Signs dd needs weaning?

[dizzymama]

Hi all, dd is just over 4 months now but a large baby. Recently she seems to be disinterested in her bottle and is very cranky. Is this a weaning sign? I'm afraid as she is my first that I don't know the classic signs!!

If you feel she isn't satisfied with her bottles, you could maybe offer her some baby rice at lunchtimes and see how she goes. I know our health visitors now recommend we wait till 6months but I couldn't with ds he was over 9lbs and was on solids at 4months as his bottles were not filling him and he wasn't a happy baby till I gave him some solids but when I had dd she was 51/2 months before she showed any signs of being more hungry. Babies are all different what fills one won't fill another but speak to your health visitor see what she says but def go with your own instincs you know your baby better than your health visitor!

Might be teething, or does she have a bit of a cold? Both could put her off the bottle. Doesn't sound like she needs weaning to me - would expect her to want more bottle, not less, if that were the case. You could try some teething gel and/or calpol. If she has a cold and a blocked nose (which can put them off cos they find it hard to breathe while feeding), get some saline nasal drops from the pharmacy, you put them in just before the feed.

HTH.

Just cos she's big won't necessarily mean she needs weaning any earlier than a smaller baby. If she were draining all her bottles and needing a load more milk and still not happy, wanting feeds in the night having slept happily through previously, perhaps yes but that could still be associated with other things. The amount of solids to begin with would probabaly make very little difference to her "hunger". Perhaps she is just more aware if her surroundings and easily distracted, or feeling a bit below par with teeth, cold, heat etc.

At 4 month check I described same thing to my midwife as I also have a large baby. Midwife said it was definately first signs of teething. Dd was only drinking half of her bottles because her gums were so sore she just couldn't keep sucking. She was also fussing more than she had previously. However 2 wks later she started chewing her hands before and after feeds and chomping her mouth when she saw me eating so I decided to wean her.