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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

15 week old just started on solids but now refusing milk

37 replies

LynseyM · 06/12/2005 16:50

Hi. My 15 week old ds is quite a big baby and the hv suggested I start him on solids.

He takes a solid meal at around 5:30 and sometimes some milk as well. He gets up aroung 3 am for another feed and takes this well also.

When he wakes at 8:30 he refuses to have milk and will only take it after about an hour of playing which by then he is totally knackered and cries/wriggles through his bottle.

He then cries through his next feed and again this is only after being up and alert for an hour.

The hv today said this is normal as he is after solid food not milk and that I should also drop the 3 o;clock feed.

Is it normal for him to only feed three times a day, get worked up before most feeds and then be sick an hour later (lumpy white stuff)?

the hv said he might be sick if he has eaten too much but he really isnt eating as much as he used to.

really sorry to waffle on. Any advice or support would be great.

Thanks

OP posts:
LIZS · 06/12/2005 16:59

er no I'd say that isn't normal to only feed 3 times a day and be so unhappy. What solids are you giving, could they be upsetting him ? How about offering him the solids at lunchtime instead with a smaller teatime bottle and then another before bed. At less than 6 months he shouldn't yet be cutting out milk as that is the main source of calories.

Kelly1978 · 06/12/2005 17:01

sorry but I think your hv is talkign carp. Drop the food, resume the bottles and he will settle doen eventually. He is more than likely going through a growth spurt, especially if he is very sleepy too.

liklik · 06/12/2005 17:02

Isn't 15wks incredibly early to be introducing solids? In Aust. we don't even think about it until the baby is 6 months old . I would have thought such a little baby would having more milk than you describe. My only experience of UK HV was bizarre. I was in the UK visiting my parents breast feeding my first daughter who was about 7 months old and teething. I rang to get advice as she was biting me..ouch...and her advice.....that she was way to old to be breast fed and to stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I fed her for another 18 months without any biting! I am not sure how well informed they are.
I have digressed, good luck with your baby though .

Kelly1978 · 06/12/2005 17:02

the baby is less than four months, there is no way he should be havign food. It's no wonder he is getting upset stomachs.

2manyglassesofmulledwine · 06/12/2005 17:02

er, why did your HV suggest starting solids at 15 weeks? Unless there's a good reason, babies shouldn't be weaned at 15 weeks, and he may be crying because his digestive system isn't ready to cope with solids yet.

Roobietherednosedreindeer · 06/12/2005 17:05

Is the only reason he's been started on solids so early the fact that he is a big baby? I'd make it easy on yourself and not bother with solids at all at this stage although, if you must, I also suggest giving them to him at lunchtime. I'm assuming he's only on single fruit or veg purees at this stage or small quantities of baby rice?

LIZS · 06/12/2005 17:05

oops the age hadn't registered with me . Why did the hv suggest weaning him ?

Original poster
LynseyM · 06/12/2005 17:06

That's what I thought. He is usually very hungry. I am currently giving him baby rice but hv said to try yoghurt and mash potatoe with milk. I might try giving him his solid feed earlier then a wee night time bottle. I am not sure if it is upsetting his tummy as he has always brought up a bit sick an hour or so after most feeds. He has just got over colic also so there is very little routine to his day and he doesnt sleep well.

OP posts:
Kelly1978 · 06/12/2005 17:09

dairy products too?! Ur hv needs shooting.

Roobietherednosedreindeer · 06/12/2005 17:10

With those foods it seems an upset stomach is the likely culprit. The best first foods are pear, carrot, sweet potato etc and then only a couple of teaspoons at a time .... it's more about getting them used to the taste and texture of food as opposed to filling them up.

Original poster
LynseyM · 06/12/2005 17:11

The reason he was put on to solids was that he is a very large hungry baby and also he started waking up in the middle of the night looking to be fed. I am a first time mum and kinda winging it so I guess I kind of rely on the hv support and advice but I am always unsure if I am doing the right thing.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 06/12/2005 17:11

If he's a hungry baby, milk will fill him up better than solid food will - I'd try stopping the solids altogether and going back to just milk for a while.

Your HV is giving out terrible advice in recommending weaning at 15 weeks. She is wrong when she says that the baby cries because he's after solid food - his gut is not ready for solid food yet, which may be why he is being sick so often.

