Weaning and less feeds at 6 months

[mummymarz]

I'm a bit confused - are you supposed to go from 5 feeds per day to 3 feeds and 3 meals overnight? DD has been weaned on fruit and veg, but i'm not sure how to change her eating habits so that she has 3 bigger meals and only 3 milk feeds. Any advice would be hugely appreciated!! (Also, would you use the number 3 milk from 6 months or should you stick to the number 1 formula?)

I let DS1 tell me when to drop feeds, I started by offering him bottles after his meals, and when he'd strat refusing them or only taking an oz or so I stopped them. Eventually he was on 3 meals and 3 bottles.

As for the formula, my HV told me that as long as DS was a good eater and was eating abit if all the major food groups there was no need for the 'follow on milk' and changing it, as well as asking his tummy to cope with solids, could cause cramps, so stick with what you know.

Eventually my 'routine' was
8am Porridge
11am Milk
1pm Lunch
3pm Milk
5pm Dinner (2 courses)
7pm Milk

(all timing approx! )

at 6 months ds still had 5 milk feeds (which included 1 in the night) and as his solid food increased he started taking less milk. He dropped to 4 feeds at 8 months, 3 at 9 months and was down to 2 feeds by 10 1/2 months. I was guided by him really as to when he wanted to drop feeds. I did use follow on milk but stayed on the 6 month one rather than move to the later ones (the other ones made up less milk so worked out more expensive).

I always gave milk first and solids after so he didnt cut down on his milk too quickly - at 6 months it would have looked like this:

7am - milk
8am - breakfast
11am - milk
12pm - lunch
3pm - milk
5pm - dinner
7.15pm -milk
in the night up to 8 months - milk

The night feed went first, then the 11am milk then the 3pm milk and we were left with the morning and bedtime feed.

Yeah, should have said, at 6 months DS1 was still on 5 feeds, that 'routine' was about 9 months, it's the only one I could remember.....

We are gradually dropping the mid morning feed to be replaced with lunch. Will not drop the dream feed for a while until she is eating lots.

muumymarz no advice im afraid but ill be watching ths with interest. My dd is 24 weeks and for a week I have been giving her tastes of solids but like you we are on 5 feeds in the day and Im not sure how to progress. She is just not taking enough solids at this point to drop a feed but im not sure how to get her more interested in solids if im filling her up so much on milk (5 x 9oz bottles a day!)

Bloody weaning, I have been dreading it!

Thanks Jodie and Seona. This helps a lot. HV just gave leaflet for what they should be on - but no phasing! I'll follow DD's lead - one often forget that they have a say too! ;) Don't worry flourybaps, i'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon. I've weaned DD at 18 weeks (naughty, i know, but we were both ready for it blah blah) they soon have their favourites, and although she was pulling the worse faces at apple, she was sucking and chewing on a big piece this morning, crying everytime she dropped it - hurrah! She's now 23 weeks, so already planning the protein introduction

I have the gina ford 'contented little baby' book which i've been following. My ds kind of got himself into a routine but i tweaked it a little to get into the book routine:

7am full milk feed followed by breakfast.

11 full milk feed then lunch

2.30 full milk feed

6pm milk feed then dinner

10pm milk feed

The 11am feed should be pushed gradually closer to 12 and milk should be given in two halves and eventually dropped first. And once on 3 meals a day the 10pm feed can be dropped.

I started weaning my DS at 18 wks but really gradually, so he's has 3 meals a day now and wakes once during the night but i give him a drink of cooled boiled water instead of milk which he's happy with.

oh and from 6-7 months (if weaned early, from 6) dinner is at 5 then milk at 6.30. Works really well for us. :-)