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

Starting solid food is a load of stress, mess and hassle - stick with milk!

@speakout

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

I never heard of it until I joined Mumsnet. There are specific names for everything now.

My DD started weaning at 4 months. She was part of the National EAT Study based at the Evelina/St Thomas hospital in London. She had known allergens (egg, fish, peanuts etc) introduced into her diet in controlled amounts (the study was to see if risk of allergies was improved by introducing the foods early). She didn’t have any negative effects to weaning at that age.

My DS slept 9 hours a night (had to wake him up for feeds when tiny) until that dreaded 4 month sleep regression. He’s never slept well since (sorry!). Dribbling is also a clear sign of teething and your baby want more milk for comfort/sucking anyway.

I did feed my littlest at 5.5 months. Both of mine sat up without support at 5 months and I left the baby on the floor while the toddler ate tea and came back 20 seconds later and he had rolled to the table and was screaming at the toddler. Continued to do this every time he ate a meal until I let him join in with mealtime!

I never heard of it until I joined Mumsnet. There are specific names for everything now.

Yes like "baby blues" is now called post-natal depression. With respect your child is 40. Times have changed, science has moved on and we now recognise sleep patterns in babies have well, patterns. 4 month sleep regression is well documented.

I am in my mid 40s and people used to think nothing of dipping a baby's dummy into alcohol to "help the baby sleep" when I was a child, nor having seat belts in the backs of cars. I have great memories of sliding around on the back seat before being pinned into place by that new law in 1980s that said rear seat belts must be fitted.

OP it is tough when they are waking at night, it is hopefully just a phase and hopefully your child doesn't have the inflammatory bowel disease which must be an added worry when it comes to something so essential as feeding. The 6 months thing is about tongue muscles being able to not push the food out but instead move it to enable swallowing. The NHS specifically states that extra feeds and waking in the night are not signs that your baby is ready to wean.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/

@Jent13c

I did feed my littlest at 5.5 months. Both of mine sat up without support at 5 months and I left the baby on the floor while the toddler ate tea and came back 20 seconds later and he had rolled to the table and was screaming at the toddler. Continued to do this every time he ate a meal until I let him join in with mealtime!

Sorry your post made me laugh.

My LO wasn't interested in food until she saw her half-sibling eating. So we tried weaning her at 5 months. She would never be interested in eating until her half-sibling was present and eating as well.

Weaning early (before 6 months) should only ever be on medical advice. Weaning to make babies sleep longer is wrong, babies are meant to wake.
Baby rice is dreadful, no nutritional value whatsoever.