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Original poster

Weaning

28 replies

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 01:46

Hi. my little boy is very greedy and always has been, he drinks way more than he’s meant to and seems quite interested in food, he’s 13 weeks old and I’m considering giving him porridge at 4 months, he’s on kendamil formula and they do a porridge for 4m+ so was considering giving him that once a day once he’s 4 months but most places say don’t start till 6 months so I’m unsure what to do? Has anyone else started weaning at 4 months? Or any big reasons I should wait till he’s 6 months? TIA

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Fallagain · 30/12/2021 15:40

At 13 weeks your baby is not greedy! As long as you are doing paced feeding he will be taking the right amount he needs to grow. Baby food is advertised from 4 months because it’s illegal to do so any earlier. The NHS and WHO say from 6 months to prevent the risk of developing life long digestive issues. Your baby knows how much milk he needs by volume. If you start living food which has lower calories than milk then it runs the risk that he does not get enough calories.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 30/12/2021 16:03

The only reason to wean early is for reflux and usually medically advised. Your baby isn’t greedy he’s growing- keep feeding with formula or breast milk, he’s fine.

Original poster

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 16:23

I’ve been told he should only be having 25oz of formula a day though and most days he drinks 35 and will scream if I try to give him less, I don’t want to over feed him but I’m not going to let him go hungry

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Aimee1987 · 30/12/2021 16:27

It's been a while since I gave bottles but I was under the impression the packets gave a range based on age but not a specific number. Who told you he should only have 25 oz?

Like pp pace feed to help him realise when hes full and feed him what he wants.

Shmithecat2 · 30/12/2021 16:34

Just give him more milk.

PinkWaferBiscuit · 30/12/2021 16:37

Weaning is such a faff I never understood why anyone would want to start early. We started at 5 months under guidance of health care professionals and I personally disliked every minute of it.

If your son is hungry then give him more milk, porridge or any other food isn't going to fill him up more than milk will.

CardiganBlobby · 30/12/2021 17:09

Weaning pre 6 months is ideally only fruit and veg too - nothing with anything very allergenic like gluten (in oats). Baby guts are not mature enough for anything to taxing. Anything can still be allergenic but this helps reduce chances.

Fallagain · 30/12/2021 17:34

What is his weight like? Is he following his curve?

Peaplant20 · 30/12/2021 17:52

You’d need a healthcare professional to tell you to wean that early, you shouldn’t do it without it advice from someone. Their digestive systems aren’t mature enough for food at that age so it could do damage to them in the future if you wean that early. As others have said, milk contains more calories than weaning food so it would have the opposite effect! How much he needs will depend on weight, you might want to double check 25oz is correct as when I Google how many ounces should a 3 month old have a day, it said a 13lb 3 month old would need around 32oz! So I would do a bit more research to see how much to give him.

Original poster

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 18:58

We’ve tried pace feeding and he just screams until you let him drink the way he wants to, he guzzles bottles and acts starved when fed. I looked on the tin of formula we have and it says a 3 month old should be having 25oz a day, he weighs 12lb ish but is very chunky, I didn’t know there were more calories in milk than food, I hadn’t looked into it I thought I’d ask other peoples thoughts and opinions first to try to work out what was best, the problem is he would eat every 2 hours if I let him but he’d still take 7oz because we’ve tried so then he has even more milk which means I’m massively over feeding him and I know it sounds silly but I feel so stressed because I don’t want to over feed him which I’ve been told I’m doing by my health visitor but I’m not going to let him scream cause he’s hungry 😓

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Original poster

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 19:00

His tin of formula says a 3 month old weighing 12lb should have 5 feeds a day all 5oz but he has 5 7oz feeds and on the tin it says a 6 month old should only have 4 feeds at 7oz so he’s drinking more than a 6 month old should be!!

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Mummyof2Terrors · 30/12/2021 19:03

Ignore the tin and health visitor and just feed your baby with the milk he needs. Food is a faff and puree and porridge will be lower calories than the milk so you won't solve any hunger problems. Their weight and eating all evens out eventually.

