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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

i amplaning on becoming an extended b/feeder, do you have any tips on what to expect?

29 replies

pregnantbabyelephant · 10/12/2007 16:01

dd is v nearly 6 months,i have been feeding her on demand since birth.
i think im going to carry on bf her,i feed dd upto 20/30 times a day
i hope i will not have to feed her that frequently after 6 months

how often,would you say,i will be feeding dd? after 6 months do most people drop it down to two or one feed a day.

OP posts:
MerryXMoss · 10/12/2007 16:14

I am feeding ds at eight months and am not sure how often he feeds. Sometimes he has a two minute snack; sometimes he has a long, leisurely feed.

I found this really useful. Hope it helps!

mamijacacalys · 10/12/2007 16:15

DD is 17mo.

She has a bf to go to sleep and some throughout the night - total 2 or 3 per night, but the night ones are mainly comfort (i.e. not really drinking that much and obviously more frequent if she's teething). She has the odd comfort feed during the day (on the days when I'm not at work) if she's particularly tired or upset.

This has been the pattern since I weaned her and went back to work when she was 6mo. At this stage I also used to bf at breakfast and tea time (when I got in from work) but these feeds have disappeared in the interim as she started taking more solids.

I have recently tried to wean her off but she is not interested (DS self-weaned at 14mo) so I guess I'll keep going til she starts to bite or until I'm really fed-up of the broken sleep.....

Original poster
pregnantbabyelephant · 10/12/2007 16:30

thanks guys,just can't imagine going from feeding dd,what seems like all the time and giving food and dropping feeds.
will i fel full all the time as she is not taking as much milk?
how long will it take my body to adjust ?

if i only feed say 10 timees a day
don't think id be quite so unsur of how its gonna go.

thanks for the link,i loved the bit about milky smiles dd does that and it makes me melt

OP posts:
CantSleighWontSleigh · 10/12/2007 16:38

I'm not sure that just going past 6 months really counts as extended, but are you planning to carry on indefinitely until she self weans?

It really does depend on the child. If she has 20/30 feeds a day now, she's suddenly going to stop this just because she's 6 months.

My dd wanted to feed a similar amount (ie lots) until she was 11 months (wasn't very interested in solids), and then I amazingly managed to cut her back to rwice a day. This continued until her next set of teething, when for about 6 weeks she wanted to feed constantly again. We then got her back to 2/3 times a day, and then more teething and a cold or two meant constantly for another 2/3 months. We've just got her back to 3 or 4 times a day now. She's 22 months.

JingleBelgoHoHoHo · 10/12/2007 16:41

Extended bfing: it depends on society doesn't it?

In some places, bfing longer the six weeks counts as extended.

I never dropped to one or two feeds a day, and I bf dd2 until she was 19 months. I always bf on demand.

abidabidoo · 10/12/2007 16:44

My dd fed almost constantly for the first 6 months, she really took to solids though, so I started to structure bfs around mealtimes, nap times and it started to seem like a manageable number. Then when I went back to work at 12 months, I wanted to day wean her so I distracted her/went for a walk whenever we normally had a feed and that worked really well and she day weaned really easily. I still bf her when we wake up, and in the evening after her tea, and during the night (like mamija 2-3 times a night normally). She is now 21 months and I am starting to think about night weaning.

I never thought I'd bf for so long, but she loves it, and so do I and why give that up?!

Found my body adjusted really quickly. And also - having struggled to have enought milk sometimes (especially during evening) I seemed to get a lot better at producing it when it was wanted after 6 months! Think there's some sort of hormonal change - someone will know.......

Piffle · 10/12/2007 16:56

ds2 is 8 mths and feeds 6-8 x in 24 hrs and other days 3-4 x

Never dropped to 2 feeds until after 12 mths when all min dropped feeds very quickly leaving just first thing, mornings and the odd comfort snack

LiegeAndLief · 10/12/2007 20:08

Probably depends whether you want to continue feeding on demand. Ds is having one feed a day in the morning at 16 months, but I consciously cut his feeds down. It wasn't too hard (he loves his food!) and I was very sad when we cut out the bedtime feed as he didn't seem bothered at all. But I'm fairly sure that if I offered in the day he'd take it.

You won't feel full all the time - it might be like that for a few days when you drop each feed, but your breasts should adjust!

TheOldestCat · 10/12/2007 20:17

DD is 13 months and feeds 2-3 times from 5:30 to 8 in the morning when she goes to nursery then twice in the evening (at 5 when I get home and at bedtime). She has an extra afternoon one when I'm at home. It works for us.

What counts as extended? Is it over a year? Guess it's relative as belgo pointed out. If extended means you get to hear "you're still feeding her?" A LOT, count me in.

beautifulsnowydays · 10/12/2007 20:31

my dd is nearly 11 months and she feeds first thing in the morning, mid morning, mid afternoon, and bed-time, sometimes has an extra feed if she's tired/poorly etc. i fed ds till he was 2 but after about 18 months was only bedtime and first thing in the morning.

well done, you are doing a great job it is knackering but totally worth it

pistachio · 10/12/2007 20:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FairyTaleOfNewYork · 10/12/2007 20:38

whats to be expected?

at least one person with ask you when you are stopping doing all that.

