stressed and confused! (long)

[Ahardmanisgoodtofind]

ds is 6months, started on purees at 4.5month on h.v advice. he loves his purees but seems to just "drink" them off the spoon. i started 2days ago on hipp organic stage 2 foods (until im a bit more confident in getting the texture right when home cooking), but he coughs and spits most of it out, should i wait until 7months before giving him lumpy food? he has (almost) one tooth through and my HV said once this appears he's ready for "proper" food, which sounds odd to me?also i'm still breast feeding, but he doesnt seem satisfied after a feed, he wont take water or juice at meals(or any other time) and i'm worried he's getting dehydrated. i want to start weaning him from breast but i dont know how, i cant get to see a hv for 2weeks, and i literally know no one who has breast fed at all!(i was the only person in my breastfeeding class)i dont have a clue about formula or how much he should get or how to wean.any advice is welcome. any at all!!!

Maybe you could try given him finger foods? Sounds like he is just sucking/swallowing and hasn't learned to chew.

Your HV is wrong about teeth btw - babies can bite and chew without them!

With switching to formula you can try switching one breastfeed for a bottle feed every few days - this will give you supply time to adjust so you don't end up with mastitis. I think a 6 month old needs at least 500-600ml of milk a day.

thank a million times over!im (obviously)a first time mum and the only advice i keep getting, is "put rusks in his bottle" as an answer to everything and anything!
may be is a stupid question, but what sort of finger foods are best?and will he choke if he manages to bite a chunk off? sorry if i sound a bit daft

Re the weaning off the breast, I have not long done this - what I did was to drop one BF per week and had no problems with engorgement etc.

Having said that, why do you want to wean? You seem to be saying it is because you are worried he is dehydrated? Breast milk is very hydrating and if he's not having much in terms of solids he will be fine. Formula will not hydrate him more than BM.

He shouldn't choke, no, although he might gag. You might want to take an infant first aid course so if he gets into trouble you can help him, but the odds are he'll cope.

I'd start him on banana and soft boiled vegetable sticks, and then maybe move onto toast, strips of meat, pasta.

Do you want to move onto bottles? If not, the breastfeeding won't do him any harm. If he's thirsty, he'll drink. If you offer him water at mealtimes he'll be fine.

Agreed your HV is wrong about the teeth - just as well given that my girls didn't get teeth until they were one!

Not daft at all! I started weaning my ds at 22 weeks, with a mix of finger foods and mashed stuff off a spoon. First things I gave were brocolli florets (he can hold the stem and nibble the top), steamed sticks of carrots/courgettes, roasted parsnip and sweet potato wedges. He also likes toast with hummus/soft cheese, rice cakes.

The choking thing is a worry, but they're good at gagging back up anything that is too big - a baby's gag reflex is more sensitive and further forward in their mouth than an adult's. Apparently they're less likely to choke on food if they're in control and put it in their mouths themselves, so don't be tempted to put anything in his mouth for him.

Don't be suprised if they eat very little at first and just play with it or suck it - they're still learning about how to deal with proper food.

tbh i dont really want to stop bfing, but my supply just doesnt seem to be there, he will feed and feed but just doesnt seem satisfied at all, plus im due back to work soon and expressing has been a failure.
i'm such a worrier, i will defo be taking the first aid advice!
so good to get proper advice for a change,thank you!!!!

How long has he not been seeming satisfied by bf-ing? My daughter gets very feedy and needy when she has a cold, or when she is about to have a big developmental leap. It normally only lasts a few days. 6m is a classic growth spurt time.

If he has been feeding fine up to now it may simply be some underlying grouchiness making him seem unsatisfied rather than that bf-ing isn't meeting his needs. No harm in offering formula too/instead but it may not make much difference. Babies are sensible and he won't let himself become dehydrated, if he's thirsty he'll want to drink more.

There is some evidence that babies are at less risk of choking if finger foods and lumps are introduced early on. My DD (8.5m but she's been on finger foods since 6m and doesn't yet have any teeth) is pretty good at biting or sucking off chunks of veg or fruit, rolling it round her mouth and then spitting it out if it is too big to swallow. Now she has a pincer grip she sometimes retrieves the small lumps of food from her bib and has another go (yum).