Help! I don't think they are taking enough milk!

My boys started solids at around 5 months and were bf about 5 times a day with one solids meal. We then moved to 2 meals with 5 feeds a day and then moved to 3 solids meal at around 6 months.

Now my concern is that they both dropped their 11am feed soon after 2 meals were introduced and then dropped their 2pm feed after 3meal!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: Now they only nurse 3x a day!!! I just feel they are not taking enough and my milk supply has gone really low or so it feels like.....my boobs have gone all shrinky and floppy!!! urrrgh :nea:

Here's their schedule at 7 months:

8am wake up and feed bf.
8:45ambreakfast
1pm lunch
5pm feed bf
6.30pm dinner
8 pm feed bf and sleep

thats 3 milk feeds per day and I can't really tell how much they are taking either. They eat their solids well though.

Did your 7months babies reduce their milk? How many times a day do they eat and nurse/bottle? I can't force them to nurse... I've tried :FIFblush:

 

When we went to 3 meals/day at 7 mos, my boys dropped a bottle too. We only do 4 bottles a day, about 5-7 oz each. And they REALLY like their solids , so they get a LOT of those (I'm talking 1-2 jars split of baby food/meal!).

I often worry about their formula intake, but my Ped says they're fine. So, I listen to him !

Our schedule is this:

6:15ish bottle
8:15ish breakfast
10:30ish bottle
12:30ish lunch
2:30ish bottle
4:15ish dinner
6ish bottle

Just keep an eye on them that they're gaining weight & not appearing dehydrated. My boys also get liquids at their meals, where they drink water from a sippy cup.

GL to you!

 

Thanks!!!

They are gaining weight quite well!! The also eat A LOT of solids...it's usually 3 jars of baby food between them. They also take water from sippy cups during their meals.

 

I'd be a bit concerned about them nursing so little at 7 mo. I'd probably back off on the solids a bit to get them to nurse more - maybe try going back to 2 meals a day? Also, of course you can't make them nurse if they don't want to, but you could try offering frequently throughout the day to see if they'd go for it. Right before/after naps is often a good time, since they're not all revved up and busy with other things.

 

FWIW we did not start offering a third meal of solids (lunch) until the boys were 9 months. I think they need more milk too. Solids are just for practice at this point.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Mar 17 2008, 06:19 AM) [snapback]672234[/snapback]
I'd be a bit concerned about them nursing so little at 7 mo. I'd probably back off on the solids a bit to get them to nurse more - maybe try going back to 2 meals a day? Also, of course you can't make them nurse if they don't want to, but you could try offering frequently throughout the day to see if they'd go for it. Right before/after naps is often a good time, since they're not all revved up and busy with other things.



Ditto. They don't really need that much in solids at this point. Your BM is still most important in terms of nutrition. 3X seems too few.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Mar 17 2008, 08:22 AM) [snapback]672279[/snapback]
FWIW we did not start offering a third meal of solids (lunch) until the boys were 9 months. I think they need more milk too. Solids are just for practice at this point.


Agreed. I realize I took my sweet time with solids (because it was hard to schedule it all in!), but in the end I think it was good that they got more formula (in our case) than solids until they were about 10 months old. I would cut back on the amount and see if they nurse more. GL!

 

We didn't start a 3rd meal until 9 months and, even then, it was more of a snack. Now at 10 months I'd consider the amount an actual meal. I would think if you back off a bit on solids for now, they would maybe nurse more. At 7 months I think they really should be nursing more than 3 times per day, unless you want to wean them soon. Remember, you can't always compare breastfeeding with bottle feeding. For example, if some babies take 4 bottles at this age, it doesn't always correlate to nursing 4 times or whatever...

 

I agree with the PPs, solids are really just for practice before nine months to a year. Breast milk is the perfect food for babies; much better than solid food. There are more calories per ounce and more nutrients in your breast milk compared to solids. You've already shown that your boys are good at solid food so there's no need to practice so often. I would back off and only offer two solid meals and perhaps limit those meals to a few ounces each. That way, your boys will be hungry for your milk rather than baby food.