Worried about over/underfeeding

[OnNaturesCourse]

Just started 19week old on solids.

They were taking upwards of 32oz of milk between 8am and 8pm then sleeping right through. They've now dropped to about 20oz and sleeping 7pm to 7:30am. They get approx 15-20g of baby rice powder mixed with 3oz of milk in the morning and then again in the evening.

Still getting wet nappies but they aren't as drenched as normal and the BM have slowed to every 2-3 days and are very 'sticky'.

I've been offering water too and occasionally it's taken but never much.

My question is does this all sound about right for the start of weaning? My main concern is with her dropping her fluid intake (although if I include the milk used to make the baby rice then the current milk intake is roughly 26oz)

Sorry OP I can’t tell if it’s the corr3t amount of milk unless yiu state baby’s weight too. Before 6 months if baby is ff they should be having roughly 2.5 floz per pound of weight in 24 hours. So if your baby was taking 32 floz and is roughly 12 and a half pounds, that’s about right.

No. She was 14.5lbs back in January but hasn't been weighed since then. I honestly couldn't tell you what she is now.

So it sounds like you had got it right before you introduced the baby rice. Are you giving her a good vitamin supplement? She’ll need it it she’s not getting enough formula

Why have you decided to give baby rice? It’s not really recommended anymore. Better to start on vegetable purees at that age or wait and do baby led weaning at 6 months imo.

We introduced baby rice as she was feeding every hour or so, grazing. Health visitor suggested baby rice.

Since introducing it she's feeding more regularly at 3-4 hour intervals and taking a full bottle at feds, and is genuinely much more settled.

Unless advised by a dietician or paediatrician, weaning shouldn't be started until 26 weeks (6m).

This is because the gut is not ready and there are far less calories in food than breast milk/formula. Also water is completely unnecessary, offer milk more often as it sounds like she may be getting dehydrated

I’d stop feeding the baby rice, and go back to just milk until 26 weeks. The reason the nappies have changed is because your baby isn’t ready for solids. Food isn’t to make babies sleep/space out their feeds, it’s to introduce nutrients into their diet they can no longer get from milk. Baby rice might as well be sawdust for all the nutritional value it has.

My health visitor suggested it so it will be staying especially as its settled her so much. She's had digestive issues since birth, and the rice has calmed her digestive discomfort.

I was actually concerned that she wasn't eating enough of it, or was having too little but I'm thinking now I should introduce smaller bottles more regularly again on top of her rice?

That does sound like a good plan

Nothing wrong with introducing solids earlier, and it will change their nappies whether they are 'ready' for it or not. Though maybe try some stuff other than just baby rice. Veg purees are good for learning about flavour, but rubbish for providing energy at this stage, so maybe do a mix of things. We started at 17 weeks, with mostly veg and fruit purees, but introduced things like cheese, egg etc to provide additional protein.

I'm not sure what the issue is here though. Baby still sleeps at night - in fact for longer, and you say she's more settled. Depending in how much she's eating, it might be a bit early to drop milk though, and if she is dropping milk, you need to make sure that what she's eating does provide enough calories (vitamins etc will be fine through the out of formula she's getting,). The 2.5 x, her weight calculation is a good starting point. Just keep an eye on her weight gain, and be ready to adjust how much you offer, and what you offer, accordingly.

You'll have people in here who will scold you for starting 'early' but it's a pretty normal time to wean in many other European countries, and there's consideration to changing the guidelines back. There are pros and cons to doing it earlier or waiting.