6.5 mos solids before bm for lunch & dinner

[hannahjane]

Hi,
I have a question on a similar theme. My LO is 6 1/2 months old; our routine looks like this:
7am: Wake and BF
8am: Breakfast- porridge or weetabix with fruit
9am: Sleep (varies in length from 40 mins to 1.5 hr)
12pm: Lunch- e.g. pureed meat/fish and veg then BF
1-1.30pm: Sleep (again length varies)
4pm: Evening meal- usually fruit and yogurt/ custard then BF
6pm: Bath
6.45pm: BF
7pm: bed
10.30pm: BF (dream feed)

Firstly does it matter that I give solid foods before BF at lunch and evening meal? (she did actually refuse BF at lunchtime today but does usually take but obviously don't know how much she is getting).
If she continues to drop lunch BF should I get rid of dreamfeed to try and encourage her more in the day?

Thanks for reading!

[Mimi 2]

Hello hannahjane and welcome to BW.

At 6.5 mos, I would stick to bm before solids as bm is the best source of nutrition for her.  During the first few months solids is main for the introduction of taste and texture and forming a positive association with eating. 

However since your dd is doing fine with eating solids and bf'ing 5X then there's no need to change.  Just keep an eye on her milk intake.  You really don't want her to fill up with solids and decrease the milk intake too quickly.  Ounce per ounce, bm is more nutritious and has more benefits (healthy fats, minerals & vitamins) for optimal brain and body growth than solids.

As for the df, you may try to wean it once she is on 3 meals.  When you do wean the df, make sure that the calories is shifted towards the day.  Weaning the df works best when she has enough calories during the day to sustain her through the night.  Also be aware that it is very normal for bf babies to have one night feed/df past 8/9 mos. 

Have a read at some of these threads for more info.

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=118497.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68751.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=98183.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65750.0


Once again, welcome to BW

M

[hannahjane]

Thanks for the response- all very helpfull! I think I will change the way round if she refuses BF again at lunch time. After reading the link on dreamfeeding I will leave it as it is for the moment, not sure I could risk waking in the night again just yet! Thanks again, Hannah.

[Mimi 2]