At what age did you start your baby on solids?? Not sure my lo will make it to 6 months!!

[zulubump]

My dd is 18 weeks tomorrow. Just last week I was thinking how satisfied she seemed on breastmilk (sleeping well at night, putting on weight etc) and that it would be a while before she required solids. Then in last couple of days she has started waking at night for feeds again and generally seems ravenous. Am bit taken by surprise! I was in no rush to start solids, but I don't want her hungry and unhappy either.

I don't know anyone with a baby that has waited until the recommended six months? Is it realistic? Am curious what age people have introduced solids for their lo's and what they took to be the signs that they were ready?

Have only read the OP and will share my experience. I started to wean DS at 20 weeks due to various factors.

• He went from sleeping well at night to waking hourly.
• He moved from bfeeding every 4 hours in the day to every 3 hours to every 2 1/2 hours (and I have tons of milk so supply not an issue) and he would still grizzle and seem unsatisfied.
• He started to reach for the food on my plate etc etc

I had dropped night feeds at 12 weeks and was reluctant to reintroduce nighttime feeding. Also the regularity with which i was starting to feed DS during the day was becoming tough for both him and I - he simply didnt want the breast that often.
He had started this at 18 weeks and I rode it out for 2 weeks to see if it would resettle and pass. It didnt, I went to see my GP who discussed it all with me and gave me the green light to start weaning.

I have taken my time, only added small amounts of food (per the GF early weaning plan) - ensuring DS gets his full milk feeds first with the food being a top up. He is a different baby. Loves his food and is sleeping much better at night. I had to balance up pros and cons of weaning early - I was fully aware of why the guidelines state 26 weeks; and if longer term DS has any health issues, as I am sure some posters will have written on here - I will wonder if it is associated with weaning at 20 weeks.

A lot of people on previous threads I have read can be quite militant about early weaning (and yes, they have a right to based on the clear evidence that spells out the risks). But for me and my DS, so far it has worked a dream. And I too know no one who has managed to make it to 26 weeks without introducing solids.

HTH

Have they changed the guidelines for this?
When my dds were babies (10 0r so years ago) the recommendation was to wean at 16 weeks/ 4 months)which I did. There is no way they could have waited till 6 months. They were ravenous- feeding constantly and waking through the night having previously slept through.

BTW Both dds (now 9 and 11) are very healthy and happy.

What is the reason for waiting till 6 months anyway? Not being awkward just interested.

Helo Zulu.

I had this sort of dilemma last wk. Though a bit different to your baby.

My ds is 20 wks and although he was very settled after milk feeds, he has started showing a real interest in us and our food. I posted on here too as i really wanted to wait for 6 mths and do BLW.

aNYWAY, bascially i have started letting him have bits of our food just when we have our dinner(to keep him occuppied more really) and he is getting used to holding it and feeding himself.

Yesterday i did him some chunks of carrot and sweet pototo which he chomped on during our dinner!

My ds doesnt need more milk, thats for sure as i know he wouldnt take it, so im just gonna do things as i am for now and follow his pace.

My first ds was weaned before 4mths as per guidelines then. Hes a very healthy boy. Eats anything and no allergies etc and no family history either.

To be honest, looking back, even though he was weaned early back then, things werent so different really. Although he had purees for a few wks or so, it wasnt long before he ate unpureed stuff with us and certainly by 6mths he was holding solid food by him self, there was none of that spooning it in business.

I would encourage you to try more milk cos i had a right game with ds2 for a few wks, really unsettled at night and i was getting well pissed off. It must have been a growth spurt though cos after about 2-3 wks he was back to normal. So id say, hang on a bit, then review.

I looked into why 6 months is recommended and as far as I can make out, it's still a little controversial. I think it's suggested not before 4 months, but between 4-6 months seem reasonable, depending on your baby. there are a couple of articles on this in the bmj, one of which suggests that the WHO guidelines are largely based on data from developing countries where babies are more likely to get diarrhoea when weaned early (before 6 months). There's a slight increased risk of allergies in the short term, though long term things seem to even out again. Like everything else, I think don't beat yourself up if you decide to introduce solids earlier, persevere with breastfeeding if you'd rather. Might be worth a search on the bmj website (i think most content is free). Good luck

Hmmmm having said ds was sleeping better again, he has gone back to waking hourly and screaming, having been a really good sleeper. Last night the only was I could get him to sleep was to give him a full breast feed (20 mins each side, 'til he dropped off), 5oz of ebm and 4oz of formula (desperate measure, didn't have any more ebm!!) I'm going to try a bit more solids today, some baby rice and pear and see if we can't help him get more settled. Poor love was ravenous last night!

I got to 20wks with dd2 as she is not gaining weight and although being a big baby (9lb 2oz at birth. At 20wks 16lb 6oz) but does not like milk was only drinking 5oz every 4 to 6hours and me forcing her to eat. Me pinning her arms down and forcing the bottle in her mouth . very stressful for everyone.

In the last 3/4 weeks she is now drinking 6oz every 4hours with a small puree meal at lunch time then porridge at 4pm.

She is now a much happier baby, only on days where she doesn't want to eat or drink do i have constant screaming from the time she get up to the time she goes to bed.

She is now 23wks and when she gets to 6months i will start BLW as i think she will enjoy this much more then puree.

20 weeks. Used my common sense and maternal instinct, plus did a bit of reading around the subject. Took everything the HV said with a pinch of salt, anyway.

I started weaning my 4th DC at 12wks. He was desperate for solids. He's now 15wks, has only had vegetables, and is a much happier baby.

I did discuss with my HV and Doc before starting, as I was aware guidelines have changed. I got their full support as they both agreed babies are all different and that no doubt the guidleines will change again soon.

I weaned my DD at 6 months (calendar months so 26/27 weeks). Had loads of pressure to do it earlier but held fast even through the 4 month growth spurt where every family member convinced me she needed solids, but really she was happy with an extra feed of milk each day.

From personal experience I would say the later the better, and not (just) for the health benefits. If you wean at 6 months you can go straight to finger foods and don't have to go through the lumpy food dilemma or the hassle of pureeing. DD ate family meals from the start, I gave her suitable bits of whatever we were eating like broccoli florets which she would start off sucking, and later chew and now devour. DD now 14 months and eats ANYTHING. No joke. She doesn't like everything and sometimes has a taste and then feeds it to the dog but she'll try whatever is put in front of her and eats like a horse.