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Weaning

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

Original poster

WHAT DO WE DO THEN NOT TO WEAN AT 4 MONTHS.

51 replies

45nanny · 05/11/2007 20:51

I am a nanny to a 4month old ,who isdisplaying all the signs for needing extra food. He is already having 240mls at each feed(4 feeds ,plus a 100ml top up) and is draining the bottles. He is very unsettled and is waking at night haveing been sleeping through for at least the last month. He weighs over 18lbs and is on the hungry milk . How do we give him more milk?

OP posts:
TinkerbellesMum · 05/11/2007 21:12

That isn't necessarily a sign of needing solids (I know you didn't mention it, but thought I would). He is tanking up for a growth spurt and if he was breastfed he would be causing Mummy to make more milk so that she could cope with the bigger baby she would be getting soon. Night waking is because women make more prolactin at night and babies know this. Milk has more calories and goodness in it that anything you could give him, so it is really important at this point.

I didn't FF, so I'm not sure the answer to this. I went through times when Tink was permanently attached (45 mins in each hour) so I can't imagine how hard it is to get milk in when you have to make the bottles.

Habbibu · 05/11/2007 21:18

Could you post this on Breast/bottle feeding as well? I breastfed too, so I don't know how you handle growth spurts with formula, but someone there might know.

DynamiteDaisy · 05/11/2007 21:20

My DD started doing all this at about 19 weeks and was waking where she had been sleeping through. I was BFing her constantly so after some well meaning advice from family members and a chat with my HV I gave her some baby rice twice a day. It worked for all of three days....then she started waking and feeding at night again again and refusing any solids.....now at 22 weeks she is back sleeping through the night again, and if food is offered will accept it, but is just as happy without. We let her have a suck on some veg now and again, but only when we are having it. Not a lot goes in, and she is perfectly happy with milk.

I wish I'd followed my instincts to not give anything rather than bow to HV and family pressure, as now I can't say she was exclusively BF till 6 mo.

ruddynorah · 05/11/2007 21:24

what happens if you give 5 feeds? is there a reason you're sticking to 4?

Pinkveto · 05/11/2007 21:30

Er, isnt the really obvious answer to give more frequent feeds? If the baby needs more milk, it cant take more volume in one sitting than its stomach can hold. Hence it needs more frequent feeds. And if that means one in the night, it means one in the night.

So if you're feeding 4 hourly try 3 hourly during the day. Add one in at "dream feed" time (I assume that is the 100 ml top up - give more volume then) and or feed over night.

haychee · 05/11/2007 21:35

Both of mine were weaned at 4months with no ill effects.
Both did what this lo in the op is doing.
I went with my gut instinct and started with baby rice and then some powdered foods, cereals etc.
They both loved it.

We moved on to finger foods and more substantial meal type foods at about 6months.

We had no further problems.

MuddlingThru · 05/11/2007 21:45

I held off weaning until 6 months. My ds could chug down 6 bottles per day. From memory timings were 7, 10.30, 2, 5, 6.30, 10.30. HTH.

oldwomanwholivedinashoe · 05/11/2007 21:48

No reason to wean before 6 mths. Just increase milk feed frequency and amount when necessary until then. He's just having a growing spurt, nothing more.

seeker · 05/11/2007 21:50

I understand that people can have "gut feelings" about this, but all the medical advice all over the world says that it is better for babies in terms of gut development and allergies and intolerances to be exclusively milk fed to 6 months.

I don't know anything about formula feeding, but it would seem logical to give him another feed. Is that doable?

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 21:51

if he's already being topped up with formula then there's no reason to wait until 6 months. the evidence (such as it is) is all about exclusive breastfeeding, not mixed breast and formula. as long as he is over 4 months, wean him.

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 21:52

seeker: no it doesn't. A lot of medical advice says it is better to exclusively breastfeed to 6 months. not all medical advice says that, and the evidence for it isn;t as strong as you'd think.

MrsBadger · 05/11/2007 21:53

er, senora, I'm not sure that's quite true.
just cause he's had formula hence no longer has a 'virgin gut' isn't a reason to start giving more things.

MrsBadger · 05/11/2007 21:54

...but I may be wrong

MrsBadger · 05/11/2007 21:54

...but I may be wrong

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 21:57

it's no reason not to wean though. 18lbs is big. I'm not sure ds2 is that big yet.

the evidence for 6 month weaning is all about exclusive vs non exclusive breastfeeding, and was almost all collected in developing countries anyway.

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 21:58

...and personally I'd rather give a baby a bit of rice than give him more formula.

ConnorTraceptive · 05/11/2007 21:58

I think babies typically have a growth spurt around this time so I would put it down to that rather than needing solids. Would just increase frequency of feeds first and see how that goes. DS was a very large baby but didn't need solids before 6 months

TinkerbellesMum · 05/11/2007 21:58

The advice I read said breast or formula. A child develops in the same way however they feed and they react to a growth spurt in the same way however they feed.

When formula was introduced in the 1950s it couldn't sustain a child till six months (hence puree became popular) but today it can. It is not breastmilk and could never be, but it is a good subsitute.

haychee · 05/11/2007 21:59

Mine were breast fed to 3months, weaned on to formula. Top ups at first then replacing entire breast feeds with formula.

At 4months they wanted more, where still hungry after a feed and waking in the night. I tried increasing both quantity (which didnt work they couldnt physically hold the extra amount in theor stomachs) and number of feeds, which did work but only briefly, then we were back to square one.

I wasnt happy with it, i was told to hold off weaning then i spoke to an older relative who just said, oh give them some rice.
I tried it and they loved it and it worked. They slept longer, they were far more content, and i was happier.
Problem solved.

I did drag out the weaning process until they were 6months and then went off full steam ahead and havnt looked back.
I was concious of the research and what the health visitor was saying so took it all really slowly.

TinkerbellesMum · 05/11/2007 22:00

It is untrue that evidence for feeding was gathered in developing countries.

How many calories do you think are in baby rice? Or carots? Or formula? If you were on a diet, which one would you be cutting out?

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 22:02

ttinkerbellesmum - there have been some studies in developed countries but they were all either very small scale or inconclusive. the good studies were all in developing countries.

TinkerbellesMum · 05/11/2007 22:04

There have been plenty of studies done in this country.

SenoraPostrophe · 05/11/2007 22:05

not big ones with control groups, there haven't.

Lulumamaintheskywithfireworks · 05/11/2007 22:08

in answer to how to give him more milk..

give him more feeds

why only 4 feeds a day and a top up?

4 a day for a 16 week old is not that much

if BF, really , demand feeding is the way to go, with the supply then matching the demand, which often increases around this time... growth spurt...

if bottle fed, then adding an extra ounce to each bottle, then if that is drained, adding antoher

4 feeds is not a lot at this age, that is why he is unsettled and not sleeping thorugh, IMO
i bottle fed both of mine, and they were certainly on more than 4 bottles a day

hungry baby milk might be giving him a tummy ache, hence being unsettled

seeker · 05/11/2007 22:10

But even if I'm wrong about exclusive milk feeding,(which I don't think I am) if you want to get more calories into a baby so that it sleeps longer, then I would have thought milk was better than pureed carrots any day!