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March 2015 Moms
emsillick
member
Weaning
emsillick
member
I am sure that this will heavily divide opinion but I am interested in your views on the subject.
My baby turns 4 months next week and has been formula fed since six weeks. Before that I was expressing.
I moved him onto hungry baby milk about three weeks ago as I was basically back-to-back feeding and he was never satisfied. Now he is drinking 220ml 8 times in 24 hours and sometimes can't even wait 2 hours in between. He sleeps 8-10 hours through the night (lucky me) and his weight is spot on.
He can sit with support, reach out and grab with accuracy and is forever chewing his fists. He watches me and OH eat and actually chews on his fingers in imitation. He is fascinated by our food and seems dissatisfied by milk feeds.
I have done a fair bit of research on this topic and don't want to cite all of it but it is interesting.
I know that the current guidelines say 6months plus, but I have read that this is totally dependent on the baby, and also the environment (ie underdeveloped countries where food hygiene is not great) and 4-6months is ideal in practice, that the baby should be eating foods BY six months and not just starting to. Some people swear by the 6month rule and don't even start until then or later which, I have heard, can lead to nutritional deficiencies (ie not enough iron) if the baby is ready for something more than milk.
I don't necessarily believe everything I read, but I do think it helps to question these common beliefs sometimes, and also to keep in mind that all babies mature in different ways and at different rates.
If I were to follow my instincts, I would start him on some baby rice in a couple of weeks and then very puréed fruit and veg, interspersed with milk feeds, but I know that my health visitor, as well as a few of you, may discourage it.
What are your opinions or experiences?
My baby turns 4 months next week and has been formula fed since six weeks. Before that I was expressing.
I moved him onto hungry baby milk about three weeks ago as I was basically back-to-back feeding and he was never satisfied. Now he is drinking 220ml 8 times in 24 hours and sometimes can't even wait 2 hours in between. He sleeps 8-10 hours through the night (lucky me) and his weight is spot on.
He can sit with support, reach out and grab with accuracy and is forever chewing his fists. He watches me and OH eat and actually chews on his fingers in imitation. He is fascinated by our food and seems dissatisfied by milk feeds.
I have done a fair bit of research on this topic and don't want to cite all of it but it is interesting.
I know that the current guidelines say 6months plus, but I have read that this is totally dependent on the baby, and also the environment (ie underdeveloped countries where food hygiene is not great) and 4-6months is ideal in practice, that the baby should be eating foods BY six months and not just starting to. Some people swear by the 6month rule and don't even start until then or later which, I have heard, can lead to nutritional deficiencies (ie not enough iron) if the baby is ready for something more than milk.
I don't necessarily believe everything I read, but I do think it helps to question these common beliefs sometimes, and also to keep in mind that all babies mature in different ways and at different rates.
If I were to follow my instincts, I would start him on some baby rice in a couple of weeks and then very puréed fruit and veg, interspersed with milk feeds, but I know that my health visitor, as well as a few of you, may discourage it.
What are your opinions or experiences?
Re: Weaning
Our first food was carrots & we stuck with veggies for the most part, slowly introducing fruits & other foods. The farmers' markets around us have more veggies than fruits & that was a major reason, also squash & sweet potatoes are pretty inexpensive & make A LOT of baby food in quick batches. We skipped the whole cereal phase, except to thicken up some of the more watery fruits & veggies.
I say go with your gut. You know your baby and if he seems ready try it. If he doesn't take to it after a few tries, wait a week & try again. I was eager as a FTM to give some other form of food because I was stressing myself out trying to pump & keep up with his feeding demands. Most of what I read said to feed a bottle/nurse first & then give solid food, but I did it the other way because he usually fell asleep while nursing.
My daughter turns 4 months in about a week and a half (where did that time go??). I'm not sure she's quite ready for solids yet, but if she starts to show signs I'm definitely going to start her before the 'magical' 6 month mark as well. It all depends on the baby.
Good luck. I was lucky enough to have full support when I started my son 'early'...and I have a real knack for ignoring people I don't want to listen to when it comes to raising my children.
If @daniellarhh is anything like me then she will have looked into the topic extensively and sought advice from various sources, or at least been fully confident that her baby was ready for solids. It's not our place to question that. I came on here because I wasn't totally confident moving my LO into solids and was looking for some advice and feedback. I still haven't started solids as I am trying to eke my boy out to at least five months but there is no way he will make it to 6 and that will be what's right for him. He drinks 9x 220ml bottles per day of hungry baby milk and just gets uncomfortable with the amount of liquid he consumes. And no he's not windy, tired or teething in those moments... I know my baby.
@KD32412 I'm from the UK and we have health visitors who make home visits until our babies start school, I'm guessing that's what's being referenced here. I agree that advising everyone not to listen to their healthcare professionals may be irresponsible but I don't think you have to follow every little bit of advice to a T; they are required to endorse government guidelines that change constantly and I, for one, do not trust our current government who have scrapped disability benefit, cut tax credits and want to legalise fox hunting, but that is just me.
I do appreciate that they see a lot of babies and know what they are talking about, but we've had some terrible advice from HVs and one who tried to march my baby back to hospital after we'd been there for 10 days already just because he wouldn't breastfeed...
I don't think it's appropriate to apply a 'one size fits all' mantra like so many people do with baby's development stages as they all mature at different rates and nobody knows them like their parents. It's not like the day they hit six months they are ready for puréed veg and not a minute before.
But I do believe we should know best as our baby's moms, but also should take into account the recommendations of the guiding organizations (in the U.S., it's the AAP- American Academy of Pediatrics). Basically our updated recommendations are start anywhere from 4-6 months, avoid honey and cow's milk, but otherwise anything puréed goes. Some interpret that as EBF until 6 months, then only add whole, organic foods that you make yourself; some say start at 4 months and use prepackaged stuff. Thankfully, we can all decide for ourselves what we think is best, or most convenient, for our babies.
If you look at what you wrote though, you did say "my advice is not to listen to the HCV etc as half of them haven't even had children". That's why I questioned what a HCV was. Hopefully they have some training or at least some type of medical certification, as they are giving many FTM help and advice. If not, you are very smart to just seek information from your GP, as you can be sure they are more accountable and can be held liable for their actions.