How much milk does your 9-mth old drink? And how do I tempt her back to the breast?

[florenceuk]

I have a highly distractable 9-mth old DD and a very active 3.5yr-old DS. Usually she feeds before we get up (around 5am, groan), after her morning nap, after her afternoon nap and then before bed. When she is at the childminders (Wed-Friday), she has two bottles of about 6-8oz each instead of a feed,which she seems to take fine (loves bottles actually - highly attracted to them if other babies are drinking). Anyway, lately she has been very distracted during the day, and DS does his best to distract her! So she feeds for about a minute, then whips off to have a good look round, then another minute, then crawls off to have a really really good look. I'm pretty sure she's not getting 6oz a feed, plus my breasts have been uncomfortably full until the last feed of the day. Can't go off and sit in a darkened room as DS can't be left alone.

SO my question is, maybe as she's not feeding well, should I drop the mid-morning feed - and should I adjust her bottles at the CM as well? She's sometimes woken up at 11pm wanting to feed, so I'm worried she's trying to make up what she is missing in the day. But can't see how to get her to feed anymore, short of switching to bottle and giving up on the midday breastfeeds.

[florenceuk]

bump?

[girrafey]

not sure if this is what u wanted, but the ages are the same as 2 children i was a nanny for. ( but sexs the other way) the baby boy was easily distracted while having a bottle so i used to have to put the toddler in the lounge with nick jr on and a special " feeding time toys" this were toys she was only allows to play with when her baby brother was being fed as she was a BIG GIRL. I would then sit on the stairs ( so that the lounge door was pulled to enough for me to beable to see in but so that the baby and couldnt see and it gave the girl a sense of being alone like a big girl. we done this for the morning feed and for the afternoon feed the video was put on as she then dozed off infront of it. just an idea. hth