starting solids 4 months or 6 months

[Joyx2boys]

My DS2 is 3months old & a large baby, who is hungry every 2 hour, I'm struggling to keep up with him, his length & weight are approx 26 inches long & around 20lbs in weight. so I'm considering starting solids at 4 months, instead of 6 months. I know in the past it was considered ok, & now its frowned upon, so I'm looking for some opinions from other mummy's on wheather you think its ok or Nok?
My DS1 is wearing 4-5yr olds clothes & a size 8 in shoes but is only 2.4yrs old, his height is 3ft 2inches, he was a prem baby & was fed formula & breast milk, as my milk did not come in until he was about 2wks old, so I never considered starting solids early with him.

I'd have a chat with your health visitor if I were in your situation. 4 months isn't too young to wean IMO, especially considering how big your boy is. The 6 month rule is a guideline only, every baby is different. The problem is that the 'first foods' that can be introduced before 6 months (fruit, veg, baby rice etc) aren't very calorie dense so you may find he's still hungry every 2 hours because milk has more calories in it!

I would have a look at the nhs guidelines:
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx#close

Especially this bit:

Three signs your baby is ready for their first food

Every baby is an individual, but there are three clear signs which, together, show your baby is ready for solid foods alongside breastmilk or infant formula. It is very rare for these signs to appear together before your baby is six months old.
They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
They can co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, all by themselves.
They can swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.

For my kids this was a week or two before 6 months.

Is he EBF? If so I would consider trying some formula before weaning especially as he is only 3 months at the moment and you are struggling.

Yes, how is he fed? You say you struggle to keep up with him, that makes me think maybe you are BF and worried about problems with supply? It could be worth asking on the BF board as you will get lots of good info on there, but it is normal at about 3 months for your breastmilk production to change and your breasts to feel different. It's also a common age for babies to become fussy at the breast which a lot of people worry and assume it means they are not getting enough, but this isn't the case.

If bottlefeeding, will he take more at each feed?

Being ready for solids has nothing to do with the size of your baby, it's to do with the maturity of the digestive system which is roughly the same for all babies. The signs of readiness are being able to sit unsupported, being able to grab things and put them in their mouth and the loss of the tongue thrust reflex.

As Halloween says the first foods you give have far fewer calories than milk so may not help keep him full anyway.

Also I found that the weaning process was incredibly messy so why give yourself the extra work!

6 months before weaning, they aren't ready before then, no baby should be force fed sloppy processed yuck, their intestines just aren't ready for it. And more often then not, weaning early does not necessarily mean settled baby, in fact the opposite maybe.

Being ready for solids has nothing to do with the size of your baby, it's to do with the maturity of the digestive system which is roughly the same for all babies. The signs of readiness are being able to sit unsupported, being able to grab things and put them in their mouth and the loss of the tongue thrust reflex.

As Halloween says the first foods you give have far fewer calories than milk so may not help keep him full anyway.

Also I found that the weaning process was incredibly messy so why give yourself the extra work!

Oops don't know how that happened!

Ok I'm convinced 6 monthsish is best, DS2 is BF only & gets Very upset when I try to put him on my left side, & some nights I'm having to walk around the room with him attatched to right side as he's become so upset, but I think he has a problem else where that could be causing so much upset, got doc app to get it checked out, he may need a small procedure.

What do you mean when you say you struggle to keep up with him? If he's gaining weight at a steady pace and happy in himself I'd say he's fine. Remember that breastmilk/formula is the most calorie dense food you can give him. And if your breastfeeding your supply will adjust to his needs. If he feeds a lot that's good, he's taking what he needs and telling your body to supply what he needs.

Every baby is different, my first one went 3-4 hours between feeds almost from the start. My second is 6mo now and still feeding every 2 hours. A big baby may or may not be more hungry than an average sized one, but remember their stomach is no better equipped to handle solids at 4 months.

There is a growth spurt around 3.5-4 months (usually combined with sleep regression) that makes a lot of people think they need to give their baby solids, but what a baby actually needs is milk whenever they're hungry.

the struggling to keep up with him part, is that I never fill up, I dont get the drawing feeling anymore, & they feel empty all the time, I know their not as he's put'n weight on, but it feels quite painful at times, like they're drying up & he's forcing the last few drops out. before 1 side used to run when he was feedind at the other side, but now they just look empty. I did have problems with BF DS1 I wasn't producing enough so he was BF & formula fed. My DS1's not well the now, really concerned about him, he's the opposite & wont eat, acts like he's starving gets excited & takes food but all he does is put a bit in his mouth chew it then spits it out & wont try another bit. he did eat ok before but he keeps getting sick, he's loosing weight & has become very pale with dark patches under his eyes, the doctors these days are not very good at listening, they keep saying oh its viral he'll be fine in a few days. he's 2.4yrs & had the same symptoms 41 times lasting between 4-8 days each time, he's getting worse each time, sorry I've went right off the subject.

Sorry to hear about your eldest. I can't really suggest anything but perhaps it's worth starting a separate thread about it to get some advice?

With regards to 'empty' boobs, that's the way they're supposed to feel when your supply is completely settled. It's only when your supply is in flux that they tend to feel full (e.g. like after a growth spurt when your body is actually making more milk than your baby needs).

I started giving my baby solids at just under 5 months - just one meal in an evening - as he just seemed to be really hungry all day and it was disturbing his sleep too much. Plus he was already trying to grab for food himself and try to eat it.

If you are going to do it early, try to choose easily digestible foods, high nutritional value foods - bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes. My baby loved everything I gave him right from scratch, so I think it was definitely the right thing to try him on solids early.

Let your baby lead though. If he's not interested, don't push it.

Thankyou rrreow I thought they were supposed to keep filling & firming up between feeds, lol silly me!
I do have a thread about DS1, I'd just dropped him off at his nursery party before my last message, after spending an hour trying multiple ways to get him to try eating. he's not eaten a single morsal today, I'm hoping he'll eat something at the party. He's on my mind all the time the now.

I always had problems with my left boob. Frankly, it didn't work and despite people on breastfeeding boards telling me that I just wasn't trying hard enough persevering it never got better. I would mix feed if I were you. Try breastfeeding for the morning feeds and a bottle for afternoon and just before bed. Boob feed for the dream feed (if you do a dream feed).

I started DD2 on solids at 5 months. She was absolutely fine. Couldn't quite sit up unaided but had certainly lost her tongue thrust reflex and was very interested in food.