Advice needing about spacing feeds

[nectarina]

I've posted a few times here before, and received good advice so here I am again. I'm feeding 8mo DD on demand day and night (3-5 per night and every 2 hours in the day), and I'm finding it hard getting advice on the introducing solids period. Should I be trying to space her day feeds? - I've been told that if I feed less frequently there'll be more milk at each feeding and therefore she'll take in the same amount of milk during a 24hr period but with less feedings. Is this true? Do other mothers demand feed indefinitely, or is it just to get into the swing of things and then feeds correspond with meals? Someone told me to give her water instead of milk, but won't that mean she'll take in less calories? I liked feeding on demand, because it meant I didn't have to worry about the amount she fed, but now I feel afraid she won't gain enough weight if I try to cut down on the night feeds. Arghhh do I even make sense?

If you space her feeds then the converse will be true - there will be less milk (but much less as supply is pretty solid at 8m) and baby could be quite unhappy at being denied food when she is hungry.

Milk is made on a supply and demand basis, not on a Xml a day basis regardless of how often or how little baby feeds - otherwise why would babies feed more often during a growth spurt?

Offering solids about an hour after a bf is a way to stop complementary foods becoming the main part of her diet (should be milk until 12m) but it doesn't have to be precisely 1 hour.

If you like feeding on demand, and baby likes it too, why change? If you are happy to do night feeds and baby still needs them, why change?

I am still demand feeding (or on cue feeding) my DDs and they are 4y & 2y (although they can be safely put off if I can't be arsed accommodate their request tbh DD2 only usually requests at bedtime for a massive 20 second feed ). Most mums I know feed to baby's cues as that is the easiest way to ensure baby gets enough to eat and comfort as well.

I have a 8.5mo DD. we are doing blw so it varies a lot how much she eats in solids a day. Also she eats what we eat which means she doesn't get to eat her fave day in day out. Therefore I pretty much give her bf on demand, but solids on fix time. DD is now on 3 meals a day and I'm trying to get an afternoon snack in too.

How many meals are your LO having? If they are having quite a bit of solids, then the amount of bf will naturally go down.

It's non sense you need time to refill your breasts. See this article on milk production on kellymom.

Thanks for the reassurance. I felt like I knew what I was doing until discussing it with paediatrician and then friends after, and it seemed like I was doing something very strange. I suppose I'm happy with everything apart from night feeds (I would at least like to cut them down a bit, I'm not expecting to get rid totally). Any suggestions......?
but thanks for your reply

If you fee less frequently your body will start to slow down milk production as it will assume your baby is taking less milk.

Is there a problem with her weight gain? Are you happy to continue to "demand" feed all things being equal (for now)?

8 months is really, really little and only 2 months from the point that we're advised to start to introduce solid food. Babies who are given the opportunity to explore food in their own time (baby-led weaning in whatever form) will frequently eat very little for quite a few months - sometimes well over 12 months. That's all fine.

There has been some research recently showing that the longer a mother lactates, the higher the fat (therefore calorie) content of her milk, so that's pretty reassuring.

I also like the idea of breastfeeding on demand so that you know they're getting what they need, and they will slowly replace milk with solids. It just doesn't happen overnight. But it will happen :) Maybe not until she's well over a year old, though.

Regarding cutting down night feeds, it's possible to try to see whether she really needs milk, or whether she's happy with a cuddle and a bit of reassurance just by trying it (you might find your OH better at settling her without milk). If you're co-sleeping this is harder as she knows what's there :) On the other hand, reducing night feeding might not affect night waking anyway so you're no better off...

It's all a bit of trial and error as every baby is different. All I can say is ideally you work with whatever gives you the most sleep :)

I do one night feeds most nights, two sometimes. But it certainly doesn't mean DD wakes up once only. If only DD wakes up, feeds and go back to sleep! When she isn't hungry you can shove a boob in her mouth. But she still wakes up wanting to go into the big bed. Current fave is practicing crawling by head butting mum and dad.

Ah, maybe i should be counting my lucky stars - dd goes straight to sleep after a feed each time!
She's eating 3 solid meals a day, but varies in the amount she'll take. She's on a mixed diet of mashed food spoonfed and the the same mash made into pancakes or other finger food. Maybe i'll try adding a fourth meal... I add the odd bottle of formula when it feels like she's mashed up my breasts after a difficult night. We're not having any problems as such with her weight - she did drop from 50th - 25th percentile at six months. Paediatrician wasn't worried but it doesn't make we want to drop night feeds willy nilly.
I have to add i am an anxious person who wants to understand how everything works.
I think feeding on-cue is a gift for the anxious mother.

I do what TruthSweet does although my DS is a bit younger - just turning 2. He still asks for milk fairly often - at least 6 daytime feeds and several currently too many at night (although he's had long spells of only having 1 night feed). But he has a strong emotional attachment to bf and trying to reduce his feeds produces a noticable deterioration in mood and behaviour.

I used to offer bf within the hour before solids, which usually meant immediately beforehand. At that age he'd have 8 daytime feeds and 3-5 at night.

I did find he started taking less milk at around 9 months, although it was 11 months before he needed to have meals and wasn't happy with just a bf instead.

I'd agree with organic on the night waking issue. 8/9 months is also the start of a big sleep regression so it might be best to wait till that's over before attempting large-scale changes at night. (That's not to say you can't have a go, but don't be disheartened if it doesn't work right now.)

There?s more info on the regression here, here and here.