Weaning??

[jacksmamx]

When did you all start weaning and what are your stories? :)

Jack is 4 months now... I'm not thinking of doing it now but probably soon as he's a very very hungry baby. He takes 6oz feeds every 3 hours and cries when bottle is finished but HV said 7oz is too much for his belly yet.

Did anyone wean early? I know it's supposed to cause allergies so don't want to start any earlier than what's fine to

[dementedpixie]

Go by your baby not your HV. 7oz would be fine at that age if he wants it

[SeptemberDays]

Baby can have more milk if he wants it. There are several good reasons why some babies should wean early, that isn't one of them. If his belly is big enough for food it's big enough for milk.

[custardcreams1]

Put the bottles up to 7oz if he finishes them off then up it again if he's hungry he will have it and leave some when he's full

[TheBabyAteMyBrain]

I thought the standard advice for bottle feeding was to always have an oz extra than they usually drink?

Ignore the hv and give your baby more milk. Weaning is recommended from 6 months only. A bit of carrot will not in anyway fill your baby up more than its milk.

[MaverickSnoopy]

Milk has more calories than food so upping the oz would fill him up more.

The guidelines are to wait until 6 months to wean as earlier can be bad for their gut development. Those who do wean before 6 months can only do fruit and veg, which really won't give him more calories than milk will.

Ignore the HV. Different babies have different needs. My nephew is 6mo and polishes off 10oz at each feed. My 6mo dd sometimes finishes 6oz. Both of them are tracking on the centiles.

[blackcat86]

I've also made bottles up +30mls (1 fluid oz) over the max DD has ever taken. That way if she wants more she can have it. I started weaning at 5 months as she was showing a real interest in our food and watching us eat whilst 'chewing'. I also had an overwhelming natural urge to give her food. Its hard to describe really. I just gave her some fruit pouch from my finger and she loved it!

[Alyosha]

I think the evidence shows that weaning at 4-6 months is OK as long as the baby has good head control, can sit supported upright, can move food around their mouths & has lost the tongue thrust reflex.

It's important that the vast majority of calories come from milk though, so make sure you are always offering milk first.

Also milk isn't more calorific than all food, it is more calorific than some food but not others. In addition it is often easier to eat more calories than it is to suck the calories. Some foods more calorific than milk: porridge made with milk, egg, avocado, bread, baby rice

I mean why do people who say this think that babies in the UK start to really pile on weight around weaning??