20 week old giving signs for weaning....

[lauraloola]

I really want to hold off for as long as possible but for the last week dd has been doing the following -
*Her tongue has changed - She can now stick it right out and licks her bottle teat!
*When I am eating in front of her she puts her finger and thumb together, puts it in her mouth and chews it.
*Everything is going straight in her mouth.
*She is drinking full 6oz bottles and is still hungry afterwards and is waking for an extra feed in the night.

As she is still young I do wonder if a growth spurt is to blame for the extra bottle. How about the other things? Is this normal for a 4mo to do these long before weaning?

My family keep saying 'time for baby rice' but Im not so sure.

I asked this question on another forum, as my ds at the same age could chew, sit up, had the pincer grip etc etc.

Gill Rapley (of blw fame) suggests that a baby from 4 months onwards who can SIT UNAIDED. can be included in family mealtimes.
this means just popping her in a highchair with a beaker of breastmilk/formula and a spoon to play with.

this ought to satisfy her. but if not then food could be made available. this means placing some food within the baby's reach but not placing it into her hand or mouth.

she says that it is very unlikely that any baby of this age, even if s/he manages to pick up the food and transfer it successfully to the mouth will actually eat any. a random suck is not going to hurt. you're just giving baby the opportunity to learn what mealtimes are about.

from 5 months onwards the evidence for not weaning becomes a bit more blurry and some babies do appear ready for solids, but as not all babies are the advice for 6 months is in force to ensure that baby is not weaned prematurely.

the presumption behind BLW is that a child's gut and digestive system matures in tandem with its ability to feed itself, chew and swallow food.

so, to sum up (sorry for the 2 posts lol) if I were you I would just hold out for a bit longer. go with the night feed and just keep on with the milk.

if she is getting upset at mealtimes, then put her in the highchair with some things to play with.

Thats a really good suggestion. She can sit up unaided for a few moments and does sit in her highchair as it reclines with a toy. She has a beaker with water in that she feeds herself with. Although she has never been in her highchair with her beaker!

What is the best food for them to hold/suck at that age?

Clever girl to give herself a drink with her beaker!

IMO highchairs should never be reclined, it's a choking hazard and they should be sitting bolt upright. It sounds like she might be able to sit up properly soon, so I'd wait til then and then give her some sticks of roasted veg like carrots, sweet potato, courgette.

Thanks MrsJamin. I actually hadnt thought about that with regards to the high chair reclining so I will wait until she can sit up.

Roasted veg is a fab idea, thanks x

If shes drinking her 6oz bottles, can you not up them to 7 or 8oz? Or feed every 2-3hr instead of 3-4hrs in the day, to try and get that extra bottle in in the day?

Its an awful lot easier to wait to give food at 6m - no puree stage, and much less messy!