Big breakfast dilemma

[Sublet]

I started weaning my daughter at just over five months and we are now into our sixth week (she's now 28 weeks). It's been going OK but I was wondering when would be a reasonable time to expect her to want breakfast. At the moment she's not interested at all. She has a 7oz bottle when she wakes up, another 6oz or so at 11.45, followed by pureed veg, then perhaps 5oz at 2.30, mashed banana and pear with yoghurt at 5.30 then another 5-6oz milk before bed at 7. We wake her up for a feed at 10.15 and then she sleeps until 6.30ish. However, it's becoming a struggle to get her to drink her milk at breakfast time and there's no way she'll have anything else. Does anyone think dropping the 10.15 bottle feed is the answer? We've been a bit nervous about doing so until she's eating breakfast but if anything she's getting less hungry in the mornings. If we do drop this feed, is it best to go cold turkey and hope for the best or reduce it gradually (it's already down to 3.5oz)?
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[Mum2FunkyDude]

Don't worry about a set mealtime yet, she is still at the stage where they explore food and experience different tastes. When I started weaning at about the same age as you I used to work out either a bottle or meal every 2 hours in the day. Also remember that milk still makes up for most of her nutrients and they do show you when they get hungry.

[hana]

my 8 month old wasn't on 3 meals until she was about 7.5 months, she jsut wasn't interested ( started weenign about about 6.5 months)
she eats like a horse now - better for you, less faffing about

[Mum2FunkyDude]

I just had a quick thought and I think ds's routine was like something like this:

5:30am Bottle
7:30 breakfast
11:00 bottle (this was the first one I dropped as soon as he was established in a good luchtime routine)
13:00 offered puree
14:30bottle
17:00 dinner
19:00 bottle and bed.

[Gemmitygem]

sublet, sounds like you're on the same routine as me. my DS is 7 months. I would cut down the 10 pm feed a bit, she should be really hungry in the morning, certainly hungry enough for milk.. Your dd is only a bit younger than my ds. he only started getting interested in breakfast after a while, basically I kept offering him a bit of oat porridge and fruit after his morning milk and eventually he got keener and keener on it (at the same time I was cutting his 10 pm feed down, he only has 8 mins on the breast, think he gets around 3-4 oz only)..

so try cutting down 10pm feed but not cut out, and then keep offering a bit of breakfast and when she's ready, she'll take it.

best of luck and don't hurry it!

[katelyle]

I wouldn't cut your 10.00 feed if she's sleeping so well! The last thing you want to do is disturb her sleep patterns Does she have to have breakfast? I think she's too little for mealtimes - at this age she's still getting most of her nourishment from milk - solid food is more a sort of hobby! She'll gradually get more and more of her nourishment from solids and that will lead to her taking less milk. You don't have to do anything, it just happens. Offer her a little food at famiy meal times, but don't worry if she doesn't eat it.

[Sublet]

Thank you for all the advice. It's easy to lose your sense of perspective sometimes ? especially when you read/hear of babies of a similar age eating three big meals a day ? but I suppose six weeks isn't that long. I'll try and take a more chilled approach and see how it goes. Might try cutting back the late feed by another ounce or so and see if it makes her hungrier in the mornings, though.

[katelyle]

Honestly I wouldn't, sublet - you don't want her waking up demanding breakfat at 5 in the morning! If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!! Remeber,solid food is a hobby! (my dd was still on nothing but milk at 28 weeks - she wasn't interested in solids - by 10 months she was eating three meals a day including roast potatoes!)

[Tapster]

I know how you feel. My DD is 6 months and not really interested in food just BF. I have tried BLW (for the last 3 days) see another thread and she seems to be more interested in feeding herself than being fed.

It is so annoying when people say their 6 month old is having 3 meals and 2 snacks today and barely a cube/stick of carrot gets into them.

My DD won't have tea no matter what I try and she doesn't sleep well so I agree if it ain't broke don't fix it - I'd swap places for some sleep!

[Sublet]

Tapster, tea is the one meal she is into - tonight she ate a whole banana, some baby rice with milk and quite a lot of plain yoghurt. But then would only drink about four ounces of milk so I ended up stressing about that instead. You really can't win so maybe I should just resign myself to that fact and count my blessings. For this week at least?

[katelyle]

Honestly, they don't need solid food at this age - their main food is still milk.


What you can say to the parents of 6 month old three meal a day babies is " Oh, didn't you realize that the current guidelines don't recommend weaning at all til 6 months? That's why we're taking it slowly" That'll shut them up!

[sohappyicouldcry]

Old thing people say is "food for fun until 1"........ My DD is now 10 months and only just eats 3 meals a day. She still has lots and lots of milk as well, and is so far refusing to drink from a beaker. I'm not really that fussed as long as she's having her milk. Some days she refuses solids and just has bottles..... It's all about learning and getting used to change. She'll sort herself out in her own time I'm sure ! THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT, if they weren't, life would be really boring

[Gemmitygem]

ok, but as someone with the same routine, and babs the same age, I would definitely cut down, but not out, the 10 pm feed. if she wakes up early then you can always rethink, but she should be hungry enough to take a full milk feed in the morning, the fact she's not doing that (forget the breakfast for a minute), suggests to me she's getting too much at night...