Is he ready for weaning?? No neg comments please!

[janinio87uk]

Right my lil man is 16 weeks old, my HV told me before xmas to come see her when he's 17 weeks and discuss weaning (as this is what I plan to do as I feel he's really hungry anyway - I KNOW 6 months is guidelines blah blah blah)

Anyway before xmas my LO was draining 8oz bottles 5 times a day and sleeps through the nite (woohoo!)

Now he is taking 9oz 5x a day and could take more if I let him.

Q - Should I up milk to 10oz?? Or do u think I should try him on some porridge in the mornings? (spoon fed)

He's already on Hungry baby milk so I'm baffled at the quantity of milk he takes daily.

Thanks in advance ladies xx

 

[bathbabe]

i would wait till at least 17weeks then do what you happy with. Even if it is just porridge in the mornings. Iv found with my lo that if i make him porridge in the morning using 3oz of milk (replacing a 6oz bottle) he can still go 3hrs till his next feed, so yes it may be worth it with your LO. I wouldnt up to 10oz unless he really needs it. But hes your baby, and iv never had a hungry baby 5 x 6oz has be harrisons limit lol and that was at 6months! X

 

[Sarah10]

Hi hun, the reason he could of started wanting more is because they have a growth spurt around the 4 month mark, maybe slightly before/after for some.
Jayden normally has around 45oz a day, but the last 2 weeks he has been having around 70oz argh lol, we tried him on pureed veg or/and baby rice but it didn't make a blind bit of difference, one day he wanted nothing to do with his milk and the next he still woke for 3 night feeds.
Ultimatley it is upto you though we now decided to wait til 6 months to do blw and although he did seem interested it wasn't helping his reflux that much and mostly he still wanted the same amount of milk.

In other words go with your instinct x

 

[aliss]

I would say no. There's a huge growth spurt at 4 months, also known as the sleep regression, where they eat and drink massive quantities day and night. Many mistake it for needing solids. Mine was up to 70oz a day at that time (he's a very large baby). Wait it out and you may find he was just needing the milk calories. We started baby-led weaning at 22lbs and 6 1/2 months, his milk intake was down to 20-30ish oz by then.

 

[janinio87uk]

Thanks girls, I never thought about the growth spurt/ sleep regression thing. Cuz he has been sleepin alot during the day lately. Ill spk 2 HV next week.

 

[ouchwithNo.2]

my little girl became miss piggy at 4mth mark - she went from 6 feeds a day @ 5oz up to 6/7 feeds (and one night waking for a feed again - just over a week) @ 8oz!
she is on staydown so no hungry baby option sadly.
the night waking quickly stopped but ever since then she has been content on 5 x 8oz feeds a day.
we are now 7mths and she has a little porridge for breakfast and tea.
still takes same amount of milk.
go with the milk first ans see what happens, after that you do as you feel necessary xx

 

[angelmyky]

in my experience its easier to try a little solid than keep upping the feeds. my son was the same and he actually got bored of bottles, he'd watch you eat food and cry because he couldnt have any.

you shouldnt worry about what people think. if you feel that he's ready for solids then you do what you feel is best.

i started my son on solids when he was 3 & a half months. only on rusk and baby rice. but he took it straight away, he loved it, he opened his mouth and even did chew like movements.
i was surprised how well he took it and that he loved the taste.

we only gave him half a jar a day (afternoon feed). when he turned 4 months we tried him on mashed up banana/apple etc, other baby food (chocolate pudding, etc), and baby juice.

he now has 2 solids a day though. he still goes 5 hours for his feeds.
he has 210ml (7oz) of hungry formula milk for his morning feed. he has baby food for his dinner with 90ml (3oz) of hungry formula milk (mixed with strawberry powder to make a baby milkshake). for his evening feed he has a baby yoghurt with a 180ml (6oz) of hungry formula milk. then at 10pm he has just 180ml (6oz) of hungry formula milk (so theres not too much settling on his belly at night).
i know thats only 4 feeds but he sleeps from the 10pm feed til 8am morning feed.

hes a good boy, doesnt want more than what we give him.

hes gaining weight well, the HV is very pleased with his weight, etc. hes advanced for his age and very active too.

and just to add, he was a 4 week prem baby. i dont care what people think about my parenting because i know im a good mum. noone can judge me by what i say i do because they dont see my son on a day-to-day basis and they havent been there to see how well he is doing.

so you dont always go by what people say. you're his mother so you know whats best. maybe hes trying to tell you that hes ready. trying a little solid isnt harmful, just keep an eye on what you give him and that hes taking it well. check his weight gain etc.

hope this helped. xx

 

[sophxx]

Could you not offer a extra Boyle at that age my lo was draining 6x 9oz bottles during the say he slept through from young it slowed down though after the growth spurt and we didn't wean till 6 months x

 

[Eala]

You could give it a try, however here's the thing:

Baby milk contains way more calories than any of the jars/any purees you can make. It's absolutely jam packed with calories per amount given compared to "solids". But solids have more bulk, which can make a baby feel fuller. The problem with that is the body is still looking for the calories from the milk (moreso when it's having a growth spurt!). But baby won't want to take on as much milk, because they think they are full from the solids. And this can lead to (for example) more night-time waking as the body is still demanding those calories.