JodieG1 · 10/12/2007 20:41

My ds2 is 11 months and he feeds about 6-10 times a day at the moment plus 3-4 times a night. He fed a lot more during the day earlier on though and probably 1 or 2 more times a night.

JodieG1 · 10/12/2007 20:43

When my mil asked last week how he was doing in the night now I told her about 3-4 times a night and she pulled a face and said I'd have to put my foot down soon. Lol I wanted to ask her how would I do that then seeing as he is actually taking full feeds during the night still but refrained and just smiled knowing I wouldn't be "putting my foot down" at all.

Sushipaws · 10/12/2007 20:46

20 - 30 feeds a day? You must be feeding non-stop, is that through the night too?

My dd is 8 months and usually feeds 5 times a day plus 3 meals of solids. At the moment she is feeding more at night to make up for weight lost when she was ill. I'm finding it really hard so I guess you must be shattered.

At 5 months my dd got into a routine of feeding all the time and I felt I couldn't carry on. I began spacing out the feeds and we now have a regular routine that works for us.

Good for you for choosing to continue bf.

AwayInAMunker · 10/12/2007 20:48

I fed DS1 till he stopped of his own accord at very nearly 17m. DS2's still feeding at 22m. I can't tell you what you can expect, because every feeding relationship is different - but I can tell you what it's like for me:

Warm, drowsy, snuggly, cuddly, occasionally annoying (when he tries to stand up whilst still feeding), hilarious (when he tells me my milk tastes nicer than apples, or goes "ooh, hot!" or "ooh, cold!" and shivers when he puts his hand on me before he feeds (I'd been out when I fed him the other night and my norks were freezing!)), calming - for both of us.

What I don't experience is the stereotypical "toddler tugging at top" that is so often talked about. Occasionally he'll put his hand on me and say "milk" when we're out and about, but that's more just describing what's there than a request.

I did ROFL when he walked up to the padded bras hanging up by the tills in Next one day and gently squeezed the cups, whilst going "ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" and cackling. The teenager on the till didn't know where to put his face

JodieG1 · 10/12/2007 21:22

Aww hunker, that sounds lovely My ds2 pulls at my top now when he's on my lap and hungry He is 11 months so can't ask properly yet, he does sign milk when he feels like it but seems to prefer trying to drag my top down

MerryXMoss · 11/12/2007 12:02

Hunker that just sounds so sweet.

My ds has started trying to do acrobatics while feeding, especially when lying down. He shows no interest in rolling or crawling except when
a) I am feeding him and
b) when I am changing his nappy.

Original poster
pregnantbabyelephant · 11/12/2007 19:56

sushipaws yes i am feeding non stop really tbh
thats why i was trying to find out what most people do, as i won't be able to keep up with the frequent feeding, after 6 months
6 months of it has been quite hard work

well ive been getting the when are you going to stop that since dd was 3 months really. and im the only person in my family that has ever bf [although im sure gt gt gt gt grans etc must of bf]
havent had any support unless you count people constanly saying are you feeding her again ?
so if when i go beyond 6 months this is going to seem strange to my family
it seems as if my boobs do not hold much if that makes sense?

i guess i was hoping everyone would say well after 6 months you feed them much less

kinda like pistachio said surely it can only get easier when dd is having food aswell?

tell me, it must get easier

OP posts:
MerryXMoss · 11/12/2007 20:14

Pregnantbabyelephant, it started to get, well, I won't say "easier" 'cos I quite enjoyed part of the constant feeding (as I got to sit down and watch uninterrupted TV ) but less demanding at about seven months.

Ds started to get far too distracted by everything going on to feed for very long at all, and in fact now I have to make him feed, almost, by going upstairs, dimming the lights and lying down.

However he still takes in a disproportionate amount of calories at night!

He loves his solid food though (BLW is just great btw) and if we are eating he won't milk-feed at all, he cries until we give him a bit of what we're having, either that or grabs it off the plate if he is at that level.

HTH.

pistachio · 11/12/2007 20:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

alliwant4xmas · 11/12/2007 21:05

I think all your stories are really inspiring - I am bf my 5 month ds and fully intend to continue for at least a year and hopefully beyond.

can i just ask what all your dh's have been like about extended bf - i have a feeling mine won't be that impressed by the idea of me feeding past a year.

popsycal · 11/12/2007 21:11

Agree with Hunker 0it is different foreveryone.(apologies for my rubbish keyboard).

On Lighter note, my main tip is that you need to develop a thick skin and cloth ears
(still feeding ds2- 3 in March ....years not months)

pistachio · 12/12/2007 10:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mamijacacalys · 12/12/2007 13:25

Alliwant

DH does not give a flying f* really!

He's very much a 'as long as the wife and the kids are happy, I'm happy' sort of guy! If 17mo DD still wants night-time bf's, then he's fine with that. If it gets to the point where I'm fed up he'll support me to stop....can't see it happening in a hurry though as agree with the other posts on here about the continuing lovely snuggly closeness of it...

MIL is the only one in the family who has regularly asked when I'm going to stop bf (since I weaned DD at 6mo) and my stock reply is 'whenever DD wants to' (as Popsycal says, tis water off a ducks back and usually get on fine with MIL...)