Dropping the feeds after six months - advice please!

[K7]

My seven-month-old is quite small for her age - weighs about 16lb or so. She's eating three meals a day, but I don't know how to cut down her bottles. I know babies are meant to have at least 20oz of milk a day for the first year, but she's always taken quite small feeds - between 4 and 6oz at a time. We're still doing five feeds a day. I'm guessing she probably takes about 22oz in total. We feed her at 6.00am, 10.00, 2.00pm and 6.30pm. Plus a dream feed at 11.00. Her nursery teacher recently said she thought I could drop the 10.00 and 2pm feeds, that she's really using them as drinks rather than food. But that would take her below the 20oz recommendation. I've read that by now, babies can cut back to 3 bottles a day - we can't even get to four just yet. What do I do?

My ds is also 7months. He's breastfed though so may be different. At 6m he went on to 3 meals a day and at the time he would have milk first thing, breakfast shortly after, milk before lunch and before dinner then a milk feed before bed. Then he ended up filling himself up too much on milk and would wake through the night as he hadn't taken enough solids. So I gave him breakfast first in the morning, then he could go till about 11am before needing milk. Then lunch solids, which would take him to mid afternoon milk, then dinner solids and milk before bed. He has always been fed on demand though, which sounds quite different to your lo. Do you give her the milk at these times because of a routine or is that when she's hungry? Could you drop the dreamfeed? Could you use the eqivalent of onr feed mixed in with her food to ensure she's getting the recommended amount? It's a bit of a worry isn't it? That's the worst thing with breast feeding, you've no idea how much they're getting. HTH.

Sorry, don't really have advice as dd is breastfed, but I sometimes feel she feeds alot more than other babies her age. She is 9m and must be around 17lb at most, eats 3 meals a day and feeds every 3 hours at least, night and day.
Personally I'd say if she eats well, so she isn't filling up on milk I would leave it as I think milk is more important than food, but I could well be wrong! I know my dd seems more of a "grazer" and never eats much in one go, but needs constant topping up of food and milk. Maybe your dd is the same.

Sorry not to be much help but at least I bumped it for you!

I'm a bit of a Gina Ford freak, went into it mainly because I had no idea about babies!! I followed it with my daughter (now 20months) and it worked a treat. I found it really helpful, here are some bits that I remember. The amount of milk they need obviously decreases as they get older and while it's still important when you start weaning food should gradually take over milk. I was feeding at 7am, 11am, 2pm, 6-7pm, 11pm. Dd dropped the 11pm feed first, (about 31/2 months) gradually reducing it by a ounce or two every three nights or so, you should find she will drink more in the morning. I think the next feed to go was the 11am feed, again gradually reducing it, this should mean she will eat more solids at lunchtime (she should have had a big feed of milk in the morning if the 11pm feed is cut out first, so should be able to go till lunchtime). I think there is something that milk also reduces the absorption of iron if given with food. The next feed to go (can't remember how old she was, maybe 10 months?? but my friend still gives her 20 month milk when she wakes from nap around 2ish) If your baby is thirsty you can give her cool boiled water. Remember that milk that's used in cereal, puddings etc also counts as intake. Hope this helps

That's useful - thanks. Actually last night was the first night I woke her for the dream-feed and she wasn't really interested. It might well be time to drop it, as you suggest. I'm not sure about breakfast. At 5.00/6.00-ish when she wakes up, I'm sure it's hunger - I can hear her tummy rumbling. But the idea of going downstairs and mixing cereals at 5.15 just seems odd. So I give her a bottle. Maybe I shouldn't? But if I do, she manages to doze off until 7.00 or so. And that extra hour makes all the difference to me...

K7

I wouldn't drop her feeds. She may well be using them as drinks, but I get thirsty every two hours and would expect her to too. I also would not be mixing cereal at 5:15 am, and think you are doing the right thing with the milk feed.

Take no notice of the nursery nurse if you don't want to. Is there the slightest chance the nursery nurse may be suggesting this for her own convenience? As this seems very young to be dropping feeds merely because baby is using them as a drink. It is a drink.

I didn't demand feed my dd, I got her into a routine quite quickly and tried to give her all of her milk during the day after she started sleeping through the night at 17 weeks. I know not everyone agrees with routine but this really worked for me and it seemed to work for my dd too.

If dd woke before 6am I allowed her a little bit of time to settle herself back to sleep and if she didn't I gave her cool boiled water. It was enough to settle her back to sleep for an other hour or so and when she woke up she was ready for her milk. The thing with giving too much milk is that they don't get so hungry and may be more reluctant to try new food. My dd is now 20 months and if I giver her her milk before breakfast, she guzzles it because she is hungry and then won't eat her breakfast, so what I do now is give her a couple of ounces when she wakes up and while I get dressed and then half way through breakfast I offer her some more. I also try not to give Katie snacks or a drinks an hour before her lunch or dinner because she just won't eat anything.

