How do I know when it's time to drop the last NF?

[RebekahDSC]

My DD will be 10 months on Saturday and gets 4 nursing sessions (the last 2 before bed only 2 hours apart) and 3 solid meals everyday.  She hasn't really been one to drop NFs of her own accord very well, so usually we have to decide when to drop them for her.  At the moment she still has one NF.   We struggle A LOT with NWs still, which is something we are trying to get help with on that board, but the rule with the nursing is that if she wakes and it has been at least 4 hours since her BT feed, I will feed her.  After that, I don't feed her until the morning.  I don't think she really needs it anymore at this age, but she does seem to take a full feed.  This is the only feed when I offer both breasts, and she is more than happy to take them!  BTW, she's big for her age and LOVES to eat.  I keep wondering if cutting it could help her learn to sleep better at night in general, but I don't want to do so too soon and make things worse with her sleep.  What do you think?

[Roseii]

I would say technically she doesn't need that feed given she eats well in the day and is growing well. However dd2 was still having at least one NF at 10mo, because it was the quickest way to settle her Like I say, I doubt v much she *needs* it, but it's whether you can bear to tackle it

[RebekahDSC]

Thanks, Charlibob! So when did you wean the NFs?  Or did she drop them herself?

[Roseii]

Well I stopped BF when she was nearly 14mo and tbh she was still having the odd one then Even now if she has a long NW I end up giving her a bottle to settle her back off Perhaps I'm not the best person to give advice on this?! That said, DD1 stopped all NFs before 8mo, I resettled in other ways as she was still frequently NW.

Long story short, I very much doubt a thriving 10mo *needs* a NF, but it's down to you if you can bear to train her out of it just yet

[Fiver]

For us, DD kept a night feed until somewhere around 11/12 months (I think!)  At that stage we figured she could probably do without and I sent DH to settle her in the night ( ) rather than to bring her to me to feed, at which stage she clearly demonstrated that it wasn't a necessity anymore and we haven't done one for a good long while now.

[Erin M]

We dropped NFs around 10 months with ds.  DD2 had them until a year (but I was working so she was taking less during the day so I know she was making up calories), and dd1 only had a df from 3 months (how lucky I was!).  Anyway, with all of mine, I looked to when they stopped feeding quite so vigorously at night or dropped back to sleep before the feed was over.

[RebekahDSC]

Thanks for sharing, Ladies!

For us, DD kept a night feed until somewhere around 11/12 months (I think!)  At that stage we figured she could probably do without and I sent DH to settle her in the night ( ) rather than to bring her to me to feed, at which stage she clearly demonstrated that it wasn't a necessity anymore and we haven't done one for a good long while now.

Fiver, how did she demostrate that is wasn't a necessity anymore?

We dropped NFs around 10 months with ds.  DD2 had them until a year (but I was working so she was taking less during the day so I know she was making up calories), and dd1 only had a df from 3 months (how lucky I was!).  Anyway, with all of mine, I looked to when they stopped feeding quite so vigorously at night or dropped back to sleep before the feed was over.

Wow!  That is WAY lucky (with DD1)!  Hmmm... she does always fall asleep after one breast.  But she wakes enough to take the second side as soon as I put her up to it!

Well I stopped BF when she was nearly 14mo and tbh she was still having the odd one then Even now if she has a long NW I end up giving her a bottle to settle her back off Perhaps I'm not the best person to give advice on this?! That said, DD1 stopped all NFs before 8mo, I resettled in other ways as she was still frequently NW.

Long story short, I very much doubt a thriving 10mo *needs* a NF, but it's down to you if you can bear to train her out of it just yet

Ha ha!  You're fine!

I do think you Ladies are right that she doesn't need it anymore. I guess there is a part of me that is hesitant to give up the last night feed since it is kind of a special thing between the two of us.  But we are moving in a month and I'd rather stop it before that.  I also think she might actually sleep better once she knows no milk is coming when she wakes.  Do any of you Ladies have any experience with that?

