Should i start weaning or go onto hungry baby milk?

[VIX1980]

ds is 17 weeks, from what ive read he is showing signs of wanting to start weaning (fists in mouth, not getting full from bottle feeds, puts everything to his mouth etc). he is currently on 7oz of aptimal number 1, the past few days though he hasnt been getting as full as he normally does and settling down. i bought a small carton of hungry baby milk and tried it last night he slept from 10 - 4am. its a miracle! normally its 5 hours he will sleep.

just wondering if i should move him onto the hungry baby milk or try and start weaning, my hv is away till next friday and nobody in the office seemed to be able to help me? Ive increased his normal milk an oz in the past week but he doesnt take it all, yet when i give him the hungry milk last night he guzzled it all down! thanks in advance!

[ElphabaTheGreen]

No to both. He's moving into a developmental stage that requires a lot of fuel which he can only get from milk - and, unfortunately, it may well mean he'll sleep less. Both weaning and hungry baby milk will reduce his calorie intake which he definitely doesn't need at this point in time. His gut won't be ready for weaning until he's around 6 months as recommended by the World Health Organisation, which is why all the leaflets you get from the NHS strongly advise waiting until 6 months, even if they are showing signs. Weaning before the gut is ready may lead to allergies and gastrointestinal problems in later life. Hungry baby milk is just full of cack which just makes a baby feel fuller without actually providing any extra nutrients, hence they feed less, thus taking in fewer calories. NHS advises against it for this reason. You wouldn't give your baby a sleeping tablet, so why give them fillers and additives just to get a few extra hours sleep?

HTH

[VIX1980]

so just increase his usual stage 1 milk to 8oz, he sometimes doesnt even finish 6?

so confusing knowing what to do for the best, but thanks for your message.

[ElphabaTheGreen]

PS Fists/everything in mouth are definitely NOT a sign of weaning - that's just perfectly normal oral exploration appropriate to his age. Being hungrier is also definitely not a sign of readiness to wean, for the developmental reasons I've mentioned above.. Not sure where you've read that, but the NHS hand outs actually mention those things specifically as 'signs often mistaken as readiness for weaning'. The signs for weaning are:

• they can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
  
• they can coordinate eyes,hands and mouth so they can look at food, pick it up and put it in their mouths all by themselves
  
• they can swallow food.
  

It's highly unlikely your DC can do 1 and 3 and can probably only do 2 with quite large, tactile objects.

[ElphabaTheGreen]

I'm no great guns on formula amounts, but I guess increase his feeds as you suggest...? Maybe feed smaller amounts more often...? Does it say on the formula packet how much he should be having for his weight?

[WantAnOrange]

Yep, he needs to feed more often that's all. How often does he feed right now? 5 hours sleep at 17 weeks is just fine, they're supposed to feed in the night y'know.

[tiktok]

VIx, would prob be a good idea to chat to HV about this - it can wait a week until she is back, yes? Nothing you say indicates urgency. 'Hungry' baby milk is formula with less modified protein, so it takes longer for the baby's digestion to break it down - possibly why your baby slept for longer though that could be coincidence. It's not got any more calories in it - you can check the info on the packs and you'll see this for yourself.

Usual advice is that stage 1 formula is more appropriate, but in terms of nutrition (apart from that protein difference) both stage 1 and 2 are the same. They are both allowed to be marketed for babies from birth.

I don't think this is that big a decision, in fact, with a healthy baby beyond newborn - he doesn't sound ready for solids, though, from what you say. You'd expect every normal healthy 4mth old to put hands in their mouth, and everything else - it's a developmental stage.

[VIX1980]

I got the weaning signs from the aptimal emails they send out each week to say what i should be loking out for, it also tells me at 17 weeks he should be sleepig through the night and dropped his night feed. - i think i need to delete these in future dont I?

on the box of powder it says he should be having 5 bottles a day of 7oz each, in reality he has 8 bottles a day sometimes not even managing 5 or 6oz.

thanks for all your help, think ill just wait for the hv to get back to me next week.

[WantAnOrange]

Remember Aptimal want to sell you product. Your babies welfare is not the most important thing to them. Delete them.

Sleeping through at 17 weeks? I know 17 month old children who still need some comfort in the night.

Your doing great, just carry on as you are but feed more often if he wants it.

[VIX1980]

wantanorange thank you, dont know why but your post made me cry

stupid bleedin hormones!

[WantAnOrange]

Didnt mean to make you cry!