A little bit of baby porridge at 19 weeks?

[Bluemamma]

Hi mums, is it too early to give a little baby porridge at 19 weeks? By little I mean literally 1 or 2 teaspoons of runny porridge. My baby is not a great eater and he takes 4-6 oz every 3 hours but he’s just not a baby that loves milk. He loves gripe water and gets very excited when he see it so maybe he would love something more tasty than milk…He’s obviously not seating but I’m thinking of giving him little spoon in his bouncy chair (did that with my first baby at 5 months) I know baby rice is aweful and has no nutritional value but what about flavoured baby porridge? He had reflux which is now a lot better than it used to be so that could help him further?

Both of ours were weaned at 17 weeks but it was because of medical issues - DD1 had severe reflux resulting in several hospitalisations, and DD2 dropped right to the bottom of the centile charts due to milk refusal.

We did have guidance from a dietitian, but the above posters are right in that it didn’t seem too much of a big deal to the consultants - they don’t take 6 months as gospel.

I would say that it’s not easy to wean so early in terms of them being very small in highchairs etc (luckily my girls were/are early sitters), but it did absolutely transform their attitude to eating. DD2 in particular went from taking around 10oz of milk in 24 hours at 16 weeks to taking around 20oz now at 6 months, plus three dairy-fortified meals.

Someone said about mixing (zero nutrient) rice/porridge in with their milk?! Is that not actively dangerous?

OP just look at peer reviewed studies, or basic NHS or WHO advice on early weaning.

Advice has been to start weaning at around 26 weeks for over 20 years. Whatever you do please don’t feed a baby in a bouncy seat as they need to sat up right.

Mine were both weaned at 4/5 months
They are now two healthy boys at 17 &20 years old
Both loved their food, I started with baby rice and fruit at lunch time

milk was not enough 9oz bottles 6 times a day 😬

You absolutely shouldn't unless on medical advice.
DD has CMPA; I'm in a group with lots of people who are advised to wean early by consultants but even then under 6 months it's fruit and veg puree only. Absolutely no wheat/gluten prior to 6 months.

We were told at post natal group 17 years ago not to give porridge under 6 months because of the gluten. I just googled and the current UK government advice seems to still be the same

It was an NHS post natal group

My understanding was that the incidences of allergies when older is much increased when weaning before 6 months. If he's not hungry, why are you looking to start early?

A chat with the GP sounds smart. Good luck!

Thanks everyone, I will wait till 6 months or as close as possible as long as he is still gaining weight. Chatting to GP today too 👍🏼

Isn’t it quite normal for a 19 week old baby to want a night feed? To be honest I doubt a little baby rice (not flavoured porridge) will do your DS any harm (my children were all weaned by 5 months) but if he’s gaining weight ok I would question your reasons for it.