Start BLW tomorrow but bit worried about evening cluster feeds...

[NoviceKnitter]

Happy Christmas Eve

We start BLW tomorrow with a bit of parsnip. We're very excited but I'm a bit concerned about how it will affect DD's bfing.

The couple of months or so she's cut down daytime feeds to ridiculously short snacks, then has a cluster of longer dream feeds from about 4 when she has a long nap and then from 7 till we go to bed at 11ish. We just keep her in the living room with us. I've always thought this would change when we start solids because she'd be less hungry (MIL and various friends have been suggesting baby rice for age "she'll sleep better") but i've now realised I don't think she's cluster feeding because she's hungry for solids, but because there's too much exciting stuff going on in the daytimes to concentrate on feeding and she makes up for it at night. I'm worried if she starts being fuller from daytime solids she'll be too full for her cluster feeds and won;t be getting enough breast milk.

Ideally I'd like to find a way to encourage her to have proper daytime feeds in addition to the slow start on solids, and then to go to bed at seven without waking for hte cluster of dream feeds, as she sleeps very well apart from this hungriness having not eaten very much all day.

But I have no idea how to encourage this.

Any thoughts or similar experiences?

How old is she, six months?

They tend to start quite slowly- the solids just augment the breastmilk for at least the first few months IME.

What environment are you feeding her in? Perhaps try giving her a calm BF in a quiet place, and then popping her in the high chair to have a play with the solids. And why do you keep her in the living room? (not saying it's wrong, just wondering why you don't pop her in the cot?)

agree with lapin - with BLW, they don't actually eat an awful lot to start with - just playing and experimenting with their food so at first it probably won't make any dfference to your DD's feeding pattern at all - I think that may be a different issue!

I would just feed her during the daytime, then, and leave a longish gap before she starts her evening feedathon. A couple of hours will probably be plenty. Remember their stomachs are still pretty tiny and if you are starting with soft veggies etc, they will, erm, go through the baby's system in pretty short order and don't contain that many calories so she won't necessarily be full up, even if she seems to have eaten a decent amount.

Thanks guys, we did the parsnip thing on xmas day and I can see you're right - is going to be a while before it makes a big difference to her bf appetite! Pear went down a bit better on boxing day but still nothing to write home about.

TenLordsaLapin - we keep her with us because otherwise I spend half the evening bfing in the bedroom instead of watching telly and eating dinner! We're going to give putting her to bed another try in the new year tho - she's got a bit clingy in her sleep - even wakes up crying if i go to clean my teeth at the mo...