Starting on solids

[waiting4bambino]

I know all the books say that you should start solids at 4 months, but is there any risk in starting them earlier, say at 12 weeks? My baby seems hungrier than usual and i was wondering whether to introduce a rusk into her last bottle? Has anyone else done this? Also, could i be at risk of making her overweight if i do this?

Bye wildfish. Nice reading you.
See you again soon ??

i'm off too, can't be bothered with this any longer.
my DH thinks it's a pile of shite in here too.
Oh, before i go, so what when DD can turn over? am i supposed to turn her onto her back every time? I'm not getting up to check on her every hour through the night.

VS, you really should change your name to judgeandjury.

Give her more milk? When she had a feed an hour before bedtime? OK then.

Erm , yes, if she is crying for hunger, then she is hungry, just she isn't physically ready to take anything but milk, so if you want to satisfy her hunger, feed her.
It's a pretty simple idea really.

calling me simple now huh.

she's not crying for hunger. I know her cries. she's not happy with it.
But i will try it tonight cos DH has suggested seeing if she'll go on her back to sleep.
which i'm off to do now.
cheerio and goodnight.
I will re-read this in the morning.

As I am only singular, Judge or Juror would be more appropriate.
Though, how anyone can claim not to judge on these threads is talking nonsense, how can you not judge someone who is going against all guidelines to make their life easier anything other than selfish?
I only hope waiting4bambino doesn't listen to any of this anecdotal rubbish and instead listens to scientific fact.

Imawurzel, have you tried swaddling? It may be her startle reflex waking her on her back.
And, no I wasn't calling you simple, just the idea of feeding a hungry baby, simple.

it's not her startle reflex either.
I was joking about you calling me simple.
i know you weren't really, or were you

No, I may call people's opinions or choices names, but not people themselves

Seriously, I can understand getting no sleep is shit, and trying to do anything to combat that is human, but please read and research before you go against the guidelines, they are there for a reason.

VS, you can be condescending in your posts and you could have been a bit nicer to Imawurzel and still get your point across. Also,why feel the need to correct my grammar?

I personally think there are ways to disagree with someone without going for the jugular.

LOL.
I was being pedantic, as I'm sure you can gather.

As often said, you cannot see the tone, just guess at it, and possibly project.

There is a poster who came on here asking for help wrt feeding her baby early, she was told by a few posters to basically go ahead and do it, with no thought as to her child's health.

I shall not sit by and watch it happen without putting across science based evidence rather than old fishwives tales of how it was way back when.

VS I understand your exasperation. FWIW, I didn't think you were being condescending, I think you were trying to educate.

I find this a very emotive subject indeed because it's people making decisions for vulnerable babies. It's extremely frustrating to read multiple posts explaining the guidelines and trying to advise in a pleasant manner and then to see an anecdotal post undermining all of the extremely good and concerned advice. Even worse, it is often that thread that is listened to.

And 'parental instinct'? It is not relevant here. It isn't.

It's no good. I'm about it actually. Why doesn't anybody want to listen?

PS When your baby can roll on its own, it doesn't matter how it sleeps as it can right itself.

That post that is listened to. Sheesh!

Who are you btw flaminnora?
I do hate it when people change their name and I don't know who I'm talking to.

LOL VS, great minds!

(Finish answering later, just off to blow some things up!)

I agree with Showofhands. VS you have been a lot nicer than I wanted to be!

Can those of you who are talking about this just have a quick nose at my thread? It's called LULU.

Please be gentle as i'm at my wits end.

Have done LS.

Bloody hell! I opened up a can of worms here havent i?! I've listened to all your advice, will look at the links you've given me, and will not be giving my baby any solids until 6 months! It's so tempting to watch her taste something but milk it is!! Hope i havent made anyone argue!

I'm really pleased with your decision, really none of my business but I think you made the right call.

am glad...as long as you have made an informed decision, then great! ride out the growth spurts and just enjoy her babyhood x

Don't worry, it's a regular thread and gets the same reaction everytime

Apologies for reigniting this, but does all of this mean that if a breastfed baby does seem super-hungry before 6 months, it would be better to give formula to supplement bf rather than solids?

I ask because DS1 was weaned at around 20 weeks (feel a bit about this now, reading all of these posts - but it's done now) after a horrendous growth spurt which resulted in him feeding voraciously day and night for over a week before I caved in and introduced solids. I tried to feed through it, but it came on top of months of awful sleepless nights since he was born (he was a shocking sleeper - ), and it just felt like too much, me and DH were already like zombies as it was and couldn't face continuing on so little sleep. Selfish, undoubtedly, but it felt like the right decision at the time...

We dickered with giving formula then, but it seemed better to give good quality (organic!) solids rather than formula, which I was v keen to avoid. But I presume that this was wrong, and that formula would have been the lesser of two evils, as it were? Want to get it right for DS2 (only 14 weeks at the mo)!

Just more breast milk

Seriously. Unless you are finding it too exhausting and then by all means use formula too if you want to but breast milk is better than formula so if you can physically do it, then that's the better option. the thing to do is to not stress and remember that there's an enormous growth spurt at around 6 months which they start stocking up for from 4+ months. It's all completely normal and it doesn't mean that you will run out of milk /that your milk isn't good enough. It is. It's perfect in every way.

Co-sleeping is a good way to get through those times and lying down to feed in the day as you can snooze. We're always surprised when people say about lack of sleep and surprise people that we didn't lack sleep. I had nurse-ins that went on for days (and nights) and it got me through it. I would also plan food and drink in a down time (45 mins on and 15 mins off) so that I was stocked for when I couldn't move. I also had my food cut up for me so I could eat with one hand and only ate main meals when people were there to help me. A sling can also help.

There's far more calories and available nutrients in milk than in solids, so if you are really desperate then it is better to give some formula than to give solids to a baby who isn't showing any signs of readiness. I'd also take this time to pump so that you don't have to always rely on formula if you would prefer not to use it.