HUGE debate with mother- afternoon milk feed separate or with teatime solids??

[alibo]

Please could anyone help settle an on-going debate between my mother and myself. !!! ds is waking hungry in the night at the moment and each time I discuss his feeding with my mother she cannot understand why he has milk at 3ish and solids at 5/5.30pm ish, then bedtime milk at 7pm. She thinks that if they are having a good lunch and pudding, they should be able to last till 4pm ish for afternoon milk and some solids at the same time. Then milk at bedtime. I would be really interested to know what most people do, at 8 months of age as far as milk and solids timings. How she thinks this will make him sleep through I don't know.??!

It sounds like your routine (3pm, 5pm, 7pm) gets more food in, so why do the other routine???

My dd is 8 mths and not sleeping through. I'm bfing and give her a milk feed an hour or so after a meal (and in between that really ). she still has a couple of feeds at night. When dd is with my mum 2 days a week mum gives her ebm after lunch adn a drink of water adn piece of baby buscuit mid morning and mid afternoon- 4 hours is too long really to go with nothing in their little bellies

Alibo ... my DD is 8 months and this is what she has:
7.30am Breastfeed
8am Breakfast
11.30am Lunch (no milk with protein meal ... restricts iron absorbtion I read somewhere)
2.30 pm Breastfeed
5pm Tea
6.30pm Breastfeed

I basically I do a vague GF approach to feeding times ... spreads it out a bit more and she has more to eat that way. If she had milk at 4pm she wouldn't be hungry for her tea and then wouldn't be hungry for her bedtime milk.

alibo, agree with zebra that your way will get more food in. also milk WITH food not recommended at this age as milk inhibits absorption of iron from the food(which they really need at this stage). advice is to give milk separately as you are doing and water or even juice with milk (as the vit c in juice increases iron absorption). if you'd like some additional ammo for your mother, try her on that!

oh sorry ghosty, you'd made the iron absorption point already, sorry to repeat you!

Your mother sounds like mine

DD (nearly 8 months) has been sleeping through for a while now. This is what she has

7.30am Breastfeed (main one)
8am Breakfast
11am Breastfeed (wake up feed)
1 Lunch
2.30 pm Breastfeed (go to sleep feed)
(usually 4 pm Breastfeed - drink)
5.15pm Tea
7pm Breastfeed

She eats a lot at mealtimes too!

Message withdrawn

Ds2 is 8.5mths and he sleeps through until 6am or so. His day re food/milk is like this:
Bf on waking 6-7am
Breakfast 8am
7oz formula 11am(bf until a month or so ago)
lunch around 1pm
tea around 5pm
bf just before bed 6-7pm.

thanks for replies !! feel a bit more confident now, but any more opinions welcome-keep them coming!!