What age are they down to 2 BF - morning and night?

[Tapster]

I could do with a day off or even half a day, DD 9.5months old but still on 3-5 BF a day when will she reduce down to day and night? HV at 7 months said she should just be on that - of course ignored her. DD bites me on the shoulder if she wants milk. Expressing and giving bottles not an option as she has never had a bottle and I don't want to start now. Think DH is using BFing as a way of not really looking after her at the weekends and giving me a break, which given her age is not on really so want him to do a half day soon.

She will cope fine without a breastfeed if you are not there. She will reduce to 2 feeds a day if you refuse to feed her or she stops asking - whichever way you choose TBH.

She could have a drink of water of juice out of a cup if you are not there.

I found that feeds were variable at this age. When I was at work babies did without. When I was at home I fed as often as they wanted.

LOL at DD biting you on shoulder. Mine (10 months) pulls up my top and unclips my bra!!!!

I'll be buggered if I can get her feeds down, she is very much on demand.

maybe try going straight to a cup - even one without a spout. my ds loves banging his cup on his high chair, and even takes a few sips of water now and again, tho we're just practicing !

just leave her with dh for a couple of hours - if she's desperate for it, she'll take it from a bottle or cup and maybe you'll find that she will be absolutely fine

Hi Tapster
DD 11m still has 4 feeds.

Does she take water from a cup yet? I started putting milk in a cup at about that age to ease her into it for when she started Nursery. She does take some just not as much and will just feed a bit more at bedtime instead.

If I am with her she still has a morning and afternoon feed rather than a solid snack. In the afternoon she sometimes also has some fruit or ricecakes.

You can miss an occasional feed at his age, especially if they are distracted and you are not there. My Mum always says she does not miss me until I come back - then she tells me off something rotten and we make friends again by having some milk

HTH

think there is no hard rules about this. Some are down to two feeds at your dds age and some feed loads. Its really a matter of negociation between you and your child. If i were you i would just go out (or better encourage dh to take your child out for the day or morning). If you are not there my guess is that she won't want to feed. When my ds was this age we would sometimes feed twice during the day and sometimes not at all. it would really depend on what we were doing.

She does take water from a doidy cup, much more than she does from a tommy tippee cup but not tried milk. She drinks much more water from DH than me.

Pulls up top and unclips bra - v. impressed, think I prefer that to biting which she did in front of the dietician yesterday, who was discussing how many BF a day she was getting.

I don't want her to get distressed while I'm out but I think its time she gets used to mummy not being there all the time.

My DD has never missed me until I got back (well from about 5/6m). I have never left her for more than a couple of hours though.

Although as she goes to Nursery this afternoon for 4 hours we will see what happens [nervous mummy emoticon!]

Seriously - give it a try this weekend. Go out for an hour - do the shopping or something, I bet she will be fine! Just pick a time when you know she is usually happy for a while, I usually go out between breakfast and nap time or after Lunch. They are full from solids and not too tired.

Good Luck!

She probably won't sit there one day at the age of less than a year and say, 'ooh, you know what, I don't think I'll bother my mum for milk so much today. I'll just have a bit in the morning and a bit more at night. She'll appreciate a break."
If you only want to feed her morning and night or simply want to go out, do it. Say to your dh, 'I've booked lunch with my friend' or 'I'm having a cut and colour at 12' and do it. She'll live.

I have left her to go to the hairdressers so about 2hrs and she was fine. But I've been nearby so I need to go further afield. Its weird I want time off and then I can't bear not being with her. I suppose it will get better.

It will do Tapster. It is good for you to know that she will survive without you for a while. Good for her to have time without you too I think.

I left DS when he was that age and went out shopping for about 4 hrs (he fed a lot, pretty much when he wanted). He was fine, DH gave him lunch, played with him etc. Fed immediately I got home mind...

Now he is technically on 2 feeds and certainly is on the 2 days I work, but if I'm around he occasionally has the odd mid-afternoon snack. Quite enjoy it really as at least I get a chance to sit down!

Meant to say, now 13 months

My ds has never been down to morning and night feeds and he's now 22 months. But, if I'm not there, he is quite accepting of the fact that there's no milk to be had.

Plan yourself an afternoon off and leave her with your DH. She won't starve what with water and solids.

My ds always wants a feed when we are reunited, and he acts like he's not had milk for 100 years.

DD is 12 months old and has around 5/6 milk feeds on top of three solids meals.