My DS will be 9mo on NYE and I'm planning to begin stopping breastfeeding once Christmas is over with, starting with the afternoon feed and then, if my supply will allow, continuing with morning and evening for a month or so longer. He's currently having 3 feeds a day: 7am, afternoon, 6.30pm
Most days he takes very little at his afternoon feed, and has pushed it out from about 2.30pm to nearer 4pm. Many days he only has it at 4pm because I offer it then so that we don't run into the whole tea-time/bedtime routine rather than him obviously demanding it, and he seems to have survived fine - refusing a bottle or only taking 1-2oz - on the occasions where I have left him with DH or MIL and then making up for it with a big breastfeed at 6.30pm. So it feels like he is not so interested in that afternoon feed any more.
He is a very healthy eater, taking in a surprising amount of solids for one so small! He is BLW so it's not a case of me stuffing his face - he does that for himself I've always been a little worried about his weight as he is a slow (albeit consistent) gainer. So I make sure he gets dairy at breakfast (milk on cereal, or else butter and cheese on toast), and at least at one of lunch or tea - cheese or cheese sauce. No yoghurts yet as I don't know how to do that with BLW, but I often give him fruit baked in butter instead.
Given this, is it worth me just stopping bf at that feed by not offering that feed and offering water instead if he is thirsty and then just offering tea slightly earlier (4.30-5 rather than the usual 5.30). Or is it better to keep that feed at this age so actually switch him from breast to bottles of formula?
9 months just seems a little earlier than I expected for him to be dropping that feed, but it doesn't feel like he really wants it so much any more and I don't want to have to go through the rigmarole of trying to make him take formula if actually there's not really much point or if it ends up actually making him take in less at tea and his 6.30pm breastfeed.