Dropping lots of boob feeds now

[Sherlock]

Not by my choice, but his

BLW is going great. He eats 2 good meals a day, breakfast and tea and often has a third, lunch, but this is not always given. I don't really give snacks in between as he does not look for them and if he is hungry or thirsty I prefer to offer him the boob for now.

Current feeding situation is as follows. Times are not approx and can vary up to an hour.

6am - Wakes, has big breastfeed. Sometimes goes back to sleep, often stays awake
9am - Breakfast - Porridge or toast, sometimes half pot of yogurt also
12-1pm - Lunch - Sandwich and fruit. Sandwich usually something like cream cheese, humous etc
3pm - Boob feed (depending on day either a big one or a quick on and off)
5pm - Tea - Main and pudding. Usually things like spag bol, fish and veggies, pasta, scrambled egg and toast, roasted veggies and chicken, cottage pie, fish fingers and sweet pots and veggies etc. Followed by pot of natural yogurt, sometimes with pureed fruit in or fresh fruit on its own.
7pm - Boob feed at bedtime, big feed
11pm-mdnight - wakes and won't settle so has boob feed
4am - Giant boob feed

Fruit includes

Apple
Banana
Blueberries
Raspberries
Kiwi
Pineapple
Mango
Satsuma
Melon

So he is going all day often without anything more than a quick feed mid afternoon on my boob. It often involve lots of fussing and pulling on and off and in the end I give up as he really isn't interested to feed. Some days he will feed, but it is rare. He drinks a bit of water with each meal but not masses. Most days its about 50ml total. But he is happy to drink so hoping he'll increase.

Also his lack of sleep in the day means he is less likely to feed. He will always have good feed when tired and needing to sleep.

He is just 8 months old now. Should I be trying to get more boob feeds in during the day still? Or should I trust what he is doing and go with it and stick to letting him have his big breastfeeds overnight (far from ideal for me tbh but if it means he gets his boob milk I'm happy to keep going). Or is going down to 2-3 breastfeeds all up in the day enough. Given that he feeds overnight also. But this can be one or two feeds, it depends on if he wakes.

We have drier nappies in the day now and really wet ones at night. I have to change him with each feed in the night or else he is soaked

He is gaining weight well and is still on the 91st centile and gained 13 ounces in 3 weeks. That's more than the 3-3.5 a week average for BF babies of his age (the average weight gain after 6 months is 3-3.5 ounce a week).

He won't entertain a bottle of EBM or even formula (yes we tried, he didn't drink any, just chewed the teat). He may sip from a cup but I would rather he breastfeed as he is still happy to do so. Also its easier and quicker if he will breastfeed from me. I worry a cup will make him less keen for my boob.

Erm yes, end ramble.

 

[Squiglet]

Sounds like he's having loads of feeds.

He's 8 months now and having solids he's bound to drop feeds, but he's still getting a lot

You will also probably find that he drops down the centiles soon. Booby babies don't gain weight like ff babies in the later stages and with him getting more and more active, he will just burn off the calories.. or he might stay the same.

But he sounds good...

 

[kalia]

It sounds like daytime is just far too exciting to be spent at the breast so he's getting all he needs at night.

The formula guidelines are 500-600ml a day for babies aged 6-12 months which is half what DD was on at 6 months so I wouldn't worry too much if he has dropped a lot of his feeds. I think that is to be expected, though as DD is still not consuming in one day as much as Galen has for pudding we haven't seen a drop in milk feeds. My friend whose boy is a good eater says he is down to 2 bottles a day. The 500ml a day includes milk in cereal and such like so remember he is also geting that in his porridge. I know this is formula guidelines but I hope they reassure you as it must be harder when you don't know how much they are getting.

 

[maria1976]

Hey this sounds a lot like Ruby and her routine now that we have her in the cot at last!!! but recently she was feeding ALL night hence why we had to get her in the cot it was getting beyond ridiculous! Now she has a last feed about 11/11.30 then at 5.30 a HUGE feed.

 

[loz]

Emm is very similar in that she just started to be less interested in milk feeds in the day at about 8 months. She gets offered it, but just wont concentrate on it and doesnt seem to need it. She is very alert and into everything and I think just wants to be back playing!!! Emms still has variable feeds at night, sometimes several times, somtimes none.

Might just be a natural progression. From your other posts it sounds as if Galen is very active - I think he would let you know if he wanted more! If he eats well, he probably doesnt need as much milk.

 

[keli]

This also sounds very much like Coopers eating habits he's dropped his 1pm and 4pm feeds he may take a drink but he's only on for max of 5 mins. Like Galen, Cooper is also feeding lots in the night. I also am happy to go with this as i know he must need it. I'm just following Cooper really and what he wants. He's on 3 meals a day now and i must admit he does love his grub

 

[babynumbertwo]

Hi Sherlock

We haven't yet reached weaning stage but I've been reading baby led weaning book. It seems all in favour of allowing baby to set their own pace and drop milk feeds when they are ready. Maybe your baby has just taken to solids earlier than some. It sounds as though he is still enjoying his milk but is also starting to fill up on solids. As I say, we haven't tried it yet so sorry if this is wrong but from what I've read it sounds like it is a normal progression for anyone following BLW.

 

[Sherlock]

Thanks ladies. Good to know its not bad news.

Squiglet, I was expecting him to drop before now, but the lowest he has ever gone was just over the 75th And then he jumped back up again to the 91st and has stayed there. I don't mind if he slows down. He's a hefty lump to carry round now He is quite stocky but longish.

I knew he would drop some feeds, but he has gone from being a boobie monster, feeding every 90 minutes to 2 hours to virtually next to nothing all day. OK, he is feeding at night and I'll go with that as it means he gets his milk, but it is now meaning I get virtually no sleep as he is often awake for 2 hours at a time at night.

I thought the tail off of feeds would be more gradual that it has been. He went from missing out one feed or going a bit longer between them to having only one in a day, if I can get him to sit still long enough for it

Ah well. So long as my mlk supply is still there for him and is adjusting to the overnight feeding instead of the day time.