7mo no milk in the day

[Sugarpaper]

My 7 month old DS has started refusing all breastfeeds in the day for the last couple of weeks. He still has a big feed about 5pm ish, one at bedtime and a couple of feeds overnight in the early hours. Weaning has gone really well (BLW) and he's having 3 meals with us a day and it seems like a lot is going in.

Is it OK that he isn't having any milk in the day? Do I need to offer him formula/expressed milk? He drinks water from a sippy cup throughout the day. My DD fed until she was 2 and half and I think would have continued forever! At this age she wanted to breastfeed all the time and she never dropped any feeds without a bit of encouragement from me so this is all very new to me! If it is OK it is quite handy for me as I am going back to work soon and he will be at nursery/with grandparents in the day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

This is called ‘reverse cycling’ and it is common when babies start nursery and can’t get the time at the breast in the day. It is also common during teething, and that’s quite likely at 7 months, you may well find he starts feeding normally again in a few days. So for now I would say to express maybe a couple of times a day just to maintain supply, and as long as he’s not dehydrated then he will be fine.

Absolutely no need to offer formula. As PP suggests nothing to worry about here and baby may or may not up their intake again when things settle.

Thank you both. I thought I had breastfeeding all sussed as this is my second time around but he is just so different to my DD! I do think he is starting teething so that may explain things.

If you Google ‘nursing strike’ you’ll get some helpful information

I would drop a meal to focus on offering milk to be honest. Milk needs to be the main nutrition source until 12 months, solids are complementary at 7 months. I had the same issue with my DD when she was 8 months. I was concerned and my doctor said I had to try and get milk into her whether that was via bottle, mixed into food or even with a syringe if all else failed. I dropped a meal and offered milk every hour and eventually after 2 weeks I saw an improvement

Thank you everyone. Today has been better and he has fed a couple of times. He also has very flushed cheeks and is doing that banging the side of his head thing so I think our teething journey may be beginning (send help!)

Watch out for biting!! If his teeth are bothering him you probably will find he will only feed when sleepy/already asleep. It usually only lasts a few days. It can also be a sign of ear infection/tonsillitis although this is less likely.

Hello @Sugarpaper how are things now a couple of weeks on if you don’t mind me asking?

My 6.5 month has refused milk for 3 days now, he won’t take any liquid on at all, little sod. Im hoping it’s a phase!!