At the end of the day, it's entirely up to you and you will find what is best for your baby

 

[janinio87uk]

Could you not offer a extra Boyle at that age my lo was draining 6x 9oz bottles during the say he slept through from young it slowed down though after the growth spurt and we didn't wean till 6 months x

Well I thought of this but where do I fit an extra one in?

He has a 9oz bottle at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm (drains everyone) then he goes to bed! and sleeps thru until 8am then the cycle repeats itself.

I was thinkin maybe give him his feeds closer together? Perhaps offer one every 2 hrs instead of 3 but lower the amount to say 6oz??

Angelmyky
in my experience its easier to try a little solid than keep upping the feeds. my son was the same and he actually got bored of bottles, he'd watch you eat food and cry because he couldnt have any.

you shouldnt worry about what people think. if you feel that he's ready for solids then you do what you feel is best.

i started my son on solids when he was 3 & a half months. only on rusk and baby rice. but he took it straight away, he loved it, he opened his mouth and even did chew like movements.
i was surprised how well he took it and that he loved the taste.

we only gave him half a jar a day (afternoon feed). when he turned 4 months we tried him on mashed up banana/apple etc, other baby food (chocolate pudding, etc), and baby juice.

he now has 2 solids a day though. he still goes 5 hours for his feeds.
he has 210ml (7oz) of hungry formula milk for his morning feed. he has baby food for his dinner with 90ml (3oz) of hungry formula milk (mixed with strawberry powder to make a baby milkshake). for his evening feed he has a baby yoghurt with a 180ml (6oz) of hungry formula milk. then at 10pm he has just 180ml (6oz) of hungry formula milk (so theres not too much settling on his belly at night).
i know thats only 4 feeds but he sleeps from the 10pm feed til 8am morning feed.

hes a good boy, doesnt want more than what we give him.

hes gaining weight well, the HV is very pleased with his weight, etc. hes advanced for his age and very active too.

and just to add, he was a 4 week prem baby. i dont care what people think about my parenting because i know im a good mum. noone can judge me by what i say i do because they dont see my son on a day-to-day basis and they havent been there to see how well he is doing.

so you dont always go by what people say. you're his mother so you know whats best. maybe hes trying to tell you that hes ready. trying a little solid isnt harmful, just keep an eye on what you give him and that hes taking it well. check his weight gain etc.

hope this helped. xx

Thanks for ur comment hun, a few friends and family keep tellin me he's ready for weaning due to the amount he's taking they say he's not feeling full - so I imagine if I start on porridge then he'll feel fuller and still have his milk so will get all the nutrients etc that he needs.

I dont want him taking loads and loads of milk then realise his tummy cant handle it and throw it all up again.

Tbh I tried him on a little porridge this morning...
He had half his bottle before it, then he ate all the porridge (which was 1tsp of porridge w/ 3 teaspoons of boiled water) and drank the rest of his bottle and he's had another 9oz since then and is due another feed shortly.

I dont wanna start him if he's not ready but so far he seems ok on it, but it is only day one and I think if I just up his milk he's just gonna end up puking it bk up, he's only got a small stomach so surely 10oz is a ridiculous amount for a 16wk old baby to be having 5x a day?

 

[angelmyky]

well when i spoke to my midwife she told me that as soon as his milk goes under 500ml a day then to get his vitamins. i get those vouchers so as soon as hes under the 500ml then i'd get the vitamins. but he doesnt necessarily need it, i think its just for extra care for some babies.

before my son was on solids i'd up his feeds in milk but i noticed he'd still moan for more even though he'd be sick with it. so i thought it was best to try him on solids, and thankfully now he has the right amount of formula and is happy because hes full.
i follow the milk guideline on the box, he has Aptamil stage 2 (Hungrier Baby), and that says for his age he should be having 210ml 5 times a day. but because hes on solids it works out he only needs 4 feeds a day because he sleeps through the night.

i would say 10oz (300ml) of milk 5 times a day is abit much for a 16 week old. but im going by my formula guideline. it says for 4-6 months my son should be on 210 (7oz) 5 times a day.

what milk you using?

 

[ricschick]

hun do what you feel is right i would say the only thing with giving extra feeds is that his little belly wont be able to cope with so much fluid, id stick with the amount of bottles and just try with a little breakfast for a couple of weeks and see how he gets on xxx

 

[janinio87uk]

what milk you using?

I'm using SMA Hungry baby.

ricschick

hun do what you feel is right i would say the only thing with giving extra feeds is that his little belly wont be able to cope with so much fluid, id stick with the amount of bottles and just try with a little breakfast for a couple of weeks and see how he gets on xxx

Yes this it what I was thinking. Thank you, I think I'll stick with what u hav said and explain to HV next week.

Thank you so much girls, its hard when your a first time mum and you have so many conflicting opinions and advice.

 

[Sarah10]

Also using sma hungry baby milk here too!
by the way i love your avatar pic, your LO looks so cheerful! x

 

[daniellelk]

Just do what you feel's right, start with abit of baby rice after his morning bottle and go from there. H is the same with his feed's so with HV's go a head (after I was adamant to wait aslong as I could to start weaning) i'v started giving him abit more then just his milk.