Ready to drop DF?

[yellow rose]

I know that Tracy suggests dropping the DF at around 7 or 8 months, but I am starting to wonder if my breastfed lo is ready to drop it earlier than recommended.  He will be 5 months at the end of this month and seems to be taking less and less at his 1st morning feed now.  With my oldest, I remember this happening and I weaned him from the DF over a few days and he did fine with it.  He was 5 1/2 months at the time.  My lo is eating rice cereal 2x a day and nursing 4x a day plus the DF.  He is on a 4 hour routine.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Hi there!  Yes, some people drop the DF earlier (some people don't use it at all!).  If he's sleeping well through the night, then you could give it a try.

I'd be more cautious about the solids, amount, actually.  Remember that most guidelines don't suggest solids much before 6 months, and even after that, they're more for practice than anything.  You don't want him filling up on rice cereal which has almost no nutritional value, when he still needs the maximum of breast milk.  As long as he's getting full feeds for those 4 bf's, and you make sure not to give too much solid, then dropping the DF should be worth a try.

HTH!

[yellow rose]

My pediatrician recommended starting the rice cereal at 4 months and we did that with our oldest.  My lo definitely does not nurse as long as he used to and I am concerned about him not getting enough BM, but he continues to sleep well and is happy.  I also mix EBM in with the rice cereal, so it is not all empty calories.  I give him 2 tablespoons twice a day.  Do you think I should give less or since I am mixing in EBM it is okay?

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Your ped may be of the "old school" and not up to date on the current guidelines - a lot of them are!  I personally preferred to wait until 6 months....and then I really really liked the Baby Led Weaning method (they have info on the solids board if you're interested).  If you want to stick with solids this early, though, make sure you're giving it within a half hour after breastfeeding, for sure - and no more, or he might fill up on them too much, and definitely don't increase the solids for a while.  If weight gain is good and sleep is good, though, you're probably doing just fine.