Weaning at 4 months

[stressheaderic]

Would anyone here like to admit to it?

I have one DD, 18 weeks old (4mo + 1 wk). On the lower end of the weight scale at just 11lb 8oz, but following the 2nd centile steadily. Have been bombarded with the 'wait til 6 months' brigade for weeks now.

But - she's hungry. She's been downing her 8oz bottles in minutes, grabbing at our food, waking up unsettled in the night. So, this morning, I gave her some baby rice. And she wolfed down the whole bowlful, swallowed each little mouthful really well, filled her nappy, and then relaxed into the deepest, longest sleep she's had for ages.

I went with my instinct, and I was right. I thought I'd feel bad about it but I don't.
Did anyone else offer food 'early'? And how did you get on?

Hi. I was adamant I would wait until 6 months and EBF my DD but at 16 weeks she went from being a content well settled baby to waking every hour in the night and it was killing us, especially my poor DH who still had to go to work. My HV suggested I try some baby rice, which DD wouldn't touch but she did like pureed fruit. This tiny amount of puree seemed to help and I didn't rush to wean her. She ate only a couple of teaspoons a day for a few weeks alongside her milk feeds but her sleep routine was back to just its once a night waking to feed. I didn't introduce wheat before 6 months as advised. I think ultimately you know your baby best and if she is full and happy then you should be too. My DD has no allergies and eats almost everything, I continued to BF until she was 15 months. Good luck!

I have a nearly 15 week old DD who is formula fed. She weighs arond 13lbs and drains every single bottle. We are almost at the 8oz limit for each bottle and I too am wondering how on earth she will last til 6 months.

We weaned our DD1 at almost 6 months but she was always smaller than DS2 and didn't have maximum capacity bottles until much later.

My dream is two follow the BLW route with DD2, but I think we may might adopt more of a mixed approach. I'm determined to keep her on milk for as long as possible, so we'll see.

There is such pressure these days to do everything 'by the book' and I think sometimes it stops parents from trusting their won instincts.

Sorry, that should be DD2 in my post - I def have two girls!

have you looked into why the recommendations are to wait til 6 months? i am not saying you have done the wrong thing for your child but the guidelines are there for a reason.

Stresshead, I weaned DS1 at about 4 months because he was so hungry. Will wean DS2 when he is ready. He is 4.2 months at the mo and am thinking it will be soon. FWIW I think that you should go with your instincts.

DS1 would never have lasted until 6 months on just milk. Both FF BTW

Baby rice is empty carbs - she'll have slept to give her body time to digest the crap. (Not a fan of baby rice, can you tell?)

4 months is common sleep regression time - it doesn't mean they're ready to be weaned.

My ds is 18 weeks and I am also thinking of weaning because he's feeding constantly. He's a big baby, bf exlusively, and has started to demand 3 feeds at night again.
The problem is he is also salivating a lot (teething) and also it's been so hot... I wonder whether this is not a sign for weaning, just that he's having a growth spurt, combined with teething and he's just very thirsty because of the heat.
I went to see the health visitor today and she said to wait a couple of weeks... in the meantime my boobs are out all day long!

I went with the baby rice, as it's smooth, mild and similar to milk - I did read the back of the pack first. It was recommended as a first food at the 'weaning party' I attended at the Surestart centre near me.

Jemjabella - what first foods did you try? I'm completely open to ideas here.

how is baby rice similar to milk?! It's devoid of nutrition or calories.

Well, as I made it from 10 spoonfuls of the very milk she had just been drinking, plus a tiny bit of the rice mix, I would say it's pretty similar to milk.

The main intention was to try something with a bit of texture and practise eating and swallowing, not to add calories. We are only on day 2 of eating - she is still having 4 x 7oz bottles per day.

No is my simple answer - I think it does no harm to wait. dont want to be drawn in any more than that [shrugs]

cereza - I would agree about the heat -they often go through a big developmental change about this time and so start to wake up in the night - its not related to feeding - kellymom has some good info about it.

See www.eatstudy.co.uk - research is still being conducted on whether the advice should be EBF till 6 months... Gov advice changes all the time. I'd say follow your instincts (but within limits - e.g. don't offer solids prior to 17 weeks, and only baby rice and pureed veg till 25 weeks).

Just to clear up a few myths in case anybody is reading for info.

Government advice does not change all the time. It has been 6 months for 7 years. Before this it was 4-6 months and that was for 20 years.

