6-7 months BF questions

[FoodieMum3]

Ds is 6.5 months old and I really have no idea what we are doing

He started on solids at 5.5 months, he was so ready and so was I, bottle refuser since birth

So, he's on 2 or 3 solid meals a day and drinks water from a cup. The thing is, I have no idea how much bf's he needs and I think I might be over feeding him BM He has always fed on demand but roughly every 2 hours before solids. Now, if he has a solid meal he goes 3-4 hours before I BF him.
I think he generally needs it to get him to sleep which is a bad habit but it works a treat.
I guess my question is, how often do 6-7month olds feed and how much should they feed? Ds can feed for 10 mins or so or an hour if he is snoozing

My next issue... Ds has become a very 'rough' feeder quite a lot of the time. He pulls, comes on and off and gets very distracted, eg if he heard a noise or wanted to look at something. It means that I have no privacy while feeding him and even though I was always a confident bf'r, I no longer feed in public or in front of anyone apart from dh. Is this common with older babies, does it mean he's losing interest in the boob and maybe doesn't need that feed? Other times, when he's very hungry, he concentrates and takes feeding very seriously

Sorry for long post but although I had loads of bf support from 0-6m, I don't really know anyone who has fed after 6 months.
I've pretty much decided to skip formula though and bf til I put him on cows milk at 12 months, just out of sheer laziness
-I'm sure I'll be back in a few months asking how do I stop feeding to sleep--

TIA XX

Hmm. To me, it seems like a lot of solids and less breastfeeds than I would expect.

This page from Kellymom is quite helpful for 6 months plus and what the balance should be.

I might stick to 2 meals a day for a while and breastfeed about an hour before hand.

Wrt to the distracted feeding. This is really common and just to do with increased curiosity and awareness. It's not an indicator of self weaning, which would not happen at this age unless they were having too much solids. You could try a nursing necklace for him to fiddle with, and if you're not already, try feeding in a quiet dim room. Obviously out and about that makes it harder, but maybe try a feeding room or face away from what's going on around you.

Also, feeding to sleep is not a bad habit. It's normal and useful. It's only a problem when/if it becomes a problem for you. You may find he just grows out of it. If not, then just re arrange bedtime so that the feed isn't the last thing that happens. Then settle him without a feed. You may have to sit with him, and do gradual retreat, or PUPD or shush-pat to get him to settle.

Finally, not introducing a bottle and swapping to formula is not lazy! It's just one of many options, and it makes sense if you are happy to continue to breastfeed.

Culture feeding every 3 or 4 hours is possible for a bf baby though surely, even before solids?
People - experienced breastfeeders eg NCT supporters - always comment the opposite as my dd feeds every 2 hours - that whilst healthy/normal she's feeding frequently for a 6 month old.

I was advised not to cut down on milk feeds till about 8 months and 3 meals a day fwiw. To my understanding, because bf babies take "what they need" and breast milk adapts, they may well take swift drinks for fluids sometimes and long food feeds other times.

I also have a looker rounder ... I either take a VOLUMINOUS nursing apron, face the wall or brave it. Or I express but I'm brazen and lazy so don't often.

Oh and the NCT helpline I've found v useful for this kind of thing. They don't advise as such but are very good for "is this normal?" and anecdotes of what mums they've worked with did, which you can take or leave.

I was thinking it was 2 hrs plus 3-4 hrs between feeds eg 5 to 6 hrs between feeds. The OP says she feeds 2hrs before solids and then 3-4 hrs afterwards. That would mean only 4 or 5 feeds in 24 hrs which doesn't seem enough (assuming that the same duration between feeds at night). Maybe I've misunderstood that though!

Thanks for replies.

I should have said, he feeds (bf) from 7ish in the evening when I sit down, until 10ish or so, on and off. A bit like a newborn cluster feeds .

He feeds once, sometimes twice during the night and first thing in the morning both sides.

Trust me, he's definitely getting more than enough breast feeds I wondered if I was over feeding him because he can sometimes be unsettled after a feed and seem full.

