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Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Weaning

17 week old - too young to wean???

124 replies

emwad · 01/04/2007 22:19

My 17 wk DS has started waking up in the night (usually between 4-5am) for a feed, he has slept through for 5 wks. He has been feeding 4 times per day, and finishes 8oz quite easily. He weighes nearly 18lb (only 7 lb 12oz at birth).
My HV told me not to start weaning for at least 2-3 weeks but I've given him baby rice today and he munched loads as well as his usual 4x 8oz feeds, but now I feel awful incase I'm starting it too early.
What would you do?

OP posts:

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fishie · 01/04/2007 22:21

yes too young, there are lots of threads about this in weaning and i think in behaviour/development, have a look.

fishie · 01/04/2007 22:22

sorry did nto meant to be curt, am off to bed

ChocolateSucksWithoutSugar · 01/04/2007 22:23

I'd stop feeding him solids, wait until he's 6 months, and not revisit a health visitor who told me to wean any earlier than that.

There is a huge growth spurt between 4 and 5 months, and loads of babies start waking when they didn't before. Just ride it out with extra milk, and it will settle again soon enough.

lulumama · 01/04/2007 22:23

i would increase the number of feeds, and the amount of milk , he is possibly having a wee growth spurt too

your HV should be telling you not to wean until 26 weeks !

milk is the most filling and the most nutritious thing you can give a baby and should be the main source of nutrition for many months to come yet...

i would stop the rice, give more milk and wait as near to 26 weeks as you can

hunkermunker · 01/04/2007 22:23

I would leave off the baby rice, give him an extra bottle during the day (if he'll take it) and leave solids till 26 weeks.

Babies often wake in the night at about this age - it's just about being 4mo. If he is hungry, give him more milk - it's more calorific than rice.

TwinklemEGGan · 01/04/2007 22:24

Emwad - if you do a search in the archives you'll find loads of advice on this. At 17 weeks this is more than likely a growth spurt. What time do you give the last bottle? You probably need to introduce a later one to get him through the night.

17 weeks is the absolute earliest possible time you should contemplate weaning because the gut is only just possibly becoming mature enough. But you have no way of knowing whether your baby's gut is mature enough, and if it isn't you could be storing up all sorts of problems for the future.

Milk has loads more calories than baby rice and it honestly is milk that your DS needs right now.

ChocolateSucksWithoutSugar · 01/04/2007 22:24

Actually if he's only feeding 4 times in the day, couldn't you fit an extra one in then too? My dd was feeding 7-9 times a day right up to 11 months (but bf, so prob expected to be a little more).

shonaspurtle · 01/04/2007 22:25

My ds is 19 weeks and is waking up for a feed at 4-5am after sleeping through previously. He's been ill though so that could be part of it.

I reckon that it's not too long now until he's 26wks so I am willing to wait to be on the safe side. I've read too much on here and elsewhere about the risks (we have excema on both sides of the family), and also from loads of people who weaned and it made no difference to sleeping.

So, you ask what I would do. I would wait until he's older. Sorry but I think 17 weeks is too small personally.

emwad · 01/04/2007 22:38

Thanks everyone, I've tried fitting an extra feed in during the day but he just ends up being really sick or only taking a few oz. He takes his last bottle at 7-7.30pm and previously slept for 12 hours. Now he is waking between 4 and 5am, he just sleeps more during the day, as if he is making up for being awake for 45 mins early morning.
I might try upping his bottles to 9oz during the day and see how he goes

OP posts:

TwinklemEGGan · 01/04/2007 22:48

Emwad - when my DS was this age I started getting him up for a feed at around 11pm. Call it a dreamfeed if you will. I lifted him out of his cot and fed him in the dark whilst trying not to wake him too much. Most of the time he drank his bottle and went back down to sleep with hardly a murmer.

Josie3 · 01/04/2007 22:52

Try a dreamfeed at about 11 ish - or whenever you go to bed. That should see him through

Josie3 · 01/04/2007 22:53

lol

crossed posts twink

TwinklemEGGan · 01/04/2007 22:55

emwad · 02/04/2007 09:01

Thanks

OP posts:

AitchTwoOh · 02/04/2007 11:16

agree with emwad and twinkle, we had to do this around 16 weeks as i recall. it's genius!

GloriaMumble · 02/04/2007 11:29

then again, we started a 11pm feed a couple of weeks ago and DD (19 weeks) still wakes up at least once in the night. But then that is better than the every 2 hours she was doing before

LittleMissLate · 02/04/2007 11:52

Everyone has strong opinions on this - it wasn't that long ago that the UK advice was to start from 4 months (and I think when I was a baby it was 3 months). There is an increased risk of allergies (but I think still relatively small unless you have a family history) before 6 months which is one of the drivers behind the change in advice but I think some (particularly bigger) babies are genuinely ready before that. Risk of problems is low otherwise there would be a hell of a lot of allergies out there as almost every adult in the UK would have been weaned between 3 and 4 months. Baby rice is a good thing to start with as it rarely causes allergies - don't worry about what you've given him already and trust your instincts as a mother as to when to proceed further.

AitchTwoOh · 02/04/2007 11:57

yep, definitely, trust yourself. don't trust the World Health Organisation, they're a bunch of idiots. [strong opinion]

jetjets · 02/04/2007 12:08

Message withdrawn

littleEasterlapin · 02/04/2007 12:10

yeah, and those muppets at Unicef - what do THEY know?

lulumama · 02/04/2007 16:16

muppets at UNICEF! what a picture!

weaning is the one area, i tend to say, ignore your instinct, as you cannot see the inside of your babies gut, and keep on with milk, milk, milk and more milk

weaning does not make your baby sleep through, and does not stop them needing milk,

weaning early can cause issues, not just allergies, but gut problems, and not all babies will encounter this later in life, but some will

you cannot do anything wrong by waiting to wean, so why not wait?

GibbonInARibbon · 02/04/2007 16:23

No excuse for not waiting till 6 months IMO

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WilkieBarEasterEgg · 02/04/2007 16:25

Sorry I disagree with the majority. I would continue with the baby rice personally and 100% agree with LittleMissLate's post. Go with your instincts, all children are different and you know your baby.

hercules1 · 02/04/2007 16:32

No, you don't know your baby's stomach development. No baby is ready at this time.

doggiesayswoof · 02/04/2007 16:34

Yes, he is too young.

I would give an extra bottle (more calories in milk anyway), and no rice till 26 weeks.

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