How many babies make it to 6 months on milk alone?

[ThomasTankEngine]

My HV says only 2 in 500.

I am struggling with a DS at 15 weeks, at 16lb, so far fully BF.
Anyone have any accurate figures?

And what percentage of MUMs are BLW-ing?

My ds is 20 weeks at present and I have been giving him food for four weeks. You can't take a one situation fits all approach, if I was still fully breastfeeding I would be very stressed by now, as for the week between 15 and 16 weeks he fed every 2 - 3 hours at night (having slept for 12 hours solid every night the week before) and when he was awake during the day he was either feeding or crying . He would not go for longer than 30 mins during the day without feeding unless he was asleep. He too is a big boy, he was 17lb+ at 17 weeks. Anyway I have now got my happy content boy back, he sleeps for most of the night and seems to enjoy his food. I would have loved to have been able to fully bf for 6 months but there is just no way it would have worked for us and I think that you have to take each baby as an individual. I hope that you make the right decision for you, don't beat yourself up about it if you do it sooner. As for milk being more filling than food, not for my boy, I am a bit worried that he does not have enough milk so I make sure that I feed him before his meal and he can have a good bf and then a load of baby rice, vegetables etc. If I don't bf him first he can have a good feed soon after a meal.

my dd is probably going to be well over 6 or even 7 months before she starts eating food.
she loves her booby milk far too much.

jeremyvile, your mum and mine should meet.

Thats really interesting maxbear - thats what my ds2 was like - the difference was amazing. Do you think veg is filling enough or that he needs rice/porridge aswell?

After frantic googling, I've found it. Knew I wasn't imagining it. It came from the 2005 infant feeding survey, the findings of which were released during National Breasfeeding Weekd this year. They said:

"In 2005, 45 per cent of all mothers in the United Kingdom were breastfeeding exclusively at one week, while 21 per cent were feeding exclusively at six weeks. At four months the figure was 7 per cent while at six months the proportion of mothers who were breastfeeding exclusively was negligible (<1 per cent)."

here

My ds has rice, veg and fruit. All seem to fill him up well. Am paranoid that he will not get enough milk so add ebm to almost everything!

(Clearly all the less than 1% who did it are MNers! )

2Happy, no further help was given by the HV.

Well done those folk who made it to 6 months. That is very impressive and takes real committment.

Maxbear thank you for recounting your experiences going against the flow.

Its very emotive, as we all want the very best for our babies, and its so confusing when advice changes and there's not a huge amount of support out there.

I am currently feeding DS aged 15 week, 16lb, every 2.5 - 3 hrs day and night. Actually I say currently, but its been that way for 2 weeks, and I am pretty knackered. I started a thread on this in the BF section, then satrted wonderiong about weaning, so here I am, pondering statistics when really everyones baby is different.

Its very interesteing to think BM has more calories than formula or food. It makes sense, as we start on veg, as you say.
I will hang on in there, tho DH is getting fed up of coming 4th in the grand scheme (behind 3 DSs)

Mine and it really wasn't that hard. He was fine with just milk. I was fine with him just having milk. Practically everyone else that I came into contact with was obsessed with him having something other than milk and kept pointing out the "signs" to me.

Apparently the "signs" that I was starving him were that he was putting stuff into his mouth and - horrors! - watching me eat. Funnily enough, 2 months into weaning and eating a varied diet, he is still putting things in his mouth and watching me eat so god knows what he's after now .

There were growth spurts though. At four months (although this coincided with him being ill so it wasn't clear whether the extra feeds/night wakenings were to do with catching up on what he'd missed due to sickness) and at five months. More night wakenings and feeds so I can see how it might be seen that they needed something "extra". It always settled down though - I'd think, here we go.. but a few days later we'd be back to normal.

I really believe, in my experience anyway, that the pressure to wean early is external rather than baby led.

A friend is currently telling me about the signs that her 13 week old dd is nearly ready for solids. I look at her and I just don't see them (ok, ok I know I'm not her mother and I'm keeping my opinion to myself). She said the same about my ds though.

I started more or less BLW ds at 6.5 months - actually quite reluctantly, as I dreaded weaning as a faff He was bf at least every 2 hours during the day and 5-6 times a night at that stage.

I have to say I am a lazy bug and the BFing till 6 months and therefore cutting out 2 months of pureeing does sound lovely.
Still struggling to get my head round just BFing for 6 months, though it does make sense.

Umm but 5-6 times a night berolina? I may struggle with that.

Thomas, mine was sleeping through by then except for the growth spurts and the odd night so every baby is different. Just because you decide you'll give it a go waiting until 6 months doesn't mean you'll be up every couple of hours through the night.

Deciding to wean earlier also doesn't mean you'll not be up every couple of hours through the night if that's what your baby wants to do unfortunately.

I've heard that 67% of all statistics are made up?

Yep, and a (nominally) FT job (plenty of work at home and flexibility)

Don't get me wrong - at times it was grim. But after a monumental struggle to establish bf it actually seemed easy somehow.

I think the health line is that waiting to 6 months will not harm, but weaning before 6 months might.

that's constructive, then, TTE! Look, all things in perspective, the NCT says:

?British breastfeeding rates are amongst the lowest in Europe. Only seven out of ten babies receive any breastmilk and this falls to 55% at one week. Just one in five babies are receiving any breastmilk by the time they are six months old, although the World Health Organisation recommend that babies need nothing other than breastfeeding for the first six months of life.?

So by giving your baby any bmilk, you are doing a fantastic job, and that's the first thing your HV should be saying to you. But feeding that much overnight must be very tough, tho as Lulu points out, solids don't guarantee a better night's sleep. Can you express so someone can do even one of those feeds for you?

I would say to take it a day at time and just get through this day, the next one and so on. Ds only had b.milk for nearly 7 months and it was hard work, esp the growth spurts. The thought of another 6/5/4/3 etc weeks was daunting sometimes but it soon goes.

Very true booktheif and wise words, thank you.
Beolina, yes I think you're right, and we have a history of atopy in the family.
Ok, will perservere thank you all for helping me think things through.

Oh and FWIW, my 25 week old ds2 has been putting everything in his gob since he was born, loves watching us eat and grabs whatever's passing and shoves it in his gob (inc cat's tail ), and has started waking for night feeds when he used to sleep through. Tried solids this week (purees and blw-type chunks) - he screams like I'm poisoning him and spits the lot out. really ready for solids, then!

Ahh, 2Happy this is not a cop out but the only free time I have is from 7:30 when DS1 aged 4 last weeek and DS2 aged 2 go to bed. I just can't face expressing and have little milk then Thats the one time DS3 drains me one side and half - all the other. I hear formula can affect atopy incidence in kiddies.
My HV is a sweetie but not umm well, she's a sweetie.