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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Did you drop milk feeds or did your baby?

94 replies

MrsJamin · 27/10/2008 09:00

DS still has as many milkfeeds now at nearly 10 months as he did at 6 months (6-7 in day, 1-2 at night). Have tried to drop milk feeds but
a) he gets too upset still when eating solids (doing BLW) and too tired/hungry - just wants boob
b) he still asks for it

Should I persevere and drop feeds so he eats more solids or should I leave it to him to drop feeds? He just doesn't seem to eat enough solid at a meal to really see him through to the next meal without 2 BFs inbetween! It just seems he BFs too much for getting towards being 1! How did any of you drop milk feeds?!

OP posts:
CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 27/10/2008 23:02

How do you get them to eat it if they don't want it though? DD doesn't choose what she eats, she eats healthy foods. It's the amount that she chooses. Lucky for you that your children have good appetites. Because that's all it is, luck.

Chocloverblw8r · 27/10/2008 23:13

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE
I'm sorry but my only explaination is that a baby who is puree fed will get used to eating more from the start as they are getting quite a large amount in a seemingly small serving thus ensuring their tummy is getting used to being full which I believe blw babies struggle with.
If they don't want it I persevere even now my children do not leave the table unless they have eaten a satisfactory amount if not they stay at the table until they have.
They always manage it which they would'nt if they were full already.
Boundaries are an extremely important part of parenting and as a parent I believe we have to show our children what is and is'nt acceptable.
In my opinion not eating enough is not acceptable,this is not luck this is finely tuned parenting skills which I have honed from bringing up 4 kids.
I love, trust and respect my children completely and in return they love trust and respect me and know that the decisions I make for them are always in their best interest.

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 27/10/2008 23:17

You don't know how hungry your children are. Not letting them get down from the table until they've eaten what you want them to is not good imo. I can eat more even when I'm full but that isn't a good thing. And yes, puree fed babies eat more in a sitting. How do you know that is a good thing? My DD has boundaries. Fighting about food is not a battle I am going to undertake. DD eats what she wants and is happy and healthy. So are you going to help MrsJamin in any way? Or just tell her to give her ds choc buttons?

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 27/10/2008 23:19

btw you name should be chocloverblwH8r. Unless blw ate you!

Chocloverblw8r · 27/10/2008 23:24

I'm a lover not a h8r

ChasingSquirrels · 27/10/2008 23:25

to the OP, I dropped them - with both children. ds1 was ff by 10mo and I can't really remember but with ds2 I started to drop then at around 18mo, so much older than your ds.
ds2 just wasn't interested in food until 1+. now at 2.9 he had a good appetite.
He definately had as many bf at 10mo (and 12m, and probably later) as he did at 6mo. He was a complete milk monster.

Chocloverblw8r · 27/10/2008 23:30

Two more questions. Do you really think it's better to give a baby a chocolate button than a bf? Please educate yourself. There are much healthier ways to gently wean.

Also, how do you expect OP to get her DS to eat more? He is obviously taking as much as he needs. You're not suggesting forcefeeding, are you?

MMMM thats 3 questions as pointed out by someone else on bc with a brain.

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 27/10/2008 23:38

Bit behind on the questions aren't you? And not actually answering any. How intelligent.

beanbearer · 27/10/2008 23:44

Hi Choclover - people nod approvingly when our babies grow quickly (and woe betide those who don't) and when our toddlers clear their plates so you probably speak for the majority when you say (23.13) "not eating enough is not acceptable". Yet as a society, we're also depressed about how overweight so many of us are. It seems lots of people struggle to regulate their diet to match their body's requirements. Could it be that our babies have this innate knowledge schooled out of them at the dinner table?

SmugColditz · 27/10/2008 23:45

baby led weaning is how the majority of mammals in the world wean.

We aren't fitted with blender attachments at menarche. Breastmilk remains perfectly nurtritious after 6 months, it doesn't turn into Yazoo. Babies start to need MORE iron. Eventually, a breastmilk only diet will be inadequate. This will not happen overnight, it is a very gradual process. For any parent concerned about this, vitamin drops can adequately replace chocolate.

FWIW my mother raised 3 healthy children and still persists in the bizarre conviction that because my brother was a 'hungry baby' she had to wean him at 7 weeks.

