HOW MANY BREASTFEEDS??

Hi my little princess Ava is 8 months and I'm a bit confused as to how many breastfeeds is normal to have at her age??
Currently she wakes at 6.30am and has a really good feed.
9.30am she has 1 Weetbix but refuses a feed straight after, therefore I try and give her one an hour later which she takes but isn't really fussed and doesn't feed well.
12.30pm she has a meduim sized bowl of meat and vegies sometimes followed by a half tin of custard. Again at this time I offer her milk which she refuses.
3.30pm she has a milk feed but doesn't stay on long.
5.30pm we give her dinner consisting of meat and vege followed by half a tin of custard.
7.00pm she has a good feed before bed.
Does this sound normal??? Should she be having more than 3 milk feeds per day??

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Hi Sian

I don't think there is any set amount of breastfeeds per day recommended. As long as your daughter is gaining weight and having plenty of wet nappies everything should be fine. Like Toni said - sounds like she's probably weaning herself. My son is 9 months old and still having at least 5 breastfeeds per day - I can't see him slowing down anytime soon tongue !!! All the best.

Jasmine

Hi Sian,

My 10 month old sounds much like your daughter and has been like this for a couple of months now. My health nurse said, that as long as she's getting 3 feeds a day, she would be getting what she needs. Sometimes Jessie will have more feeds, just depending on how the day goes. I stressed out in the beginning, as I didn't want Jess to wean. But I found there was no use making an issue of it and forcing her, I just offer, and if she refuses, then so be it. Jess doesn't look like she's starving. Try not to stress, but 3 feeds a day should be okay, as I've been told. Good luck!

Hi, my daughter is 8 months who was breastfed then started on solids at 6months. She now has 3 decent size meals a day but is drinking less and less milk - she has a feed in the morning before breakfast and despite offering her the breast several times through out the day before and after meals she really is not interested at all. She has just learnt to crawl so I understand that she is interested in other things but I am really worried that she will become dehydrated. She bluntly refuses the bottle despite trying all sorts of teats etc, breastmilk, formula, water and juice. I have tried her with a sipper cup and cup which she tolerates but does not get considerable amount of fluid from. I'm not really sure what to do... is this a phase that will pass or if she is weaning herself off the breast where is she going to get her fluids from??????? HELP

Hi Kellie,
it does sound like she is weaning herself. At this age 3-4 breastfeeds is normal. Fo now, keep up the morning feed when she wakes up and then the next one could be after her lunch and then the last breastfeed would be in the evening just before going to bed for the night. Eventually she will prefer breakfast when she wakes instead of a breastfeed. Of course, this is only a suggestion and you may prefer a different routine for breastfeeds. For other fluids, try offering her a drink of water straight after she finishes her solids and is still in her high chair. that's how i introduced water to my baby and at first she didn't drink much, but now she has quite a good drink of water after each meal and then i take her out of the chair and put her down to play. I have weaned my little one onto formla now and she is doing great - here is my routine (only a suggestion)
breakfast then drink of left over formula
mid morning bottle then sleep
lunch & drink of water
mid afternoon bottle then sleep
dinner & drink of water, then later shares a little of the family dinner with us
then a little play then it is bath bottle and into bed

Don't worry she will not go thirsty, just have some water handy and offer it after each meal - she will get the hang of it.