Should/Can I drop to 3 fds?? Pls help figure out a schedule...

[aimeeL]

So I started work again today - I'm a p/t high school teacher and summer's sadly over!  My DD is just a tad over 10 mo and has been ebf... she's on the small side - 15 lbs, 8 oz at her 9 mo checkup - and that has made me just a tad paranoid about her eating habits/routine... ANYWAYS - I'm trying to figure out what to do with her bfs and solid meals now that I'm back to work...  Here's what we HAVE been doing for about the last month:

E/A:  7 a.m. (bf at wakeup and solids 45-60 min later)
S:  10:30
E/A:  11:40 a.m. (bf at wakeup; solids 30-45 min later)
(bf again right before nap)
S:  3 p.m.
E/A:  4:20 p.m. (solids at about 4:45 p.m.)
S:  7:15 p.m. (bf before bedtime)

So I moved the 3rd bf to before the nap instead of after because it just seemed like we were so rushed getting in that bf, then dinner, and another bf before bt... It also seems to help her nurse longer at bt...

So my dilemma is that now that I'm back at work, I'm teaching right up until noon... so for instance - today, she woke earlier for the day, therefore even though she slept a normal nap, she woke up at 11:30 a.m... (and conceivably, as we start to reduce that am nap, that wakeup will obviously be earlier and earlier)  DH went ahead and fed her lunch, then L and I drove home and I bfed her when we got home - around 12:45 p.m. so basically, just flip-flopped the order of solids and bf... So my question is - where should I put that 3rd bf?  Should I keep it pre pm nap?  Kinda weird to be nursing about 2 hrs aprt...  Should I push it to post pm nap - and just see what happens going back to those three Es in 3 hrs?  OR should I just do one afternoon feed - around 1, 1:30 p.m.. and go down to 3 bfs?

I'd like to continue nursing her past a year - maybe 18-24 mo? - and I already feel like my supply is dropping... so my concern is that dropping to 3 bfs would further reduce my supply and I'd end up weaning sooner than I'd like...    On the other hand, if that's where we're headed anyways - then I guess I might as well??  I just don't know...

Again, I think I'm mostly anxious about this because she's not a great eater... bf OR solids..

Thanks in advance - I've looked at the sample feeding routines and will probably go back and peruse again - it's just so helpful to have dialogue about what happens day to day...

[JaspersMum]

Your routine is so similar to ours.  I wouldn't worry too much . . I read somewhere that total volume doesn't change much so even if you go down to 3 feeds a day, she will probably drink as much milk as she did with 4 feeds but spaced out over 3 feeds instead . . make sense?  I'm not sure how it will affect your supply . . I would hope you'd be okay because you are reducing feeds gradually.

I'm kind of in the same boat in that I return to work in three weeks and have decided that the two daytime feeds I'll replace with cow's milk.  I'm only going back to work two days per week to start with so I'm not too concerned . . I just didn't want to push formula as DS can't stand it.

My advice would be to try out a few different scenarios and see what works for you and DD.

[KellyC]

Hi there

Both my boys dropped to 3 bfs a day at around 7 months (and I fed DS1 for 11 months and DS2 for 21 months).  They had one on waking, another after the pm nap and another before bed.  I agree with the pp that the feeds became 'better' so the total milk intake probably didn't decrease.  In fact, I've just remembered that with DS1 the reason I dropped to 3 feeds was to get him to take longer feeds during the day to help with his nights and it worked!

Kelly x

[aimeeL]

Thanks so much for your thoughts, ladies - always helpful to hear others' experiences...  So after looking AGAIN at the sample feeding routines, I thought - you know, I have a break between 9:30-10:30 a.m... I could feed her THEN.. So I tried that today and will give it maybe a wk...  so bfing at wakeup, 10-ish a.m. (pre am nap), 2:30-ish p.m. (pre pm nap) and bedtime.. it's a little weird to be feeding before both naps, but I figure at this point, I'm not really worried about nursing to sleep anymore, so it should be okay?

If it doesn't seem to be working, though, I think I may just drop to 3 bfs.. I don't know why I'm so worried about doing that... I guess it just somehow seems to me like it'd be the beginning of the end....

[gemma2313]

I am by no means an expert but wanted to just mention I fell into a trap of feeding before naps and then bed to fit bf's in during the day and found it took my lo NOT VERY LONG to "expect" to nurse to sleep.... I would suggest not letting her fall to sleep on you if you can help it, especially 3 times a day.

My lo was never fed to sleep until then and within a week started expecting it. I had to feed making sure he stayed awake ....

[vicstar]

I dropped to 3 bf at around 10 months.  The reason being, that if I bf after Nap 1 (around 11:45), then it would push back lunch until 12:45.  Then I'd bf after Nap 2 (around 4:45) and to me that just seemed too late in the day.  So I switched to a bf an hour after lunch - usually at around 1:30 depending on the time naps went.  I found this to be better because if I left it until just before Nap 2, then LO would fall asleep and then it would stuff up his nap.

Now that LO is nearly 12 months, I've just gone down to 2 bf a day as he wasn't interested in the after lunch one.  I've made up for the difference with giving milk in a cup during snack times.

Hope this helps.

[aimeeL]

Oooh - thanks for that.. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it more carefully... now you have me all worried! =)  How old was your LO when you started doing that and how did you fix it?  She's definitely awake when I'm feeding her now.. I start about 15 min before nap and - as fast as she's been feeding - that usually still leaves at least 5 min for WD, getting her into her sleep sack, etc...

[aimeeL]

Vopie - yes, that's EXACTLY the situation I'm in... except I'm not even around to bf at 11:45 a.m., so that's when DH does lunch and so I've been doing bf an hr after lunch - 12:45 p.m. - and then not sure what to do with bf #3!  Hmmmm... now you all have me wondering if maybe I SHOULD consolidate to 3 bfs as opposed to continuing to try for 4 and perhaps messing up her sleep routine? 

What to do, what to do...