Feeding

[El1en]

Hi girls.

My little lady is 4 months old now and ebf. I'm thinking of starting her on a few little tasters of food towards the end of this month as I think she is ready but I was wondering if anyone could recommend any websites or books which are good for explaining different methods of baby feeding?

I've bought a box or porridge and some little fruit purée pots and also plan on doing a bit of baby led stuff but I'd like to have a better idea of the kind of approach id like to take before I start trying.

Also I'm a first time mum so have no idea of the qualities she should be having or anything so if like to read up. I'm not very keen on my health visitor and I know if I ask her she'll be very much "you have to wait until 6 months" so I'd rather do some of my own reading then ask and feel like she's judging / frowning upon me

 

[kumber]

Personally I think 4 months is very early to wean. Their guts aren't mature enough to break down food and it can lead to allergies. Is there a particular reason you want to wean?

As baby is under 6 months, you need to keep it gluten free so baby porridge rather than regular porridge. Gill Rapley is great for baby-led weaning and is definitely worth a read but I'm unsure if she can be used at 4 months or 6 months. Worth a look though I think as you avoid all the purée pots and whatnot.

In terms of quantity, babies regulate themselves so just offer small portions initially (probably a single pot) and she will eat however much or little she likes. It'll take a few weeks to get used to her portion sizes and you may end up wasting a fair bit of food but that's normal

 

[El1en]

There's not a reason I want to wean in particular. She watches me eat like a hawk and everything goes into her mouth so I just think she's ready to try a few different things. As I said I'm planning on waiting until she's nearer 5 months I just like to be clued up and confident. The baby porridge and fruit pots said 4m plus.

 

[kumber]

The watching you eat is developmental and isn't necessarily an indication she's ready to wean. They're ready when they are confidently sitting upright with no support and (I believe) are reaching out for food. See this article on kellymom for more info.

 

[El1en]

Thanks for the advice. It's definitely something I'm going to do though. I know friends who have started at 3 months with no problems and I think she is ready. I will read the articles. Thanks

 

[mrs_b_x]

The food will say 4m because companies want to sell it!

 

[hayes]

I started with Harry at 4.5 months but I took it real slow, I used his formula milk to mix up sum baby rice(altho I wouldn't bother with this again it wasn't worth it) or the porridge and he just had a few spoons of that in the morning for a few weeks increasing the amount a bit. Then I started with a few fruit bits either that me n hubby had made or the jars n he loved them. By 6 months we had introduced a few savoury jars or were making our own stuff for him. All small quantities of course.

Wean when u feel ready hun it's ur baby n u can always stop if it is to early n u think they aren't coping.

Michelle.x

 

[El1en]

Thanks Michelle, I've been pumping in order to mix my milk with the porridge and I'll probably be starting the same time you did

 

[kitten2014]

Ive been doing porridge so far but introducing pureed carrot tomoz...this will be new to her as porridge is mixed with her milk so consistency and slight different flavour is all thats different...she also has started reaching for food and making eating motions even though she cant sit up fully unsupported so depends...I think she's curious and thats to be encouraged in a fun way I think...go with your gut...no pun intended lol...you'll know what works...im just not sure where our lil miss puts the solids as her milk qts have remained the same even though she takes 4-6 tspoons porridge per day!

 

[Baby2sky]

I agree with kumber. There are three signs that baby is ready for food and baby needs to display all of them. They are that baby can sit unaided and hold their head up, baby can coordinate hand eye and mouth so that they can pick the food up and put it in their mouth independently, and that they can swallow food (not just pushing mush to the front of their mouth).

 

[Orion]

My baby is 4m, everything goes in his mouth and he watches me eat. But I'm waiting til 6m to start introducing food.
At the moment I let him see what I'm eating, tell him what it's called, I let him sniff it if it's got a strong nice aroma and I've even let him put empty baby spoons in his mouth so he can copy me.

My HV is very supportive and most things she's said to do what's best for us, rather than what the guidelines say. But she was very clear to wait until after our 6m review with her before weaning. Considering she's usualy laid back, I'm going to take her advice and wait.

 

[Toni.C]

Oh dear, I must be a terrible mummy then as I started weaning at 17 weeks!
I wouldn't worry about the baby rice as its like wall paper paste. Baby porridge is a good one to start with, I also puréed veg for the first 2 weeks and then introduced fruit. Then as he got better with hand eye coordination I introduced some finger food with the purée like cooked carrot sticks, banana, he used to suck apple and pear quarters.

Ella's kitchen the purple book is very good with recipes and advice.

Go with your instinct. My mum was giving me cows milk at 4 months old as I didn't like formula and I've turned out alright with no allergies.

 

[T84]

No judgement here honestly but after reading about how babies digestive systems aren't ready til 6 months and links with Chrohn's disease etc, there's too much evidence to ignore. Don't rush them, they aren't babies for long like Mrs B says - they say 4 months as a money maker!