Dropping a feed??

[Farigiss]

My daughter is now 7 months old. She has been EBF and started solids at 5 months.

Both solids and BFing has been wonderful and she has taken to it very well. However in the recent weeks I have noticed a decline in her feeding (both BFing and Solids) at lunch time.

Here is her feeding...

7: BF
8: Breakfast
11:30: BF
12: Lunch
3:30 or 4: BF
5 or 5:30: Supper
7: BF
11: BF

She has little interest in eating at 11:30 or 12... and usually takes a little breast and then maybe half a bottle of food. I'm not sure if I need to adjust her feeding times.... or if maybe I should begin to drop her dreamfeed.

Any advice would be great...

[shivi]

hi there,

with both of mine at this age, I basically dropped the 11am BF which meant a better lunch and a better day all in all.

I kept the DF till 10 and 11 mths respectively as BM is so much easier digested etc etc than formula and I just didn't believe they could go thro the night from 7 to 7 without anything until they were eating a brill tea at 5 and also a good 7pm feed.

It suited me, particularly with my DD, as it meant when I went back to work at 7.5 mths I didn't have to pump as I was working 8-3 and home for all feeds.

Good luck and HTH

Siobhain x

[Buntybear]

Hi, I have have a thread going asking a similar thing though feeds aren't decreasing  Shivi, did you drop the feed as your LO wasn't interested anymore?

[shivi]

they weren't taking a good lunch...

and with two babies STTN from early on, I wasn't going to drop the DF for a lOOONG time so it was the obvious choice....

I never fed on demand and they never really demanded the breast other than first thing in the morning at that age...and I loved the 3-3.30 pm feed as I had just arrived home and of course the going to bed feed.

Back in Oscar's time, 4 yrs ago, it was "recommended" to drop to 4 milk feeds by this age, regardless of BF or FF so I was following the norms but just on my own terms iykwim and it was a case of it working so well with him that I did the same with Emma without even considering anything else, especially as my work was more hectic after Emma and I wouldn't have had the time/space to pump anyway (was back at 4 mths after Oscar so obviously HAD to pump then).

I just wasn't brave enough to drop the DF. I seriously believed in it and it took serious talk from my DH to drop it eventually both times....I had had two EBF babies STTN from 10 and 14 weeks without a hitch so I was addicted to tanking them up for the night and DF-ing them. Also, my two were/are very spirited so their BFs during the day were distracted quite often and at least the DF was a calm, quiet feed ALWAYS...

S x

[Farigiss]

That is an interesting way of changing her feeding times. I would have never thought of keeping the DF and dropping the lunch feed to just solids... Can you post how your day use to look?

I would be happy dropping her feed if it is a real option, I enjoy the DF... however if it is better to drop the DF and make sure she gets her calories in the day...

Thoughts?

[shivi]

7am BF
8am brekkie
11am later extended to 11.30am as she took a bigger brekkie lunch with straw cup of water
3pm BF
5pm tea
7pm BF
11pm DF straight from breast...

naps changed as she got older....we did the 2 to 1 early with both of mine and having a GOOD LUNCH helped. they had both transitioned completely by a year, started with catnap in the am around 10mths or so....

I kept up the DF until 10 and 10.5 mths respectively...and never fed in the night after 14 weeks with each of them

S x