BLWers, how often are you offering?

Growingapepper · June 2016

LO is 8.5 months. Right now we sit LO down for "meals" twice a day. Breakfast and dinner. I think we'll start 3 meals at 9 months, is that pretty typical or should I wait a little longer? Also, LO hasn't had any decrease in her milk consumption yet. When did you notice a decrease in milk consumption and how often were you offering at that point?

ElleMF728 · June 2016

We are just about 10 months and have moved to 3 meals in the last few weeks though there are still days that we only have two. I've noticed a decrease in bottles definitely. DS2 eats about 22 oz a day at this point. Previously, he was eating about 30 oz.

Growingapepper · June 2016

@ElleMF728 what age did you start noticing a decrease? And also, do you offer food first or milk first? In the mornings LO is terribly hungry when she wakes up so she gets her milk first because it would take too long to get breakfast ready and such. At dinner time it's hard to time it right so that food is ready before she gets hungry. A lot of times she gets milk only an hour before dinner so I feel like that affects how much food she wants to eat

vibarra27 · June 2016

I think you should add the 3rd meal when you think shes ready.

My boys have had 3 meals since 6 months & they just turned 9 months on Friday. Mine went from 28oz a day to 24, then slowly 22, & now 20.(they never had more than 30 oz of milk a day) their doc gave me the okay to give them as much solids they want during a meal. & if they want milk after i can give them some if not thats okay.

They get 2-6 oz bottles @ 5 am & 8pm
@9am 4.5solids & 3oz bottle
@12pm 4oz solids
2-230pm 4-6oz bottle
530pm whatever dinner we're having
& snacks between 3& 7 if they want it...

By the way i measure how much they eat for breakfast & lunch so i can know exactly how much theyre eating because the 9am bottle & 2 pm bottle are the ones that have decreased. & my doc said to offer solids first & if they want milk after thats fine.. But like i said do what works for you & LO

momofsweetps · June 2016

Just add three meals when she's ready! We do 3 meals (he will be 9 months on the 11th) and have been doing 3 meals for awhile. He is a big eater. We just wanted him in the habit of sitting when we sit to eat. His nursing has not decreased. I keep thinking it will, but it has not. No scratch that, he nurses every 3 hours and not every 2, and does go longer at night. Sometimes wakes up only once to nurse, sometimes more.

ElleMF728 · June 2016

Growingapepper said:

@ElleMF728 what age did you start noticing a decrease? And also, do you offer food first or milk first? In the mornings LO is terribly hungry when she wakes up so she gets her milk first because it would take too long to get breakfast ready and such. At dinner time it's hard to time it right so that food is ready before she gets hungry. A lot of times she gets milk only an hour before dinner so I feel like that affects how much food she wants to eat

I realize this is an obnoxious answer but it depends lol. In the morning DS2 gets a bottle when he wakes and then solids before his nap. In the afternoon it is the opposite because I like him to have a nice bottle before settling in for a (hopefully) long nap. A typical schedule would be:
7:30 Wake and 6 oz bottle
9:15 Solid breakfast
9:45-11:00 pm Nap
12:00 pm Solid lunch
1 or 1:30 pm 6 oz bottle
2:30-4:00 pm Nap 2
5:30 Solid dinner
7:30 6 oz bottle
8:00 pm Bed

We give a "snack" bottle maybe every other day where DS will eat 2 or 3 ounces around 4 if he seems fussy but he usually just eats a little and then plays with it. I saw a big decrease in formula ounces around 9 months. I attribute it to both solid meals and not eating very much overnight anymore. He dropped a feed overnight and never replaced those liquid calories during the day and instead made them up with meals it seems.

Some nights DS2 wakes up for what I call a snooze button feed. He will eat a bottle around 5 am and then go back to sleep until morning. On days that he does this I like to give a solid breakfast first since he isn't as hungry when he wakes up.

Sorry so long, hope this helps.

ETA: A snack bottle might help you with dinner if she will tolerate it without being angry she isn't getting a full meal. Maybe it will just give you that little bit of extra time to get her food ready to eat.

ForeverEverAfter · June 2016

We've been offering at 3 meals since about 7mo, but not consistently. If she was asleep she just skipped it. Over the last 2 weeks we added in afternoon snack as well as 3 meals, and she's been doing really well. She dropped a night feeding, but seems to be nursing the same amounts in the day. I tend to feed her about an hour before breakfast and lunch (I nurse her when she wakes after night and nap #1). After nap #2 she has snack with the other kids (home daycare) and i nurse her afterwards when I get a chance, usually about an hour before supper (and she nurses at bedtime, about an hour after supper).

charissac13 · June 2016

We do two meals at almost 9 months. Lunch and Dinner, we do after milk feedings, since nutrition should come from milk before one our pediatrician advised us to do milk before and then when she is one we can switch it. I probably could add a third meal, but i'm honestly dreading breakfast. Getting to work in the mornings is already a strugg

wannabeamongoose · June 2016

We are at 8 months and have been doing two meals a day for about a month now. We started school last week and they give him a third meal at lunch time. During daytime hours he's actually increased his intake, but I think that's related to starting school. At night he feeds just as often as before. We were advised to offer milk first so that most of his nutrition still comes from that at this point, but I've noticed the past few days that in the mornings he refuses the breast until after he's had solids.

shelbydd · June 2016

LO is a little over 9 months old and we do 3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day. We worked up to that quite recently based on LO dropping another bottle feeding.

booksandcleverness81 · June 2016

8.5 months and honestly I'm pretty relaxed about offering solids. We usually do at least once a day in the afternoon a bit after nursing, but if I get dinner done before he goes to bed then he'll eat with us at dinner. I'm also just starting to offer snacks like teething biscuits or fruit melts now and then. Overall he gets at least 2 oz a day, some days twice that. He still nurses about the same and my supply has not suffered. I will probably try to get more regular and increase his intake in the next month or two, but I'm not stressing about it. He's happy and healthy and I don't plan on weaning any time soon so I don't think he necessary needs to eat solids three times a day.

callistosmile · June 2016

I EP so he's getting breast milk bottles but we've been doing three meals a day for almost 3 weeks and he's dropped to about 18 oz a day, from 25-30ish. I give him a bottle when he wakes up, then breakfast about an hour after that. I give him bottles about an hour before I plan to eat lunch and dinner and if he seems hungry. I also give him breast milk instead of water in a sippy cup with all his meals. I also just leave a sippy cup with breast milk in it on his play bookshelf so he can have a snack if he wants it. I'll probably start adding a snack in after I discuss his food needs at his 9 month appointment.

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