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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

8 month old refusing evening bf

12 replies

Bufster · 31/07/2011 21:39

My 8 months old dd has recently started refusing her evening breast feed and I am hoping someone has some advice on how I can get her back to it. I only bf her twice a day: morning and evening (we stopped night feeds around one month ago).

She is in nursery during the day as I am back at work and she gets two bottles of formula while she is there as well as solids. She has 10-12 oz of formula during the day. When she comes home from nursery around 6pm I give her some more solids, then let her play for a bit and then bf her around 7.30 before putting her to bed.

The last 4-5 days she has refused the evening bf, or taken very little. She gets quite grumpy if I persist in trying to get her to eat. She is sleeping through even without this evening bf.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can maintain the evening bf? Should I cut down on the formula during the day or should I give her less solids in the evening? My DH thinks I should just bf her in the morning and give up the evening bf, but I really don?t want to do that if I can help it.

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 31/07/2011 21:46

How about breastfeeding her after nursery, then giving her a solid supper before bed?

SurprisEs · 31/07/2011 21:49

Why is it exactly that you don't want to give up the evening feed?

RitaMorgan · 31/07/2011 21:56

It might be hard to maintain a supply on just one feed a day.

Bufster · 31/07/2011 22:05

Thanks for your replies.

I don't want to give up because I like breast feeding her and it seems silly that she has so much formula when she could be getting more of her milk from me. I also think as RitaMorgan says that if I drop the evening feed the morning one would follow quite quickly as my supply would be likely to go down.

RitaMorgan - that is a good idea, I'll try that.

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SurprisEs · 31/07/2011 22:14

Or try expressing in the evening and replacing one of the formula feeds for expressed milk. Just in case the other idea doesn't work.

RitaMorgan · 31/07/2011 22:17

I think I would consider dropping one of the bottles of formula at nursery too - maybe just do one 7oz bottle or 2 3/4oz cups. 2 bottles and 2 breastfeeds sounds like quite a lot for an 8 month old to me.

Bufster · 31/07/2011 22:22

I hadn't thought of that option - thanks.

This is my first thread on MN - am very happy that you have taken the time to reply to what is hardly the most exciting problem ever. Thanks.

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Bufster · 31/07/2011 22:23

Sorry - the first part of my last post was to SurprisEs.

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SurprisEs · 31/07/2011 22:28

I co-slept for about 18 months so my daughter fed through the night so luckily I had no problems with supply. Not saying you should co-sleep though. LOL

I've only been visiting the forum for 2 days. I have found it quite welcoming

Bufster · 31/07/2011 22:32

I was ready to do that if she had wanted to feed through the night when I switched to bottles during the day. Quite relieved that she didn't though.

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SurprisEs · 31/07/2011 22:40

I enjoyed co-sleeping but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Contradicting, I know Confused

Bufster · 01/08/2011 20:52

Update: I tried bfing straight after nursery today instead of giving solids, but it didn't help, she still refused the breast. Once I gave up and gave her solids she ate loads so she was hungry, just not for milk.

I have arranged with the nursery that they will try to give her less formula tomorrow aiming for just one bottle and more solids instead, so I hope that will help.

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