SmugColditz · 27/10/2008 23:48

bounderies are extremely important in parenting, however I wwouldn't tell either of my children to keep eating after the point of satiety, any more than I would insist they stop emptying their bowels when I decided there was enough faeces produced. I was made to eat what my mother thought was an appropriate portion as a child, I am a chronic overeater now and have to weigh all my food. It makes me physically gag to see children pushing food they don't want to eat around a plate so they will be allowed to get down.

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 27/10/2008 23:48

Good post beanbearer, I totally agree. I posted on here to support the OP and offer advice. If your intention is to offer inane advice and insult other people's parenting choclover then take it elsewhere. This discussion isn't about blw, it's about weaning from breastmilk.

Oh and you never said how long you bf for.

Chocloverblw8r · 27/10/2008 23:51

Hi SmugColditz, at last someone who gets the chocolate comment!!! lol

ohIdoliketobebesidethe · 27/10/2008 23:52

Some kids (mine) do need a certain amount of cajouling though or they get distracted and are hungry soon afterwards. I really try and balance it and let them decide they've finished but it can be tricky. I'm always amazed how their appetites vary so much.

ohIdoliketobebesidethe · 27/10/2008 23:52

Some kids (mine) do need a certain amount of cajouling though or they get distracted and are hungry soon afterwards. I really try and balance it and let them decide they've finished but it can be tricky. I'm always amazed how their appetites vary so much.

Chocloverblw8r · 27/10/2008 23:56

I have spent over 2 1/2 years bf 4 children and am currently feeding my baby,there is nothing you can tell me whatsoever about bf that I do not know already would you like a ladder to climb off that very tall horse of yours???

TeenyTinyTorya · 27/10/2008 23:59

To the OP - I was forced to formula feed, so don't have quite the same experience as you. I found that ds dropped a couple of feeds, having four a day between 9mths and 1yr. At a year I changed him gradually on to cows milk, and he has a drink with every meal and a cup of warm milk at bedtime, so still four feeds in theory. He is not 19mths btw. Just go with what your ds wants - he'll know how hungry he is.

To Choclover - it is a very bad idea to force any child to eat more than they might want, even if you aren't actively forcing the food down their throats.

First of all, you could be encouraging them not to listen to their bodies' natural "full" signals, which come around 20 mins after starting to eat. If a child has to eat quickly and finish their meal, they don't feel these signals, or learn to ignore them. This can cause problems with obesity in later life.

Secondly, by obsessing over the amount of food eaten, you could cause your children to think about food as an big problematic issue.

Please read this link, especially the bits near the bottom about listening to your child. In fact, here's a selected paragraph -

"Some parents think that not letting kids feed themselves is for the best, but it takes away control that rightfully belongs to kids at this age. They need to decide whether to eat, what they will eat, and how much to eat ? this is how they learn to recognize the internal cues that tell them when they're hungry and when they're full. Just as important, toddlers need to learn and practice the mechanics of feeding themselves."

ChasingSquirrels · 27/10/2008 23:59

can we not have a slanging match on here - it isn't helping the op.

Chocloverblw8r · 28/10/2008 00:01

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE
I have no intention of offending anyones parenting technique.
And I'm sorry you find anyone who has an opinion that varies from yours a threat or insult.
I won't get into nastiness like you.
I am very confident in my parenting skills.
It is not the case that everyone elses weaning style is wrong because you don't agree with it.

CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE · 28/10/2008 00:02

Am on no high horse. Just wondering when you became the resident expert on all things baby-related. Well done, you have four children. That doesn't mean you know it all.

Why exactly have you come on here? Your advice hasn't exactly been brilliant.

ChasingSquirrels · 28/10/2008 00:02

you already HAVE been nasty, can you please drop the personal aspect, feel free to HELP the op, but take the pettiness elsewhere.

TeenyTinyTorya · 28/10/2008 00:03

Colditz - I know what you mean. I was in work the other day and saw a baby of about 4 months old being fed two 9oz bottles of milk one after the other. He wasn't crying for food, just lay there passively with the bottle propped in his mouth so he had no choice but to eat or choke on it. Once one was finished, then the other one was plugged in. I don't know if his parents were trying to feed him up for the night or if this was normal for him, but it made me feel sick watching him.

ChasingSquirrels · 28/10/2008 00:03

ok - I don't type fast enough, my posts to chocy one.

Chocloverblw8r · 28/10/2008 00:04

The OP did exactly the same in a thread she crashed where she gave out incorrect advice to first time mums.
She preaches BLW and her kids don't eat properly OP is a hypocrite.

ChasingSquirrels · 28/10/2008 00:05

ah, so you are following her around and being obnoxious, be a love - piss off.

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