Started weaning at 16+5!

[LadyCarCar]

Really just posting for tips and info / advice.

So as title, started today. Have given one spoon of rice with milk for brekky and then botles as usual and one more spoon of rice for he 'dinner' time feed.

He doesnt really know whats going on. When we usually feed (bottle) IF the bottle comes out for whatever reason; you move, he sucks the teat in - then he will WAIL like a banshee.

When he is ready for a bottle, the second you sit down with him, as he knows the bottle is coming, he will WAIL till the teat is in his mouth.

As i was decided to give the rice first, as we sat down - he started wailing!! He did it between every mouthful and i ended up having to let him drink milk to stop the crying and get him to swallow/drink down the rice.

On the plus he didnt spit or puke any up!

Is there anyway to perhaps stop this wailing - im figuring perhaps feed him baby rice at a non-bottle time, so that he understands the difference - but would this throw him out of sorts?

Thanks

[LadyCarCar]

Omg - i came to these forums as being recommended - and having read the books! I am actually shocked at the way you are attacking me and yes - i have reported your posts.

Good day.

[Sidge]

If he's draining a 6 oz bottle then give him more milk. That will provide him with more calories and nutrition than a spoonful of baby rice.

I can't imagine for a moment that a single spoon of baby rice before a bottle twice a day is going to satiate him enough to go longer between feeds.

Also it's pretty warm nowadays, maybe he's thirsty every 2 hours and so wants a drink?

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Well you asked for advice and you got it. You can't really be surprised if you are doing something that these days is recognised as not advisable unless there are specific medical reasons. You haven't said if you've actually spoken to a HV or dietician about it, and there are other posters on here saying that they gave more than 6x6oz bottles at this age as that's what their children were demanding.

It's going to be difficult to get many replies supporting what you are doing as moast people don't do this for good reasons.

[EricNorthmansMistressOfPotions]

Ciao bye bye I'm sure you will find some advice more to your liking over here

[YaMaYaMa]

Sorry, OP, but it sounds like you just can't be arsed feeding him milk so often. Why bother asking for advice at all if you believe you're doing the right thing?

If he wants more milk, give it to him ffs!

[mum23girlys]

LadyCarCar my hv told me to wean at 16 weeks. Current guidelines she has actually say anything after 17 weeks or 4 months is perfectly safe though they prefer you to wait till 6 months. But my dd (8mths) was taking 12 oz at EVERY feed and was feeding every 2hrs. She was guzzling the milk so fast she was giving herself pains too. I started with a little baby rice same as you. She is just a big baby and was super hungry. She's 26lbs so still big, her weight has steadied a bit now tho. Hv really felt she needed something a bit more than just milk. So much mixed advice out there it's hard to know what to do, but I'm a firm believer in mum knows best.

Best of luck and enjoy your little one

[RitaMorgan]

If he drains a 6oz bottle, then add an extra oz - it might just be a growth spurt, but babies do need to increase their milk intake as they get bigger.

I think you are worrying unnecessarily about him gaining weight. Could you get some medical advice?

[Choufleur]

Ds was weaned at 17 weeks by that point he was drinking 10oz every two hours. You could hear it sloshing around in his tummy. He was a big baby and was hungry. Baby rice is revolting though. Don't blame lots of babies not liking it.

I think you could up his milk a bit and see if he goes a bit longer.

[Icoulddoitbetter]

If the OP would just say whether or not she'd spoken to a HV about this then I'd more inclined to be sympathetic. Babies definitely aren't one size fits all, and books will only take you so far. But research is done for a reason. Just because I'm a mum doesn't mean that I know exactly what is best for my DS all the time!

[mum23girlys]

Sorry just noticed he's only taking a 6oz bottle. Definately try an extra oz or 2 in it before early weaning. As i said it was my hv that told me to wean at 4 months but dd was demolishing way over 60oz in a day at the time

[RitaMorgan]

If babies are drinking 10-12oz bottles every 2 hours then obviously something has to give, but 6x6oz bottles sounds pretty normal for an almost 4 month old!

[TandB]

Um, I would be surprised if MNHQ are particularly upset about a series of posts all giving you perfectly mainstream advice.

Without being sarcastic, perhaps MN isn't for you if you only want support or advice that agrees with what you want to do anyway.

There are other forums that go in for telling you whatever you want to do is fine, but MN isn't one of them. It is one of the best sources of sensible advice though. Pity you aren't seeing that.

[Iggly]

Chuckled at the OP's post about following manuals yet she is talking about going closer to 4 hours and won't increase milk as I assume somewhere it says how much a baby "should" have

You've got good advice OP - more milk and solids after milk feeds - that way he learns how to handle solids without being starving and therefore upset. Then as he gets uses to it you can swap around.

[ragged]

i think stuffing him full of milk is a lot worse than using a minimal amount rice to keep him satiated a little while longer.

But...er, why? Not because milk is a bad thing for him, so must be something else. Because the frequent feeds are too time consuming? I have heard that formula can be very tricky to make right.

[Emandwilliam]

Hi OP, you're the mum so you choose what to do, but be open to the advice you've been given, after all you did ask for it and I'd say all the advise was generally spot on.

Ps...sometimes you need a thick skin on mumsnet.

Good luck x

[seeker]

Just because "you're the mum" doesn't mean you're not going to do breathtakingly stupid things. Like trying to restrict a 4 month old's calorie intake by stuffing him with baby rice.

[Emandwilliam]

Yes I understand that Seeker and I don't necessarily believe what she is doing is correct, but she came here for advise (whether she's listened or not I don't know- I really hope she did) but if every time someone asks a question and MNers shoot them down because what they are doing is "wrong" they are less likely to come back for guidance. Being a new mum is hard, we are ment to be helping not driving them away!

[Bonkerz]

Weaning is a tricky subject. My ds1 and dd were both weaning by 8 weeks. Ds2 is now 11 weeks old and taking 6x6oz a day sometimes more but he has a dairy intolerance and also reflux so if I give him more milk per bottle he is sick as his stomach cannot hold that much milk. We are due to see a dietician at 16 weeks to start weaning but my health visitor is now saying she thinks baby rice at Lunch time will help with his reflux and also help him to spread his feeds out.

It really does depend on the baby.
I think it was in nursery world that I read an article about how later weaning of babies ie exclusively milk fed till 6 months... Has increased the allergy and intolerance rate. Can't be sure where I read it though.

[Iggly]

Bonkerz - problem with that theory of feeding milk until 6 months is that most babies are actually weaned before 6 months so it cant be attributable to increased allergies. Also we are told no protein/gluten/dairy before 6 months which most people do follow when weaning before 6 months so it could actually be that causing more allergies.