Ready for Weaning?

[Vegasgirl]

DD is 5 months and one week and FF. She is a good eater and drinks very fast and is on 7oz 5-6 times a day every 3-4 hours depending on whether or not she takes the full 7 oz each time. Just recently there have been a few changes to her habits which make me think she may be ready to be weaned.

-she has started messing about when drinking, looking around playing with the teat with her tongue, smiling etc. She used to take her bottle very seriously- growling if it was taken away to give her a break from her guzzling! She still more or less drinks the same each day but maybe less in the morning then loads in the evening.

-She has started to wake up earlier in the morning i.e 5.30 instead of 7.00.

-The last few nights she has become overtired and really upset at bedtime, fighting sleep even though we have followed her normal routine.

-She is facinated by us eating now.

Would it be worth trying a bit of baby rice with her? Or maybe she needs to go up to bigger feeds less often? She is on Dr Brown no2 teats and doesn't seem to have any problem getting the milk out,like I say she is normally a quick drinker and still is for some bottles, she just doesn't seem as interested sometimes.

Thanks

BTW she is 23 weeks and on Comfort formula.

Signs to look at are sitting reliably (this can be with support) with good head control, loss of tongue thrust reflex, ability to pick up, put to mouth, chew and swallow food.

Watching you eat and mimicking is nothing (they watch you use a knife and drive a car, they just like you) and waking more frequently/fussing is just developmental.

At that age, there's not much need for starting with rice, unless you prefer to do that. You can put some well cooked veg in front of them and see what they do, theory being that if they can eat it, they will.

If she's sitting well (even if not completely unaided, but sitting up straight on your lap for example) and able to hold her head without wobbling, and seems interested, then try putting some banana/broccoli/steamed carrot sticks in front of her and see what happens.

If she picks it up, bites a bit off and swallows it then she's ready to wean. If she still has a tongue-thrust reflex and just pushes the food out again then she isn't. If she just licks or sucks it but doesn't eat any, then I'd say it's fine to just sit her with you at mealtimes and let her play with food for the time being.

Thanks for the replies.

She can sit up supported and has good head control, she wobbles and dribbles a bit in her Bumbo and sometimes spits up so I don't keep her in it very long. She brings toys to her mouth. She can lift a spoon and bring it towards her mouth.

I am a wee bit daunted by it all tbh but I like the idea of baby rice and pureed vegetables as it sounds an idiot proof but healthy way to start. I want to make my own baby food and move on quickly to family meals, but cooking from scratch will be a learning curve for me as we would tend towards M+S ready meals normally .

I like the idea of offering her a piece of veg as well though, I may try that soon. Thanks.