Mumsnet Talk

My ds3 was 10lbs 4ozs when born. He's not been weighed since. He is very heavy to carry, healthy etc.

But he is so interested in food. He reaches out for what we are eating (we hold him at meal times), stares at us with each mouthful, breast feeds like forever and frequent especially at night.

I have 4 dcs. None were like this. I ebf'd until 6 months for each but my first three were not as hungry or interested in food like ds3.

Should I start giving him some purées because I'd his obvious interest and size? I am wary because of dh's wheat intolerance and other reactions to food that we haven't deciphered yet. He was weaned at 2 weeks!

Sounds like he`s ready to start solids.

My DGS had his first purees at 5 months on his paediatrician`s advice as milk alone was no longer satisfying him. His paediatrician said that weaning should be started when the baby has reached eight kilos and/or is starting to feed more frequently.

Stick to one kind of food at a time, giving the same sort for three days, so that if there is a bad reaction to a particular food you will know what it is.

My DGS`s doctor said that the 6 month rule for weaning is arbitrary and, in his view, each baby has different needs as regards weaning - one rule doesn`t fit all.

FWIW my own children were born in the dark ages eighties and were all weaned at four months, which was the received wisdom at the time, and none has any problems with food allergies.

I think its a total myth that a big baby needs solids earlier. The BM has sustained him for this long, why would it suddenly stop being enough?

The usual signs for readiness for weaning are:

Baby can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
They can coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at food, pick it up and put it in their mouths, all by themselves.
They can swallow food. Babies who are not ready push the food back out.

You can read more about it here

6 months is a guide and different babies will met the criteria at different times. Our dd demonstrated that she had reached the ready stage when she took and scoffed a ham sandwich at 23 weeks.

pixel sounds like the Paeds information is a little out of date and could do with some updating.

Big babies don't need solids any earlier just because they're big.

DS was 11lb 7ozs when born - he was still weaned at just shy of 26 weeks (about 23 weeks I think) when he showed the signs of readiness Jilted listed above, not because he was a chunky chap.

There's some good information on kellymom here, including why weight isn't a sign of readiness.

My DGS was about 21 weeks when he had his first solids (apple puree rather than ham sandwich ) and he had no difficulty swallowing it, nor did he push it out in fact he`d have eaten the spoon as well if he could

While I admit that weaning before 23 weeks on a ham sandwich isn't ideal, purely from the wheat content, I was simply trying to demonstrate to the op that some babies meet all of the criteria before 26 weeks.

I'd be very interested to know why early weaning would be recommended for an big baby. All the information I've read doesn't say its necessary and the WHO code doesn't mention any exceptions for big babies. Also, I'm failing to see why apple purée would be better than keeping baby on milk. Surely there are far fewer calories in the apple?

Yes, there are far fewer calories in apple puree than in milk - my DGS was getting very fat when just on milk, the solids actually helped to slow down his weight gain. He had almost tripled his birth weight at 5 months.

Now 16 months old, his weight/height ratio is perfectly normal for his age.

Was he on breast milk?

I don't know what to do. Ds3 is nowhere near sitting up but goes bonkers when he's hungry. I guess he's just different to the others. He's hardly fading away, mind!

Will research some more.

Thank you.

DGS was on formula. By 5 months he was demanding eight feeds a day and looking more and more like a piglet

Once on solids he took less milk and fairly quickly settled into a normal feeding routine.

Do what you feel is right for your son. There is so much advice available these days that it is quite overwhelming, I`m glad internet didn`t exist when I had my children .

winky if he's ebf you can't over feed him. I know its hard when they are seemly demanding food but if I'd taken that as a sign of weaning readiness with my DS I would have had to start weaning at 10 weeks

If he wants food could you give him a bowl and spoon to play with while you all eat? This can sometimes placate then.

Personally, I'd only wean early on the advice of a Paed. Being big and being interested when you are eating aren't signs of readiness, they are just normal baby behaviour