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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Should we be reducing feeds??

20 replies

theboobie · 15/01/2008 12:21

DD is 6 and a half months old and exclusively BF, which has gone very well and which we both enjoy. We have started weaning, which she has taken to well, and is eating 2 reasonably big meals a day, if not 3 already. She is also having at least 5 milk feeds a day, and at least 2 at night (she can't really go longer than 3 hours between milk feeds.) Does anybody elses DC feed this much. Is this alot? Not sure whether I should be trying to reduce milk feeds or not?

Sorry to be boring but her day goes something like this:

BF: 7am
Breakfast: 8am
BF: 10am
Lunch: 11.15am
BF: 1.30pm
BF: 4.30pm
Tea: 6pm
BF: 7pm

Then 2 night feeds (at best! 3 at worst)

So should I be stretching time between feeds or reducing feeds yet? I love BF but am slightly concerned that she is getting bigger and still feeding tons!
Has anyone else been in a similar situation?? How did it work out?
Any advice appreciated.

OP posts:

Karen999 · 15/01/2008 12:27

You sound like you are doing great and if I were you I would just go with the flow. My dd (10 months) and ff still has 4 milk feeds in between meals. Milk is still important to them and so I am not too worried about it....

witchandchips · 15/01/2008 12:39

daytime feeds she will drop when she is ready. you will just find that she pulls away after a few seconds.

if she is still feeding at night my guess is that she still needs all the milk during the day and you really don't want to have her feed 3 or 4 times a night on a regular basis.

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 12:50

You are right about not wanting an increase in night feeding witchandchips! I guess my only concern is things like returning to work etc looming in the future, and the fact that DD does not accept bottles etc. Only me! This obviously means I can't leave her for long. Perhaps I should just look at trying to get her to take milk from a cup or something? I have long given up on trying the bottle! That way at least I could have a little more freedom. (How I long to go out for an evening! Just once! It's been 6 and a half months! I am a big boobed social recluse!!)

OP posts:

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 12:57

How old will she be when you return to work? If it is still a couple of months ago, I really wouldn't worry too much as she will probably have cut down her milk by herself. I can remember feeling that I could never leave DS at 6 months, but by 9 months it felt much more doable.

Also, don't worry about overfeeding. Babies are very good at regulating their intake, given the opportunity. DS was also a chunky baby, the photos we have of him between 6-9 months he is absolutely spherical. But once he got mobile he has changed shape and lost a bit of the chub.

HTH, sounds like you're doing great

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 12:58

months away that should read

sarahanna · 15/01/2008 13:02

about the night feeds - i wonder if she is coming into a light sleep and unable to get back to sleep by herself, and neds to breastfeed to sleep?
does she drift off by herself in her cot at night?
is she really hungry at all these feeds and feed for ages - esp the early morning one?

maewest (great nickname)
its so true its very difficult to leave babies at 6 months - i know some people can do it but i keep delaying my return to work

TiddlerTiddler · 15/01/2008 13:31

Theboobie - don't you just love mumsnet... here I am posting about how do I get my 6 1/2 month old to drink some milk during the day while you are worrying about too many feeds... classic!

My LO was born first week July so sounds same age. Anyway, he is still feeding 3 times during the night 11pm, 2.30am and 5am.

however, at the weekend we moved him into his own room to see if that would help things. broke my heart to move him as we were co-sleeping between 2.30-7am (ie too lazy to get up and feed him and took him to bed)

I have managed once to get him back to sleep at 2.30am without the feed. I am desparate for him to feed more during the day and less at night. And I think if I can encourage him to drop this 2-3am feed it would make me a lot happier. I am getting very down through lack of sleep six months in. And for my own sanity feel that I would like him to go for longer than 3 hours at night if he can. He has done it once... lets see if he can repeat the performance

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 13:33

Thanks for your posts and reassurance that DD should drop feeds by herself! You are right Maewest - it seems like it is never going to happen but still got quite a few months before work etc - think am just panicing as all still feels so intense now!

With the night feeds... she goes to sleep at night and for her naps awake and settles herself. DH is able to settle her if she wakes before 10.30 but after that only BF will do. She is NOT very hungry at either of the night feeds (usually one between 10.30 - 12.20, and one between 4 and 5) and is also not very hungry for her first milk feed of the day. Don't know what to do about this though! I am too lazty to try much else to get her back to sleep when BF is so quick and easy!

Any ideas?

She has recently gone into her own room and believe it or not things are much much betetr at the minute as she was waking hourly at around Christmas time! I am trying to only respond when it seems she really needs it and not just to minor grumbling.

Oh - and white noise often gets her back to sleep too. If DH and white noise both fail it's time to BF!

OP posts:

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 13:36

Tiddler Tiddler - just saw your thread which made me laugh! How fuuny - completely opposite problems! I know what you mean about having DC in own room! It was a big step for me and DH had to persuade me to do it!
How did you get DS to sleep wihout the feed in the night? Any tips??

