Quick Question, starting to wean

[ohgoonthen]

Hi everyone,

DD is just over 4 months and is FF. Currently, she is finishing 5 8oz bottles in 24hrs which is what is recommended on the formula tin for her age.

She is very very interested in food so have started letting her have a taste of some simple purees which she loves. Shes only having a teaspoon of puree 3 times a day (for about a week now), most of which is going in and she seems to want more.

How much should I offer? I realise she is still quite young and didn't intend weaning so soon, but she has been grabbing at our food for a few weeks now!

I am worried about feeding her too many solids and interfering with her milk intake. Should I just let her have as much as she wants?
Also, when should she be lowering her milk intake in favour of solids?

Thanks

i wouldn't offer anything. i would wait until 6 months so you can be sure her gut is mature enough for it

you shouldn't be lowering her milk in favour of solids at all. she will do that herself.

babies grab at all kinds of things. it doesn't mean they are hungry or need food

thisisyesterday - Thank you for you help. I was of the same opinion as you and fully intended waiting until 6 months of later but she seems to have decided for herself that she is ready.

I know that babies grab at all kinds of things but she managed to snatch half a roast potato of DH's plate and have a good munch on it completly out of the blue which she thoroughly enjoyed!!

Her pediatrician suggested that we start her on baby rice last month which I thought was way too early (and didn't do)but she has definately developed an interest in food since then.
She has had no problems with the little tastes of food she has had so far except for the fact that she seems to want more.

I always offer her more milk than she drinks and I know that she should not be dropping her milk intake at all at such a young age, I just wondered when it is normal for a baby to have less milk and more solids.
As I said in my original post, I am worried about giving her too much solid food at 4 months.

ohgoonthen - my little boy has just turned 16 weeks and I started him on baby rice last friday. He currently has about 4 baby spoonfuls once a day (at lunchtime) and is loving it.

People will post on here telling you that you should be waiting until 6 months, but dont be put off by this - I knew the my LO was looking for something more and you know your own baby just as well.

My LO is still having the same milk he had before I started weaning (5 or 6 (dependant on what time he wakes in morning) 7-8oz bottles a day plus the baby rice/porridge at lunch). I fully believe he will tell me when he wants less milk - but with the small amounts of food he is having at the minute I shouldnt imagine his milk intake will change for a good while.

I hope it continues to go well for you! Just take it slowly and let your LO tell you how much they want.

HTH.xx

Hi ogoonthen I think the baby just decides when they want to take less milk. I'm not sure when that happens. I guess every baby is different.

My DS is just turning 8 months and has been on solids for a while. We are doing BLW (although he was 6 months before we did this, with some baby rice and then puree from 23 weeks) and some days he eats loads, some days less, but haven't really noticed milk feeds being dropped on lessened yet. I am still breastfeeding so quite hard to tell volumes. e maybe is drinking a but less at a feed and would see this if I was bottle feeding. I do one bottle at night and he is still taking 9 oz before bed. He has however, (some nights) been dropping night feeds. He seems to want a wee top up at 12ish, then is fine till 5ish.

I agree with chelle1986 you know when your baby is ready and you'll get loads of people on here saying wait for 6 months.

Don't cut down on milk yet and don't stress over how much or how little solids your LO has, its all fun at that age so go with the flow.

Thanks for the advice everyone - looks like im doing ok then!

I'm just letting her munch away as she likes and she seems happy, definately enjoying all the new tastes!

The reason I was asking about the milk feed is that on te formula tin, it seems to suggest that by 6 months she should have dropped a feed which I can't imagine her doing tbh but then again we are not in the UK, and my Greek is not so good so maybe I have got the wrong idea!

Another thing too is - should she be having some sips of water now that she is having some solids? They recommend it here as it is a hot country but since she was born the temperature has been ok so she hasn't had any. Everything I have read suggests not to give water yet but worried she may need a little now becase of extra food, even though it's only a few spoonfuls.

Thanks again x

I started weaning DS at just under 5 months, as he was very interested at food. I just used to offer him 4/5 ice cubes of puree once a day, and then give him his normal bottle - I leeft it to him to decide how much of it to drink. After 3/4 weeks I started increasing the puree, and he naturally reduced his milk intake. I think we dropped his first bottle at around 6 months.

For info, that's the advice they give here (Belgium), and I just went with the flow with DS, and he pretty much did it by himself. He then dropped another bottle (in the afternoon) at around 7.5 months, and I dropped his dreamfeed at 8 months, and replaced it with a small meal at around 5pm.

Regarding the water, I would wait until she's over 6 months. Even at 10 months DS isn't that interested in water, although I always offer it after food. Our paediatrician said that milk fed babies get all the liquid they need from milk. If they get dehydrated they'll just drink more milk.

My LO prob has between 1 and 2 ounces of cooled boiled water a day - I dont give it to him for any other reason than to get him used to the taste!

I'm so glad i've stumbled across a thread for "early" weaners as there isn't much info on here, just people saying wait till 6 months etc. My DD is nearly 19 weeks and we started her on baby rice this week. She is absolutely loving it and i haven't noticed any gut problems etc. I haven't been offering water but i'm going to the drop in clinic on Monday just to have a chat with a HV to see what we should/shouldn't be doing as info on the net seems to vary so much.

Thanks again for your advice everyone - I may wait a little bit longer to introduce water if the solids aren't going to dehydrate her but would like her to get used to it like your LO Chelle1986 as she will be roasted over the summer!

newmum001 - I completly understand how hard it is to get some advice, everyone seems to say something different and I have spent hours and hours trawling through info. only to be none the wiser! If you get a chance, please share what your HV has to say as my DD is the same age as yours

I will do, i've spent ages looking through info as well and i still haven't got a clue

Also if you're LO was born in September theres a group on Post Natal threads titled September 10 - pram addicts..... Can't remember the full title but chelle created it so she'll know. You should join, we all try to help eachother out with stuff like this on there.

I would personaly give her sips of water with her food esp as she is FF. My DS is EBF and I still found that he could get constipated very easily. I give him sips of water with each meal and he loves it. No issues with runny nappies and no hard ones either.

But, every baby is different and maybe my DS is just likely to get constipated easily.

sassles - we have actually had a few episodes of constipation (before starting solids) and im finding that solids are actually helping, some of the fruit purees are helping to keep things moving. I didn't think about constipation actually, sips of water seem like a very good idea to help with this.