Starting solids and breastfeeding help.

[louby78]

My DS is 23 weeks (5 and a half months) and I'm starting to think about starting him on solids. He's my second child, my first was formula fed for a host of reasons but ultimately I'm so chuffed we've managed it this time round and love BFing I'm not in a hurry to stop just because we're coming up to 6months. So whilst this is my second baby it's my first BF baby so I'm not sure how to do it.

He won't take a bottle so it is boob all the way but do I introduce a cup and do I give him formula in a cup or express? To be honest I'd rather him have breast milk but then I don't want to get lazy and just end up BFing him.

How often do I offer the cup and the breast? He's demand fed so we have no routine unlike with my DD who was on a 4 hour routine which made slotting solids in dead easy.

I hope to BF till he's one but realise he may have other ideas and want it beyond then but if I get to 1 year I'll be so chuffed.

Any advice gratefully received.

Hi

DS is 9m. He started solids at 5.5m. WRT bf, I just carried on being led by him. At the beginning (as you know already) they don't really eat much, do they? So milk is still really important

I would just carry on demand feeding. You can establish a routine with the solids, but keep the milk as a demand thing

HTH

What's wrong with bfing? Especially if you wait until he's developmentally ready for weaning (around 6 monhs usually) and you can take a more baby-led approach to weaning.

Don't worry, it is perfectly possible to BF and give solids together.
The BFing will gradually reduce, but he controls how much he takes himself, so that will happen naturally and you won't notice much of a reduction in the beginning as he is unlikely to eat much at the start.

You should offer him additional liquid in a cup, but it is more likely to be water than formula or expressed milk. He won't drink much from a cup in the beginning, he will still get the majority of his liquid intake from his BFing. The water will just be something to help wash his meals down if he wants it. To be honest if he drinks any at all in the beginning, it is most likely to be simply because drinking from a cup is a fun new experience.

You can introduce solids at meal times and then offer BFing straight afterwards, which is probably the same as you did with your DD.
Then take your lead from him as to how to much solids to give, when to introduce more meals and how much BFing to offer in between. He'll let you know how much he wants and when.

Good luck!!

hiya. My son is 3 now and i breast fed him untill he was 14 months. I know when i was weaning him i was told to give him half the milk then some food then the rest of the milk, but my son had different ideas. He wanted his milk and he wanted it all, he also didnot have a routine he got his milk when he wanted. I started weaning him by giving him some baby rice or pured fruit during one meal time a day( i started at tea time coz he was a bad sleeper) regardless of if he had some milk. The amount he ate to begin was minimal. you've done really well to breast feed up to know, if you've done this far i'm sure you'l make it to a year. I believe it has done wonder for my son, he now 3 and has never been ill, most people cant believe hes never had antibiotic and he's got such muscle hes like a giant child.

Hope alls goes well with you, The best advice i was giving when i was breastfeeding (as with all children problems)was to follow your instincts.

Yep follow your instincts like vickie says, I too started by giving to solids at teatime but just continued with the bf's as normal, i started just after 5 months but continued to bf til 16months. You can just give some water in a cup no need to bother with formula.

And yes well done for getting this far it only gets easier from now on, enjoy, wishh i could do it again .....