OP posts:

witchandchips · 15/01/2008 14:02

one suggestion which worked with us was to impose some time limits on night feeds. so if woke up before one a.m then was not hunger it was something else and would try other stuff before feeding at one a.m Long night feed from at one a.m then he would usually sleep through until 6. We would then get up after 6 o'clock feed. A few weeks after doing this the night waking got later and later and by the time he was about 8 months he was sleeping 8-6.

TiddlerTiddler · 15/01/2008 14:58

I am not there yet! just managed it once or twice.

Because he is now in his own room and I have to get up and walk downstairs i am a bit more awake (rather than just taking him into bed still half asleep) I was able to think... mmm... hang on a minute lets see now that I am up and about if he would go asleep without feeding him. So I just sat in a the chair and cuddled him close to and rocked him. I had given him EBM bottle and previous feed with 6oz in it so knew he wasn't going to starve if i could get him to drop off. he did. not sure if he will do it every time though... you know what they are like.

Plus, he was awake then again at 4 - so still not going all the way through, but small steps and all that!

The reason for trying to stop him feeding during the night was not to starve him or be mean, but he had effectively dropped his breakfast feed, so am just trying to re-set his clock a bit rather than starve him (I am not a meany, honest!)

By the way, I have found the move into his own room very difficult and just sit there with him in the chair crying my eyes out.

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 15:48

Witchandchips - I am liking your setting time limits idea alot. I had considered this and already have a (very wimpy) limit of no feed before 10.30 - however when she goes to bed with a very very full tummy after proper foodie tea and BF I am definitel;y thinking 'hmmmmmmmmmm.. not too sure this BF is warranted!' So will try a later time as per your suggestion.

Tiddler - I know what you mean about taking baby back to bed to feed! Even though she is now in her own room, and there is a lovely feeding chair etc in there, I m loathe to use it, and instead go back with her to snuggle in our bed (which I am sure she loves!), and probably extening the feed due to dozing etc! I know I should just face the chair - but I am finding it hard! Also will try rocking and cuddling instead as you suggested. Or send DH in to try!

I completely understand about not wanting to be seen as 'mean' re cutting the night feeds out. My DD is not hungry for her morning feed either. I don't even mind feeding in the night at all - it's just that she isn't having more than a couple of minutes now and it does seem more for comfort. (Although I am a big softie and don't have TOO much of a problem feedining for comfort either!) Looks like I will be BF in the night for a LONGGGGGGGGGGG time to come!

Am also a lazy toad.

OP posts:

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 16:23

I am also lazy, always take the path of least restistance, and a complete softie.

I am currently trying to cut out night feeds. I do this every couple of months or so...

My DS is nearly 18 months old

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 16:36

Hee hee Maewest! I bet we are the same in another 12 months time!

OP posts:

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 16:38

I really mean it this time tho... really... honest...

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 16:44

Good luck! So how are you going about it? How many night feeds do you do?

OP posts:

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 16:53

Well, it depends. Sometimes he sleeps thro, have racked brains trying to work out why he does it sometimes and why not others.

On a good night I would feed him once at maybe 4am, or 5am (which is practically morning right?). On a not so good night all hell breaks loose and he wakes at midnight and it all becomes a bit of a blur, maybe 2 or 3 feeds, which is quite frankly too much for me.

The first time we seriously tried night weaning was around 12 months. We agreed that DH would settle him for first wake up (which at the time was around 10.30/11ish) he offered water, shushed, cuddled, sat with him. After a couple of nights sleep did improve.

Things have gradually slid again, and after a few really terrible nights I decided to do something. My new tactic is to go in when he wakes and settle him down in the cot, get him to lie down. Then sit or lie next to him until he goes back to sleep (N.B. this can take a long time, sometimes I think he's drifted off but he gets up as soon as I leave the room).

We did try leaving him to cry, but he just yells and yells and YELLS. He won't give in, just gets more and more distressed.

phew sorry for long one - bet you wish you'd never asked

Original poster

theboobie · 15/01/2008 17:08

Sounds tough! I bet you are seriously longing for an uninterrupted nights sleep - I know I am and that's after 6 months not 18! It sounds like you have put lots of work in in the past too. It seems that even if I put some effort in now and we cracked it, it might be short lived (I do seem to be inventing reasons not to put the effort in don't I! (For me I mean). It's so difficult to decide what to do when they wake at 4/5am! I wish I had the energy to try some strategy at that point to take her through till 7. But no - pick her up, run back to bed and feed feed feed!
Good luck with it this time though. I really hope it works for you. It sounds like a good tactic.

OP posts:

MaeWest · 15/01/2008 17:40

A good book if you haven't already read it, is The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Good if you don't want to go down the controlled crying road.

Also, 6 month is still so little really. I think there's a lot of pressure on babies and young children to be independent as soon as possible

Good luck, hope you get some sleep soon too

TiddlerTiddler · 15/01/2008 18:23

MW - I agree. I think thats why i am so upset moving him into his own room. Personally, I think 6 months is too young to controlled crying. But thats just me - a bit of a softie!

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