Cutting down on breastfeeds

[BebeBelge]

Hello All,

I was hoping for some advice on cutting back on bfs for ds2. He is 1 in one week and at the minute he is bf 4 times a day (early morning, morning snack, afternoon snack and bedtime). He is eating solids really well. In fact he has a huge appetite and eats a lot of cheese, yoghurt and has milk on his weetabix/porridge.

Ideally, I would like to cut out the daytime bf 'snacks' and just feed him first thing in the morning and at bedtime. Do you think this is realistic or would my supply just dry up if I tried? Also, if I did do this, what should I give him for the two daytime 'snacks' that I would be replacing? He is not great at drinking from cups yet. He just takes a tiny amount of water at mealtimes. If I gave him cow's milk in a cup he probably wouldn't actually drink very much, or would it be ok to give him solid snacks instead of these breastfeeds?

As an aside, he is still quite tiny (7.3kgs) as he was very ill at birth and has a lung condition that means he uses more calories than normal just for breathing, leaving less energy for actual growing (or so it has been explained to me!). So I am trying to fatten him up a bit although his doctors are not overly concerned at this stage. Everyone has accepted that he will just be smaller than his peers for a while and will hopefully catch up over time. Since he started on solids, he is gradually starting to creep up the percentile charts.

Thanks in advance. I would really appreciate any advice or tips. i am in a different time zone so will pop back later!

[Stubbed56]

I think your supply will adjust (mine did). Just substitute some cows milk in a cup for a breastfeed. He might not drink it all straight away, my little boy didn't, but after a few days / weeks he will if he wants it.

[TanteRose]

Frankly, if you are worried about calorie intake, I would rethink dropping the breastfeeds.

Why force cow's milk when your milk is so much better for him?
Could you express and give him breastmilk in a cup?

Obviously, if outside circumstances, like your returning to work or something, means that you have to drop the snack feeds, then of course, you will have to substitute with cow's milk.

Your supply will adjust with no problem if you feed only in the morning and at night.

My DS was having just one feed a day when we stopped bf'ing on his third birthday.