Time to wean??

[Jenny123]

I think its time to wean Hannah but not too sure as she is only going to be 19 weeks this Saturday.

I can give her a full feed off both boobs and she will feed for an hour and still scream for more when I take her off. She is also demanding more feeds and has started waking at 5.30am hungry after sleeping through to 8am for the past 2 months
She also gets a bottle feed at 11pm before I go to bed and is drinking a full bottle (9fl oz) and still wanting more.
She also tries to grab my food when I'm eating and also grabs at cups and puts them to her mouth. She managed to tip a cup of pineapple juice over her head the other day (she grabbed it off the table and tried to drink it when I was looking the other way )

It just seems so early and totally against the DoH guidelines but the poor girl seems so unhappy and frustrated. She is genuinely hungry and wants food

I spoke to my HV and she said to wait but Hannah is gaining weight well and has never been ill, I am so confused.

Please help ladies... what do I do?

 

[Jade&Evie]

Could be the 4 month growth spurt- Evie's lasted about 10 days and it was really hard but she soon went back to normal.

 

[Jenny123]

I have noticed her hair has grown loads She is really developing mentally at the moment and has learnt loads of things like pulling mummys hair and rolling over in the past few days. I have also started her with baby swimming classes so maybe thats making her hungry?

I might give her another week and if she doesn't settle down I might try a bit of baby rice.

 

[Jade&Evie]

definately wait a bit longer. TBH all the signs sound like an interested baby rather than one that needs weaning- Evie pulls stuff out the cupboards now but not necessarily because she want's to eat them- she just wants to see what it is!

the longer you wait the easier it is- at the moment she will be having purees and baby rice which (IMO!) is the boring bit. It's much more fn when they can play with finger foods

 

[Charlie:-)]

Could well be a growth spurt like Jade suggested.

Other signs that a baby is ready to wean are able to sit up unaided, good head and neck control and movements, becoming bored of breastfeeding/bottle feeding.

I would try and hold out for a bit longer just in case it is the 4 month growth spurt, the increased length and frequency of feeding is just your baby's way of stimulating more milk production in order to satisfy her. I never noticed a 4 month growth spurt with my LO but she definitely had a 5 month spurt and I had a week of night wakings. Hopefully all will be back to normal in a week or so

 

[charlie84]

Yeah i would agree wait it out and see whether its a growth spurt. Saying that Calleigh 4 month growth spurt lasted for well over a month
Having a baby who slept throught the night suddenly wake to be fed a couple of times in the night was a big shock.
Hope it doesnt go on for too long for you hun

 

[kalia]

I know you say she is grabbing at food but to be honest, having never eaten food from her point of view she is just grabbing stuff that looks interesting. Toys will also be grabbed and put in her mouth, it's not a sign of hunger.

She gets all her nutrition from milk so giving food will be of no nutritional benefit.

If she is drinking for longer and more often it is to build your supply because she is now needing more milk. Once this has happened (it will take about a week) then she will be getting all the milk she needs. Just encourage her to keep feeding lots to build your supply. It's hard but nothing compared to those first weeks and you got through them so you'll be fine

If you really feel you can't cope with the breast feeding then the answer would be to give her more bottles of formula rather than food but I think in the long run you would regret that.

 

[beanie]

definately wait a bit longer. TBH all the signs sound like an interested baby rather than one that needs weaning- Evie pulls stuff out the cupboards now but not necessarily because she want's to eat them- she just wants to see what it is!

now that would be BLW, how easy would that be. Just let them in the kitchen and go sit down again.

 

[Jade&Evie]

definately wait a bit longer. TBH all the signs sound like an interested baby rather than one that needs weaning- Evie pulls stuff out the cupboards now but not necessarily because she want's to eat them- she just wants to see what it is!

now that would be BLW, how easy would that be. Just let them in the kitchen and go sit down again.

I'm trying to teach her how to use a can opener but she's not picking it up as quickly as I'd hoped....

 

[kalia]

[quote="Jade&Evie":3s7t8sms] definately wait a bit longer. TBH all the signs sound like an interested baby rather than one that needs weaning- Evie pulls stuff out the cupboards now but not necessarily because she want's to eat them- she just wants to see what it is!

now that would be BLW, how easy would that be. Just let them in the kitchen and go sit down again.

I'm trying to teach her how to use a can opener but she's not picking it up as quickly as I'd hoped....[/quote:3s7t8sms]

Maybe if you bought cans with the ring pull thing on the top. With her little fingers she should be able to open them without weddging it witha teaspoon first :laugh:

 

[Jenny123]

I think you're right and she is having a MAJOR growth spurt... her first tooth came through today which at 4 months is really early Mummy is sooo proud

Breast feeding is a bit sore now with teeth involved