EBF / bTDT moms question

mrsf123 · March 2014

Hi Ladies, DD2 is 7.5 months old and EBF. DD1 was formula fed and by the time she was 6 months old, was on 4 bottles/day and 3 meals. I have BFed DD2 on demand, and she has kinda fallen into a schedule where she nurses 6x/day and eats 3x. It's just becoming....a lot.... And I know by the time most babies are a year or so, babies are usually BFing about 4x/day. So I'm wondering, is this a normal amount of feeds? Do I need to start dropping feeds? Should she be able to go longer than 2 hours between feedings at this point? What is your LOs schedule? Here's her schedule, FYI: 7am - nurse 8am - breakfast 9am - nurse down for nap (sleep til about 10-10:30) 11am - nurse 12:30 - lunch 1:30 - nurse down for nap (sleep til about 3:30) 4:00 nurse 6:00 - dinner 7:00 nurse to bed As you can see, she goes longer between feedings in the afternoon. TIA!

Laurakat81 · March 2014

We EBF and are doing BLW. DD nurses 6 times a day with an occasional night feed. She "eats" 2-3 meals a day but I would hardly call it eating. The majority of your baby's nutrition should be from BF, not "food".

Our typical day (no schedule, I BF on demand) looks like this:

7:30 BF

8:30 Eat breakfast

9:30 BF

12:00 BF

12:30 Eat lunch

3:30 BF

6:30 BF

7:00 Eat dinner

8:00 BF

I think our schedules look pretty similar. I don't think you should be dropping feeds. She knows when she is hungry and breastmilk is going to have a lot more of what she needs than food.

MommyKristin88 · March 2014

I feed on demand. He doesn't have a set schedule. You think nursing 6x a day is a lot? I work during the week, but I swear on weekends I spend more time with a boob out than not.

nnikki10 · March 2014

We are doing about 6 times a day too. I'm with. @MommyKristin88‌ that on my weekend she is permanently attached to the boob.

MagPie 1986 · March 2014

Can you try to put her down for a nap without nursing? Is she really eating anything before she falls asleep? If you take out the nursing to sleep feeds, she really may be only eating every 3-4 hours.

carrotcake06 · March 2014

My oldest BF 6x a day at that age but was down to 4x a day by 9mo with 3 meals. We fed on demand, that's just how it was. We transitioned to morning and night BFing only around 12.5mo.

The twins are still 6-7x a day at 9mo with 2-3 meals. They're peanuts but growing steadily so I'm not trying to cut out any feedings just yet.

It is a lot, but a lot will change over the next 4-5months. I don't think it's excessive by any means.

LokiLahve · March 2014

Our schedule is about the same, plus at least 1 night feed sometimes 2. So no, it doesn't seem like a lot to me.
I bf on demand & try to keep a routine with meals. I figure lo knows when she's hungry & when she's not. I don't understand people's need/want to train babies when to eat. It's natural....when you're hungry you eat, should be the same for lo.

magdalina.h · March 2014

I wouldn't drop a feeding because her main source of nutrition is milk

BelhurstBride · March 2014

I have no idea how many times a day DD2 nurses, I just feed her when she's hungry, but I'm willing to bet its way more than six times. She's currently nursing for I *think* the fourth time since midnight. Possibly fifth.

It sounds as if she's not eating for 12 hours straight at night, so of course she's going to eat more during the day.

I know it's harder said than done, but maybe you wouldn't be as worried if you just tried going with her flow?

ETA: try considering what kind of life lessons you're setting up when you're the one trying to control her eating. Trusting in her ability to determine hunger is setting her up for healthier eating habits as she grows.

kwrecks · March 2014

I nurse in demand and so far today she had nursed 4 times since midnight. She will probably nurse at least 3-4 more times today, on top of having solids 2 times.

vulpini · March 2014

LO eats about every 2 hours during the day, with 2 "meals" of solids which are really not much of a meal, and an occasional middle of the night bottle. I think it's pretty normal at this age for them to still eat frequently. I've also noticed that he now eats less at each feeding because he gets distracted by people/objects/cats around him and loses interest in his bottle once he's no longer starving. Then a little later he remembers he was hungry. It often takes him two sittings 30-45 minutes apart to finish one 4oz bottle.

LJUTCMommy · March 2014

petey1106 said:

Um, consider yourself lucky. LO still nurses 8x a day, gets two bottles while I'm at work plus 2 meals of solids. 6x a day sounds like a dream.
ETA not to speak for her, but I think @LJUTCMommy will agree with me that 6x a day isn't a lot.

LOL! Thanks for thinking of me. 6x a day is nothing. Feeding on demand, we still average 10x per day. DD wakes up every 2-3 hours to feed overnight too. We are schedule-less, but she also gets solids 2-3x a day.

Caz1221 · March 2014

I'm a FTM, but LO (7.5 months old) currently eats 6x per day (7 if she wakes in the MOTN, but she hasn't been). She only gets solids once a day, but we're planning to offer twice a day when she gets over her cold (she hasn't really wanted to eat solids because of the congestion). During the week, her schedule is: Nurse at 6:30 am, 3 bottles at DC (around 9, 12, and 3, give or take 30 minutes), nurse when she gets home at 5:30, nurse at bedtime around 7-7:30. On the weekends, she nurses around 7, 10:30, 2, twice more in the late afternoon/early evening, and 7:30.

LJUTCMommy · March 2014

petey1106 said:
@LJUTCMommy we had a day earlier this week where he only BF'd 7x and it was a small miracle. Sure as shit though, the next day we were back at 10.

The only time DD eats less than 10x is when we're in a really stimulating environment and she can't be bothered to nurse. For example, if we are in a park full of screaming kids, she would rather look around and play than eat.

BelhurstBride · March 2014

I think were on #8 right now. I forgot that I wanted to count. She's actually down one because we had DHs family over and she was distracted. She'll wake up at least once between now and midnight to nurse, usually right around 11/1130.

sftbllstr87 · March 2014

No help since I had to stop around the 6 month mark bc I wasn't producing enough but I just wanted to say wow! You ladies are awesome! I totally commend you all for still breast feeding and doing it so often throughout the day/night! You are great Mommas!

amarissa85 · March 2014

I know I am late but just wanted to offer up my experience as well. I have no schedule either, I nurse on demand and nurse a lot. Jr is up at least 3-4 times a night and probably eats every 2-3 hours during the day plus his solids foods. So I think I am well over 6x a day and probably closer to 8-10 bf a day.

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