LIZS · 06/12/2005 17:12

hv is wrong or at best out of date in her advice. Cow's milk products should n't be given this early, isn't the recommendation from 6 months as yoghurt, cheese and and cow's milk in cooking. It doesn't sound as if he is very happy about being weaned if he is unsettled. Why not revert to a milk diet for a week or two and try again. His gut may simply not be ready. Has he been assessed for reflux ?

Original poster
LynseyM · 06/12/2005 17:14

I think youre right his wee tummy might not be ready. He hasnt been tested for reflux. Not exactly sure what that is. Sorry. Feeling like a bit of a bad mother here.

OP posts:
Roobietherednosedreindeer · 06/12/2005 17:14

I'd just up his milk quota Lynsey, even if it means feeding him in the middle of the night. It's not at all uncommon for a baby to be waking in the night at this age anyway - you've got to serve your time now

WigWamBam · 06/12/2005 17:15

You're not a bad mother, but you are being given bad advice by your HV.

RacersTheRedNosedReindeer · 06/12/2005 17:15

LM it is not your fault. The HV is being lazy and unprofessional! You are doing the right thing, getting a second (and third etc) opinion!

SKYLERtnightholynight · 06/12/2005 17:17

Lynsey - I think your HV is totally misleading you. I think you are doing a good job spotting that this is not normal and asking on here for advice. Just because a baby is large is no reason to wean. He may well be hungry so try to up his milk perhaps or give him that night feed again. I know this might seem like a step backwards but it is totally not recommended to wean yet and he is obviously not happy about it. If you want to continue with the solids try baby rice mixed with his normal milk, but really I don't think he should be on solids for a while yet. Sorry if this stresses you out. You have placed good faith in your HV, but I am afraid she has let you down.

Kelly1978 · 06/12/2005 17:17

No matter how big he is, he really doesn't need weaning yet. It is a load of crap about food settling them better. Most babies of that age will still wake up during the night. My dts are now 8 months and I had to wean them very slowly, as lack of milk would make them wake up more. I started gradually at 4 mnths, but it wasn't until six months that they really had substantial amopunts of food. Dairy should be delayed until six months too. Milk is the best food for a young baby. My babies are big boys, they now weigh around 24lbs each, and have only just gone onto three proper meals and it is only now that I am trying to cut down their milk. I am really shocked that a hv is advocatign weanign at 15 weeks.

MIstletAOU · 06/12/2005 17:17

Lynsey, my ds is 18 weeks old and still feeding at least once each night, sometimes twice. He is not huge but very hungry! However I'm not weaning him yet.

I am sorry your hv is giving you this advice - it must be very confusing to hear one thing from her and another thing from us. I'll come back to you with a good website in a mo (Department of Health, no less) - it's a really good guide to weaning.

SKYLERtnightholynight · 06/12/2005 17:18

X posted - You are NOT a bad mother. Coming on here to ask questions proves that that isn't true apart from anything else.

2manyglassesofmulledwine · 06/12/2005 17:19

Whoah! The HV gives you cr@p advice, and now makes you feel like a bad mother. Nice. You're not a bad mother. That's what this site is here for - to give you advice when needed! Is he BF or bottle?

MIstletAOU · 06/12/2005 17:21

Department of Health Weaning Guidelines - it's a pdf file.

LIZS · 06/12/2005 17:21

Reflux is a form of indigestion caused by an immature stomach valve, so the contents go back up the gullet , rather like heartburn. Sometimes they are sick sometimes just very uncomfortable whiel adn after feeding. It means they can be hard to settle, especially lying flat and crying makes it worse so symptoms are colic-like in that respect. Good news is that they generally grow out of it as the vlave matures but some do it quicker than others. It can, but does not always, affect weight gain.

There are thicker formulas and milk thickeners (on prescription)which can help the milk stay down in the tummy and keeping the baby more upright in car seat, bouncy chair etc can help relieve symptoms. If you think this may apply bypass the hv and see gp.

Original poster
LynseyM · 06/12/2005 17:26

Thanks for all the advice. Hv did say only vegtable puree and baby rice til six months but today she said about the yoghurt. I think I might try milk a bit longer andjust a small amount of baby rice at tea time, See how it goes. He has been such an unhappy baby from birth and cries alot. I really dont mind getting up at 3 am for him as he is so sleepy he just feeds and falls asleep again. Also I know some people have to get up alot more than once a night so I think myself lucky.

All the advice is great though. Thanks

OP posts: