Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

clbowker

Hi Jim

I would strongly suggest that you speak to your health visitor regarding this matter.

I am a mother of three daughters and would have advised that you feed your son formula for hungry babies, however, as you have stated this did not work. How many bottles were you giving your son it might be that he needs every feed to be a hungry baby formula. I can understand that your wife is breastfeeding your son however, if her milk is not giving him the sustenance that he needs then maybe it is time to wean him off the breast and onto a bottle, many mums out there are now probably doing this :eek: .

I breastfeed my first daughter fulltime until she was four months and then gave her bottles during the day breastfeed at night (because i was too lazy to warm a bottle ) until she was six months. She started having solids when she was four months. I started her on a very runny baby rice for breakfast about a teaspoon full in total and gradually built her up until she was on proper solid at six months. I used the Annabel Karmel book on feeding baby and toddlers, it i jam packed full of feeding plans and ideas.

I hope this helps.

Claire

spiddy100

Hi JIm

My DS1 went through a *huge* growth spurt at 4 months, started waking at night again and was always hungry. I decided not to wean him, mainly as we were going away on holiday and I was BFing so that was easy! What I found was that after about 12 days he settled back down, and we went through till 5.5 months before starting him on solids.

I talked to the HV and she said that taking an interest in food etc is not a very reliable sign - they become very aware at around 16-17 weeks and will watch you intently and reach out whenever you are doing something that looks interesting, not just eating.

Having said all of that, if he really does seem hungry, and you want to wean him - you know him best, and the guidelines are only guidelines. just as some babies won't be ready for solids until 8 months, others will be ready well before 6 months, especially if he is big for his age and developmentally advanced

bekkki1

I started my daughter on baby rice at 10 weeks old, this was after talking to the HV and nurses at the hospital ( as she was in hospital at the time). She had the baby milk for hungrier babys from a few weeks old and was waking in the night for 4/5 bottles( She previously slept through the night) At the time the guidelines were to start weaning at 4 months. It never did her any harm, and I know of others who have started quite early aswell.

BernadetteN

I would do plenty of research first before weaning before the recommended 6 months. There is more and more evidence of the link between bottle feeding and early weaning and rapid weight gain in these early months and later obesity - not so relevant to you with a breastfed baby but still worth reading up about.


The biggest study in the UK ever reported on this link last year :
http://www.alspac.bristol.ac.uk/press/bottlefed.shtml


PS breastfeeding every few hours even at 4 months is not abnormal. It may be a real pain for the mum (I was one of them) but it's worth it for a child's future health.

I also wouldn't take chewing a fist or reaching out for things as a sign of needing to eat solids. It shows that your baby is using its mouth as a "sense", or is finding this a comfort, or shows that your baby's hand-eye co-ordination is improving. Babies will put everything in their mouths and want to reach out for anything in front of them - it doesn't mean they want to eat it all though.

super41

BernadetteN wrote: »

I also wouldn't take chewing a fist or reaching out for things as a sign of needing to eat solids. It shows that your baby is using its mouth as a "sense", or is finding this a comfort, or shows that your baby's hand-eye co-ordination is improving. Babies will put everything in their mouths and want to reach out for anything in front of them - it doesn't mean they want to eat it all though.

Absolutely agree, this is a developmental stage that babies go through rather than a sign of hunger.

Definitely talk to your health visitor about early weaning. She may suggest mixing baby rice with the formula for example. You could then move onto solids gradually over the next couple of months.

Constant breastfeeding can be exhausting and tiring, depending on your lifestyle etc. I bf my DS till 6 months before starting solids but because I'm at home and actually really enjoyed the times I fed him, it didn't matter how often it was.

carolpinkdreamer

My son had to start having few spoons of baby rice at 8 weeks. This was at the time when they recommended weaning at 4 months.
He'd have full 8oz bottle and still be hungry. Health visitor suggested giving him 2 bottles of milk at a time! His poor tummy was glugging about with all the milk as it was, so I started giving him a couple of spoonfuls of rice at bed time and soon increased it to breakfast too.
He took to it immediately and was much more settled and contented.
My daughter was a smaller baby but not very keen on milk (strange but true!!) so she also started weaning at 8 weeks.
Both big and beautiful now:p

Janepig

super41 wrote: »

Absolutely agree, this is a developmental stage that babies go through rather than a sign of hunger.

Definitely talk to your health visitor about early weaning. She may suggest mixing baby rice with the formula for example. You could then move onto solids gradually over the next couple of months.

Constant breastfeeding can be exhausting and tiring, depending on your lifestyle etc. I bf my DS till 6 months before starting solids but because I'm at home and actually really enjoyed the times I fed him, it didn't matter how often it was.

Don't give it to your son in the bottle though - and you can mix the baby rice with breast milk or formula - maybe the hungry formula is a good idea.

I know every child is different - I weaned both mine at around the 16-20 week mark and had no problems. I started on baby rice, and particularly with boxing day boy last year, he went on to "proper" purees very quickly. I stuck with veg purees for quite a while with them both though so as to try not to develop too much of a sweet tooth.

I'm not sure about the obesity link either - DS is a total gutbucket (he was 1 on boxing day, hence his nickname) but everyone says he's small and wonder where he puts it all!!!! He'd eat until you stop giving him any more basically!! DD has a pretty healthy appetite too and she's like a rake - I know two people with massive (obese) toddlers and they really do over-feed them, starting with the rusk/rice in the bottle as babies and developing into stupid stuff like chinese takeaways, etc...

Jxx

super41

Janepig wrote: »

Don't give it to your son in the bottle though - and you can mix the baby rice with breast milk or formula - maybe the hungry formula is a good idea.


Jxx

Thanks for pointing that out, my statement is ambiguous, I meant it should be mixed in a bowl with formula and spoon-fed. Food in bottles is not a good idea.

Kit_Kat_Kate

Jim nobody knows your baby more than you, yes it is said 6 months, but all baby's are diffrent. I would talk to your HV like others have said. In my area the HV's say not before 17weeks. You could ring your HV or call in to your baby clinic.

samcantcope

I weaned both my 2 kids at 4 months, they were big babies and the different milks werent satisfying them so we went onto the baby rice and they were sorted and very content, my advice is to do what you feel is the right thing to do.

Good Luck.:beer: