Baby Go From 8 Feedings to 7 Feedings

When to Drib a Feeding. How to know when to driblet one of your babe'due south feedings and how to go about doing it.

Equally your baby grows, she volition accept fewer feedings in a 24 hour menses. A one calendar month former might eat ten times a day, but a 12 month one-time eats 3-four times a day.

That means feeding will be dropped along the way. This is referred to as a merge in newer versions of On Becoming Babywise.

When you lot drib a feeding, or merge feedings, you don't decrease the amount of food your babe eats. You lot rearrange it. More gets taken in during fewer feedings.

You might start to drib ounces (or baby volition take less during breastfeeding sessions) as more solids are eaten.

There are 3 ways described in On Becoming Babywise  (chapter) to drop a feeding:

• Dropping the middle of the night feeding. This usually happens between weeks 7 and ix–though it is perfectly normal to be afterwards! Some babies drop it altogether, while others gradually stretch it out. By this I hateful your baby was eating at ii AM. And then moves toward iii AM, etc. If you have a "stretcher," run across this postal service: 5-half dozen AM Night Wakings. There are some who don't go by the book. Don't worry if your child is one of these. It doesn't mean you are doing anything incorrect or that you are a bad mom or that your baby is difficult. It simply means your babe is one of those babies described in Babywise : "non all babies become past the book" (page 124). See How to Drop a Nighttime Feed for more strategies.
• Dropping the "Dreamfeed" or "late evening feeding." Babywise says this typically happens around iii months old. My daughter didn't driblet it until half-dozen months old. For more on dropping the dreamfeed, see: Dropping the "Dream Feed."
• Extending your routine. This is moving to a three.5 or 4 hour routine. In this case, a daytime feeding will usually be dropped. Baby is usually prepare to movement to a 3-4 hour routine between iii and 4 months, but in that location is no rush to get there. For more on this, see: When to Movement to a 4 hour Schedule. Yous tin can also read Baby Whisperer: 4 60 minutes Schedule.

I have listed these in the gild they should be dropped.

First, the middle of the night. So the "dreamfeed." You want to brand certain to drop the feedings in the night earlier dropping any daytime feedings.

You want baby to consume needed calories during the solar day and not night, and if you drop night feeds earlier twenty-four hour period feeds, infant will notwithstanding need to wake at night.

Finally, yous driblet daytime feeds equally you extend the schedule.

If baby was eating every three hours a day and is now eating every four hours a day, then in that location will be fewer feedings each day.

Exist certain your baby is ready to do these things–don't force it. If you wonder what ages your kid should exist doing things, exist sure to see: Babywise Milestones or Your Babywise Baby: Starting time Year Overview.

Reader Questions:

• Emily said…
  Hi,Question for yous (long, sorry!)I have been weaning my daugher off of night feedings. She was non eating well during the twenty-four hours, and so my pediatrician recommended diluting her bottle each night slowly over the grade of a few weeks (ie putting less formula in the same amount of h2o) until she was just on water, and so when she was making it through the nighttime on that, cutting out the water and letting her CIO.I've been doing this for ii weeks, and was downwardly to 1 ounce of formula in a diluted bottle. Well, my helpful husband got upward just now at 2 am when she was crying and gave her a full force viii ounce bottle. I won't even become into how irritated I am, only I'grand wondering what your advice would be on what to do next. Should I kickoff all over from eight ounces and work my way downwardly to 1 Again? Or since I KNOW she'll brand information technology through the night on only 1, should I just go back to the one? The other issue is that since she had that full canteen this night she probably won't eat well tomorrow and will demand a dark feeding again tomorrow night….ugggIt's 3 am, sorry if I'm rambling. Thanks for your help 🙂
  Oct 10, 2008 12:44 AM
  Babywise Mom said…
  Emily, I would just get back to i unless she eats so terribly today that you need to offer her a fleck more than. That is skilful advice for dropping the nighttime feeding.
  October x, 2008 2:44 PM
• Abby'southward Mom said…
  Val- I have a question about bedtime feedings. I currently feed my almost 5 month old at 7pm and then she has a bathroom and I read a short book to her. She is then put in bed around seven:30 to 7:45. My problem is that the feeding before that does non happen until betwixt iv:30 and 5pm so she doesn't eat much at 7:00. But, I don't want to motility that feeding any later because she needs to go to bed. Practise I need waketime afterward her final feeding of the day or is information technology okay to reverse her bath and feeding so that she has a bathroom and then nurses correct before I put her in bed? (She does not nurse to sleep and then I would still be able to put her downwardly awake)
  May 9, 2008 9:12 PM
  Babywise Mom said…
  That is a great question. 2 months ago, I would have said of course practise it and get out it at that. I now take a word of caution. A BW friend of mine has a bbay a couple of weeks younger than Kaitlyn, then we were both weaning about the aforementioned time from nursing. She did things like you lot are proposing. She ran into difficulty weaning her son from that final nursing. She didn't nurse him to sleep or anything, merely he had manifestly get attached to it. I do bedtime where I feed, then pj'south and story, etc. I didn't have any difficulties dropping feedings. My friend says she will do things a bit different with the next kid.So I would say do similar the bath and pjs, then nurse, so practise something else. You could read a book, before too long you will be brushing teeth, etc. Just don't make nursing the last major outcome of the day.Also, I am guessing you take at to the lowest degree v feedings a mean solar day right now. Once you movement down to 4 feedings, the feedings shouldn't be besides close to each other.
  May ten, 2008 2:34 PM
  Abby's Mom said…
  Thanks for the discussion of caution. Problem weaning is exactly what I trying to avoid. Abby WILL Non beverage from a bottle and we have tried EVERYTHING. Then, my promise is that eventually (I am sure it volition probably be closer to 12 months) she will learn to drink from a cup. Since I don't have the option to requite her a bottle, I don't want anything else to delay the weaning procedure when information technology comes time. Thanks so much for the advice and yes I am really yet feeding 6 times a day on most days. (Mostly do to reflux, some feedings are very poor) Hopefully she volition be ready to outset solids soon (she volition be 5 months in a few days) and we can get down to five and so somewhen 4 feedings every day.
  May 10, 2008 7:16 PM
  Babywise Mom said…
  You are about welcome. I would outset offer her sippy cups of simply water right at present. I would try to arrive seem as though it isn't a big bargain to you. Just have it in that location for her to attempt if she wants. If you lot don't similar sippys, then I would offer water in a loving cup quite often to get her used to drinking from whatever information technology is you want to wean to. Kaitlyn took a while to motion downward to iv feedings a day, as well, considering of reflux. She went to 4 when she was close to 7 months, and nosotros started solids at 4 months. Yous are good to wait for her to exist ready for information technology 🙂
  May 12, 2008 ane:57 PM

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