BFing gurus- *help* Please!!

[SalTheGal]

I’m hoping someone can help me with the timing of DS2’s (9.5mnths) dinner/bedtime feed. I am finding that he is hardly interested in a BF before bed, and I think its because he is having dinner to soon before hand.

He has a sleep which ends about 4-4.30pm, has a BF, then Dinner about 5-5.30pm. Because we do BLW he can often take 45mins to eat, and then is ready for another feed/bed at 6.30-7pm.

Am I doing something wrong here? :confused: Because by bedtime he isn’t really interested in having a decent feed- which results in

A- him not settling well (as he hasn’t had that fantastic sleep inducing big drink), and

B- needing a top up within a few hours.

I don’t mind giving him the topup, but just wonder if there is some other way around it.


Until recently he was having 3 sleeps a day, and had a BF after his second sleep mid arvo, then dinner straight after his 3rd sleep- now he is having 2 sleeps, which means if he feeds after his second sleep its pushing that feed much later- thus the above scenario.

So at this age how many feeds would it he be expected to have?… Up until recently he has usually had 4 feeds a day, and a few through the night… but since he dropped his third sleep he doesn’t seem to be interested in his arvo feed- so he would be down to 3 feeds a day…. Is this ok at 9mnths??

Does demand feeding work both ways… in that if they aren’t interested in many feeds you go with it, as well as if they want to feed all day- and at what age is it ok if they don’t feed much?? He LOVES his food, and will eat whatever we put in front of him…. I find it hard to follow the philosophy of allowing a BLWer dictate how much food they want as he will just eat and eat and eat if he can!! :cool:

Thanks lovely ladies :D I only fed DS1 till 6mnths, so we are in new territory here, and I am not sure how it all works!! :goodvibes:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

I don't know.. at that age mine have not given a stuff how much they have had to eat, they still want the same bf. In fact at 20 mths DS has a huge meal then insisted ona big bf tonight.

Does he have water? Maybe if you could get him to drink some more water he won't get thirsty in the night?

I have the opposite problem in that if DS has a big morning bf, he won't eat breakfast (and then gets really hungry a couple of hours later). Which is your problem in exact reverse I guess.

Really not sure what you can do other than reduce the dinner amount so he does want a feed, or increase it so much and give lots of water to maybe get him through.

What you are saying brings back memories, I remember when DS was 9 mths, I was pregnant, and I remember being amazed that he ate so much more than me.... I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Sounds like you are stuck in the gray zone right now, I'm sure it will change in the next couple of months... sorry not much help!

[Tam-I-Am]

Sounds like you and he are doing fine, TBH Sal :) Yep, demand feeding means it goes both ways - when he's not so hungry go with it...

I'd keep offering a bedtime feed, expecting to top up, and letting it change as it does. Don't fix what ain't broke and all that :)

:hugs:

[Lilahh]

At 9 months DS dropped to 3 BFs a day, I replaced his afternoon BF with afternoon tea of something not too filling and then dinner 1-1.5 hours later. He was still having 3 BFs during the night as well. Im not opposed to demand feeding in concept but it didnt work for us. If I gave DS a 4th BF he wouldnt eat his solids properly and would be cranky as hell all night. So I cut his 4th day feed and it worked well.

His middle BF at that age was always before his lunch sleep, but after his lunch solids, around 12-1pm. He had a morning BF around 6.30am and his dinner BF at 6.30pm and plenty of solids in between. HTH:wave:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Just thouht I would add that at 9 mths, in my own experience, that's been the stage when (with BLW) food starts to take off as a significant part of the diet. His tummy might be adjusting to all the food in there. I remember feeling a bit rejected as DS seemed less interested in bf at exactly taht age (other htan for cuddle purposes).

It actually came raging back though later on.

So at present he might just be really getting into BLW and food.

[SalTheGal]

Thanks chickies.... sounds like I just roll with it, and see what happens!!

Mrs N, I think you might be on the money with the BLW food stuff.... he is just *besotted* by food atm... seems to be getting SO much delight out of every new flavour, texture, and EAT... OMG he can EAT!!

Glad to hear for your LO it came back with a vengeance.... sounds like that's what I have to wait for.

I keep offering BF's through the day, because I am worried he isn't getting enough milk... but I think if I truly Demand fed him, he'd barely care if he didn't feed at all through the day.... but he still loves his night time feeds (which I don't mind too much- its only one or two atm :fingerscrossed: )...but I keep thinking about how milk is meant to be most important till they are one.

[Tam-I-Am]

9 months is a pretty notorious age for them to move away from the breast for a short time. The world is so interesting, and they can move around in it now and manipulate it more than ever - who has time for breastfeeds?!

They do come back to it :)