Wantabub · 30/12/2021 19:03

Does he have reflux? Silent reflux?
A lot of babies will want more milk as it settles the stomach acid but actually makes it worse due to overfeeding.
At 13 weeks your baby should be having 6oz 5/6 times a day. As long as he is growing well and not off the chart I wouldn't be stressing.
Please do not feed your baby porridge at 4 months as there is no nutritional value. Only wean early under medical supervision.
Your baby will eat when hungry.

jupitermars1345 · 30/12/2021 19:05

Mine has always had more than what the tin says.
It's a guide:)
In my experience over feeding causes vomit and spit up.
If he is hungry more milk definitely

Vicky1989x · 30/12/2021 19:24

Ignore the tin, your baby can’t read! If he’s hungry, give him more milk. My cousins boy was on 9oz bottles 5 times a day at 3 months, whereas my DD was only on 5oz 5 times a day. All babies are different.

I weaned at 5 months (under medical supervision for reflux) and honestly I wish I hadn’t. It caused more problems if anything because her stomach wasn’t ready.

Are you sure he’s hungry and not tired? The cues are very similar and I often made this mistake.

lemondrop21 · 30/12/2021 19:41

Just like adults, babies are all so different. I wouldn't personally wean at 4 months. A 3 month old won't be interested in food they are just interested in their surroundings.
Ignore the tin and feed your baby on demand. My baby is breastfed and I wouldn't have a clue how much milk she has. I feed her when she's hungry and she's growing well and growing out of her clothes every few months.
The tin is just guidance op.

thebigpurpleone · 30/12/2021 19:42

Oh my god no you don't need to wean you baby at 13 weeks unless a medical professional has advised it! Forget what the formula box says.

Timeturnerplease · 30/12/2021 19:45

Reflux isn’t the only reason for weaning early - DD2 has been weaned at 4 months because her milk intake was so low she was dropping centiles like mad. 75th to below 10th by 3 months. Investigations didn’t yield any answers, so the consultant suggested early weaning with milk based purées as an alternative to potential tube feeding. Worked a treat, she’s almost five months now and has finally got full cheeks and no longer has sparrow legs.

However, it is a massive faff at this age. We had to do it with DD1 too, who was under a dietitian for persistent vomiting and low weight gain. Waiting until they’re closer to 6 months means they can sit more confidently in a high chair, and you can just give them loads of your food to try.

GrendelsGrandma · 30/12/2021 20:00

You get just as many threads of people saying they want to wean early as their baby is underweight and doesn't drink milk!

Hold on. You risk allergies by feeding before the gut is mature enough. For a while they eat miniscule amounts and can't digest it so it comes out practically undigested anyway. Just give him milk.

Original poster

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 20:10

@Wantabub I don’t think he has reflux as he has no signs of it, I think he just gets hungry more often than I thought he would! He definitely wouldn’t be happy if I have him that much milk, he’d scream and cry all day but he’s a very happy baby so I don’t know

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Original poster

Georgia0808 · 30/12/2021 20:12

Seems like the answer to whether to begin weaning him at 4 months Is a no, I’ll just have to keep feeding him what he wants and hope that once he’s 6 months and can be weaned and once he’s walking he’ll manage to burn all the extra calories he’s taking in now off. Thanks everyone for the advice

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Danikm151 · 30/12/2021 20:13

Hold fire. Only wean early when advised by medical professionals.
The tin is just a guide. Usually it’s a certain ml of milk per kg of weight.

PinkWaferBiscuit · 30/12/2021 20:14

@Georgia0808

Honestly that's exactly what 99% of babies do. Please don't worry that he's going to be obese just because he's consuming more than the box recommends. If he's not throwing it up and he is having regular wet and dirty nappies then continue exactly as you are, he will let you know if he wants more or less as he grows.

Amammai · 30/12/2021 20:20

Honestly you cannot over feed on formula- if they take too much they’ll throw it back up! My DS was on formula until we weaned at 6 months and at one point took 50oz in a day! He always fed every 2 ish hours too, never went longer. Just how he fed. He was always around 60th centile and now as a pre-schooler is is still around the same centile. Don’t worry about them ‘burning it off’ at this age, feeding on demand is actually a good thing for weight control in later life.

HogDogKetchup · 30/12/2021 20:22

Speak to your HV or GP. I met a baby recently who started to wean at 4m at this reason, it was on medical advice.

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