HV wants to talk about foods? Lots of questions!

[nickilubs]

In general I am so confused over food!!!! The HV is coming round on Tuesday to talk about foods and stuff she said from 16weeks then they have a talk and start you on baby foods. But I thought you didn't start ANY food till near 6months or hold it off for as long as possible? Also I thought if you do start before 6month then this is your choice because you know your baby best and know that s/he needs the food. I didn't think it was a "all baby's start eating at 16weeks" I assumed you did what you felt and not all baby's need the same.

Ivy is not a hungry baby, she has consistently gained weight with no problems, she doesn't seem hungry and is happy with just her milk. If I do give Purees then does she have the food and the same amount of milk just using the food as a little extra or do you miss a milk feed for a food feed? She is Formula fed.

Also do you start on purees and stewed food then move to BLW if that's what you want to do? I don't know if we do BLW do we start on solid straight away or do I start her on Purees now and then move onto big food from 6months onward.

 

[LisaJ1986]

It's good to have a talk about foods so you are prepared. I never got this. It is best to hold off as close to 6 months/26 weeks as possible as it give their digestive systems time to mature.
If you think she doesn't need it, don't give her it. It is all down to you. Only you know your baby and i'm sure you'll do what's best for her. Never feel pressured into weaning. If you can hold off til 6 months then skip passed the purees and straight onto BLW then great.
I started at 18 weeks, but i felt she needed it. But she will only recently feed herself little bits. She is still happily spoon-fed. I'm happy doing this. She loves her lumpy food but i never made her food up to be totally pureed anyway.

When you start you just keep her milk feeds the same. This stage it's more for getting used to texture and stuff. She will let you know when to start dropping milk feeds coz she simply won't want much, if at all.

 

[NICCI]

hey hun,
we had the talk at 16 weeks but my HV said that it wasnt recommended to start weaning until 6 months, but they give the talk early in case some parents feel their babies are ready before 6 months!

jack is just over 5 months and we have started giving him 2-3 spoonfuls of baby rice a day this week (which he loves)! i have also been giving him a chomp on a rusk so he gets used to holding something in his hands. im planning on doing a mixture of BLW and purees.

if you dont feel Ivy is ready, then you dont need to wean hun, i dont think the HV will pressure you in to it, mine recommended it because jack was feeding all the time and hardly sleeping! he slept 9-3 had a small feed and slept till 6.30am so i think it is working for us
whatever you decide will be right hun xxx

 

[Sandi4Paul]

Hi Nicci (sorry i'm hijacking this thread), check the wheat content of your rusks. We got some Boots Organic ones, they were lablled 4 to 6 months but contained 70% wheat flour.

As for Nickilubs yeah you can give food from 16 weeks, but don't do it until you think that is what she is ready for. Dependng on the age you do decide to give food will decide which methods you can use and the consitency of the food you give.

Sandi

 

[muppetmummy]

Like the others have said wait till as close to 6 months as you can. I weaned James at 22 weeks, and Logie at 20 weeks. I managed to stop weaning Logie too early by giving him hungry baby milk for a few weeks, he was soooo hungry!

If Ivy is happy just stick with milk

 

[NICCI]

im using farleys (heinz) is that ok?? xx

 

[Hazel]

You do what you feel is right. I've started with purees last week and haven't even seen or discussed it with HV as I'm quite capable of reading up and making my own choices. At the moment Connie is just having tasters of different foods and it's hardly a meal so we carry on having the same amount of milk but this is what is right for her. If you had asked me 4 weeks ago about starting weaning I would have said there was no way she was ready for it as she never finished a bottle but now she's guzzling everything in a whole bottle and she gets all excited when she sees the pot and spoon at dinner time and is very interested in my lunch .

 

[Sherlock]

If your LO is happy and gaining weight and you don't want to wean till closer or at 6 months then its up to you. I think your HV's wording was a bit off there

The general advice now is to wait till 6 months but that you can wean from 17 weeks (4 months) if you wish.

I personally would wait as long as possible before weaning as milk provides all the nutriton LO needs. Food is just an extra and does not give anywhere near enough calories etc for baby. Even if it fills her up. Also the 4 month growth spurt and showing an interest in food isn't meaning she is wanting food then. At that age babies start taking more of an interest in the world around them and take an interest in what we are doing eating etc. Bu they have no idea what it is. And the growth spurt can be gotten through if you wish to. I had to increase LO's boob feeds for a few weeks and he aas fussy, grizzly etc but we made it. I doubt weaning him then would have helped as it wasn't just the extra food, but so many other areas also.

I went the BLW route as I have cared for no end of babies who have been weaned on purees between 4-6 months and have generally found it a grotty experience for me and baby. So with my own I decided BLW and waited till LO was 5 1/2 months. Its been brilliant. So much less stress and hassle than purees and trying to spoon feed a baby.

Have a read of Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning book. Amazon sell it for about £7. Great read if you want to investigate going that route around 6 months.

 

[nickilubs]

Also the 4 month growth spurt and showing an interest in food isn't meaning she is wanting food then. At that age babies start taking more of an interest in the world around them and take an interest in what we are doing eating etc. Bu they have no idea what it is. And the growth spurt can be gotten through if you wish to.

Yeh I think we have just managed to get through that one! Either that or she decided she hated Christmas and was going to fuss and fuss and fuss till it and everything about it has gone away lol! She was a diva all day everyday for 2 and a bit weeks but she seems to be calming alot now.

I really just don't think she is ready for it, I have given her little tiny tastes and by tiny I mean a drop off my little finger and she makes a funny face. But I think considering that she only gets through 20-25oz of milk a day anyway then to add food that isnt as high calorie would just mean she would be taking in less rather than more. I know if she gets full on food she wont drink the milk.

Thank you for the reply's I will update with what she says on Tuesday