To start weaning my 16 week old baby?

[WhatOnEarth67]

The last few nights my baby has been waking up every couple of hours for 7oz feeds. From nine weeks he has slept throughout the night. He’s been dribbling non-stop and I’m worried he needs a bit more.

I’m aware they say six months so spoke to one of my health visitors and she said that I could start on some baby rice. I then spoke to the other health visitor (she’d missed a call from me before calling the other one!) and she said it’s in his best interests to not start until six months.

I’ve read that it can affect the digestive system, is this correct? I’m just reading conflicting information and getting quite confused. I know the weaning time changes every few years, and that not that long ago it was three months.

If it does affect the digestive system I won’t be doing it because I have inflammatory bowel disease and there is a 50% chance he will get it too, so I don’t want to increase those chances!

Just thought it might be easier to ask other mums for advice. Would be grateful for any early weaning experiences, issues, or whether there is any other formula that might be more filling for him? He has been on SMA since birth and is exclusively formula fed.

Thank you! X

Definitely wait another two months.

stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves
swallow food (rather than spit it back out)
The following behaviours can be mistaken by parents as signs that their baby's ready for solid foods:

chewing their fists
waking up in the night (more than usual)
wanting extra milk feeds

Your baby isn't ready

It could definitely have a negative effect on his digestive system if you start early.

All the stuff about the advice changing - there is some evidence that for children with a higher likelihood of allergies, it might be beneficial to be exposed to those foods earlier, though everything I read suggested 5 months was early enough. DD has a dairy allergy which was clear at 4 months, she was breastfed so it was cut out of my diet, I considered weaning early to reduce the risk of other allergies but in the end started all of a week before six months because I just couldn't balance the risk of stomach issues and allergies, she will have a bit of a history of both from her parents.

I definitely, definitely wouldn't start at 4 months, particularly with your history. As others have said, this is much more likely to be a growth spurt/sleep regression/teething than hunger.

It could be the 4 month sleep regression and/or teething. Teeth can start to move round in the gums well before the break through. DD started teething at 4 months but didn’t have any teeth until 12 months!

I waiting until 6 months as we have a strong family history of coeliacs disease, therefore I wanted to wait until DDs gut was more mature.

Mine is now 40! Therefore what I say may seem irrelevant but when he was a baby the guidelines were to start weaning at four months (prior to my time it was five months), which I did. In no time at all he was eating proper little dinners and drinking milk, water and juice out of a cup. He was generally much better for being weaned as he had been colicky when I was breast feeding which improved when I combine fed and eventually just gave a bottle; however, eating suited him.

I have to stay he hasn't stopped eating since but that's another story:-) (no he isn't fat, just loves cooking).

OP, give it a try. You'll know if it isn't right for your baby and it won't have harmed.

Taste baby rice before you give it to your child. It is fucking vile and akin to wallpaper paste.

The 6 months advice was definitely happening 14 years ago because that is when I read it for Ds2. So hardly 2 minutes ago.

I did wean Ds2 at 16 weeks under the guidance of a paediatrician as he had severe reflux and he suggested starchy foods such as potato but that was in an effort to thicken the contents of his stomach so he wouldn't throw up and scar his esophagus!

Needless to say it didn't make any difference so we dropped it until he was ready which was 5 1/2 months when he stole food off my plate and shoved it in his mouth.

4 months is completely normal sleep regression time and I would hold out until as close to 6 months as you can to wean. Milk has far more calories than a spoon of pureed veg. This is just part of being a parent. Yes at times it is completely shit, especially when it involves broken sleep for a parent but it is what it is.

I know the weaning time changes every few years, and that not that long ago it was three months.
The WHO has recommended 6 months since 2001. The last time before that when the recommendation changed was 1994 - when they suggested "4 to 6 months". So it doesnt change every few years.

There is evidence that weaning from 4 months is not dangerous in Europe, because rates of gastroenteritis and other illnesses are low. So if you want to start now it is unlikely to do any harm, but it won't do any good either. It wont keep him full longer or stop him waking up at night. Anecdotally most babies I know actually woke more when they started solids.

He is probably going through a growth spurt and/or the 4 month sleep regression.

child-nutrition.co.uk/evidence-base-for-hcps-complementary-feeding#
Quite a lot of studies referenced here for further reading if you're interested.

My 3 DC didn't ever have the 4 month sleep regression, it sounds like it's a common experience.

Mine is now 28 and I started weaning her at 4 months. She was ready and took to it well. The thing with babies is they haven't read the "guidelines" and all babies are different so a one size fits all approach is meaningless. Some will be ready earlier, some will be ready later.

