I would manage two little ones and how my first would react to a new baby joining our family. I sought out tons of advice and suggestions, and I’ve included the ones I found most helpful below. Now, as a caveat, I think these suggestions are great when the older sibling is a toddler. Some of them probably work no matter what the age, but obviously some will not apply if you have a preschooler or older, or if you’re having your kids super close together. So, try what makes sense to you, and disregard what won’t work - which, incidentally, is my approach to all parenting advice.