# Is there any reason to use Pediasure with a 10 month old?



## ashley1972 (Jun 25, 2005)

I'm nursing my 10 month old about five times a day, and she is eating at least two solid meals as well. The morning and night nursings are the big ones and the others are pretty quick - she comes off many times each session and I constantly put her back on. Even if we are alone w/o distractions she does this.

The pediatrician mentioned that FF kids take around 20oz of milk at 10 months old and I told him that I seriously doubt my daughter is getting anything close to that at this point. He causually suggested trying Pediasure once in awhile if I'm not sure she is getting enough nutrients... I was surprised because I thought I was doing OK nursing about five times a day.

So I guess my question is this: about how many times a day do you nurse your 10 month old? I feel like I'm feeding her (nursing and solids together) basically every hour or two all day long and I'm hesitant to nurse more since I'm happy with the number of nursings that we do, and she seems to be too.

If I had to guess I'd guess that she is getting 5oz in the AM, then maybe 6 oz during the day (3 nursings) and another 3oz at night (my supply is quite low in the evenings), so maybe around 12 or 14 oz / day.

Has anyone used Pediasure? Is it important?

TIA.


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## runes (Aug 5, 2004)

Pediasure is disgusting. I tried to taste it but couldn't get past the gagging caused by the smell. There are children who for medical reasons require it, but for a happy, healthy, growing 10 month old who is nursing well and taking in some solids, it is not necessary. AT ALL.

What makes your doctor think that your little one is not eating enough? Nursing/eating frequency alone is absolutely not a definitive way of knowing whether your child is taking in enough calories. What percentiles are your child's heights, weights and head circumference? Is she meeting her milestones?

Comparing a breastfed child to a formula fed child is so wrong in so many ways. Breastmilk is pretty much the most calorically and nutritionally dense food that we can give our kids.

DD wasn't even eating solids at 10 months yet. She was exclusively breastfed and nursed at least every 2 hours throughout the day, and all night long. Sometimes, when she was going through growth spurts, it felt like she was nursing all.day.long. That's how they stimulate increased milk production, since it's a supply-demand feedback loop.

There is almost no way to quantify breastmilk production. Pumping output is not a reliable indicator at all. My main suggestion is to stop thinking about the nursings in terms of ounces and frequency, it will drive you crazy.







The best indicator is...observe your baby. Is she happy? Where is she on the growth charts? Is she following her own curve on the growth chart? Is she meeting her gross motor, fine motor, social emotional, cognitive and speech/language milestones?

Oh, yeah, 10 months is when the distractibility can start. Popping on and off? Totally normal.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *runes* 
There is almost no way to quantify breastmilk production. Pumping output is not a reliable indicator at all. My main suggestion is to stop thinking about the nursings in terms of ounces and frequency, it will drive you crazy.







The best indicator is...observe your baby. Is she happy? Where is she on the growth charts? Is she following her own curve on the growth chart? Is she meeting her gross motor, fine motor, social emotional, cognitive and speech/language milestones?











In this case, it sounds to me like your ped was letting you know what he would recommend you try *if you were worried about her nutrition*. If she seems happy and healthy, there's no need to worry and no need to chance anything.


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## FullMetalMom (Aug 27, 2008)

If your 10 month old nurses 5 times a day and your ped says she should be getting 20oz. a day, then she would need to be getting about 4 oz. per feeding. It seems to me that a 10 month old could easily be getting that much at each feeding. On top of this, she is eating 2 meals of solid food a day, which is normal. I don't see what the problem is







?


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## kiara7 (Feb 14, 2008)

Your ped needs to be fired.


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## PatioGardener (Aug 11, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *runes* 
The best indicator is...observe your baby. Is she happy? Where is she on the growth charts? Is she following her own curve on the growth chart? Is she meeting her gross motor, fine motor, social emotional, cognitive and speech/language milestones?

Oh, yeah, 10 months is when the distractibility can start. Popping on and off? Totally normal.

















:
If baby is growing well (see WHO chart if you are unsure http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...irls_p_0_2.pdf) then you *know* she is getting enough milk! And if her growth is low, then the answer is most often to increase breastmilk intake - not to replace it with a less healthy milk!


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## LadyCatherine185 (Aug 12, 2008)

Just wanted to add that BM has more nutrients and calories than Formula, so even though a FF baby may need 20 oz of Formula, a BF'ed baby doesn't necessarily need 20 oz of BM.


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

And be sure to use charts for BF babies when looking at percentiles!


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