Thank you everyone. Sorry, I’d only heard from other mums that it changes every few years. Sorry, didn’t realise! I did think he was teething as he wants to chew on everything and is dribbling all the time! But when I mentioned weaning my HV said dribbling was also a sign of hunger so I was just confused about that, but I definitely think he is teething. I’ll wait until six months. I only wanted to do it for his benefit, not mine. I don’t mind waking up more to give him what he needs, I just want to make sure he’s satisfied and not getting what he needs. Thank you for all the advice!

Oh and also - I hadn’t heard of sleep regression. I’ll have a read up on it, so thank you to everyone who mentioned it! I’m a FTM and am pretty clueless to be honest!

What is this mystical "4 month sleep regression", "6 month sleep regression" is this an actual thing?

Sounds like sleep regression at that age and perfectly normal. There is no need to wean your baby earlier than 6 months unless advised do by a paediatric dietician.

@speakout luckily my DS 4 month sleep regression was mild compared to some. I think at that age a lot of babies are still waking regularly throughout the night so parents don't notice it. We were lucky that DS slept through from 8 weeks so noticed the 1-3 wake ups a night for a few nights around 16 weeks. For some it can be a lot worse of sleeping is so bad anyway they don't even notice it!

I think most things have been said here OP - please wait. The 4 month regression is awful (my DD went through weeks of literally being awake from 1am-6am, I was dead on my feet)

On another note your HV is giving out terrible, outdated, borderline dangerous advice. I would suggest seeing if you can speak to someone else.

Is he rooting? Chewing his fist? Holding his head up sufficiently? Able to sit in a support chair?

I would never have made my babies wait till 6 months for food. If your baby seems hungry after milk then start weaning. All my 3 and every baby I have ever known was weaned from 4 1/2 months and all fighting fit. Listen to your baby!

He sounds like he's teething and he might have several teeth coming at once. Some children get theirs much earlier than others - a friend's DD had her first one come through at 8 weeks.

Teething can make babies' jaws, ears and sinuses hurt so it's not always easy to sleep through it.

I’ve felt his gums and he definitely has teeth coming through. I definitely don’t want to affect his digestive system when he already has that risk so I think I’ll wait until six months unless a doctor thinks he needs it earlier.

The 4 month sleep regression is a well known thing as they come out of the newborn being able to sleep though anything stage. If your baby has a 50pc chance of having stomach issues I would definitely not wean him early without medical advice. And definitely definitely not on baby rice, its nutritionally empty, fills them up but with less calories than milk so they get less calories overall, and doesnt help them adapt to new tastes and textures as it's so bland.

I started to wean my son at 4 months. He was EBF for 3 months, then moved onto formula but always wanted some of whatever I was eating. So I started to purée foods for him. He preferred formula to breast milk and food to milk. He's got no food intolerances, he's perfectly healthy.

My 19yo was weaned at 16 weeks and not a moment too soon. I honestly don't know how modern mums make it to 6mths, my mother was telling me to do it sooner, based on her experience of weaning us.

He's 6ft3, healthy weight, just passed the Army medical, in good health with decent Alevels and a good job, so it can't have been too bad.

Weaning is my worst part of child rearing, I'd put it off as long as possible

Seriously though, I'd maybe look at the amount of milk.

And when you do start, its worth noting that baby rice has zero nutritional value (it is for texture).... I'd wait and then start at 6 months with proper food!

The dribbling sounds like teething and then drinking a bottle is comforting his teething pain by sucking. Also the 4 month sleep regression could play a role. Neither of mine slept better after food was introduced as they don’t eat much anyway it’s all about taste so I wouldn’t rush to introduce food early

4 month sleep regression, as previously mentioned. I'd also recommend the wonder weeks app. It costs a couple of quid but tells you when they go through developmental 'leaps' based on their due dates (as opposed to birth date). I have found it surprisingly accurate with both of my children and for me, it really helps to know there is a 'reason' when the poor sleep and moody baby comes around!

There is a sleep regression around 4 months which could be the waking. Do you think baby is teething? My DC1 had 2 teeth appear at 15 weeks and then 4 more at 16 weeks! Could maybe try some teething gel/cool teething toys as they are maybe using the bottle/milk for comfort. We weaned DC1 in medical advice at around 18 weeks but this was under the guidance of dr due to some other issues and to be honest he is massive and was ready for it. If he is draining 7oz could you try upping to 8oz bottles the rest of the day see if that helps?