It's during the day 8am-7pm that he goes 3-4 hours between bf's. I definitely thought that was ok?
One of his solid meals is a very small yogurt. He only eats a few teaspoons of weetabix for breakfast and dinner is small veg. I tried meat and h PE really did not like it so I haven't tried since.
So his solid intake is really slow and little.
I will read the Kellymom link now, I found kellymom very helpful before.

Squizita, I am always interested in your posts because our LO's are the same age.

I'm just confused! I feel like we've no routine or times

Ok, so according to that link I'm actually giving him too much solids but it's reassuring to know the importance of milk from 6-12 months anyway, I definitely will offer breast first and make that priority.
He just had a banana for tea and devoured it

3-4 hrs between feeds is fine. It all sounds quite normal. You really can't over breastfeed, they just won't take it.

Mine has a couple of tablespoons of porridge for breakfast and a few finger foods at lunch. It seems to make her thirsty so I feed her 15 min before I milk feed - she always takes a full milk feed! But if she didn't I'd probably offer the next feed earlier.

My DS is 7mo and very keen on trying solids but i think it's too early a proper routine to be emerging. Some days he eats a lot of everything, bf and solids, some days a lot less of either, some days he is into one or the other. At this stage they are very much experimenting with solids and subject to the variability of growth spurts.

Hello! I have a 6 month old too, my second bf baby.

This stage is just bloody exhausting I think. You have your first sniff of freedom (baby eating food, longer between feeds -sometimes) but also arrrgh! you're feeding just as much as ever PLUS doing all the solids which they just throw on the floor.

My baby is very easily distracted too especially by her loudmouth toddler sister and very hard to feed in the day. Will feed for maybe a minute in public. I try and take time out a couple of times a day to feed in a low stimulation room, preferably lying down - I stick a film on for the toddler or do it while toddler naps. Make sure she gets a good amount in then. She still feeds more at night than I'd like, though she is a very good sleeper otherwise and self-settles after feeds etc (I think babies just vary on this, it's nothing I've done, her sister never self-settled). Sounds like your baby is getting the calories in in the evening - not a bad thing if he does it before you go to bed! I'd settle down with a book…

3-4 hours between feeds sounds totally normal. Mine will go ages if there's something interesting happening!

We have a bit more of a routine but that is mainly because I have to work around my toddler. With my first baby the routine emerged after 6 monhts. I do think this is one of the hardest stages. Then suddenly around 8 months or so they realise food relieves hunger and you can go off for the best part of the day, or that's how I found things last time (and my first baby would feed every 1-2 hours in the day at this age it was hell! Conversely she slept all night without feeding). They all vary so much.

I don't think feeding to sleep is a bad habit I think it's handy! Mine won't do that… again it was all her sister ever did. They grow out of it on their own, anyway.

You've done brilliantly to get this far especially if there's no one around you bf at this point. It's so hard to know what is normal, isn't it. Try and trust your body and your baby - you've got this far, and you two will work out feeds and food between you. xx

foodiemum I feel like I could have written your post. My dd is 6.5 months and we started weaning with purees at 5 months. She was ready before but I held on for as long as I could. She loves her food and I feel I have to limit the solids she has.
She has three meals a day consisting of a purée followed by some finger food to try. She could eat twice as much if I let her but I am concerned that the food will fill her up too much and she will breastfeed less. I have been told over and over again that she still needs to breastfeed lots and gets all necessary nutrients from milk. I am happy that she has enough wet nappies and is putting on enough weight so will continue like this for a while.
After every meal, she takes a good breastfeed and sometimes takes shorted feeds in between.
We feed to sleep and I am too starting to worry about how we will stop it! But it works for now and we are happy with it.
She wakes usually once in the night or not at all.
Really my advice is to do what feels right. I do like to check with the health visitor once a month to check weight and ask a few questions but I have to remember that food is fun until one and dd must be getting enough milk.
Hope that helps.