A question for full-term breast feeders-

[dyslexicdespot]

DS is 25 months and is breastfed pretty much whenever he wants. I work from home, but am able to feed him to sleep for his nap, at night and whenever on days that I do not work.

He is healthy and happy, but I am a little concerned about the amount of solid food that he does not eat.

Am I right in thinking that he will eat what he needs as long as we offer it to him? I would really like to continue as we are, but I am feeling a bit unsure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

In general, toddlers will eat when they are hungry.

Does he breastfeed a lot and for long? I see that you say that it is whenever he wants but is it mostly at soothing times - like to sleep - or do you think he is snacking?

My toddlers ate very little at times so that I was concerned at times how they were surviving - we found a few reliables - Weetabix being one - so that I'd know they at least had that. I wasn't worried it was the bfing interfering as by that stage it had tailed off to morning/evening/night time so rest assured that independent of bfing, toddlers can still eat very little!

My DS is 22m and still bf, although he is fed when he wakes in the morning and before bed only. I'm not an expert but I'd say it might be wise to cut out daytime feeds to encourage him to eat more.

Thanks for the speedy replies!

DH and I have just sat down and tried to figure out when DS actually bfeeds and have come to the realisation that he feeds all the time: when he is asleep (his nap and early morning), when he wakes up, and throughout the day.

So, yes, he snacks on breast milk!

I think that he relies on it to fill him up. Solid food is mostly a fun thing that he occasionally swallows!

I am so torn as everything I have read about the nutritional content of breast milk has led me to believe that it contains my nutrients per volume then any solid food he might eat.

My DD is 20 months, she eats only a little, i'm not worried, it works for us. She's healthy and a good weight.

Thanks LambChops - that's the thing- it works for us as well, so I guess I need to stop worrying so much.

my ds2 was like this. he is now 11 and eats like a horse!

remember the size of the palm of his hand is a portion size for them. toddlers often graze.

if you want you can try offering snacks instead of a bfeed but tbh if he is growing and seems well i wouldnt be bothered, he will gradually eat more and bfeed less.

also when you look at what he eats look at it over a week or a fortnight not just a day. and uts normal for toddlers to have phases where they dont eat much.

I'm pretty much the same with my 17 month old - there are days when I'm away at uni or working and if I'm not about he will eat more 'food food' but I don't think I'm worried about the days when he has lots of milk - he's offered food at the usual intervals and I trust he takes what he needs.

Thanks for the advice and support. I feel much more comfortable with my decision to let DS lead the way!

remember also that the natural age of weaning is somewhere between 4 and 7 years old. at just 2 your lo is well at the bf end of the spectrum. I think Kellymom.com reckons maybe 50:50 solid to milk at that age.