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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

weaning: purees and breastmilk vs solids and formula?

13 replies

temmy99 · 13/01/2007 20:10

I have totally bf my ds for 4 mths and everything has been fine. But then he started waking up during the night (he used to sleep throughout from 2mths) and I assumed that maybe the milk was no longer filling so I started to mix breastmilk with baby rice around mid morning and he ate it well. I also started buying the pureed jar foods and he finishes it at each sitting but he is still waking up at night. should I now give in to formula milk which everyone around me thinks I should be feeding him as I am due to return to work in the next couple of weeks. I have tried the expressing but not only can I not manage more than a couple of ozs, my ds is not interested in the bottle. Is this what weaning is about or am I suppose to sweat it out until when he is 6 mths old and give him something to grate his gums on! Any advice or experiences will be deeply considered. thanks

OP posts:

NannyL · 13/01/2007 21:08

does he have a dream feed? one around 10pm / 11pm?

if so change that one to formular and you will (probably ) find he sleeps through for longer...

maybe try a few nights on the 1st one (ie sma gold) and if that doesnt work go for one for 'hungrier babies' eg sma white which will be more filling and hopefully see him through until morning!

lulumama · 13/01/2007 21:23

i would dithc the purees and get as much milk into him as possible, wait until 6 months old and go the BLW route as not pureeing or mashing, just finger foods and giving baby what you eat, so much less hassle

milk and more milk is sufficient at this age.

hungry baby milk can give LO:s constipation, so keep an eye if you do switch.. an extra milk feed will be more filling and calorific than a jar of puree x

AitchTwoOhOhSeven · 13/01/2007 21:51

well done for bfing temmy, is it something that you want to give up or are people around you telling you that you'll need to?
you could look at giving formula when your baby is in childcare and feeding morning and night, maybe? a lot of my friends found that worked really nicely for them. that would supplement your EBM...
with regards to the food, lulu's right when she says that milk, be it bm or has more calories.
my baby was really happy waiting until 6 months on bm and formula (didn't really crack the exclusive bfing) and while she mostly slept through she did go through wee patches of waking up too but they always settled down.

this is completely dependent on how long you want to bf for, but while i might introduce a dream feed, i wouldn't make it formula if you want to keep up the bfing after you go back to work.

good luck, whatever you decide.

DizzyBint · 13/01/2007 21:52

it's the 4 month growth spurt surely? no need for solids.

CanStarveWillStarve · 13/01/2007 21:55

It's a myth that formula fed babies automatically sleep better. It's very very common for babies to wake more between 4 and 5 months, as it's huge growth period for them.

Babies also wake for more reasons than just being hungry.

I agree with lulu that you should stop weaning him, stick with milk only until 6 months, and then do blw.

And finally, at your bf baby sleeping through from 2 months - this is very unusual!!!

Original poster

temmy99 · 14/01/2007 11:26

Thanks everyone for your advice, my ds is due to start nursery when I return to work in Feb so I really need to sort this out. I guess I have got used to having my uninterrupted sleep from 11pm to 6am, so now having to get up again during the night is becoming a nightmare although once he bf he goes straight back to sleep. My problem now is not so much bf or formula but getting him to take the bottle at least during the day because if he is going to be away from me he needs to be fed somehow, I still intend to bf mornings and evenings any more ideas out there, please?

OP posts:

MassiveBoobs · 14/01/2007 13:21

My LO slept through from 6 weeks and started waking at just before 4 months. I'm lucky enough to be able to express and when I left him with MIL for DH's 30th bday she told me he hardly took any milk in the morning (so much easier when you can see it!!) so I've started giving him a dummy when he wakes up - this is really working and we've had a couple of 12-6 nights recently . From what I can gather it's a phase to do with the adjustment in percentages of REM and non-REM sleep.

As for bottle refusal - could you go straight to a cup?

AitchTwoOh · 14/01/2007 14:43

if he'll be at the weaning stage when he goes to nursery there shouldn't be a problem with him eating food and water until he sees you again. Loads of my friends did that. [simle]

cruisemum1 · 16/01/2007 21:12

interesting. I am visiting from another thread (sleep is for the weak) and fascinated by the theory about babies adjusting to different REM/NON REM sleep cycles. I may seek out more info on this on the web as ds is taking a definite turn for theworse sleepwise lately and he has just turned 4 mths!

fluffyanimal · 17/01/2007 12:50

Temmy, with regard to getting him to take a bottle: I had a big battle with my ds over this at about 5 months - I wasn't going back to work but just wanted to have some time to myself occasionally, and I hadn't weaned him yet. There are two brands of bottle which people seem to have success with for babies which initially refuse bottle: Nuk, and Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature. Both have unusual shaped teats which are supposed to make the transition from breast to bottle easier. I used the TT ones. I think the thing to do is pick a brand and stick to it, and offer it at the same time each day, middle of the day is best when ds is not too hungry or too tired. I also couldn't express more than about 2oz at a time but I used this to get him used to bottle and then I gradually mixed in a bit of formula to get him used to taste. Keep on trying and you'll get there.

cruisemum1 · 17/01/2007 13:03

temmy - i second fluffy on the tommy tippee bottles., ds just did not know how to suck from a normal teat ( exclusively bf) but he managed wel with the tt ones

Tweetz · 17/01/2007 13:12

Try Mams bottles too, theyre pretty good. A bit fiddly to wash though! Avent are the worst!

Original poster

temmy99 · 17/01/2007 13:20

Thanks fluffy and cruisemum. I have only used the TT brand and it is a game of chance as sometimes he takes it and sometimes he doesn't. However, by chance having returned from a hot climate hol, I noticed that he was constantly thirsty with the heat so I have brought him a TT cup to sip water from (and rub his gums on at the same time) and he does take a bit. I also offer water to him during the night (maybe it might discourage him to get up, I wish!!!) but yet to try the cup with milk, will let you know how I get on. thanks.

OP posts:

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