How many feeds..?

lauratkd

So I am two weeks into solids with my 6 month old and I'm also trying to introduce formula as I am going back to work and can't maintain breastfeeding all the time. I still intend to keep up the first morning and night time feeds.
My question is though, how often should he be fed?! Today I breastfed at around 7, then he had Ready Brek and 2 strawberries at about 9.45 (and a tiny bit from me after) Then he had his first bottle of formula around 1.30 (he took about 6oz over at least half an hour). This just directly replaced a breastfeed. I fed him myself at 4.15 and then he had dinner at 6.30 (red pepper & parsnip) and took a little from me afterwards. I normally feed him at bedtime which is between 7.30 and 8
This feels like a lot to me!
When i stop the 4 o'clock breastfeed and s third meal is introduced where/how does it all fit in?!!

tinkerbell

You don't need to introduce formula at all just because you're returning to work at that age. Lots of babies are perfectly fine with solids to eat and water to drink during the day while you are at work. Your baby then will breastfeed then when you return home from work.

annoyedgal

In exact same boat! I bf first thing in morn, then ready brek and fruit about 9.30.
Still bf for mid morning feed at 11.00.
Lunch of veg and meat puree at 1.30 or 2.00. Maybe some fruit too and water from sippy cup.
Formula feed at 3.00, taking about 4 ozs.
Tea at 6.30, potato or veg/fruit puree or mash. Water.
Bed at 7.00 to 7.30 and is bf to sleep.
Will swap the mid morning feed for formula next week, prob around 5 ozs and see if that's enough. Trying to keep the formula feeds small as want to phase them down to one a day and replace with more water/solids. Plan to keep bf morning and night. My boy is just 7 months and still wakes up for a feed about 12 and 4 so hoping the solids will help fill him up soon !

jlm29

lauratkd wrote: »

So I am two weeks into solids with my 6 month old and I'm also trying to introduce formula as I am going back to work and can't maintain breastfeeding all the time. I still intend to keep up the first morning and night time feeds.
My question is though, how often should he be fed?! Today I breastfed at around 7, then he had Ready Brek and 2 strawberries at about 9.45 (and a tiny bit from me after) Then he had his first bottle of formula around 1.30 (he took about 6oz over at least half an hour). This just directly replaced a breastfeed. I fed him myself at 4.15 and then he had dinner at 6.30 (red pepper & parsnip) and took a little from me afterwards. I normally feed him at bedtime which is between 7.30 and 8
This feels like a lot to me!
When i stop the 4 o'clock breastfeed and s third meal is introduced where/how does it all fit in?!!

My 8 month old generally has 3 meals a day. He is still breastfed, no formula. Some days he feeds before we get up, then has breakfast a couple of hours later. I generally feed him when he's going to bed for a nap. He has lunch when he gets up, and then maybe a feed at 5/6, dinner when we are having it, and a couple of feeds before bed.
There's some days he feeds a lot more from me, but I think they're the days he doesn't get as much solids (as in, I might be a bit late giving him lunch, so he looks for a milk feed. I give him the milk feed, and then he doesn't want lunch coz he's full).
I'm hoping to get him down to one milk feed between 9 and 5, for his nap time. I will express once a day when I go back to work, for a while anyhow. I'm hoping he'll drop this feed naturally, but I've a feeling he won't!

livinsane

I wonder does it complicate things introducing formula if you want to maintain breastfeeding when ye are together? What age will he be when you go back?

My son was 9.5 months when I went back to work. I didn't introduce formula, but used to pump about 5oz at work to leave at home. It was a bit of a pain to do and I really wouldn't bother doing it if I had my time back, and would just let him drink water with his food. He was a very good eater and nursed frequently when we were together, so I didn't need to worry about his milk intake during the day.

He used to breastfeed in the morning (all morning....), porridge for breakfast, some leftover dinner for lunch (shepherds pie/casserole whatever), 5oz of expressed milk for his naptime, then dinner in the evening. I just nursed him whenever he looked for it in the evening time, no schedule. Night-time was the same. I found it fairly full on at that age, his breastfeeds didn't cut down as much after solids as I had expected.

You'll get your own rhythm going soon, it's really confusing at the beginning trying to balance milk and solids.

How Strange

As tinker bell said, you don't need to introduce formula. I went back at 6 months, only started solids at the same time and I breastfed on demand when they were with me. They were happy with water during the day and they'd practically rip my top off as soon as I got to Creche in the evenings. Sleep might regress a bit for a couple of weeks but once they know they have you on demand they'll settle down. I expressed in work for 2 weeks first time and 1 week second time more to prevent being engorged and getting mastitis but I send in a little breastmilk in a bottle. They weren't bothered about it so we stopped. They both were breastfed until 12 months.

John Mason

dont bother with the formula. Feed mornings and evenings I had lots of cluster feeding in the evening for the first while.

Water in daycare is fine