when to drop milk feed?

[babyrose]

my wee one is 28 wks, when will he drop a milk feed? i know its not yet and how much will he then be getting a day?

[Vicku]

How many feeds are you doing now?

[babyrose]

Around 6 a day

[Vicku]

Ok, so is this including nightfeeds or is it 6 daytime feeds?
Could you post your EASY in the EAS format so we can have a proper look?
Usually babies drop a feed naturally as they eat more and more solids.

[babyrose]

hi,
it is about 5-6 a day.we are working through our routine at the moment and stopping night feeds.
 8 b/feed
 9 b/fast
10:30 sleep (1.5)
12 b/feed
1 lunch
2:30 sleep (1.5)
4 b/feed
5 dinner
6 b/feed
8 b/feed

[~ Vik ~]

Hi there

Vick's right that babies tend to drop bf's naturally as their solid intake increases.  The WHO organization recommends a minimum of 4 bfs/day until 10mo old, but with no rush to drop feeds even after that point.  Up until the age of 1 milk (breast or formula) is still the primary and best source of nutrition for them - it has the complete balance of nutrients, fats, proteins, etc. that they need, and solids are more just for fun and learning about new tastes and textures.

Just so you know too, it's very, very normal for ebf babies to still need one or even two night feeds at this age.  Dylan was doing a dream feed and one other night feed in the wee hours of the morning until we dropped the dream feed around 9mo.  Are you actively trying to drop all night feeds?  What do your nights look like?

[babyrose]

hi,  i was trying sleep training a few wks ago and he slept through the night for a wk, then he was up to 4 feeds a night. now its about 2. he is now 29 wks, i was reading that you reduce milk about 7/8 months for more solids, is this right?

[~ Vik ~]

Do you do a dream feed?  If not, 2 feeds at night isn't horrible...  It certainly would be nicer with one (or none! ) but definitely not unusual.  Keep in mind too that if he wakes there could be reasons other than hunger.  Could he be teething, or too hot/cold in his bedroom?  Here's a link from kellymom.com with gentle methods to encourage less nursing at night that you might find helpful:  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning-night.html

i was reading that you reduce milk about 7/8 months for more solids, is this right?

That isn't the current recommendation, to be honest.  Solids don't play the primary role in nutrition until 1 year old - milk has more calories, more fats/protein, and more balanced nutrition than any solid food.  Most moms find that as babies grow, they naturally grow less interested in milk feeds (and thus more interested in solids) when they're developmentally ready.  That's often when the 2 afternoon milk feeds get consolidated into 1, and solids intake naturally goes up.  Some moms do have to "help" by offering solids before milk or actively reducing milk feeds, but this shouldn't happen until at least 10mo old, and only if baby is actively resisting solids.

does that make sense?  let us know if you have any questions

[babyrose]

hi, we dont dream feed, but 2 feeds are a huge improvement to what they were b4! that does make sense, he is actually taking more milk than what he used to do. ive been giving 2 formula feeds as i would like to stop b/feeding altogether.

[~ Vik ~]

There's a weakly FAQ in he breastfeeding section if you need any more information to help there I'm on my iPod and it's a giant pain to post links, but it's right near the top of the FAQs! xx