Won't give up milk - at 7 months!!

[Apricot2]

I have 7 month old who I started trying to wean at 5.5 mths. She has not been eating much food despite being big (99th percentile) so I cut down milk last week (down to 3 bf feeds instead of 5 and 1 bottle instead of 2) but she wakes once or twice at night and fills up on formula then (I am giving her 50% diluted bottles at night). She is then not hungry enough to eat the next day, despite the reduced overnight feeding - we are in a very viscious circle. She is happy to eat lots in the evening by which time I guess she has worked up a hunger, but she can only fit in so much rice/potato/other filling foods, but we really need to get more of something into her during the day. Did I cut down the milk too fast? Should I go back to giving her more milk and essentially start again, hopefully stopping the night waking which is often making her too tired to be bothered trying with food during the day anyway?????

At 7 months most of her calories should be coming from milk still - many 7 month olds only eat one or maybe two small meals a day still. I would try giving her more protein rich foods rather than stodgy carbs.

With baby led weaning, you try and see food as an 'additional' to their milk intake.

You've probably heard the phrase "food is fun until their 1" - well this applies here. See milk as their main source of nourishment and any food ingested is a bonus!

Perhaps speak to your HV but from what you've described I would up the milk again.

Try giving milk an hour before meal times. So your dc isn't too full so eats some solids; that way they're not too frustrated trying to eat, because they're starving.

I remember feeling a bit 'lost' when dd was 7 months - wasn't sure when to offer food or milk and in the end I just continued with milk feeds (bf'ing) and meal times slotted in if I was eating and got offered food then.

Hope this helps apricot, good luck.

Don't cut her milk! Let her decide when to drop feeds. Give milk feeds as before weaning, then offer food shortly after.

Agree with all above!

Yep, she needs milk.

Give up all food and restart on full milk and then try again in a few days with solid food.

definitely do not dilute bottle feeds. I mostly breastfeed but do use a little bit of formula and on the cartons I have it says that babies from 6-12 month still need 3 7oz bottles a day, or 21oz in a different arrangement if they want to have more than 3 milk feeds. milk is much more calorific and has more fat than the fruit and veg and other stuff that a 7 month old can eat so it is still a very important part of their diet.

Won't give up milk at 7 years may be considered a problem. At 7 months you shouldn't even be trying.

Don't worry about replacing milk with food at this point. Like others said, her main source of nutrition should be milk at this point. Eating solids before 1 year old is just so she can get used to different tastes and textures in preparation for eating food as a main source of nutrition later.

My DS didn't start eating more substantial amounts until about 9 months and dropped one or two feeds naturally between weaning-9 months. Now he's 14m and he eats loads, but he still has milk 3 times a day (2 breastfeeds, 1 glass of cows milk). Your DD will gradually drop milk feeds over time, no real need to cut back intentionally at this point.

Thank you all so much - it was the health visitor who told me she is drinking way too much milk, and to dilute it to ger her on to 3 meals a day by 8 mths!! Will up the milk and let her decide.

Wow. Don't see her again!

You must have the same health visitor as me. DS was (and still is) a rubbish eater. I was advised to withhold milk to make him hungry. After a week of disturbed nights, I went back to offering milk in the day as often as he wanted it.

My health visitor is a misguided loon. I have nothing more to do with her.

Health visitor is definitely wrong! Where do they find such crap to spout?

NHS guidelines on weaning

This also talks about the importance of milk

Please report that health visitor. The advice is not just misguided, it is actually potentially dangerous. She clearly needs some serious retraining.