To think my baby might need food sooner than 6 months?

[Flamingoflamangos]

First baby so I’m a bit clueless.

DD is 16 weeks on Monday. She’s a very happy little soul and I’ve been so lucky this far in that she sleeps all night, every night and naps well during the day.

Over the past 4 days she’s been really difficult to feed. I couldn’t breastfeed very well due to medication I take but she’s thrived on formula and has been exclusively formula fed since 6weeks of age.

She usually has 6 oz every 3-4 hours or so but over the past few days she’s been impossible to feed and will have an ounce or so and get bored, then take some more a bit later until she’s had about 3oz.

She’s definitely not unwell and I can’t see any signs of teeth coming through. She drank 10oz before bed last night so it’s very inconsistent.

She seems to be very interested in my food so I’m wondering if she might not be far off needing some solid food. We’re on holiday next week so I’m wondering if it’s worth taking stuff just incase? I’m aware that baby porridge etc is fewer calories than formula though but obviously not if made with formula.

She weighs 13lb 4oz sonshes not underweight and has been hitting so called 3 month milestones for quite a few weeks now.

Whenever you decide to start I would caution against doing it when you're away on holiday just in case of any allergic reactions - would be very stressful dealing with that in an unfamiliar/foreign place.

Also, weaning is a pain in the neck. Put it off for a while - milk is the best source of calories for now.

PS teeth don't have to mean biting - my son cut his first two at 14 weeks and I breastfed him until he was 3yo. We had the occasional biting incident but they soon get the message that it's not OK.

I first gave purées at around 17 weeks, just a few spoonfuls alongside milk. My child was delighted

Mine too! I still remeber his first spoon of food

OP I would try a different/bigger teat and then make your own judgement call after 17 weeks.

Thanks everyone. Certainly a lot of food for thought (pardon the pun)

Another thing - she tends to go to bed at around 7-8 and falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. We go to bed at 12ish and I tend to give her a bottle then. When you say your babies sleep through, say, 7-6, do you mean this is without waking fe a botttle during that time?

We weaned at 5 months as DS was sitting and had horrible reflux. He also had teeth so we just gave him food not purees.

She's very little to be sleeping right through,I wouldn't expect her not to wake for a bottle yet.

When you say your babies sleep through, say, 7-6, do you mean this is without waking fe a botttle during that time?

at that age, yes.

I did find it easier when bottle fed, because it was easier to check the amount they were drinking and make sure they were having what they needed throughout the day, and did not need a night feed.

It's not a magical answer to have a baby sleeping through the night!

Please dont try food on holiday. Your baby probably needs bigger tests and is just going through a fussy phase. You might not see teeth yet but they could very well be moving within the gum.

Hope you have a lovely break and lucky you for having a baby that sleeps through the night.

No 16 week old baby is 'showing signs' of needing solid food, their guts are not ready for it, they are just learning and interested in what their parents are doing. It doesn't make your child anymore advanced than their peers if you give them a rusk or baby porridge, it gives them less nutrition than milk, but a lot of parents seem to want their baby to hit milestones early and feeding solids is the one parents can most easily control. I certainly wouldn't be trying solids for the first time while on holiday, with less access to medical help if your DC were to have an allergy/food intolerance. Just be patient and let your DC be a baby, there's no need to rush.

We sound like we’ve had very similar experiences OP!

My baby is now six months and has three ‘meals’ a day of puree and finger foods but if you acurallt look at the calorie content of the food they’re having it’s low compared to milk. My baby is also still fussy on a bottle like this, getting bored, refusing after an ounce or so, a fight to feed them especially in the afternoon. So solids hasn’t made any difference to that at all.

I agree with the pp who said that while she may be interested in your food, she doesn't actually know what it is, or that it will stop her being hungry. They're interested in most things that their parents do. If she's waking once for a bottle, that's really good going at that age!!

6 months is recommended for good reasons.

NHS advice:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/#why-wait-until-around-6-months

Please don’t wean early, it’s completely unnecessary and outdated.

ohyesiam why the surprise at breastfeeding a baby with teeth?! Babies should be on breastmilk or formula until 12 months so there are loads of people breastfeeding babies with teeth! I've just finished bf my 20 month old, he's got heaps of teeth. What a strange thing to say.

When my eldest was born weaning age was 16 weeks, whilst advice might have changed babies haven't and millions of adults were weaned at that age, you probably were yourself, it's very unlikely that anything bad is going to happen if a baby has food before 6 months old.

Also...we’ve found that it’s teething pain stopping him from feeding sometimes. So a bit of dentinox before bottle often does the trick.

Food has hardly any nutritional value at that age, milk is far more important.

I assume she is hitting a major growth spur, DD had two days of constant nursing, I think I got an hours break in between.

I would offer milk on demand and see if that makes a difference.

Nothing in your OP indicates she is ready for solids, to be honest.

Honestly it’s such a fuck on when they start weaning. It sounds exciting I know but it’s really not. I wouldn’t do it on holiday, you’re making far too much work for yourself and if anything she might be unsettled so you don’t want her associating that with food

I would really consider leaving it till after the holiday. Weaning is a complete faff. You still have to sterilise stuff at that age. I remember it just felt like a lot of work compared to just milk. You dont want extra paraphernalia on holiday

Both of mine wanted to wean at 23 weeks, as in grabbing food from our plates and eating it. They were able to sit comfortably in the high chair.

In the first week or so I gave DS1 baby porridge and it triggered a horrid allergic reaction where I could visibly see his face swelling to the point he couldn't open his eyes. Fortunately I live 2 minutes away from the GP surgery. I was very cautious about introducing DS2 to foods after that experience.

Some babies are ready before 6 months, it is more likely from 5 months than 4. There are so many changes around the 4-5 month mark that are not necessarily readiness to wean.

I also found that a lot of purees marketed as 4-6 months contain common allergens. In DS's case the baby porridge triggered CMPA which hadn't been activated by breast milk.

Calories wise, of course baby will get less if the milk is mixed with something.

Baby takes 100ml of milk for instance. If you take out half of that and fill it back up with something worth fewer calories, there’s already a deficit.

Baby then eats less because the rice is a bulker, and may only have consumed a quarter of the milk she might have done in her original 100ml.

We introduced food at 4 months, big baby started pulling himself towards humanoid one day, always had good appetite. Think 4 months used to be standard advice

Purees marked 4-6 months are only there to provide some provision for (and for companies to tap in to the market of) mothers who go against official advice.

I would speak to your GP rather than mumsnet.

All five of mine where weaning at 16 weeks. Baby rice and fruit purées. Some baby's just need feeding earlier than others.

After 17 weeks absolutely fair enough. There’s emerging evidence to suggest that waiting to six months isn’t particularly advisable from an allergy POV.

This is a great article, lays out the evidence for both approaches.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/scienceofmom.com/2015/05/14/starting-solids-4-months-6-months-or-somewhere-in-between/amp/