Weaning

[ShannonC1310]

My lit tone one is just over four months so I've been considering when to start weaning him onto some solids but I'm unsure how much milk he should be drinking alongside food. He has five bottles a day and no solids but I'm just not sure how much milk I should continue giving him once he starts getting used to solids. Any advice?

Yes, wait until six months like the NHS advises. You should only wean younger on medical advice.

Milk stays the same when you start weaning. I'd wait until closer to 6 months anyway but the same still applies

I started my t'd on solids just after 51/2 months as she was really interested. She still had the same amount of milk to start with as the food was just a taster. We started with pureed veg made with breast milk then gradually used thicker mixes. Ella's kitchen do a free guide which I found quite useful with the different stages etc.

In fact, the 6-month rule is changing as it was always based on erroneous guidelines. The window between 4 and 6 months is a good one As weaning progresses, the food should be given before the milk. That way it naturally decreases as the food increases. It makes no sense to talk about how much milk because that will depend on how much dairy is in the food. There is a lot of anxiety created about weaning. It really is just common sense. If you are breastfeeding you can't measure how much, so why would you need to if bottle feeding

The 6 month guideline isn't changing any time soon. That has been a rumour that's been going round for about 10 years now and it still hasn't happened!

The decision about when to start should be led by your baby. He may become more hungry, or start waking in the night when he has previously slept through. Big babies may need an earlier start. It's fine to wait until 6 months if your baby is content, but crazy if he starts to show signs of needing weaning

And milk should be before food as milk is more important to start with. Food is about new tastes and textures not to fill them up

Waking in the night is not a sign of needing solids either. In fact starting solids can cause night earnings

Wakings*

Wow lots of great advice, I wasn't planning on weaning yet I was just trying to find out a bit more about it so that I'll know how to when he's ready. He hasn't shown any signs of needing to be weaned yet either, I just thought I'd find the best way to go about it when the time comes :)

Confusedbeetle Your idea of the signs of readiness for weaning are very old-fashioned. Readiness for weaning are independent or near-independent sitting balance, the ability to bring food independently to the mouth and the elimination of the tongue thrust reflex. None of these things happen until near six months. Requiring more feeds, day or night, around four months indicates a growth spurt and developmental leap, not a need for solids. Bigger babies do not need weaning earlier.

And always milk an hour before food before one year. The majority of nutrition still comes from milk until 12 months.