Weaning!

[CFlips]

Hi all. My 4 month old is now weaning with purées. He is really enjoying his veg and doesn't fancy a milk feed soon after. Is it bad to drop a milk feed at 4 months in favour of a purée? He has been taking less milk recently as he seems to have lost interest so eats better with a purée but want to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs from milk? He probably has a minimum of 25 ounces milk a day plus a purée? He is a big boy!

Yes it is.

If you were dieting and wanting to eat lose weight, what's one of the most obvious things you do? Eat more vegetables.

Vegetables are low calorie.

Your 4 month old needs more calories, not less.

Most early weaning foods are low calorie, so don't give baby the calories/energy needed, they just fill the stomach without the nutritional benefit for baby.

Baby gets more calories, more easily, from milk than anything you could give her.

That said - why are you feeding her anything other than milk? Do you think she needs to diet?! (I hope not!)

Why are you weaning at 4 months? Whether baby loves it or not, its not what she needs.

I understand the general guidance for weaning however it's down to personal choice and we are choosing to wean. Which does kind of go in line with what you are saying about calories. He doesn't seem so interested in milk so his calorie intake was reducing and he actually gets more calories from his purée. (1 purée = 5oz milk in terms of calories).

Yikes.

what puree are you giving that's worth 5oz? I think you are mistaken.

Milk should be given first and puree a while afterwards so they don't cut out milk which is much more important at that age. Although 4 months is young for food and should not be given to replace milk

I agree, you should give their milk feed first then offer the puree later at a time when they aren't particularly hungry.
I've just had a quick Google and a Heinz 4+ months pouch (squash, carrot and mango) has 33cal, 0.3g fat, 0.7g protein in the whole pouch (normally you would only be giving a couple of teaspoons if you are weaning early). 5oz of aptamil stage one formula has (approx) 100 cal, 5g fat and 2g protein. Milk is far superior than veg puree, nutritionally for young babies.

@GarlicMcAtackney helpful. Thank you for your time.

Are you mixing oil into the puree? Otherwise I dont see how it can have more calories than milk. My HV came to have a chat with me 2 weeks ago about early weaning at 5.1 months (only because DS got so upset when we ate we had to hide food from him). She specifically told me to give tiny amounts, its about getting baby used to tastes, not to fill up on purees and mostly so me and dp could eat dinner together without upsetting DS, he gets his tastes while we eat. Milk first always, then a few spoons of puree ONCE A DAY. Far too small to be filled on nutritionless puree over formula (the veg is so overcooked that its nutrients are gone). I'd suggest you speak to your HV asap for more advice.

1 floz puree carrot = 11 calories
1 floz baby milk = 20 calories

(source for both: MyFitnessPal)

So milk is giving your baby around double the calories. Plus it is much more nutritionally balanced and far easier for baby to digest and access.

@CFlips - Are you thinking that your baby is hungry? Not feeding enough?

I'm trying to figure out why you're giving solids now, there is no logical reason to since milk is far better at getting calories into baby.

My lo was born early and I was told to start solids at 4 months.. well aptamil did its job and at our 4 months check up , thankfully, I was told I didn't need to start solids till 6 months. I'm glad I waited. There are lots of food out there that just fills the stomach..

If you really want to start weaning at 4 months make sure you are giving your LO the milk first so his milk intake is not reducing and then top up with the solids. Some countries do advise weaning a bit earlier than the UK however 4 months is particularly early and could cause medical issues in later life especially if milk intake is reducing as a result.

Milk first then purees.
At that age no more than a tablespoon a day, otherwise they're filling up on empty calories with little to no nutritional value.
I weaned DD2 at 4.5 months or there abouts but she only dropped a milk feed when she got to 8 months as that's when she started having a solid 3 meals per day, even now at 9 months she still has 5 7oz bottles in a 24hr period.

My DS is 10 months, eats three meals a day and so still offer the same amount of milk (which he normally has). My understanding was that the minimum they should have until they're one is 20oz so that they get the right amount of calories/nutrients etc. What kind of veg purées are you giving? Some are so sweet and they appeal to babies while not really providing enough nutrition. I assume that you have a medical need for weaning early otherwise it seems somewhat more trouble than it's worth.

Also for those not aware it's the WHO that recommened 6 months for weaning but as their name says, it's advice for the world, including third world countries where breastmilk is the safest option.
The department of health on the other hand say AROUND 6 months, give or take. Therefore it is down to the individual on whether they decide to wean earlier or later, neither is wrong or "harmful" as long as the baby is still getting nutrition from milk.

Its a very long time since I was weaning my children but if I recall rightly I was told that the only fruit/veg that is more calorie dense than milk is avacado. Most fruit and veg don't contain a lot of calories, which is why as a PP said, those are the type of foods that we tend to eat when we want to lose weight. And its not just about the calories. Babies and children need a diet that is richer in fat and lower in fibre than an adult diet, so things that are healthy for us are not necessarily ideal for babies.
As others have said, 4 months is rather early to be weaning, but I can understand why you would be concerned if your baby isn't taking as much milk. Have you spoken to your HV about it? Definitely give milk first even if you are certain you want to continue with purees. And maybe you could mix the purees with milk so that you are getting a bit more in rather than him potentially filling up on veg? Milk really should be the main source of nutrition for around the first year of a baby's life, and definitely at this stage.

Border line child abuse IMO

Are you by chance giving him pouches? They are very sweet tasting and no wonder a baby wouldn't be interested in milk after them.
The pouches or other ready purees might be the cause of him dropping milk and not the solution.

@aimzxd ODFOD