Weaning Early

[Amelia910]

So my four month old is eating 60-65oz of formula every 24 hours.

The average 4 month old has around 32oz a day according to different websites I have looked at (says 5-6oz 5 times a day, my baby is eating 7-8 oz 8/9 times a day)

He is in 6-9 month clothes, has been able so sit with support for weeks, been guiding toys/teething rings accurately into his mouth for weeks and is always hungry!

Did anyone here have success with their HV weaning early? I was going to ask if I could start at 5 months, I have read things about their digestive system not being fully developed so only want to do it if my HV supports me.

Thanks,

I have read things about their digestive system not being fully developed...

This is an urban myth that regularly pops up online but it is not supported by scientific evidence.

According to ESPGHAN (European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition):

The available data suggest that both renal function and gastrointestinal function are sufficiently mature to metabolise nutrients from complementary foods by the age of 4 months .

www.espghan.org/fileadmin/user_upload/guidelines_pdf/con_28.pdf

(page 101)

When mine was a baby the guidelines were to start babies eating solids at four months and gradually tail off breast or bottle which is what I did; he grew up perfectly well as did his contemporaries. Your little son is obviously ready to eat some cereal and mushy food. Go for it, you will find he is more contented if he is eating.

(PS: What is 'HV weaning'?)

@wintertravel1980 thank you

@Bluerussian sorry HV= Health Visitor

I didn't understand what 'Health visitor weaning' meant. Sorry.

Op bear in mind that anything you can offer at this stage (fruit and vegetable puree) will be less calorific than formula so won't achieve your goal

Weaned both my two at 4 months ( both on advise for silent reflux) however never did them any harm!
Boy was hungry , big and took to food like a duck to water. Girl needed more slowly introducing.
They are now 4 and 6 and have never had any issues with food at all so go with your gut - good luck!

I started at 4 months, big baby, but it was in addition to all the feeds not instead. It's only a tiny bit of trying stuff, baby cereal, fruit purées, veg purées. Did mean that by 6 months we had got to 3 "meals" a day routine wise ( still super flexible.) Then we did more baby led weaning from then onwards, added meat, fish. But my DS could sit unaided which I thought was the criteria, not saying that he sat unaided to eat, but he did sit unaided from 17 weeks.

We started weaning at 5 months on HV approval, as was showing all the signs. At 7.5 months now he's actually increased his milk intake to about 50oz a day, so having solids as well has not reduced the milk.

I'd say go for it if you feel DC is ready, but don't necessarily expect to be giving less milk as a result!!

I've noticed since being on MN that there is a lot of Health Visitor involvement. In my day nobody had a very high opinion of them.

When I had my child forty years ago I saw a HV twice in four years (they stopped visiting at four years), my baby was colicky and the first time she came she told me that when she gave up cheese her baby's colic got better so suggested I gave it up. I love cheese but went right off it whilst pregnant and still didn't fancy it until a few month after giving birth!

Then we moved house. When we'd been in the house a few months a HV came around, I didn't think much of it, assumed rules were different in different areas and my child was just five then, we'd not long been home from school and he was in uniform.

She chatted for a while and then asked me how my pregnancy was progressing. I was not pregnant and told her so, she said her notes told her I was eight months pregnant! Well I was as skinny as a rake then so there was obviously something wrong with her eyesight.

Apparently a young woman who had lived in the house before me was pregnant and the records hadn't been altered.