Bf-ing to sleep and its effect on weaning?

[Penthesileia]

I bf my 10.5mo to sleep for her naps, and at night. She also bfs during the night: we bed-share, so I'm not entirely sure how many feeds she has, perhaps 2? She's a bit of a live-wire, constantly on the move/wiggle, so bf-ing to sleep is one of only 3 ways I've found which get her off quickly and "peacefully" without tears or fuss (the others are bumping/rocking her in a sling & pushing her in her buggy - though I then can't stop! ). Anyway, I'm not particularly worried about the bf-ing to sleep part - it works, she seems happy, sleeps reasonably well, etc - so I'm in no hurry to stop.

However, it does mean that she has 2-3 quite long breastfeeds during the day before her naps (about 9am, 1pm - and, if she takes a 3rd nap - about 5pm), and this seems - naturally - to have an effect on how hungry she is, that is, she doesn't really "eat" much solids throughout the day. The only meal she eats in any quantities is dinner.

She never eats a breakfast at all (she tends to bf about an hour before she wakes up at 7am, ie. c.6am, in her sleep - so I'm damned if I'm stopping her doing that, as she'd wake up, and we'd all be up even earlier!), and she naps about 2 hours after her first waking, so there's no point at which breakfast is wanted, IYSWIM.

In general, I'm not worried: she's happy and healthy as far as I can see, and I know that "food is for fun until they are one" , but I was wondering if anyone else noticed anything similar in their LO, and if they "grow out" of so many milk feeds in time (e.g. will she begin to learn to fall asleep without bf-ing on her own?), or should I be gently encouraging small changes? I would only do this for her sake, btw - this is not about me: I'm sleeping well enough, and don't mind bf-ing at all, quite the contrary.

She's BLW, btw, but beyond the fact that BLW babies can tend to eat smaller quantities anyway, I don't think this is particularly relevant. She does "try" everything I put in front of her, so when I give her her meals, she tastes them, chews them, but in general spits out much of the masticated food (except, as I said, dinner, which goes down happily enough).

Phew. Sorry for the essay - felt I ought to put down the details.

TIA for your responses!

My DD is 7.5 months and also doing BLW and bfing to sleep.

She still seems to have the same number of feeds and is interested in food but doesn't eat much.

I do give her breakfast when we get up - usually a bit of toast or a bit of fruit.
I also give her something after her first nap at around 10.30 / 11ish. I find she is quite a bit keener at this time than at first thing in the morning.

I also give a bit of something at lunch time and try to think of something around 4ish too.

Overall I would think DD has something like a 1/4 slice of bread and about a 1/2 piece of fruit or veg a day. I have no clue if this is lots or little. What she does seem to like are things with a high water content - tomatoe, courgette, pears, kiwi, oranges.

Not sure if that helps at all.
So in summary - sounds like you're doing fine and if you aren't worried why change things?

Thanks, Steaknife.

Maybe I've been pushing carbs too much in the morning (toast, porridge, etc): perhaps she'd prefer fruit - which she does demolish quite happily in the evening...

Interesting what you say about high-water content: DD loves those things too... Yet if I offer her water, she's not that keen.

It is tricky isn't it. I realiesd that I hadn't really given her much of a chance with protein, so I gave her a bit of tuna and thought she had eaten it only to find it down the side of the chair.

TBH I just give what is easiest, I figure she is so little at the moment she has years and years to try all the different things on offer. I tried her with porridge but she isn't a fan but likes bread.

I think she likes the high water content things because they are easy for her to suck and chomp on.

She will take water, I give it to her in the cup from a thermos flask. It is just the right size for her, she also has a magic cup - one where she has to suck the spout - but prefers flinging drinking from the other cup.

Hi, I was much the same with my DS who is now nearly 2. It was a loooooong time before my DS started eating foods in any quantities and I found weaning very stressful because of this at the start.

I also gave what was easiest, he would eat yoghurt, toast with philly, rice cakes, puff thingies and very little else. He still won't eat fruit for some reason and can be a little fussy at times, but his appetite sometimes is enormous now.

He started eating more after a few weeks at nursery (he started there at 11 mo), I guess he realised if he didn't eat their food I wouldn't magically turn up with a boobie option instead.

You sound exactly like me! DS2 (11 months) currently BF's at 6am, 9am, 12.30pm, 5pm, before bed (8pm) and whenever he wants overnight. All feeds are immediately before naps. He isn't a big eater which worries me as he is really tiny for his age. I've just tried dropping the 5pm feed and noticed that he does eat his dinner better and although the first few days of dropping the feed he tried to latch on whilst he was going to sleep for his pre-dinner snooze, he has now accepted that he doesn't get fed at this time and he just has a nice cosy cuddle to sleep instead. I'm going to try dropping the 9am feed soon but this is just for my own sanity that I can't cope with so many feeds per day any more (and I'm due back to work at the end of the month).

Hi preggersplayspop and AcademicMum - thanks for your comments: glad to hear it's a common tale!

DD managed some strawbs this morning, so maybe fruit is her preferred choice in the am?

My DS is nearly 8 months, doesn't feed at all at night or before naps and is given mush (as well as finger food) but still doesn't want breakfast and only just started being interested in lunch (although as with your DD, dinner goes down a treat) - sounds like I'm in a similar position to you even though we're taking different approaches to feeding and sleeping - so maybe this indicates it is all pretty normal.

I did want DS to drop his lunchtime breastfeed and just have solids (as he was refusing his afternoon breastfeed and I worried about him going from 12 - 5:30 without much to sustain him) so I did slowly cut back on his lunchtime milk and then just dropped it altogether. He fussed a little for a couple of minutes for the first 2 days and then dropped off (but he does use a dummy so it might be different). I felt happier with this as he then upped his post-nap milk (still only takes 5 - 10 minutes)

sorry, should have added that his interest in lunch only came after I dropped his 11 p.m. feed - so maybe it does have an impact but if you're happy with the way things are it really doesn't matter.

My DS didn't start eating seriously till around 10mo, at which point feeds got shorter (but he's never been a routine boy so doesn't have feeds at particular times).

He's also always been BF to sleep when at home with me. He still does it at 15mo, but will be settled by other means by other people (and even sometimes by me) after his bedtime milk. He also falls asleep on his own when his auntie has him. My point is they'll get there on their own. We can see DS progressing in lots of ways regarding feeding and sleeping.

He was having lots of daytime feeds at 10.5 mo, but now will (unless he's ill or teething) just have his 4 feeds (morning, nap, bedtime and early hours (sometimes skips that though)).

So long as you are offering solids regularly, don't worry - at that age, if your DD prefers milk some of the time, its nothing to worry about!