Dropping the DF formula (bottle) when you BF in day?

[alex and danny]

How do I drop the df?  He'll be 6 months next week...has been on solids for about a month (cereals, veggies and fruits) 3 meals a day.  I bf during the day and df an 8oz bottle of formula at around 10:30.  how do I increase his intake in the day?  Does he really need to increase his milk intake if he's eating more and more solids?  Any help will be appreciated!   

[tylersmommy]

There are a couple of different ways to drop the dreamfeed. You can gradually reduce the amount in the bottle so that his body gets used to making up for those calories during the day. You can also go cold turkey and see what happens. We dropped the dreamfeed when Tyler still seemed too full to eat anything in the morning. One night, we just didn't wake him, and he was fine with it.

His main source of nutrition should still be breastmilk and/or formula for several more months, so it's important to keep his milk intake up until then. At his age, he should be getting 26-32 oz of formula or nursing at least 4 times during the day. Keep an eye on how long each nursing session lasts and whether or not he seems to be losing interest...that's your best way to gauge his intake, other than pumping. HTH!

[momtoelise]

I dropped the df about a month ago by doing it earlier & earlier in the night as described in the BW books.  It went smoothly & my dd now just nurses 4 times per day & has solids.  Since she was bf, it was hard to increase the milk quantity - I just made sure she continued to have full feeds & she was having her solids.  Since you do formula for the df, you can slowly cut back on the amount given while doing it earlier in the night so you don't have to worry about it being a shock to his system. 

[alex and danny]

Thanks for your suggestions....I will try the gradual weaning - too afraid to do it cold turkey    I will let you know how it goes.