Author Topic: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk  (Read 2170 times)

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Offline BusterB

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6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« on: February 11, 2014, 12:01:40 pm »
My baby is 6mo and over the last couple of weeks has taken to BLW with real gusto!  :D He is also EBF and a very efficient feeder (he usually demands I swap sides between 3.5 & 4 mins)

We are now up to 3 'meals' a day, 2 of which are pretty varied (inc veg, fruit, meat, toast/rice cakes etc) and one of porridge before bed & I know that plenty is going in because there is also plenty coming out! I obviously realise that at this stage food is for fun & exploration, not nutrition and my son is having a fantastic time and is becoming quite demanding where food is concerned (in a lovely way) but I am a little concerned that his recent breastfeeds aren't as substantial as they used to be.

I always off a BF at least an hour before solids, but for eg just now, after a 2hr nap, he only took one side (v unusual). He ate for 5 mins which is quite long for him, but he totally refused the other side and he has been doing similar things for the last couple of days.

He had a big feed at 4:30am this morning and then was not very interested in his 1st BF today only latching for a short time @ 7:30am - I offered again an hour later but again he only latched for a couple of mins. I then proceeded with some proper food & to be honest he wasn't particularly interested in that either - I just figured he wasn't too keen on what was on offer  :)

Since BLW he is definitely able to go longer between breastfeeds (managed almost 5 hours due to long naps recently for eg) So could it just be that he isn't very hungry overall or is the fact he is eating lots of solids responsible?

I guess I am wondering if on days like this I should drop the solids and focus on BF as that is his main food or still do both but make sure they are spaced out and offer less proper food? Was just worried about filling his tummy up unnecessarily with food but don't want to stop BLW unnecessarily. Grateful for a point in the right direction.... TIA.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2014, 12:23:34 pm by BusterB »

Offline michaeljacknnugg

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2014, 12:45:33 pm »
How often are you offering milk feeds? It may be that he is ready to drop a feed, and will take more at other feedings.

For weaning, if he is happy and interested I would just concentrate on the spacing and let him decide on the amount of food he takes. He knows his own body and as long as you are offering healthy food, won't do himself any harm!
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Offline BusterB

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2014, 15:04:42 pm »
How often are you offering milk feeds? It may be that he is ready to drop a feed, and will take more at other feedings.

Many thanks MJ&N... only last week he was eating approx every 3.5 hours but we were also doing small top ups an hour before naps to get him through - so fairly frequently. Seems in the last few days that has stretched and i've already dropped the top ups and as I mentioned he has gone as much as 4.5/5 hours between feeds due to long naps.

I didn't realise he might drop a feed at this point! How does that work?

For weaning, if he is happy and interested I would just concentrate on the spacing and let him decide on the amount of food he takes. He knows his own body and as long as you are offering healthy food, won't do himself any harm!

OK great, I will continue to keep the BF + meals well spaced and just let him decide. To be fair he wasn't very interested in his lunch today either, so I think there could just be something going on with him in general putting him off both milk + food.

Offline michaeljacknnugg

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2014, 15:14:15 pm »
I didn't realise he might drop a feed at this point! How does that work?

Well, he is quite old to be eating every 3.5 hours, so that may be something to do with it. But for us, we did a bit of cluster feeding in the afternoon as the DF didn't work, so 7,11,3,5,7 became 7,11,3,7 instead. Does that make sense? It helped to space out his night feeds too, as he took more each time. I can't remember exactly how old he was, he may have been older than your guy - but you get my drift.

I think there could just be something going on with him in general putting him off both milk + food.

Teeth? It was usually the culprit for us.
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Offline BusterB

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2014, 15:23:42 pm »
Well, he is quite old to be eating every 3.5 hours, so that may be something to do with it.

Yeah we were on 4 hour EASY around Christmas and my supply dropped, so I moved back closer to a 3.5 hour and was also advised to top him up as often as possible by a lactation consultant. He is definitely not needing feeding that regularly at the moment though, so I will just be guided by him i guess.

It helped to space out his night feeds too, as he took more each time.

This is great news! I noticed this happened a couple of nights already. He was regularly feeding every 3-3.5 hours at night until 3 nights ago and then it moved to 4 hours. Last night was back to every 2.5 hours - which might also indicate something going on....

Teeth? It was usually the culprit for us.

.... which could well be teeth - although no real other signs?! Will keep an eye out though... thanks again!

Offline BusterB

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2014, 16:05:53 pm »
Sorry I meant to ask.... if my little one doesn't take much at a BF, should I offer again slightly later on or just stick to the every 4 hours so that he is hopefully really hungry by then? (unless he makes it clear he is hungry earlier & i'd feed him of course!)
« Last Edit: February 11, 2014, 16:08:01 pm by BusterB »

Offline michaeljacknnugg

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2014, 16:45:10 pm »
For us, it was a clear sign that his feeds were too close together. Maybe offer just in case at first, until you work out what's going on?
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Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: 6mo loves food but might be taking less breastmilk
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2014, 17:56:00 pm »
If he is upping the night feeds I would really consider dropping back on the solids...he may be making up for lost nutrients by feeding more at night if he is too full to take good bf during the day. I think the recs here are to be on 3 meals by 8 ish months so a good couple of months to work up to that. No matter how healthy the solids are, they cannot replace bm or formula for nutrition at this stage.
Heidi