How can I get dd to take more milk during the day?

[HeadFairy]

DD is almost 7 months and weaning is going great guns, she's very enthusiastic but I'm not convinced she's getting enough milk and I can't work out when I should be bfing her and when I should be giving her solids. Her pattern currently goes something like this...

0800-0900 wakes up, after she's come around a bit I give her breakfast.

1100 - bf but she doesn't take very much at all.

11.30-13.30 nap

13.30 lunch

1500 bf - again not very much, she's very distracted by ds and all that's going on.

1700 tea - I try and keep it fairly light at the moment to encourage her to take more milk.

1900 - bf usually only one side.

2000 - she'll have the other boob to help her drop off.

2230 - dream feed, this is a good solid both sides proper feed.

0230 - again a good solid both sides feed.

Now I know she'll find her own pattern but I'd quite like her to start dropping if not the 2230 feed then certainly the 0230 feed as I'm due to go back to work soon, but I think she's still waking for that because she's just not getting enough milk in the day. I can't go and sit in a dark quiet room to feed her during the day because ds just follows and jumps all over me. I guess what I need to know is how to get her to take more milk during the day without locking ds under the stairs

I always offer milk first thing in morning and breakfast about an hour later. Then milk before or/and after morning nap. Lunch then milk again before/or after afternoon nap. Dinner at 4.30-5pm then milk at bedtime.

Maybe revise the quantities of solids your offering. She's clearly enjoying it but she'll get a lot more from the milk than the solids for the next couple of months.

I used to take my dd up to her room to feed her around nap times and pray that the tv or a snack would keep ds downstairs. He watched a lot of tv in the first 6mths of dd's life!

She is not interested in the milk as you are offering solids first. At 7 months milk still very important so should offer milk first eg

8am breastfeed
9am breakfast
morning nap?
11 breastfeed
12 lunch
12.30-2.30 nap
2.30pm breastfeed
5pm tea
19.30 breastfeed both sides breastfeed but put in cot awake

22.30 dream feed (drop this one once she is not feeding in night)

if she wakes in the night offer very quick feed eg 5 mins each side, gradually reducing to cuddling back to sleep.

once you have dropped the middle of the night feed and she is sleeping through, drop the 22.30 feed. The next feed to go is the 11am one.

so as bumbums said 4 feeds, first thing, after morning nap, after afternoon nap and at bedtime.

Thanks for that bumbums and MumNWLondon, I'll swap things around a bit and see how they go. I was doing breakfast first because she wakes so late and I thought if I gave her milk first she wouldn't have breakfast until about 10am, but I'm sure you're right.

of course the other thing is how on earth to feed her during the day when there are so many distractions. Even the lure of unlimited cbeebies won't keep ds out of my way long enough to feed her somewhere quiet, he's like my shadow!

Well you could start giving her formula in a cup for the two day time feeds? That's what I did, for the same reasons that you have.

They take a while to learn to take any decent quantity of milk from the cup but if you keep it available for a long while they get plenty of opportunity for little sips.

Re. the waking hour. Is your bed time 7 or 8?
You could think if its possible to jig things around so she'll wake up earlier. Mine sleep 7-7. May sound a bit crazy getting her to start her day earlier but it would allow you to get going with your day and fit in all the feedings!