6 month old - Confused about BF times (Created a "snacker")

[asvbloch]

Greetings! 

My daughter (exclusively BF) just transitioned to two naps a day.  She is napping at 10 and then again at 2/2:30 BT at 7/7:30.   I DF around 10:30.  She then wakes again at 2:30/3 and takes a full feed.  I think I've trained her to be hungry at night.  She falls asleep on her own for naps, BT, and early morning wakings and doesn't fall asleep while nursing at night.  At night feeds I place her back in her crib awake (except for DF).   Should I wean for night feeds?  Which feed do I start with?  I tend to do a full feed at 2:30/3 spot and then a one side feed at the 5am early waking. 


Also she isn't interested in solids.  She absolutely hates purees and occasionally will eat avocado or sweet potato from a fresh food feeder (mesh bag).  Sometimes she does other times she is completely uninterested.  I'm not sure how to schedule my breastfeeding feeds with two naps.  She needs a long nap at least 1.5/2 hr but for a four hour BF routine that is right smack in the middle of her nap.  Are the night feeds keeping her from taking in enough to go 4.5 hr between feeds?  Or will I just need to wait until she is more interested in solids and do a shorter BF routine of 3hr before her nap (but not letting her nurse to sleep). How do I fix the "snacking" I've created.  We went to a four hour feed right before 6months and she started waking up at night much more than the one time and I panicked and went back to this snacking during the day.  HELP!!!!!   What should my routine look like since she isn't eating solids?


Normal routine now.


7am Wake & BF
7:30 offer solids- usually declines
9:20-9:30 BF
9:45/10 Nap

11:30 BF
12 Offer solids - usually declines
2:00 BF
2:30 Nap

4:00 BF
5:30 Offer Solids - usually declines
7/7:30 BF and BT

10:30pm DF
2:30/3am Full feed
5:30am  feed one side

[newkidontheblock]

Hi there:) Your feeding routine is similar to what I was doing at that time. It wasn't the 'intervals' between feeds that bothered me. More the number of feeds in a day. I was very worried about my supply dropping. However, I started having a problem with the BT feed. If I fed on wake up from nap 2, she was not hungry enough at BT and wouldn't nurse properly. So I cut that one and kept the second pm feed at 3/3.30 pm latest. I also wasn't giving her much in the way of solids earlier but then I realised that it was another opportunity to add to her milk intake - porridge/pudding/milkshakes etc. So now we nurse on WU, after nap 1, at 3/3.30 and BT with solids one hour after morning nurse but directly after afternoon nurse so that she nurses again with me later. Hope that makes sense:)

I don't think you should worry about her solids intake. In the first year, they are more for fun & exploration than as a source of nutrition. She will still be getting all that from her milk. Btw, if she doesn't like purees, why not try Baby Led Weaning? That is what I am doing and it is going great!

Many 6 month olds do need 1 or 2 night feeds still, so it is completely normal. There is also a huge growth spurt at that time, which I feel may be the cause of these wakings. The fact that she is going back to sleep on her own after these wakings does say to me that she is hungry. If it is a growth spurt, then the solution is to up calories during the day - so could you try giving her a milkshake or porridge? Even 1 or 2 oz extra could make a difference. Or maybe try cluster feeding if she will accept it?

[asvbloch]

Thank you so much!  Ok! We will keep doing what we are doing.  We tried an oatmeal with breast milk and she wasn't a fan.  I'm def interested in BLW I am going to look into that more to see what we could even offer her at 6 months because I am nervous about her choking on solids at this point and her pincher grab hasn't developed yet. 

Thanks so much again.  Looks like we will keep on keeping on.  I didn't want foster a habit of snacking or night wakings if she wasn't actually hungry and i had just created that.  I was hopeful she was in fact hungry at night because she was falling asleep on her own. 

Thanks again.

[*Ali*]

I would cut the 11.30 BF and offer solids after WU from nap 1. Then I'd offer a bf at 1 ish and not again until WU from nap 2. That is more similar to the routine we had with DS2 who wasn't big on solids at this age.