One reason I'm nervous to drop the night feed is I feel like our EASY needs a couple of tweaks first.  First of all, her last two feeds of the day are really close together, which makes me worry that she is snacking and not getting a full feed before bed.  I'm confused about that, though, because I know there is a principle of tanking up before bed.  How is tanking up different from snacking?  And how is it good if snacking is bad?
The other tweak we need is in the morning.  Currently, to fit better with E's naps, I wait to nurse her for almost an hour after she gets up.  It can be hard enough to distract her now and I don't want her to have to go any longer.  I'm just scared to nurse her first thing in the morning because I don't know if she would last all the way until after her first nap.  Any ideas on how to tweak our EASY?

Here's what it looks like currently (although the nap lengths vary by day:)

6:30 WU
7:20 Nurse
8:25 Solids
10:30-12:00 Nap
12:00 Nurse
1:10ish Solids
3:30-4:30 Nap
4:30 Nurse
5:30 Solids
6:30 Nurse (BT Routine)
7:00/7:15ish BT
(one night feed, usually starting between 10:30pm and 12:30am)

Thanks so much!

[Fiver]

how did she demostrate that is wasn't a necessity anymore?

She started to sleep through the night and was taking plenty of solids/milk during the day.

As for you EASY, when my DD was 10m, we did a WU feed (around 6/6.30), 10am (immediately pre-nap), 2pm (ish) and 6pm with solid meals at 7am, 12pm and 4.30pm.  I can totally see what you're trying to do with offering a feed 1h before food (which I've seen suggested before), but, personally, I'd rather not be trying to hold off giving her a feed when she wakes up.  Obviously it's entirely up to you, but that's one suggestion

[RebekahDSC]

We're thinking about moving her first solids later so that I can nurse her when she wakes and then she can last until after her first nap, but with solids in between like this:

6:30 Wake, NURSE
8:30 Solids (we will also make this a larger meal than she has been having, as she will be hungrier)
10:40-12:10 Nap
12:10 NURSE

What do you think?  I'm just REALLY nervous about getting into snacking territory.  Is this snacking (since she doesn't go even 4 hours between eating) or is it fine now that she is getting older and doing both solids and nursing?

Also, do you think it is better to have a large amount of time (like 4 hours) between the bedtime nursing and the nursing before it (in hopes of her taking a full feed at the bedtime nursing) or is it better to have the last two nursing sessions close together to tank up?

Thank you so much!

[Fiver]

LOs usually eat little and often.  As they get into taking more solid food you may well find that you're giving breakfast, offering a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and then dinner anyway.  Looks like a great plan that you have there to me

As for the evening, I'd probably stick with what you're already doing for now and see how you get on

[RebekahDSC]

Thank you SO very much, Amanda!  That makes me feel better!

[Erin M]

We've always been fine with the last two feeds closer together and more time between hem in the morning. 
With mine, I've always found that first morning feed is so big that it takes awhile for them to be hungry again!

[RebekahDSC]

Update time! So, it took us a little while to get started because E got sick and I didn't want to cut the feed until she was better, but I did it 2 nights ago and things are going great!  The first night she cried for almost an hour (about 50 min) but I just kept laying her back down, sometimes rubbing her back briefly to comfort her, and she finally drifted back off to sleep and didn't wake up again until morning! (Handled that better than I had expected!) Then last night she only woke up once and I went in and lay her back down with the pacifier and she was out!  I think maybe she wanted to check and see if the no feed thing was just a one night thing and as soon as I told her by my actions that it was the new normal she knew I meant it thanks to the night before and decided it was better just to sleep!   Here's hoping for a sleep-through tonight!  (If she did, it would be the first time in her almost 11 months of life!!!  )  Thanks for the help!

Now that we have no night feeds we are down to 4 nursing sessions a day.  We still do single-side nursing, and I am wondering if I should switch the side I start with each day.  For instance, if I feed her on the right side in the morning, left side after first nap, right side after second nap, and left side before bed, should I continue the pattern with the right side again the next morning, or should I do the left side the next morning so that each side is getting the same amount of stimulation (since usually she is hungriest in the morning, and less so at other feeds)  Does that make sense?  I like the switching back and forth and I actually like feeding her with the left side before bed every night because I have long thought that it produced more but a former lactation consultant once told me it was best to switch which side you started with each day. What do you think?

[Erin M]

Good update!!
As for the switching, I always start each day on the same side but I have no idea if it matters or not!  Never made a difference for me at least!