How often does your 7-8 month old breastfed? DS not really interested any more

[seaofloom]

He's 7 months old and breastfeed, also on solids. He's always been difficult to breastfeed. He's fussy, fidgety and distractible. He won't feed when:
-tired
-we're out of the out of the house
-there are other people talking nearby

I've got into a routine of offering 5 feeds a day: 4 in daytime, 1 dreamfeed at night. I say offer as he rarely asks to be fed, so I initiate the feed but often he will refuse. I feel like I'm force feeding him most of the time :(

I'm worrying that he isn't getting enough milk. His weight has kind of stabilised at around 16 pounds since he was 5 months old, he's only put a few ounces on since then but he's definitely got longer as his sleepsuits are too short now.

He's just started crawling and pulling up and is very active, so obviously healthy and full of energy.

I guess I want to know what is a normal number of milk feeds for a 7 month old? I seem to remember my DD fed much more than this. Should I stop offering and just wait for him to ask, even if it just means 3 feeds a day?

[Superworm]

I would keep offering, they are very distractible at this age. DS has anywhere between 5-7 feed in 24 hours at this age. Some took a lot of work as he was too interested in exploring.

[fhdl34]

DS is 9 months next week, he has dropped in frequency recently but has ramped up his solids, he has fed about 8 times in the last 24 hours, it was much more before

[seaofloom]

I'm struggling to get even 5 breastfeeds in him in 24 hours, its usually more like 3 or 4.
The dreamfeed in the most successful because he's half asleep and docile
The rest are a battle, especially if we're out of the house. It's like feeding a wild animal, he sucks enough to get the milk to let down then completely looses interest and starts thrashing about, and I end up covered in milk

[josephine1986]

My dd has phases like this then goes back to feeding as usual. In her case, teething pain definitely plays a part.
I wouldn't worry too much or fight him for it. If he is happy and normal nappies etc, he is more than likely getting enough via the milk and solids.