Weaning: how much and at what age?

[Spl0ink]

I began spoon feeding a bit of puréed sweet potato once a day to my six month + one week old, who promptly spat it all back out, as you'd probably expect.

Three weeks later and I am now giving him three meals a day, porridge, avocado for lunch and sweet potato for dinner - and relatively big bowls, about 20 little baby spoonfuls each, probably three ice cubes worth then topped up with water.

At the end of each bowl he looks at me incredulously and howls until I breastfeed him, at the end of which he looks at me incredulously again and tries to relatch himself while I fight him off. He has started waking for three feeds a night again, having gone through the night for the previous month.

Every cue he gives me says that he is hungry, even though I must be feeding him three, four, five times as much food as he was getting even a week ago. Does this sound right???

[ownersmanual]

Have you read gill rapley's babycled weaning?
It is about exactly this (although she focuses on self-feeding).
Babies who are milk fed on demand have a good idea of how much they need. :)

[SparklyTinselTits]

At 6mo my DD was having a single puréed veg at a time as an evening "meal",she refused breakfast completely until about a month ago. Some sort of switch flicked in her brain, and she turned into a little piglet!!
She's 8mo now and has a 6oz bottle when she wakes at 6:30am, an impressive size bowl of porridge at 7:30am, another 6oz bottle at 11ish, lunch at 12, which usually consists of carrot sticks, a cheese spread sandwich, puréed fruit, rice cakes and drinks water. Another 6oz bottle at 3pm. Whatever we are having for dinner at 5pm, plus 2 petit filous yoghurts, rice cakes and drinks more water. Another 6oz bottle before bed at 7pm. She doesn't wake for feeds anymore thank the Lord
I think at 6mo food is new and scary and feels weird in their mouth, so it takes some babies a while to realise that by swallowing this weird stuff mummy keeps thrusting at them, they don't feel hungry anymore

[Takeparacetamolandstopmoaning]

We did BLW but at 7 months my DD was on 3 meals and 1 snack a day with about 25-30oz milk. Food is usually- breakfast bowl dry cereal, snack breadsticks lunch shepherds pie and vegetables, yogurt and fruit; dinner creamy salmon pasta. Maybe he's not satisfied with puree?

[Spl0ink]

Thanks, this is very useful. I hadn't considered more solid food - he's toothless but very keen so I'll have a think about what we can introduce

[Spl0ink]

owners I haven't read it - I'll look into it, thanks for the tip :)

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Not having teeth doesn't make any real difference to finger food - their gums are rock hard and capable of chewing most things (I would avoid raw hard fruit and veg until they're a lot older). Any soft fruit, banana, steamed veg, roast root veg, avocado, toast fingers, breadsticks, strips of cheese etc etc.

[DoodleCat]

Thirsty!! That could be the problem. My baby won't use a cup so has to have a feed after eating. Food=more liquid needed. Try that, hope it helps!

[ownersmanual]

Yes, lack of teeth not a problem! Look at //www.rapleyweaning.com
It is more than anything about giving them the chance to regulate their own intake.