giving a baby of 12 weeks anything other than food is plain wrong UNLESS under paediatrician advice.
your health visitor was absolutely 100 % wrong to advise that
as has been stated current guidelines are around 6 months to wean and never before 17 weeks
giving rusk , which contains gluten before 6 months , is not a good idea.
i am sorry you feel jumped on, but weaning too early, without correct medical supervision could cause problems with your baby in the future
you can do no harm at all by waiting to wean, but there is a tiny chance you could create problems by weaning early, that is not a judgement on you as a mother, you went on the advice of your HV, which you should be able to trust
however, she was wrong, and why advise you to wean with a particular brand? you can mnake your own food much cheaper.. methinks she has had some undue influence!
sambo2 weaned under 2 specialists, you are weaning under the incorrect advice of a HV
a bottle fed baby of 4 months needs more milk, he is taking less milk as his stomach is full of food, and milk should be the main source of nutrition for the first year., so reducing milk intake at this age is wrong.
the physical signs of gut maturity and ability to digest safely, food other than milk, as milk is a baby's food, are :
sitting unaided
good head control
loss of tongue thrust reflex
pincer grip
ability to pick up, chew and swallow a piece of food
if your baby is showing those signs, then carry on ! but not with any products with gluten in, if not, then stop
you asked how much food a 4 month old should be having , the answer according to the NHS and the DoH is none
following bad advice from a HV does not make you a bad mother
ignoring the correct advice, well, it's up to you, but your baby might simply not be pysically able to digest food and you might not know if there are any problems for 10 or 20 years down the line
also, do not ever add anything to the bottles, whether rusk or rice, however sloppy