Sorry another silly question...once you've started weaning should you respond to hunger cues with solids?

[Caz10]

or with milk?

I've been responding to dd being hungry (approx every 3hrs) with a BF and fitting food in between - just suddenly wondered if this is correct?

My way of thinking is that milk is still the priority...but it also means I'm never actually offering dd solid food when she is hungry...

?! confused...

I shall be watching this with interest as my DD is 22 wks and will be weaning in a few weeks time.

Am trying to cast back my mind to DS (now nearly 3) Milk is most important, think the motto is food is for fun until they are 1!! How does your little one seem? If happy then you are doing the right thing!!

The other way to see if your LO is still hungry after milk is baby led weaning. ie give them what you eat to gum/chew/eat on. If they are still hungry they will eat it.

I am planning when I do wean is give my DD most of her milk (she is ff) for 11am feed but not quite all then see if she wants some solids. It is all about tastes & textures at this stage.

Hoping someone comes along for you who knows more than me!!

I would say milk, especially in the early stages of weaning. (but am not an expert I only have 2 dds)

Re the blw ime if the baby is really hungry and you offer a snack such as toast, it takes them ages at first to try and eat it. I think this would just upset and frustrate the baby, especially a younger one who is used to a big b/f or f/f which is instant relief for hunger.

Also (and this is my limited experience) as the baby gets older, nearer to a year old say, it gradually shows more interest in "solid" food and recognises more tastes. And of course it is more competent and self feeding.

Don't worry about offering food when she's not hungry, it's better that way or you end up weaning off the breast too quickly and milk should be the emphasis in the first year. Food is for fun until they're one. Allow her to come to a realisation for herself that food will satisfy her hunger, it will happen naturally a little later than if you feed her when she's hungry and will allow milk to continue to be her main source of nutrition for the first year.

I did offer food first and when she was hungry (I wasn't online at the time and only had what I could get of Aitch's site on my mobile so didn't have anyone to ask) and she was very quickly onto solids. By ten months she only had one milk feed a day, although she asked for more but she would bite me every milk feed. It took her a long time to sort out the balance.

Offer milk rather than solids - milk should be the main source of nutrition till babies reach the age of 1.

Sorry to hijack but have a related question ... have started weaning recently and am in a dilemma about when to offer the solids. Was originally advised to offer a bit of milk, then solids, and then milk again, but find my dd gets very cross if her milk feed is interrupted. She tends to drink all she wants in one go so if I wait til the end she isn't hungry. The only success I've had is offering food before milk, but her patience is limited - used to instant satisfaction? - and I worry that she won't be getting all the nourishment she needs this way, esp. as at the moment she's only really willing to eat fruit/fromage frais. Am struggling to introduce new things, and am wondering if the 'timing' of solids is contributing. ie., 'cos I'm offering solids when she's hungry, she only wants 'tried and tested' stuff? Worried that if I offer solids between milk feeds, she'll be feeding all day and won't have much motivation to try things as will not be that hungry? Sorry for length and neuroses...

caz10, with teh milk to start with. she will drop milk as and when she is ready to replace milk with solid food

midge25, how old is your DD?

Midge, do solid meals about an hour after a milk feed. As you say she will be frustrated that she's not being allowed to "eat" when she wants to, she doesn't know yet that solids fill her up too and you don't want her to be associating food and hunger too soon.

Hi again lulumama - she's 6months now, so know it's early days yet....

Thanks all for the answers!

I am sticking to milk feeds when she is hungry, approx every 3-4hrs in the day (and every 10mins at night, lol). Then just offering bits and bobs of food roughly an hour after feeds, although not after every feed, just 2-3 times a day

does this sound ok? the nhs weaning leaflet seems to differentiate between 6-9mths then 9mths onwards, so I am treating this 3mth period as a "getting used to it" period and not fretting re 3 meals a day etc!

IMO the NHS leaflet is too structured.

It's not important for babies to have mealtimes or be hungry when they get solids or anything like that. Just feed milk as you were before, offer the food when it suits you and things will evolve over time. Provided you're laid back about it and let them play with the food and enjoy the tastes if they want to then they will develop enjoyment and pleasure in food.

I worried about this with DS but clung to the milk-is-nutritious, food-is-fun thing and now he's a blooming heffalump who eats fistfuls of whatever is put in front of him (at 1 year old he demolished an entire large banana for a "snack" this morning!)

my dd is 7mths and sometimes eats a whole banana....you know i'm going to worry about over feeding now don't you...

Caz it sounds great and I agree about the NHS guide. I think it's for the parents who need it spelling out to them.

another hijack - my DS is 7 and abit mo and has been on pulped solids since 6 mo; last Thurs he was less hungry than usual, and even less so on Friday and his stools went back to bf'ing type, as opposed to the solid ones that had started. Then yesterday am he was v.sick after his early morning bf; seemed to have a bit of a temp, bit of a cold, terrible nappy (stinky and explosive). No solids given, just enough bm to keep him happy. Today he was again sick after his morning bf, truly appalling nappy later, less listless and then later on he was hungry again so I gave him some pulped baby food but heonly ate about half of it..

V. long story, sorry - wanted to know whether it is normal for weaning babies to go "backwards" in terms of eating; or whether it is something that a GP needs to be visited about?

Sounds like there could be a bug going on, the return to BM would be to help overcome it because of all the antibodies in it and the BFing poo would be because he's only getting BM.

I remember Tink suddenly cutting back solids, she had been constipated then we had this poo that was quite literaly half brown and half beige(? BF colour).

No where else can you talk so openly about poo

Ill babies need BM - it has much more nutrition and is much easier to digest than pureed carrot! It will also help them get over tummy bugs pronto.

Totally normal IME for them to go off solids - I wouldn't view it as a backwards step particularly though. I even go off solids if I feel rotten!

Thanks ladies - DS has produced some of the most noxious nappies over the last 3 days, look like early bf'ing nappies but smell appalling (rancid cheese sort of thing)[need a 'bleugh' emoticon]; he is better, wasn't sick today, but still not eating anything veg and hardly any fruit. He did manage some of his baby porridge with pear puree and some baby biscuit mashed up with milk but not his evening squash and apple. He's even gone off banana (prev his fave)! Ah well, I shan't worry too much unless it continues - hope his appetite picks up again over the next couple of days.

Hi thumbwitch - worth a trip to the GP to check he hasn't got a tummy bug - you need to watch fluids and electrolytes really carefully at this age and there are some pretty nasty bugs doin the rounds at the mo.

breast milk is the very best thing he can have if he's poorly, most sick babies will show no interest in anything, but they will keep down BM and it serves as fluids and food in one lovely hit.

it could also be teeth though !! runny nappies are par for the course with some babies teething IME

well I did wonder, he has got very pink cheeks but there's no sign yet of any eruptions - but I didn't think teething would make his projectile vomit his morning milk? He did have a bit of a cold from his dad, I thought that might have gone to his tummy a bit.
As he is getting better, I will give him a couple if days and if he hasn't improved further I will go to the GP.
Thanks all!

some babies do vomit with teeth I think ? mine didn't, but I'm sure i've seen posts of some that do. hope he's better soon