Help, I don’t know what is going on....

My almost 7 month old DS has been in a bit of a routine for a few months now. He would feed at 7am ish, 10.30am ish, 2.30pm ish and 5pm ish, with a bottle of EBM at 6.30pm. He also then would often wake once in the night for a feed. In between this he would more often than not sleep an hour to an hour and a half around 9am, again at 12pm ish and a little nap around 4pm ish.

I started BLW in the last few weeks, which I think is going well. He enjoys playing with the food but doesn't actually eat a hell of a lot.

So, the problem is, he is HUNGRY. HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY. In the last week and a half he has been feeding two hourly during the day, and waking twice or THREE times during the night for more. I can't seem to satisfy him :-( His naps have also gone out the window, I am lucky to get him to sleep for half an hour at a time, and before he goes down he SCREAMS like I am murdering him :-(

I can live with the sleep deprivation if he NEEDS the food, but surely at this age he should be able to go longer than two hours during the day, and more than three or four at night! I am starting to doubt the BLW and wonder if I should give puree :-( Doesn't help that the MIL keeps going on about him not getting enough food!

Anyone else had this or have some bright ideas for me?????

diff things work for different bubs - if he needs more food it's gotta come from either you or solids. he ain't getting the solids so its got to be you. Give it a week to rule out gs but personally i think the blw only works for some kids. Some bubs are just so hungry and they do get different nutrients from food as from you so some babes just get frantic for solids.

BLW is the latest thing but if it means baby isn't getting his needs met then how baby led is it?

DS has increased is his milk feeds recently too. He has always been a booby boy and was feeding around 3hourly during the day and anywhere from 2-4hourly at night with the occasional 5-6hour stretch. He is now nursing for about 50mins-1hour before bed whereas that used to be 30-35mins.

However, he has been sick recently with a cold and ear infection and just this morning his first two teeth are making an appearance. Could it be that?

 

There will be babies doing puree that have the same patterns, its just a phase I'm sure.

Remember too that at this age solids are complimentary, they aren't supposed to fill him up. Milk is far more important and beneficial.

Edited by MamaT

Actually BLW isn't the latest thing, it's been around since the early 19th century just most people don't talk about it due to Plunket being so "Shock horror!" about it...

We are doing a mix of BLW and Purees she can eat a whole jar of baby food in one sitting! Along with 1 side of the breast! But BLW she more just plays with it and from what I understand, it takes them about 1-2 months to get the hang of it and actually eat a decent amount but milk is still the most important food/drink for your baby at that age until about 1 year.

It could also be a growth spurt or developmental thing. When we first started solids it threw everything out the window and we're only JUST starting to get back into a routine now! But we've never had a super strict routine, more a pattern that we follow which is usually within 30mins of itself iygwim!

Every baby is different some babies actually need food. So BLW doesn't suit every baby as they are not getting much down to satifiy their hunger. Milk is really important but so is food so there needs to be a bit of a balance. Good luck could be a phase.
You could always give him a spoon with chunky food on it to feed himself?

LJsmum wrote: Every baby is different some babies actually need food. So BLW doesn't suit every baby as they are not getting much down to satifiy their hunger.

See, this is where I disagree. My baby seems to need food, so I agree with that part - not all babies do, but mine seems to. But because of that, she doesn't *play* with her food, she eats it. Plenty of it, and has done from about her second or third meal. If she just plays with it, it's because she's not hungry or she'd rather have more breastmilk that day (like at the moment while she's sick). So I stand by BLW - if they need it, they'll eat it.

LJsmum wrote: Every baby is different some babies actually need food.

ah but BLW is food and - as the title suggests - the baby leads with how much they want.

Babies CAN live on milk alone, there was an article on Stuff recently about a baby who couldn't have solids so was still having only milk AND a lot of babies with allergies, severe ones often remain having milk for longer too.