Ready for weaning?

[faverolles]

Ds is nearly 21 weeks. He's fully breastfed and very settled and happy, but for the last 3 or 4 weeks, he's been sleeping terribly and feeding up to 6 times a night.
I've read about 4-month regression, so I've assumed this is what this is, bit so many people are telling me he should be going onto solids now, and sleeping badly is a sign that he needs more.
I thought I'd ask here for opinions, rather than ask the HV, because you seem to know more about BFing and weaning than she does!
TIA :)

Waking more often is no longer thought to be a sign of ready to wean, and increased hunger should be met with increased milk feeds (which after all is more calorific). Weaning signs to look out for are; ability to sit unaided; ability to get food into their mouths by them selves, loss of tongue thrust reflex.

See here www.nhs.uk/Planners/breastfeeding/Pages/breastfeeding-and-weaning.aspx

What Cosmosis said.

It will also be easier the older they are. Get some extra rest and recite the calorific values of common weaning foods at anyone who tells you he's hungry for solids.

Thankyou. I knew I could rely on MN :)

My DD is 20 weeks today and we have also had 4 or so weeks of more and more feeds in the night until she was waking up every 1.5 hours. I actually said to my husband the other day that she is feeding more now ( in the night) then when she was first born!

Was also getting comments from everyone that I told about her night wakings that she probably needs to be weaned but I don't think she is ready yet.

Anyway, we moved her to her own room on the weekend (which is the room next door) and her night feeds have dropped. Not sure why but she is now feeding 1 to 2 times. I think we may have been waking her up during the night and once awake she was wanting a feed.

If your DS is in with you, I'm not saying move him out! Just saying that seems to have helped us.

my ds is 19weeks and has just got over the grizzly part and is now feeding every 2 1/2hrs so i'm wondering whether he's ready, but he's my 3rd and i've done early-ish puree weaning and blw and 5 1/2months so am going to give him a week to see how things go then think again.

My DD started waking up more after we started weaning! We started BLW at 5.5 months and I think we've now hit the 6 month growth spurt.

Milk is the single most nutritious food a baby can have. If they need extra calories and that's why they're waking up, weaning is the wrong way to go as the most food can do is fill them up more on less calories.