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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To just ask you all to tell me what to do?

41 replies

anythingwithagiraffeonit · 15/02/2011 15:05

Hi, I really need some advice about food..

My baby is 4 months old and I've started giving Ella organic squeezy pouches (hated baby rice!) and I'm a bit confused...

How much should I give - food wise and should I replace a bottle with it?

If someone could just tell me where to put it in her routine that would be amazing!!! I've read and read and got myself into a stress about it....

7 / 8 - wake up have 6oz milk

12 - 6oz milk

4 - 6oz milk
5 - a bit of a squeezy pouch & maybe a spoonful of banana cow & gate yogurt

7.30 / 8 - 6oz and bed

It's a total struggle to get her to take water so I've been putting an extra half oz in each bottle.

Help please!

Xxxxxxxxxxx

OP posts:
Chil1234 · 15/02/2011 15:09

You realise you're going to get shouted at for weaning a baby before the recommended 6 months? :) Annabel Karmel has some good books on food ideas for babies and a suggested timetable for introduction.

KazBarTheFriendlyGhost · 15/02/2011 15:11

Why not try increasing the ounces before going onto food??

My dd is also 4 months and is having the following:

8am - 8oz
12noon - 8oz
4pm - 8oz
8pm - 8oz

However, I have just bought some baby porridge and intend to give her it between 8am & 12noon. (I will only introduce the porridge - by way of a couple of spoonfuls a day)

Hope this helps.

I wouldn't bother about the water too much either, not unless you are in a really warm climate

KazBarTheFriendlyGhost · 15/02/2011 15:14

I would wait until 6 months though to start weaning, unless dd seems hungry.

Bearing in mind the growth spurt that happens around this time too...

What makes you think she is ready for food?

barmbrack · 15/02/2011 15:14

Wait till 6 months

Put whatever you are eating in front of her, cut into handy finger-sized lumps. (Not nuts or honey. Cut up grapes and cherry tomatoes)

She'll eat what she wants when she's ready.

Meanwhile keep offering her the milk she has now. She'll cut down when she's ready.

Original poster
anythingwithagiraffeonit · 15/02/2011 15:19

I had every intention of waiting but she has always been a really bad eater... (drinker?) it's an absolute uphill struggle to get her to drink those six oz and has taken upwards to an hour on more than one occasion..my gp suggested I try her with some food and the odd bit I tried her with from the Ella pouches, baby porridge etc has seemed to go down really well.

It might be a controversial choice for some but I really think it's the right choice for us... I'm just not sure where to put it in..

And no water? Really?

(I must be super shit - I've been panicked about her not getting enough.)

OP posts:
mamadiva · 15/02/2011 15:22

Hi can I ask why you want to wean your baby now?

The reccommended age is 6 months but we weaned our son at 4.5 months because he was starting t refuse milk and it was a medical issue.

We started off with just a few spoonfuls (3 or 4) with some baby milk at around lunchtime and that was plenty for the first few weeks then gradually increased it by 2 spoonfuls.

mamadiva · 15/02/2011 15:26

Oops OP X-Post.

Yes gthat was the exact same as our situation, you are not shit. Some are ready earlier than others :)

They don't need to drink water if they are drinking milk as it is still a fluid. Just think about it if you were to drink a glass of milkshake every few hours you would'nt want water in between and your baby is no different.

KazBarTheFriendlyGhost · 15/02/2011 15:28

You're not shit :)

The water thing is one of those subjects...you either do or you dont but why stress yourself trying to give her water if she won't take it? I normally dip a dummy or my little finger in cooled boiled water and give her some that way - but only sometimes or when I feel she is constipated or dehydrated.

Whatever is in the formula is good enough for them until 6 months according to the people in the know....

I would give food between morning bottle and afternoon bottle.

My dd is my first and I'm perhaps not the best person to ask, but what I'm doing seems to work for me, and I'm sure you know your dd best...good luck :)

babybythesea · 15/02/2011 15:29

We started weaning a little bit early - she was almost 5 months. As I remember, I gave solid foods at mealtimes, let her play with the spoons etc and then topped up with milk when she started to show signs of being hungry again. Evetually we sort of fell into a pattern of food at feed times (eg baby porridge at breakfast time, veg at lunch and food at tea time) with milk at mid-morning, mid-afternoon and in the evening before bed. I also did my own mix of baby-led weaning (chunks of food that she could pick up and nibble on) and pureed stuff. I seem to remember starting with puree and moving on to a more baby-led approach after a month or so but I did a mix and match approach for ages.

MrsTumbles · 15/02/2011 15:30

If you are 'watering down' her bottles this can make your child seem hungrier than they might be as they are not getting as 'full' on the milk?

With my DD after baby rice I tried 1/2 a mushed up gluten free rusk at about 12 and 4.

