Could Ds2 be ready for weaning yet?

[mummy23]

My Ds2 is 4 months old and is not being satisfied with breast milk anymore! He did start sleeping for 6 hours at night and that lasted for about 4 weeks, and for the past 2 weeks he has been crying for food every 2 hours (including at night time), and i am now feeling very drained from energy, but cant sleep when Ds2 is sleeping coz i have a 2.9 yo who very rearly has a nap!

So i thought i would ask other MNer's for there opinion because my appointment to see the HV/MW is on Friday, but i want some opinions b4 then!
I have tried Ds2 on fomula to top up his feeds but he always seems to puke them back up!

So is there anyone out there who has been in the same or a simular situation, where they have started to feed there LO before 6 months?

I just need to know if anyone starts before the 6 months (with Ds1 i started feeding him at 11 weeks because he was never satisfied with the bottle!), but things seem to have changed since i had him!

TIA

[CarolinaMoon]

It's a growth spurt. It will go away if you feed through it. As you've done it before, you'll know how boring weaning is - why start earlier? Milk is far more nutritious and calorific than anything you could give him now anyway.

[Papillon]

Do you feed him every 2 hours during the day? Is he is a prescribed routine or not?

There are MNetters who have begun feeding their babies solids before 6 months. Not me though, my dd was not interested in food until 10 months.

I suppose you know all about the WHO recommendations.

[mears]

Although tiring if you go with the flow and feed him more frequently he will boost your supply and he will sleep longer again. He will be going through a growth spurt which your breasts can match if you let them. It is not a sign to start solids.
Presumably your toddler goes to bed in the early evening - you may need to do the same for a few nights.

[Denmark]

I have a 19 months old daughter and I started weaning her when she was 4 months old I honestly don't see that there is anything wrong with that. My HV advised me to do so because she was waking very often during the night after she had be sleeping through for months. I know at lot of people say 6 months etc or your child can get allergi later in life etc. but I am healthy, my daughter is healthy. I also have a 3 months old boy and I do intend to start weaning him at 4 months because he is already waking fir often during the night to get food. I know things change in the hole "baby area" but seriously how can it be ok to start weanign at for months one year and then the next year it is sudenly wrong - I don't get that. I also believe that it depends on your HV one says no one says yes, just go with your instinct, you have done it before.

[hercules]

The risks from early weaning can show later in life ie adult hood. The advice is not new, the WHO have been saying it for over 10 years.

A babies gut is simply not ready for solids until around 6 months. It makes no difference how heavy your baby is, it's gut is no more ready than a small babys.

Of course it's up to you but dont be fooled into thinking it's necessary. It isnt. IF your hv is outdated they'll advise you to start solids, if your hv is following the current guidelines as they are meant to, they will advise you to wait.

If your baby is hungry follow mears advise and feed it more!

[mummy23]

mears - i have been trying to feed every time he demands it now, he was into a routine until a couple of weeks ago and now i feel tempted to try solids to see if it helps with the routine again!

I was going to try to keep bf exclusively until 6 months but now i am so tired and finding hard to keep up with the demand feeding from Ds2.
Is there anything that may help my milk supply increase so that he is satisfied for longer so that i can try to do something with Ds1? He seems to be affected by not being able to go outside because i am so tired (his behavour seems to be getting worst!).

Any advice will be very helpful!

[mummy23]

Oh yeah, and he does seem to be feeding between 1-2 hours all day and night!

[beansprout]

The 4 month growth spurt was hard work for me but it does pass. Hang on in there!!

[mummy23]

I only gave him the fomula because i did not have any milk to offer him, he was trying to feed but kept pulling away and screaming so i swapped sides and the same again, so i offered the fomula, and he managed to drink 7 oz but it didn't agree with his stomach, so it did not stay down very long!
Ididnt think growth spurts lasted 2 weeks though!
How long do they normally last, i cant remember with Ds1!

[Mads1]

I went through the same situation. I too believe it's a growth spurt. My HV recommended trying baby rice BUT i really didn't want to start so early and so therefore followed the advice of fellow MNetters. I fed DD as often as she needed and within a week we had built up the milk supply. I also drank pints of water - not sure if this really helped or if it was psychological?

Hang in there and go with your instincts.

[mummy23]

Well i have decided to try to give Ds2 a bit of food today to see how he goes with it, (i was going to start weaning him on sunday anyway!), and if it seems to satisfy him longer then i think i will stick with it!
Thanks for everyone advice, but i am really knackered at the moment, i need to try him with something else other than breast milk and see how he feeds after that!
Hopefully i can continue to bf as well as i wanted to bf until 6 months! But i will see what happens after feeding him!

[Leogaela]

Mummy23, I am really cautious about getting into this discussion because people have really strong views on it and I can't be bothered to argue about it.

However, I live in Switzerland and we don't take our babies to a GP or HV but a specialist children's doctor for their check ups. We discussed the intoducing solids with our doctor today and she said that it is fine to start solids at 4 months but to introduce no more than one new thing every week.
I questioned her about the WHO guidelines and she said that if you had no allergies in your family there was not a problem. And in fact problems can arise where people introduce solids too late and then do it too quickly, too much and too many different things in a short time.

In fact today was Ds's 6 month check and we have (after reading the discussions on MN) only been giving DS solids since 5 1/2 months, but have been topping him up with formula since 4 1/2 months as I was finding all the extra feeding and getting up in the night completely exhausting. I am very happy with what we have done and how it is working out.

Enjoy the mess everywhere, smellier nappies, faf making the baby food etc..... !

[MichelleM]

Mummy23 - how are things going now? Is your DS any more settled? Am experiencing very similar problems with my breastfed DS2, with max 2 hrs gaps between feedings day and night (also 16 weeks).

[mummy23]

The feeding is going well, he has been eating 1 tin a day and i have now had to put him onto fomula to top up his feeds and now he is sleeping through the nights, (i bf him for the last feed at about 11 and the first fed in the morning at about 7.30).

I decided to top up his feeds coz he was not satisfied after being put on both breasts and now my milk supply is slowly reducing so i have to give him fomula during the day (which was increased to 7oz today)!!!

I am glad i did bf with DS2 because i didn't bf DS1, and i can definately say that i have seen the benefits of bf DS2 (i said as long as i could bf for the first 6 weeks then i would be happy, and i managed to do it for 4 months, so i am proud of myself)

If you are unsure speak to your hv and i am sure that they will be able to advice you, if not just follow your own instint.
After all, you are the one who knows yiur baby best!