confused when should i start giving my baby girl baby food?

[surreytrace]

hi :),
my little girl seems to be very hungry and is still on the hungry milk at the moment ive looked round shops for what age some baby food says on them. I have found some with 4months on like cow and gate rice pudding ect...
I asked my health visitor and she told me not to give her anythin like that till shes 6months!. So when can i give her baby food? 4months like the cow and gate food says on it or 6months like my health visitor says?

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

Baby food manufacturers are interested in selling you baby food, your HV (should) be interested in giving you the most up to date info with regards to feeding your baby.

I would (and have both times) waited until 6 months. Weaning is a faff anyhow and much easier when tehy can sit up!

[happywheezer]

Try her with some of the breakfast things. Baby rice tastes like cardboard.They'd like you to wait until 6 months.
Mine had Petit filous at 4 months and he loved it!
Do you think she'd like some food?

[TittyBojangles]

I wouldn't be taking 'medical' advice from a company trying to sell you a product and make money. Listen to your HV, she's right, babies need MILK until they are 6mo, not rice pudding etc.

Is your baby sitting unaided, putting things in her mouth herself, lost the tongue thrust reflex etc? If not then she is unlikely to be ready for food. If you feel she is hungry then offer more milk.

[surreytrace]

yea she has a whole bottle of the hungry milk and still seems hungry after i will have to try that when shes old enough got a few more weeks yet lol think she will luv um :) thxs

[TittyBojangles]

Could you offer milk more often if she is hungry? How much milk does she have now?

[surreytrace]

9oz every 3-4hours i was told thats to much and to cut down but its hard wen shes screamin at me for more lol

[TittyBojangles]

Could you give her less in each bottle but more often? My DS was feeding more like every 2 hours at that age, sometimes more often.

[TittyBojangles]

Or could the screaming not be hunger? Wind/constipation/lactose intolerance/reflux etc? 9oz does sound like a lot, but I bf so have no idea how much my DS drinks.

[surreytrace]

yea i will have to try that :) thxs

[Alibabaandthe80nappies]

How old is your baby?

[AchtungBaby]

I would follow the current guidleines, and wait until your baby is 6 months old.

[surreytrace]

shes 3months next week. She has had problems with her wind for a while ive got some dentiox i put in her milk to help her :) shes got a cough at the moment which i was told was caused by her reflux so ive been told. I am just goin to have to sit it out for another few months then by the look of it

[TittyBojangles]

Or go to the docs for some better reflux meds?

[TittyBojangles]

If she is screaming after feeds it sounds like the reflux could be causing her pain which bigger and bigger feeds will only make worse. Little and often can work for reflux babies.

[AchtungBaby]

surreytrace, I'd definitely wait until introducing food then.

It really sounds like your DD's reflux isn't yet under control - it can be a tricky condition to get the medication right for, so you should go to see your GP again so that they can review her medication.

DS also had reflux when he was younger, and I had to go to the GP several times because of it (several changes of medication), then I asked for (and got) a referral to a paediatrician.

There's a useful reflux support thread here.

[surreytrace]

thxs yea ill have to go bk to the GP and keep buggin um bout it

[AchtungBaby]

No problem .

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about reflux - I'm by no means an expert, but I did read a lot about it (mostly on MN!) when DS had it.