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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Does holding off solids until 6 months mean constant feeding?

68 replies

rickman · 11/02/2005 22:34

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OP posts:
CarolinaMoon · 13/03/2005 11:42

highlander, can i ask how old your DS is now? mine is 20 weeks and had been following the 75th curve precisely until about 4 weeks ago, when he dropped to just over the 50th. i am bf exclusively and the HV i saw last time was questioning if i was feeding him for long enough (i.e. was he getting enough hindmilk). on the other hand, he is pretty tall/long too and seems to be growing out of stuff. i can't work out whether to worry or not (tho obviously i am or i wouldn't be posting this...)

hercules · 13/03/2005 14:39

Caroline - I wouldnt worry about these charts, really I wouldnt. Lots of people including me dont get their babies weighed. As long as they have bags of energy and are feeding and look well then I really wouldnt worry.

CarolinaMoon · 13/03/2005 15:40

i know, i know - i am being a silly first time mum and should take a chill pill, just find it hard sometimes to be that confident

Original poster
rickman · 13/03/2005 17:07

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OP posts:
hercules · 13/03/2005 17:42

I rarely go without drink or something to eat every two to three hours too!

Original poster
rickman · 13/03/2005 17:48

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OP posts:
hercules · 13/03/2005 17:49

17 months now and I have a nine year old ds.

highlander · 13/03/2005 18:03

Carolina, my DS will be 26 weeks tomorrow. At birth he was on the 75th for height and between 25th/50th for weight. Within 4 weeks his weight jumped up to the 75th and both height and weight stayed there until 5months. I weighed him at 25 weeks and his weight had dropped off to the 50th. The HV assured me this is totally normal for a BF baby. She says you must always take into account the family stature when looking at a baby's weight.

highlander · 13/03/2005 18:05

she also said there was no need to go to the monthly weigh-ins any more

mears · 13/03/2005 18:13

Rickman - it may be worth a bit of distraction therapy during the day rather than feeding immediately. Have you tried popping him in the buggy when he is looking for the boob again? Sometimes you need to try other things to eek out the timings. 7 hours at night is good though, so you might not want to risk jeopordising that by spacing feeds more. Can anyone take him out for a walk for you to give you a breather?

mears · 13/03/2005 18:13

By the way you are a star Highlander

dinny · 13/03/2005 18:14

my ds started on 91st and stayed there until last weigh-in where he'd gone down to 75th. Hv was concerned - er, why? he is much more active now 6 months. so long as feeding, pooing, weeing and happy all is well, imo. wonder what Hv would suggest I do - top up with formula from 6 months? feed him high-calorie solids? really don't see point of centile charts - why would every baby stay on same centile?

NotQuiteCockney · 13/03/2005 18:32

I'm finding the last few weeks of making it to 6 months hard. DS2 hits two months next Thursday, I've been planning to offer solids the weekend after. Now I'm almost tempted to give them early, but I think this is just because we're having a generally rubbish time of it.

DH, DS2 and I all have nasty colds. Because DS2 is unwell, he's feeding five or six times per night, because he's unsettled. DS1 is fine, and running rings around all of us. My brother (who I don't really know, adopted out) came to visit this weekend, which added more stress and exhaustion.

I don't really think giving solids would solve any of these problems, and realistically, I don't think I'd bother trying a new thing with him when we're all in such a bad state. It's just a hard time for everyone.

Polina · 13/03/2005 18:36

It's all very individual - I think you have to go with what you think is the right thing to do. We were trying to hold off until 6 months on account of family allergies with ds but despite feeding all day and all night, draining me dry AND having top ups, his weight kept dropping off and although he was a happy chap he was just not thriving. After going to hospital for eternal tests they decreed there was nothing wrong with him and with the paediatrician's advice we started him on baby rice at 17 weeks, after which he started putting weight on again and has been thriving ever since. Despite all we hear about it being the best food in the world (and it is) breast milk just didn't do it for him, and neither did formula.

HV by the way told me that he wouldn't be able to get any food off the spoon at 17 weeks - in fact no problem.

Original poster
rickman · 13/03/2005 19:23

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OP posts:
hercules · 13/03/2005 19:23

I started at 6 months as it was 6 months but she didnt take to them for a while.

hercules · 13/03/2005 19:24

In fact it seemed weird starting as she was so fine without them.

Clayhead · 13/03/2005 20:02

Just started because of the age.

dinny · 13/03/2005 20:02

ds is 28 weeks, rickman. have tried starting baby rice but he doesn't seem bothered. he has just been very unwell with an abscess up his bum so I think he just wants to regain his strength and put back lost weight. tbh he doesn't seem that ready for meals yet - more just playing round with bits of interesting food.

dinny · 13/03/2005 20:03

Hercules, feel same as your last post! Also am so precious about ds's lovely yellow bm poo!

Clayhead · 13/03/2005 20:05

dinny, I started ds on solids at 6 months, within a fortnight he caught a horrible virus and didn't eat any solids for about 3 weeks so he was actually 7 months by the time he really got started. He was fine though, just got straight back into them when he was ready.

I was told off by HV because dd was 'under the (average) line'. Apparently that is cause for concern. She must get concerned a lot then...

dinny · 13/03/2005 20:10

Clayhead, because ds got this perianal abscess due to v bad nappy rash (after we all had the flu) I am soooo paranoid about solids giving him a rash again. Just want him to a. be bigger and stronger than now and b. want this bloody winter with all its lurgy to be gone before I start in earnest. Am so much more protective over him and solids than I was with darling dd....

Cam · 13/03/2005 20:22

Although I'm not vegetarian I think the Infants information sheet on the Vegetarian Society website gives excellent advice about weaning. Even though I didn't see this when I was weaning it is almost exactly what I did.

milward · 13/03/2005 20:28

Hello rickman - I've exclusively bf my dds until 6 months. With dd2&3 it suddenly felt like extra work to start actually feeding them solids - I started giving porridge first. I continued to bf on demand day & night as I had before. My dds started to eat without any probs - just mashed with a fork what we were having & they tried some. I continued bf on demand for as long as they wanted. Found it much easier on the others to bf the smallest whilst I did their story or made their dinners etc. My dds wanted to try what everyone one else was eating for dinner & I just took the cue from them that they wanted some as well. Also they were able to get on with eating better than a younger baby. Good luck with this.

mears · 13/03/2005 22:48

Hi Rickman, I know how you feel with the 3 others running around. I was in the same position with DD who was baby number 4. She is the only one I fed exclusively till 6 months before starting solids. I was just determined that she wasn't getting any before then. I think Milward has a good point that workload actually increases when you start solids. At least the boob needs no preparation. I found that we missed out all the baby rice crap that we had before and she started eating what we were eating really quickly. We went from no solids to 3 meals a day in about 2 weeks. She just gobbled it up. If you think that you would feel better starting solids from your previous experience, then do it. However sounds as though you are doubting yourself a bit here, possibly through tiredness. Solids will not cure that I am afraid. It is knackering having 4 children and having to trail them to playgroup, nursery and school etc. I remember it well. Try and get yourself to bed when they all go and don't do what I did. Sat up watching rubbish on telly just so that I could have childfree time on my own. I would have been much better catching up on desparately needed sleep