Bf gina ford weaned baby - stop dream feed 5mo?

[Rox19]

Hi
My gina ford (don't kill me!!) roughly following (8am-730pm) baby was weaned at 17wk and now eats 3 large meals per day at 23wks.

She has been refusing breast and last 2 days only bf
8am
230pm
5pm
630pm

And refused dream feed.

Concerned to stop this so early? Will she get enough milk from 4 bf per day? One is usually 1hr long. But only has one breast per feed.

Has formula on breakfast cereal about 20ml.

I think I would be worrying about dehydration unless she is drinking a lot of water as well. A baby that is not yet 6 months but eating a lot of food, going 6 1/2 hours without a drink doesn't sound good to me

23 week old babies shouldn't be on 3 meals a day, they should work up to this at about 8-9 months old, per NHS advice
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx

Cut back on the food to increase milk intake, this is more important at that age.

I wonder - what does Gina Ford say about feeding schedules at 23 weeks?

I would be inclined to cut out a meal at this point or reduce amount offered

Hi, Rox. It's worth discussing this with your HV.

2 days of only 4 bfs is probably not worth worrying about, and your baby may well return to a more usual frequency very soon.

But the concern would be that the large amount of solid food she is having is displacing her milk.

This would not normally be considered good nutrition for a baby as young as this (or sufficient fluids) - there may be some easy ways to redress the balance, and your HV should help you in this.

Thanks everyone!
I didn't expect to eat so much taken menu surprise and as have 2 older ones kind of forgot her stages.

Will arrange to see HV.

Are you offering milk first then food?

If she is hungry and filling up on solids, she won't have room for milk. As solids are harder for them to digest, it takes longer, hence the reduction in BFing.

Hey
No always milk first- often feeds for am hour then has huge meal! Realised she had had a blocked nose for a few days - has now gone back to 5 feeds per day.
Still seeing h v next week and halved food
Thanks