What should be my priority?

[rooby-rooby-roo]

Hi there,

I have been having problems trying to get Red to take any solids. He started really well, but has gone backwards fast. He just refuses to be fed and moans at me till i stop offering! He currently B'feeds at 8am, 12pm, 3pm, 7pm and 11pm, and has solids at 9am, 12.30pm and 5.30pm. He is also going through that awful distracted nursing phase and won't take a full feed in one go. So at breakfast and luch he is having milk then solids.

Toady i mixed it up a bit and decided to give him solids and then milk at lunchtime, and he ate all of the food i offered him! But of course would then not nurse as he was full. He then fed BRILLIANTLY at 3pm, ate his solids well at dinnertime and nursed before bed. So this looks like a good thing - he is feeding better all round, except that he has dropped a breastfeed in the process. We only dropped the teatime feed a few weeks ago, and now the lunchtime one too?? Is this ok, is it alright for a 7 month old only to have 4 breastfeeds a day? Should i persevere with trying to feed him at lunchtime or just write it off?

Basically, should it be my priority to give him breastmilk or solids first??

[GraceKellysmom]

Four milk feeds is fine at 7 months. I would still persevere with the breastmilk first, at least until 10-11-12 months. Remember his metabolism is slowing down, as well as his growth rate, so he will need less food/milk until a growth spurt around 12-13 months.

I give you permission to trust your mommy instinct!

And I ROTFLMAO at the "moaning until I stop offering" I could just see him!! (and hear it, lol)

[rooby-rooby-roo]

And I ROTFLMAO at the "moaning until I stop offering" I could just see him!! (and hear it, lol)

Ugh the noise is just awful Stacy!! He kinda clamps his mouth shut and makes a high pitched growling noise in the back of his throat. It gets more and more intense until i give up!!!! Strange boy!!

This nursing an older baby is strange unchartered territory for me as i only nursed Ruby for 4.5 months, and so while know what she did at various times (like when she went down in number of feeds etc) I'm not sure if i can really compare the two as he is BF and didn't start solids until 6 months, while she was weaned at 4.5 months and started solids at that time too!!

When do they normally go to 3 feeds??

[GraceKellysmom]

It's really great if they keep four feeds up until 10 months or even longer. Most will drop a feed or two around the 10-11 month mark and take a snack instead. It kinda depends on how long you want to go, or think you want to go. Some nurse for comfort and won't drop the feeds on their own, and are happy to nurse through their second (or more) year.