Feeding FAQ: 4-6 months – Weaning

When should I drop the 11am milk feed now my 5.3 month old is onto protein?

My daughter of 5.3 months old is currently enjoying being weaned as per Gina’s guidelines. The only thing I am not sure about is cutting out the 11am milk feed. She is now having 5 cubes of a protein recipe from Gina’s weaning book and one cube or organic veg puree (this has been built up over the last week or so). So she is nearly ready to drop the milk at 11am, but I am not sure how much she should have at the moment (as she is on 5 cubes protein rather than 6) and how much water. When we drop the milk completely the book says to give a drink of water but is that 1 oz or 4 oz or more? The same question applies to tea time. Also she seems hungry long before lunch; can she have it early or should she have something in between? Lastly she is too tired to take all her milk at bedtime in the evening, should I do a dream feed at about 9pm (she wakes up about 9.30pm hungry most nights)?
She presently has 6ozs at 7.10am with 4tsp Ready Brek and 2 cubes of pear. 10.30am 1-2 ozs 11am 5 cubes chicken casserole and 1 cube of carrot, 1.30pm 6oz, 4.45pm 4ozs and 6 cubes of vegetables, 7pm 3.5ozs.
My daughter naps from 8.50-9.30am, 11.30-1.30pm and 3.30-4pm. She settles by 7.20pm.

As your daughter is not 6 months old until nearer the end of this month it appears that she has started having protein quite early. Most babies who begin to wean at 17 weeks as yours did are not ready to have protein until 6 months old. It would seem that your daughter has cut back rather quickly on her milk intake in favour of solids and as a result is waking hungry at 9.30pm.
As she is hungry before her lunch at 11am begin to offer her more milk at 7am. Make sure she has had all her milk before offering her breakfast cereal. Ideally she should be taking 7-8 ozs at this feed. Cutting back on this feed and filling up on cereals can make a baby cut back too quickly on their lunchtime milk. To help your daughter move her lunchtime onto nearer 11.30am try offering her a piece of fruit and drink of well diluted juice or cool boiled water around 10am.
Now she is having a full protein meal it would be better for her to be offered a beaker of cool boiled water or well-diluted juice when she has taken most of her solids. How much she takes depends on how well she drinks from a beaker. The amount of liquid taken at this meal varies between babies as the solid part of their meal has replaced their need for milk at this time.
The fact that your daughter is waking at 1.30pm and needing her milk feed then does seem to point that she really is not yet ready to have a full protein meal at lunch with no milk. It may be better to refer to your weaning book and see what is suggested for a baby of five months and perhaps try going back to using the tier method of feeding for a week or so. If you stop giving her protein or at least cut back the amount, replacing 2-3 cubes with vegetables at this meal, you can offer milk at 11am. Follow this with 6 cubes of mixed vegetables, including a carbohydrate such as sweet potato or potato and then offer her the rest of her milk at the end. This should help her sleep longer at lunchtime and not need her next feed until 2/2.30pm.
Again until she is six months old she really needs her solids along with her milk at 6pm to help her sleep through the night. By giving her milk and vegetables at 5pm she is cutting back on her bedtime milk too quickly hence her waking at 9.30pm. By this age most babies will not need a fifth feed of the day if their milk needs are being met during the day. You could try using a split feed at tea time if you find she is too tired to have her solids and milk at 6pm. Try giving her about 6oz milk around 5.30pm followed by her solids, give her a bath at 6.30pm and offer her 2 ozs of milk afterwards. By giving milk and solids nearer to 6pm you should find she is more able to go through the night. Until you have made these changes to your daughter’s day, continue to dream feed her at 9pm. Once she is taking slightly more milk in the day her need for this feed should decrease.