breast feeding confusion re 9 1/2 month old

[abbevillemum]

hi there.
should a 9 1/2 month old still be demand fed?

my little girl doesn't demand milk. she breast feeds 3 times a day but rarely for very long. she is a happy smiley little thing but her weight has been static for a few months. she was 50th centile, now 9th. should i be breast feeding her more? When I realised last week that her weight hadn't increased, I have been focussing on the food side. I'm not sure if this is the right way to go. Should I be trying to get her to breast feed more often? Hmmm. I think I had reduced the milk feeds because I had heard that too much milk was a mistake at this age - it would stop her taking enough solids. But now I'm not so sure - I think I may have also been influended by my friends who formula fed their babies 3 times a day. Does anyone know what the position is? Is there a recommended amount of times you should breast feed at this stage? Sorry for the twitter but a little concerned. Thanks

DS2 is 8.5mo and bfeeds er...between five and nine times in a 24 hours period, I think. Depends whether we're at home all day or not - he tends to feed more when we are. He feeds at night a couple of times too.

He's bigger than DS1, who didn't bfeed as much at the same age and ate a bit more food. DS2 doesn't eat all that much food.

Milk should be the main part of their diet till they're one - food is tastes (in increasing quantities) till then.

What sort of food does she have? When do you bfeed her?

Weight gain can be a bit static at this age when they're getting more mobile and burning it off faster, IMO and IME.

thanks
she b-feeds first thing in the morning, the afternoon and before she goes to bed. sometimes she feeds in late morning, sometimes during the night but not always. i worry that it is all so erratic that my supply could have reduced. don't want to express to check though because she won't take a bottle and i don't want her to miss out on milk when her weight gain is static.
she eats really well - everything from fruit and veg to yoghurt, chicken and mince.

Expressing won't give you any clue how much she's getting anyway, so don't worry about it.

Try feeding her late morning - offer it and see what she does. It may be that she's just not an "asking" kind of baby when it comes to bfeeding - neither of mine are at this age (DS2 not quite there, but nearly!), particularly - more than happy to wait for it to be offered but v enthusiastic when it is iyswim.

i agree - sounds sensible