hello again,
had lunch today with some cio enthusiasts who suggested that

a)babies of 7mnths don't need to feed at all over night
and
b)"all that milk will put them off their solids and they won't eat properly"

can anyone help with actual information/ experience on this?

love&light

I've read various things over the months about older babies feeding at night and can't remember what conclusion I actually came too! There's loads of info out there. But 7 months is still quite young to be swapping solids for milk I think. At that age it's more about first tastes and getting used to solids than really filling them up. My dd didn't really get going on solids until she was nearer 8 or 9 months. I'm sure in NCSS, EP suggests filling them up during the day with both solids and extra breastfeeding so that they aren't hungry at night, but she doesn't suggest on cutting back the bf to get them to eat more solids. There's a link here for Kellymom's solids and weaning section which is really useful ( http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html ) and I expect you could find more on Dr. Sear's website (www.askdrsears.com I think)

HTH

Hi,

Our nurse told us that children actually don't need milk at night after four months of age, as the intestinal system finishes developing about that time. However, I found that breastfeeding at night was a great help through the spell of colds my DD had at 6-7 months, and I do not regret continuing it.

When it comes to feeding, I had the problem that my DD would not eat very much solids - only five spoons or so - outside of breastfeeding, and once I stopped at night she would eat much more during the day (for us, there was no way I could fill her up more during the day as she was about as sated as she could possibly get!). However, I kept on breastfeeding her at night and adding solids (especially iron-containing ones!) when I could up to 8 1/2 months and she was extremely healthy. When I stopped breastfeeding, she would eat more of the food that she liked, but in general, her preferences did not change.

Generally, when you stop breastfeeding, children lose weight. You can interpret that however you wish: that breastmilk is really fatty, or that they just take in more nutrients generally when they breastfeed.

My consensus is (in my case, at least): breastmilk is excellent nutrition, and as long as you introduce new tastes you don't need to worry about amounts. As long as you read up on nutritional needs in babies (they need supplemental iron after six months, for instance) you can breastfeed as much as you want. However, breastfeeding at night is not essential for your baby and you can stop it (not necessarily by cio!) if you wish.

Hope I've helped!