Instincts mean nothing. You can know your baby is hungry, you can know they need more feeds, but you cannot instinctively know that their gut is matured and ready for solids. Weaning does not work like that.

Milk has far more calories in it than any negligible amount of puree or baby rice. If a baby is 'hungry' then calories are the aim and milk is where you will find them. Milk remains the main diet for 12 months.

There is no link between the size of a baby and readiness to wean.

Waking more frequently is not the sign of a baby who is ready for solids.

Watching you eat is not the sign of a baby who is ready for solids.

If a baby drains a bottle, can you not just give them another bottle?

I have read both websites with interest. I still do think that mother's instinct counts for a lot in many cases.
It's a minefield sometimes.

"We are almost at the 8oz limit for each bottle and I too am wondering how on earth she will last til 6 months" - simple, you just give more bottles.

What is the rush to start solids so early?

Instinct is one thing, scientific evidence is another.

I'm as woo as they come and think instincts are there to be followed and I do in nearly all other circumstances. But instinct cannot give you a window into your child's gut. It can tell you they need more calories. Nothing more, nothing less.

In response to IwishIwasmoreorganised, it's not always as simple as giving more bottles. Formula milk takes longer to digest (around 3 hours) than breast milk, so additional bottles isn't necessrily the answer.

My DD has 5 feeds per day between 7am and 10.30pm. Two of them are 7oz, two 6oz and one 5oz (dream feed). She drains all bottles. However, she isn't looking for food inbetween feeds. My concern is giving her enough volume at each feed.

I'm in no way keen to start solids early and in my post I explained that I want to go down the BLW route at around 6 months. My first child wasn't weaned until that age, so I'm not in favour of early weaning! Just wanted to clear that up.

I started weaning at 18 weeks and ds was more than ready for food
He also has reflux and has never been that keen on milk and never drinks more than 6oz at a time
I am happy with the decision we made and having read loads of stuff out there I feel I have done him no harm at all

I get a bit "zzzzz" at all the anti 4 month weaning - I weaned my DS at 17 weeks and he is now 7 months and loves his food, and I don't believe it will have damaged his gut.

My only advice would be to take it slowly, and if they actually have a week of not wanting it, don't stress and force them, just have a week off and try again later. My DS is now on 3 HUGE meals a day, and has cut right back on his milk (to practically nothing now), on the advice of my HV and others, and I actually think he should be having more milk. I wish I hadn't rushed it so much.

thanks omnishambles

I have been advise by 3 differents medic to start my DD2 at 4 months (17 weeks). I waited one more because she was a bit early and because of the UK guidelines.
I waited till 21 weeks with DD1. And she was clearly ready.
I know I will be flamed but there are new researchs and guidelines, saying that weaning is between 4 and 6 months, when the baby is ready. You know the signs. Delaying after 6 months cause as much allergy and intolerance as weaning before 4 months.
Only the mum knows if the baby is ready or not.

Before 6 months though, it is only purees (can be lumpy i.e. thicker than the jars) of fruits and veg (except known allergens), forget about the baby rice.

I agree that the weaning doesn't improved the sleep patterns but it does stop the night feeds.
DD2 is 22 weeks and still on few spoonful of purees, twice a day now and doing well.
trust your instinct, but if the HV said to wait I would wait a bit (around 20 weeks seems to be the norm in RL).
So yes my DD2 started at 18 weeks too, and is fine. and will be, she is clearly a food monster too, delaying wouldn't changed that.FionaSH

Sorry to highjack this a bit, but it seems like an active conversation and I would like some, perhaps reassurance if nothing else.
DH plans to start weaning DD at about 22 weeks, because she basically has diarrhoea everyday (2-6 dirty nappies a day, I mentioned this on the BFing forum), and this has been going on for 5 or 6 weeks now. We've seen the HV and two doctors, but they just say we need to weigh her more (she is steadily on 2nd centile). The thought isn't to reduce the amount she eats, but to try maker her poos less liquidy, and hopefully help her digest things better. Obviously if we offer it to her, and she doesn't want it we won't force her, and I think her tongue thrust is gone, and she can sit with support (managed 5 seconds unaided yesterday...)

No real advice on that. I would say that you could try at 22 weeks.
But she might be allergic (intolerant) to something you have eaten if she has so many runny poos. Have you try to cut down dairy? I have seen thread on here about that, may you could get some advice by somebody more qualified.

Mmmm I've never heard about starting solids to reduce diarrhoea - sounds more like an intolerance, or a bug to me. Hope you get it sorted. I'd go back to the dr.