Hi K7, my dd is 8mths and is also quite small. I am trying to get from 4 to 3 bottles and have had similar experiences to you - she would only take 6oz max per feed. However today I gave her tea early 4pm and missed the 3pm bottle she was starving but polished off the whole meal (a first). Subsequently she also drank 7oz of her bedtime bottle at 6.30pm. Would your dd drop her afternoon bottle if she had an earlier tea?
Of course I don't know if this is just a one off I'll let you know

hi k7, haven't read whole thread so apologies if i repeat anything.

I really, really wouldn't worry about dropping milk feeds at this stage.
My one year old has only just gone down to 4 bottles a day! If she wants and needs the milk then she shoul dhave it. There's no need to make her have less bottles.

Ds used to wake at around 6, and like you I would give him a bottle and he'd sleep until about half eight when he'd get up and have breakfast. This worked fantastically for us and he has recently started not waking early for the morning bottle just getting up at 8 for breakfast (hence only 4 bottles now!)

I agree with you on the cereal thing too. A bottle an exta hour in bed is a far better option

Looking at the state of my speeling (omg) bed is where I need to be! good night

i should also add that despite having so much milk ds also has a very healthy appetite and it hasn't put him off his food at all!

How odd is that - after posting last night my LO managed her first ever 7-7 sleep... Didn't want too much milk when she woke, so put the left-overs in her cereal. Have also told nursery teacher to persevere with morning and afternoon feeds. If we do happen to drop the dream-feed as of last night (OK, I know, last night will be a one-off and tomorrow I'll laugh at myself for daring to think it might be a habit), then we're definitely getting close to not making 20oz a day.

Hi, read this thread with interest.

My DS3 is was exclusively breastfed until approx 5mo. I then introduced him to 3 meals a day (one at a time) and at 7 1/2 mo he's on 3 good meals a day plus he breastfeeds before breakfast, before tea and at night-time.

The major problem I am experiencing at the moment is that he's dropped the lunchtime feed (and probably soon will drop the teatime feed) and my let-down reflex is now a minute or two slower than it used to be. He is very impatient and will not wait and bites at every feed now and cries and thrashes about. I've tried to hand express until the milk is just letting down and then latching him on (instant reward) but obviously I can't do this all the time...

Any suggestions? I've had advice from a MW at a breastfeeding group we're setting up saying that the "quality" of my milk will go down now he's dropped a feed and therefore I should be expressing at some point in the day (not a lot - to keep my quality up - which I don't necessarily agree with) whilst other members of the group say it's just a phase he's going through and he'll soon stop biting and the impatience will also pass (I'm not so sure it will, he IS a biter).

I'm not sure what to do, he has refused to feed on some mornings (he has had an ear infection AND is teething so that doesn't help). I am aware that supply and demand still applies, I have plenty of milk, it's just the let-down I believe. He won't take my milk in a bottle or a cup.

I'd like to go back to work so realistically don't want to go back to feeding him at lunchtime (which he won't do as I've tried and he clamps down with his teeth) - but I'm quite prepared to express my milk off 3-4 times per day to make sure he has a morning and night time feed.

p.s. he is cows milk intolerant and I don't want him to have artificial milk, although he does have supermarket soya milk with his breakfast. He also sleeps all night.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Kerry

not sure about quality of milk and all that but when I went back to work both times, dd and ds both had one bf in morning and a bedtime bf. They seemed fine with this. During the day they would have 3 meals plus snacks and a bottle of mid afternoon formula.... can't remember if they had a bottle mid morning or not - think maybe not but they were both 8 months when I went back to work...

Would just like to add that they definitely were not having night feeds at this age!

Hi cece, my lo doesn't feed during the night (unless he's poorly or teething) he slept from 8pm to 6.20am this morning but managed to hold him off from feeding and breakfast until 6.45am.

I have been hand expressing until the milk seems to be flowing quite well (not up to let-down though) and he seems to bite just to check there's milk there then seems to feed ok with no more biting.

I've also been saying "shhhhhhhhh" and then "good boy" in a very quiet calming voice and that seems to work well (as long as I don't say "shhhhhhh" to loudly). This seems to keep him attached and "stretches" his patience waiting for the milk to let-down.

He's also had an ear infection which is why (I've been told) he may have refused or have had difficulties feeding on the left side, the side he was laying on was worse and might have been causing him pain, especially when the milk let-down (affecting his swallowing).

Will keep up with the expressing pre-feeds as this seems to stop most of the biting and the calm shhhhhing and talking stops him biting at the end.

Really pleased with myself as I've never got this far with my other two breastfeeding...