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

[anythingwithagiraffeonit]

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

In my bit of Germany:

2.5yrs ago (DS1) the recommendation was 6months. 8wks ago (DS2) I was told the latest research shows that solids can be introduced at 4mths, if the baby is interested. Apparently babies are unique individuals, which makes the right point in time to introduce solids equally individual, some earlier, some later.

Also the recommendation here is to start with carrots, then potatoes, then other basic veg. Cereals come later. (My health insurance even paid for me to go to a 1 day course on how to introduce solids to my baby!)

2.5yrs ago we had a list of 'not in the first year' due to possible allergies -> eggs, fish, nuts, ... But this has also been revised, now we should introduce as many things in the first year as possible to avoid allergies!

Funny how the recommendations vary year to year and from country to country.

As far as I am aware the advice is just that SOME babies may be ready for weaning earlier than 6 months, still 4 months at youngest but on the whole 6 months, if you get me. To look out for the signs, able to sit upright on their own, interest in food, grabbing stuff into their mouths etc. Maybe different for breastfed babies as less risk of iron deficiency?

For us, DD was about 5.5 months but I went straight to BLW, she wasn't into purees or baby rice at all.

But essentially OP, go with what feels right for your child. You've started, but I wouldn't mess with her milk yet as most of her nutrition will be from it. So as I mentioned, I'd try slotting in her 'solids' at regular meal times as that will help her adjust to adult eating patterns too?

tulipgrower - can you link to the latest research which says 4 months?

she might not be popular in some circles but the Gina Ford guide to weaning was very helpful i found as it had a weaning guide for use with babies under 6 months. It gave me a structure to work within until i found my feet.

We started weaning DD at about 18 weeks. She was more than ready and took to solids like a duck to water. We started with baby rice for a few days at around 11am then moved on to try a variety of single veg purees and then mixed veg purees over the next few weeks.

initially she was having about 2-3 ice cubes of food at 11am, and then again at dinner (6pm) plus her milk. That gradually increased and by 6 months we introduced breakfast. By 7 months she was having breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner plus 3-4 milk feeds a day.

For what it is worth The British Dietetic Society recommend weaning take place some time between 4 and 6 months and find no evidence of harm to babies who receive solids prior to 6 months but after 17 weeks. They also note that there is compelling evidence to suggest that restricting intake of potential allergens causes more sensitivity than it cures.
www.bda.uk.com/publications/statements/PositionStatementWeaning.pdf

How about five or six smaller bottles spread through the day, e.g. 6 x 4oz?

If she's not finishing 6oz bottles easily, then maybe she doesn't have room for that much at once?

I'd just like to add that humans actually get most of their water from food - she will be getting water with her formula without adding extra to the bottle, and in her fruit.

You don't need to worry about them drinking extra water to stop dehydration until the weather gets very hot.

I remember my DD wouldn't take water even then, and was absolutely fine.

In my mum's day it was 6 weeks - you put a bit of baby rice or farley's rusk into their bottle (only really poor people breastfed of course). In my sister's day it was 3 months, in mine it was 4, then up to 6, now i believe back to 4.

If you lined up all the different babies involved now you really wouldn't be able to pick out who was weaned when.

I would offer her some pouch after breakfast mill and some after mid afternoon milk. See how keen she is and go from there. Stuff anybody tutting at you, the advice at the moment is unclear after the latest reports so somewhere between 4-6 months seems the best bet at the moment.

The pouches are ok once opened in the fridge so fine to offer throughout the day.

anythingwithagiraffeonit, I think you'll find your baby drops the milk herself. The Ella pouches can be good as you can just give as much as baby wants. I would keep going until baby looks disinterested or even refuses and not worry about quantities. If you put water in a cup and offer it during the meal you might find she takes some but she'll probably get keener as she eats more solids (I know mine did).

Don't water down the milk and try not to worry. It sounds like you're doing ok. Oh and I'm sure people have suggested cooking various fruits and veg and freezing in ice cubes but that can be really good. I found adding some pear or apple to baby rice made it more palatable to mine. (Could be cheaper than pouches.)

Often in the early days it seems they eat nothing and never will and then before you know it they're eating 3 meals a day.

Thanks everyone, I gave her a pouch (well, a few spoons of a pouch!) this morning after breakfast..

She does really seem to like it, whereas feeding her milk is so stressful, and we both just struggle all the way through it.

Just giving her some food has given me massive peace of mind.

They told us that to start with food is an extra bonus! So, continue with milk as you are and then offer food. Once you hit 6 months, offer food first, then milk as top-up. Children and toddlers eat a lot (2.5 yr old eats breakfast, snack, lunch, sandwiches then pasta type tea) and still drinks 2 cups of milk per day.
They will not starve themselves and nor will they over eat.
Don't worry, you're doing fine! I gave solid food at 19 weeks, I was told the absolute cut-off was 17 weeks. but it seems to change with the weather.

4 months for both mine , some studies say they can have problems learning to chew or developing facial muscles can't remember exactly, if you leave it too long.