Dropping milk feeds following weaning

[Denbenben]

Hello! I'm really confused about how weaning should/could affect the number of breastfeeds given each day! Can anyone help?

I've just started weaning mny 6 month old DD. The HV says food should not replace milk feeds up to one year, but surely she will start taking less milk as she takes more solids? At the moment I BF her on demand, I guess four or five times a day - and lots during the night unfortunately!

I want to start cutting down BF as i'd like to start TTC early next year. But she won't take a bottle. Can I assume that now she's starting solids, she'll just naturally cut down on the BF, and there's no need to force the bottle issue?

Aaargh, this is all very confusing and not sure if this email even makes sense! Thanks in advance!

I think they cut back naturally.

But it is important to continue to offer milk.

My DS is 10 months next week and I have introduced a bottle of formula for his mid-morning feed (in an effort to stop breastfeeding over next couple of months) and he only takes 2oz of formula at best! So I think I have found out that he isn't now taking that much from me anyway!

I think it varies so much, take from your DD lead. I think a lot of mums feed morning/evening and work during day, once their babies are older.

Am sure others will post advice on this. But trust your instinct. I also think the whole 'don't cut back on milk' message is important, but moreso for formula fed babies, as breastfed babies, providing they are offered the milk, do take what they need.

when i started my DS on solids it at lunch time and from the first solid feed he then missed out a milk feed mid afternoon.
when i started to give him an evening meal he then went through the night without needing a milk feed.
and when i introduced breakfast he missed out the mid morning feed and only had milk after solids and first thing in the morning and last thing before bedtime.

but i think every baby is different

and i gave quite a high carb diet, so this was probably filling him up more than if he had just had fruit or veg

forgot to say -
even though she is refusing a bottle you could start to offer a beaker, even if doesn't take more than a few drops of water from it at least she will get used to it really slowly before you give up BFing

I started to offer a beaker at 4months and it probably took him a good month or so before he would take much from it.

With DS2 when he was established on food, I dropped the lunch time milk feed and fed him instead.

Next I dropped the 2.00ish milk feed when he was around 10 months. He still has a bottle in the morning and one in the evening which I'll keep going until he's around 2. Hope that helps.

Thanks for that - I'll stop worrying I think and just see how it goes!

My baby girl is 1 and she is weaning now, cause she would not take a bottle either and BF is sooo important for the first year when they are not bottle feeding. and I thought it would be hard to wean but at a 1 yr she is pretty much weaning herself! ( I am also trying TC )