Help! 9 months old - should I drop the 5th BF and 3rd nap?

Meggie1129

DS is 9 months old and still nurses 5 times a day and takes 3 naps. I have always kind of followed EASY (eat, activity, sleep, etc.) since he was little and it has always worked for him. Since he is still taking 3 naps (totaling 3 - 3 1/2 hours, last nap is usually a 30-45 minute catnap at 4 or so), he is still nursing 3 times a day in addition to his wake-up and bedtime nursing. Part of me feels that based on other babies, he should only be nursing 4 times a day and on a 2 nap schedule.

The other part of me says screw it, this obviously is working well for him right now still, why mess with it? He finally started STTN within the past month or so, I really don't want to drop a daytime feed only to have him start waking again. His pedi and the LC I spoke to don't seem concerned abotu him still napping/eating this often. He is 25 pounds so obviously growing well.

WDYT? Just keep him on the "routine" he has going now for the time being? Or should I try and alter it and get him on a different schedule. I guess my only concern is that I have no clue how I am going to get the kid to a basic 3 meals by the time he is a year!

ginanjason

DD started at 4 months only nursing 4 times a day.  It was great!  But she was also STTN by 2 months so that helped.  She weaned herself to that. We did the easy method too.  Her playtime got longer and nap time got longer and some days if she took crap naps, I would wait til it was time for her to nurse again, I wouldn't feed her as soon as she woke up.  I just had to keep her distracted. 

Is he nursing for comfort do you think or is he hungry.  You could try to extend the time about 30 min. or so in between feedings and you may drop one.  But if he's not happy i wouldn't force it.  he loves his momma's milk! 

Every baby is different.  A woman my mom works with her child nursed every 2 hours til he was one year old!

alex04

we did what worked for us and DD started to adjust her schedule on her own.  she started adjusting her naps times and when she wanted to eat and we just went with it. 

so  my advice would be this...don't change it because other people are doing things differently.  do what works best for you and your baby

mrsmoulton

For what it's worth, Max still nurses about 6 times a day, plus a couple night feedings. But really, who cares what other babies are doing? Your baby is an individual, and has his own needs, wants, and preferences. If your routine works for you, I wouldn't change it. And don't worry about getting him on 3 meals a day by age one - remember that the day will still contain plenty of snacks and milk, so it won't seem to him like he's being deprived of extra meals. 

KristinKD

I agree with alex. Let your DS set his own schedule.

I was still nursing DD five times a day up until a couple weeks ago, when she started taking one nap a day most days. Now we're down to four nursings and sometimes just three.

I don't really remember, but I think she dropped her third nap around seven or eight months. I always followed EASY too, and she just gradually started lasting longer between naps.