Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

heather38

She was 7lb 11oz at birth

robwend

just feed her till shes not hungry, hardly rocket science. 3 meals a day with snacks if required.i b/f my 3rd child for 9months and she weighed 10lb 5oz at birth. but she was always hungry.i dont like this 3 meals a day routine when there so young, just feed on demand is what i did. nothing worse than a poor starving mite

Fivenations

If you have an Italian Deli nearby It would be worth your while popping in and seeing if they stock Plasmon baby pasta.http://www.babypasta.co.uk/pasta.php

There are various shapes and sizes and I found them invaluable as they could be added to your own homemade soups or cooked and added to your pureed veg/meat. They are easy to digest and enriched with vitamins and minerals and all the babies I have ever given it to gobbled it down greedily. It will be cheaper from a real Italian Deli (as opposed to a Posh one!) - and you only need a couple of tablespoons per serving so a pack lasts a while. The link also has a recipes page.

Also very quick to cook.

Fivenations

I've found some more links

http://shop.casamiaonline.com/home.php?cat=90

http://www.nifeislife.com/default.php?cPath=42_222
(Also sells other Italian goods cheaper than many supermarkets. EG. De Cecco pasta. Very good brand - stays al dente, great chewy texture and flavour/ 500g from 57p. At least £1.09 elsewhere)

The Plasmon jarred food is very good, though expensive. It tastes more like real food! I only used jars when I was away from home, my theory being that if they got too used to the flavour of processed food they would not eat homemade.

My sons both loved Plasmon biscuits. Good for breakfast dissolved in milk or j ust as a snack once they were able to hold it. Think Farleys rusks but much nicer!

full-time-mum

inkie wrote: »

Well done you for breastfeeding - keep it up, there is nothing wring with your milk - sounds like your baby just needs to have nmore solids!

I breastfed min unitl they were 12 months and once we started weaning at around 4 months they were quickly onto 3 meals per day.

You will probably find that this works as:
breast on waking
breakfast (weaner meal)
mid-morning breast snack or EBM
lunch (weaner meal)
mid afternoon snack of breast or EBM
weaner meal 'tea'
a good breast feed prior to settling down for the night.

Hope things go well. Just let baby eat as much solid as she needs during the day. Not a HV, (i'm a MW) but just adding my experience of weaning and breastfeeding.

I would add a b/f last thing before you go to bed as well. I used to feed both my daughters at this time. They pretty much fed whilst still asleep. I'd jiggle them a little to keep them awake enough to get them to suckle. Worked a treat.

I'm not sure that adding pasta is such a good idea unless you are already giving her bread. Personally, I'd get her a bit more settled before introducing gluten.

Hope things are improving.

Fivenations

Forgot to say - the pasta is very low in gluten as they do something to the flour, or it was when I last used it. My boys had it from 4 months and I had no problems but I guess guidelines have changed since then. Many Italian babies are weaned on it and I dont recall any of my nieces and nephews having problems with it.

JoJo2c

Your not alone. My 5 month old son is one hungry baby too and i have resorted to 3+ meals a day + breast + topup on formula. even though all this he still wakes up at least 3 times a night. I to had thought we got past the wakeful nighttime feeds. I give him the plasmon biscuits in a bowl dissolved in warmwater. The lady where i buy the biscuits told me that it is put in the bottle with the milk but there is no instructions on the box as to how many etc. She doesnt know either but said that other customers tell her this and give it at night before sleeping. Can someone please tell me how.

amandada

JoJo2c wrote: »

Your not alone. My 5 month old son is one hungry baby too and i have resorted to 3+ meals a day + breast + topup on formula. even though all this he still wakes up at least 3 times a night. I to had thought we got past the wakeful nighttime feeds. I give him the plasmon biscuits in a bowl dissolved in warmwater. The lady where i buy the biscuits told me that it is put in the bottle with the milk but there is no instructions on the box as to how many etc. She doesnt know either but said that other customers tell her this and give it at night before sleeping. Can someone please tell me how.

I'm not familiar with these biscuits, but we usesd to do a similar thing with baby rice in the last bottle (expressed breastmilk)
I used a "good" dessertspoon of rice, mixed with a small amount of milk from the bottle to make sure there were no lumps, then just added it to the bottle.

If you're going to do it, just don't mention it to an HV, as it's a big no-no as far as "the books" are concerned, but hey if it helps get them through the night......;)

snowmaid

robwend wrote: »

just feed her till shes not hungry, hardly rocket science. 3 meals a day with snacks if required.i b/f my 3rd child for 9months and she weighed 10lb 5oz at birth. but she was always hungry.i dont like this 3 meals a day routine when there so young, just feed on demand is what i did. nothing worse than a poor starving mite

Totally agree with you. I hate books telling one to feed it ex amount of grams! :rolleyes: While it may be enough for the author's child, another child may require twice that amount. Babies know when they have had enough.

Also, just a thought, I realise your child is quite a few months already, but you aware that when babies have colic, they may think that drinking/eating will relieve the pain of their tummies and therefore gulp more?

heather38

hi, she doesn't have colic, she's just a greedy madam!!
although in the past few days she has gone off food completely and clamps her mouth shut when you try to feed her!
the sleeping situation is getting better as i have decided to give up breastfeeding during the day, so now she is only b/f in the morning and at bed time plus anytime she is up in the night. she is also feeding less often but taking more at each feed, which has made us both happier now i'm back at work.