05/05/2023
🚨 Let’s talk about babies sleeping through the night as a result of eating more during the day… As a mother of 3 who has breast fed, formula fed and combo fed, I will say that it is not so straightforward. All of my children slept through the night between four and six months, and while I do believe sleep training (and sleep shaping) had a lot to do with it, I strongly believe that it’s because I filled their bellies in healthy ways during the day to help encourage their circadian rhythm of being awake during the day and asleep at night. They all weaned off night feedings at the right time for themselves but I do give a lot of credit to what they ate during the day as a means to an end.
🍦Even while breast-feeding, I did all the things… I ate the bars, I drank the shakes, I took the supplements… I simply never over-produced more than exactly what my baby needed, and sometimes I produced less than she needed which was really upsetting (I just supplemented, it was fine). I don’t think my milk was extremely fatty, but with proper daytime, scheduling and good sleep habits. she was an independent sleeper almost immediately and sleeping through the night by six months. I barely had to sleep train this one! Here are my big takeaways:
🥑 in the first 4-6 months of your baby’s life, breastmilk or formula should be the only source of nutrition that they need. No oatmeal in the bottle, no purées before they can sit up. Listen to the AAP! These first months are sacred and you have to lower your expectations for solid sleep.
🧀give your baby lots of the full fats we need for brain development and satiated bellies: avocado, whole milk yogurt, etc.
🥯let them practice with their food- the pincer grip will come with time and they need to play with food to learn. They also can benefit from being spoon fed to GET THE FOOD INTO THEIR BELLY! You can do a hybrid of both. Baby led weaning + baby feeding = happy baby and happy family.
🍓 Parenting and baby-raising is confusing and hard. We’re all in this together. Ask questions and don’t feel nervous or dumb. I ask questions to my friends all the time about things and I have 3…you think I’d remember it all by now!