BarbieLovesKen · 15/02/2011 15:32

I thought this changed?? When I had dd (5 years ago) the advice was 4 months,

When I had ds (1 year ago) the advice was 6 months,

I read a report here a couple of weeks ago that its back to 4 months? Im sure of it??

OP, dont get stressed about it - follow your baby, with my 2 - I started on about a spoonful for the first few days, increased to two (actually with ds, he quickly told me he wanted 4 spoons) and so on. I didnt cut down on a bottle when they started solids btw, that came after.

Definately dont increase the water in the bottle to scoops of formula scoops though - very dangerous. It has to be exactly 1 ounce to 1 spoonful.

Your baby doesnt need water - he is getting enough fluids from the water in his formula. I did however give ds, at around 6 months sips of water during the hot summer months. Its not necessary though.

Stop worrying!!! I completely freaked myself out with this weaning business with dd, I wouldnt make a decision without consulting a book or the net. DS (number 2) was so much easier as I just went with it..

NinkyNonker · 15/02/2011 15:32

I don't think food replaces milk until a yr give or take. Try 3 meals a day at normal times, with the same amount of milk. (Obviously not weaning and just offering milk would be preferable.)

Original poster
anythingwithagiraffeonit · 15/02/2011 15:38

We are doing it on the advice of my doctor, otherwise just for convenience sake I would have kept her on milk a while longer (in terms of feeding her out and about etc)

But having said this, the advice is four months isn't it?

OP posts:
BarbieLovesKen · 15/02/2011 15:39

I really, really think it is anythingwithagiraffeonit

(am off to look now...)

mummytime · 15/02/2011 15:41

Okay if she is gaining weight then it doesn't matter how much she eats, it is obviosly rigt for her. I would hold off with weaning, especially not baby porridge until 6 months, oats contain gluten and you do definitely want to avoid gluten until 6 months + (was the advice even when weaning was suggested between 4 and 6 months).
Personally I would want to get the advice from HV and other health professionals, even a paediatrician; as this does seem a bit odd from a GP. Babies do feed a lot more sometimes than others, as they have lots of little growth spurts.
I would also not want to water down the milk as this can lead to the baby feeling full/bloated before it has had enough. Rather than start weaning could you consider 2nd stage milk (or what ever it is called now).
If constipation is a problem I was always recommended to use a little watered down apple juice, and it seemed very efficient.
The only time a baby may need water is if they are vomiting or running a high temperature.

Good luck!

BertieBotts · 15/02/2011 15:41

I would definitely not put extra water in her bottles, just give her formula for now, that should be fine as a drink - remember there's quite a lot of water in baby puree as well.

BertieBotts · 15/02/2011 15:44

17 weeks is the absolute earliest that you can start weaning, although it's recommended to start as close to 6 months as possible.

I think what you are doing sounds fine - aside from the water issue, just keep going as you are and increase the amounts of solids very gradually as she's only 4 months. You shouldn't be looking to cut out milk until somewhere around 9 months, I believe - just keep slowly increasing the amount of solids in addition to the milk she is having, not to replace it just yet.

strawberrycake · 15/02/2011 15:54

I found they cut at milk themselves naturally. If you can keep up that amount of milk but add a little food is best. Watch she doesn't try my ds' trick. He was a poor drinker and upon meeting solids put up an attempt to cut out ALL liquids. ARGH. Try to offer small amounts of food inbetween bottles and until 6 months try to keep her above 20oz.

NinkyNonker · 15/02/2011 15:58

The recommendation is 6 mo, 4 mo at youngest.

ThePosieParker · 15/02/2011 16:02

OP...You've decided to wean...I'm sure you did this with thought and instinct, please carry on as you were. A baby tells you when they're ready not a book. [dusts hands] that's out of the way.

I would look up Annabel Karmels books, we started with a spoon or five of puree as they don't really eat enough for the first couple of months to replace milk.

GiddyPickle · 15/02/2011 16:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FabbyChic · 15/02/2011 16:09

20 years ago the recommended age was 4 months.

Why do people look at recommended ages, it is when the baby is ready simple.

If you had a health visitor 20 years ago they were adamant you started weaning at between 12 and 16 weeks.

It is child dependent not HV/GP/Magazine article dependant.

FabbyChic · 15/02/2011 16:10

To the OP, why not try for breakfast? Then when you introduce the other meals you will give lunch, then dinner.

That is how I done it 23 years ago.

Albeit according to this lot 4 months is too early, what tosh.

strawberrycake · 15/02/2011 16:13

Something else-if you're worried about her intake squirt the pouch into a bowl and mix some of the powder from her milk in. An oz of formula has normally more calories than a stage 1 pack of puree!

ThePosieParker · 15/02/2011 16:34

8 years ago it was four months!!