Weaning questions for small baby

[GillL]

Already posted this in the weaning section but I thought I might get some more views here.

I've just started weaning 6 month - 14lb dd (approx, haven't had her weighed for a few weeks) by giving a tsp of baby rice per day. Will be following Annabel Karmel's routine loosely but just wanted some advice from other people with small and not particularly hungry babies.

What times is it best to give food at this stage? Have started with 2pm feed.

How long should we give her baby rice? IMHO I don't think 2 days (as the book recommends) is long enough.

When should I go to 2 solids per day?

DD is currently on 26oz of formula per day (4 5oz and 1 6oz). I normally add an ounce per day when she starts waking earlier. Should I start giving her more food instead when this happens?

Our ds3 is teeny, will he 2 in a few days but is only just fitting 12-18month clothes (no idea what he wieghs....22-24 lbs maybe)

I always started off weaning with the lunchtime bottle, so 2pm would be fine IMO.
I used just plain baby rice for about 2-3 weeks before I introduced any thing else.

I didn't add another meal until about 5-6 weeks after I'd weaned him. He was never fussed about it so I just did it slowly.

I think the milk intake is more important that solids at 6 months so I'd keep the milk at 26oz and add soilds grdually.

Hope this helps

I started DS (6 months & 21lbs) on solids three weeks ago. He hated baby rice so I started him straight on carrot pushed through a sieve which he was ok with, I gave him this for three days then went onto potato for three days then mixed potato & carrot together for three days. If he would have liked baby rice I would have given him that on it's own for three days then tried it mixed with a puree fruit or veg. DS has taken a while to get to grips with this eating business but he is now on Weetabix for breakfast and mashed sweet potato & carrot etc for tea (about 5pm). I will do that for two weeks then introduce a lunchtime meal.My health visitor recommended giving one food consecutively three times for the baby to decide if he likes it. He is reducing his milk himself so all is going well at the moment!
Sorry it's a long post.

Gill, not a big fan of most of her advice but the Gina Ford book of weaning is really good. Started my DS on baby rice after his 11.00am bottle, did this for about a week then started introducing veggies (mixed with the rice). After about two weeks, I was giving veggies with rice after the 11.00am bottle and fruit with rice at 5.00pm before his bath and bedtime.

DS has been on solids for about 5 weeks now and is still having all his milk feeds as before but has the solids as extra. Probably will start to reduce the 11.00am feed over the next few weeks.

HTH

i also followed gina ford to start of weaning with dd. however, have you ever tasted baby rice?, its like wallpaper paste! i used it for the first week and then added a small amount of pureed apple to it. ds is 16 wks, not ready for weaning yet and even though i've weaned before, am going to a talk my hv is giving about it next week.

Pear puree was a big hit with DS who didn't like baby rice

Gina Ford book made me cry as I thought it was so harsh (either that or I am a soft touch!) so I binned it when DS was 7 weeks old. I am now weaning using the Cheekymonkey method along with some guidance from a very helpful health visitor

dd3 is now 7months old and only 14lb 13oz when last weighed (i think). she was on baby rice for about a week, then carrots, apples, pears. now we make little recipies up, lots of fruit and veg. for a small baby, she puts a lot of food away lol.

started off with lunch time feed, then introduced breakfast, then an evening meal.

the DTs were small, though DT1 was really weeny. I started with baby rice for about a week, but agree it is foul stuff. Moved on to veg and fruit purees and followed Annabel Karmel's recipes. Tried a food with the babes, if they liked it I would continue and add another. If they didn't I stopped that puree for a few days, then tried it again.

one of dd favorite first foods was potato, parsnip and cheese puree. she also loved annabel karmels lentil and veg casserole.

to answer GillL's question, DD is currently on 26oz of formula per day (4 5oz and 1 6oz). I normally add an ounce per day when she starts waking earlier. Should I start giving her more food instead when this happens?

yes, i would. increase gradually as she wants more, and each time you increase the solids, decrease milk so the solids start to take over

Thanks for your advice. DD doesn't seem to mind baby rice but I think I'll puree up some fruit and veg this weekend and see how it goes.

Other than waking earlier, are there any indications that she will want more food? Waking early is the only way I've known to add more formula (HV said to add an ounce per week but she kept bringing it back up again because she didn't need it so had to cut right back). She's never cried for more when she's finished her bottle.

Started DD on carrot puree mixed with baby rice and formula for her 10.30 feed and she loved it. She woke up at 5.30am so the next day I also gave her some banana baby rice for tea. She's still waking at 5.30.

Can anyone help? The HV always advises increasing her formula by 1oz when she wakes earlier than usual but I have tried this and tried increasing the food as above. I'm conscious of not giving her too much to eat too soon but getting up at 5.30 every morning is getting a bit much, especially when I have to spend 9 hours at work and then cook, clean, bath and feed baby. It's exhausting. She used to wake at 7am. I think I was being spoiled.