Author Topic: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?  (Read 3929 times)

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Offline peepip

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6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« on: January 30, 2017, 19:41:52 pm »
so my 6mo boy has been not interested in BF for a while (at least a few weeks)...He only just started solids though.
I have been offering every 3 hours, is it time to maybe move to every 4 hours? He never asks for it (except at night - 2 feeds), I always have to offer. I'm afraid he would go all day without any milk if I never offered!

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2017, 19:51:22 pm »
Does he eat well when you offer at the 3h mark?  Or is he just not interested in a feed at all?  If he eats well once it's offered I wouldn't change anything, my DS needed 3h feeds until he was properly established on solids, and obviously milk remains the main source of nutrition for several more months yet.  But if he's not interested at the 3h point then yes I'd push it a bit later and see if he will take a better feed that way.  I assume you have tried things like feeding in a quiet room with no distractions? 

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2017, 19:54:07 pm »
Hi thank for your quick reply!
When I offer at 3h he is not interested at all. He will only take a small amount.
I actually have only been feeding him a dark quiet room now because he is SO distracted while feeding. Its impossible to feed him while out  :(

I will try offering every 4h today and hopefully he will get better feeds

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2017, 20:08:23 pm »
You could go to 3.5h as an interim step?  Just to give you both a bit of time to adjust :D

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2017, 08:13:34 am »
I have another question- so he still always falls asleep at the breast before bedtime. I'm not sure if this is a sleep question or a breastfeeding question but I thought I'd ask here first.

Today, his last nap ended at 3, and I fed him at 6 (in full day light, noisy room) and he still fell asleep...is there anything I can do??

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2017, 15:57:43 pm »
Does it affect his night sleep?  If not I would just go with it....DD fell asleep on the breast at bedtime for the first 7 months but always slept well at night.  I just stirred her slightly as I put her down and she would wiggle a bit then sleep.  As she got bigger she just wasn't so sleepy at bedtime so it naturally transitioned to a more awake put down x

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2017, 20:36:00 pm »
He sleeps relatively well at night so I think it's fine. Good to know it's not a terrible habit

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2017, 21:16:00 pm »
*sigh* so he was going well for a couple of days, but now its back to minimal feeding.

I'm trying every 4 hours, and he still won't stay one for more than a minute. I always offer 1 hour before solids so I know he's not too full from solids  :(

He's also waking up after 4-5 hours at night wanting a feed too...I feel he would be able to sleep longer if he just ate more during the day, as he could easily go 4-5 hours during the day if I let him...Any other suggestions?

Offline *Ali*

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2017, 21:23:14 pm »
Maybe try offering at different times like right before a nap or just as he's waking from a nap in the still dark nursery.

What about a dream feed?
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2017, 21:32:44 pm »
I have tried feeding him right before naptime, but without fail he will fall asleep at the breast and I'm not sure if I should be encouraging that?
When I feed him waking up from a nap its the same- is just not interested.

I have tried dream feeds in the past but I never really stuck to it, does it usually take a few days to make a difference (if it will make a difference?)

Offline *Ali*

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2017, 22:51:43 pm »
If the aim is to get more milk in him then I'd not worry about him falling asleep tbh. Getting those feeds in would be my priority.

What do you mean by "see a difference"? In how much milk he takes?
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2017, 23:18:58 pm »
oh by "see a difference" I mean by delaying his NW by a few hours. I always found that when I gave him a dreamfeed he still woke up around 1am so it never really bought us much time.


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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #12 on: February 19, 2017, 14:28:57 pm »
Ok. My DS2 took 2 weeks of DF to start sleeping longer. Could have been coincidence too of course. At least you'll have that extra feed in there.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline zissi

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2017, 21:27:54 pm »
my second daughter was like this. she never asked for a feed apart from night time. she was tongue tied and despite revision she never really managed to get at the milk after the initial letdown, hence she only stayed on the breast for a few minutes. what is his weight gain like? if he is gaining fine and eating solids too I wouldn't worry too much about the short feeds. and yes a DF would ensure an extra feed there even though it might not buy you more sleep time. I dream fed until she was 11 months old.
Franziska

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2017, 21:31:50 pm »
His weight is not a problem, which is lucky. At the moment this is what works for us; I feed him before and after his solid meals i.e.

7am WU
8am BF
9am solids
10am BF
10.45am-12pm sleep
12.30pm BF
1.30pm solids
2.30pm BF
3.30pm - 4.15pm sleep
5pm BF
6pm solid
7pm BF
7.15/7.30pm sleep

This weirdly seems to work for us for now, and his only NF is at around 5am

His A times are getting really long though so I have no idea how we will eventually fit 2 naps in for the next few months...

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #15 on: March 03, 2017, 19:50:33 pm »
You can generally manage to keep 2 naps as A time increases by letting the day get a bit longer (so moving BT a bit later up to around a 13h day) and deliberately shortening one of the naps - usually this means the following A time is a bit shorter.  Just before DD moved to one nap she was on something like

WU 6.30-7
Nap 10.30/11ish for 1h30 (max)
Catnap around 4.30 - 30-45 mins
BT asleep for about 7.30ish

Hope that's helpful :)

Offline peepip

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Re: 6mo time to stretch out feeds?
« Reply #16 on: March 04, 2017, 00:11:23 am »
Thank you! I did that yesterday and he had a couple of NW, but I'll stick with it for a few days and see how it goes