Where do i start?

[Jadie]

Oliver is hungry, He has not been himself for a few weeks now. I just realised he is 5 months old so is proberly hungry for real food!

Where do I start? I have brought baby rice, Thats as much as I know. I al
ways meant to read up and weaning but the time as gone so fast. I kept thinking I will read up before he is ready but I never have!

How much and when and how do I offer him the rice? How long does he have rice before I offer him different tastes?


If I gave him rice tomorrow would he be ok if he missed it on saturday? (wedding day) as I dont think I will have time to fit it in. Aslo we are going away for a few days. So wont the anything to sterise his spoon and bowl with? would he miss the rice after only having it a few times?

Jadie

 

[Jadie]

I wanted to wait till after the wedding before I gave him soilds but now I think he is hungry I feel mean making him wait!

Jadie

 

[Dee1985]

Jadie glad you have asked Harley is 4months and ready now he was sleeping all night now he wakes and downs 9/10oz bottles and still wants more i asked for help on here i made him some baby porage mixed with his milk he had loads he just kept taking it all together he had about 2little baby jars full. and only stopped when it ran out but now i no it was stupid poor thing was crying all night with belly ache felt so bad im so bloody dumb and yes i have had a child but forgot every thing
he has had no spoon feeds since so we can go through it all together now

 

[Jadie]

It never occured to me he was hungry, been to the baby group today and most of the younger babies are on something! I did want to wait till 6 months but i am pleased he lasted till now. As I know most babies are on solilds at 4 months. I was going to ask my HV but thought I get more help on here!


Jadie

 

[Dee1985]

yeah i was going to hold out as long as i could as i started dior early for no reason other see if she likes it
i thought harley would hold out but all of a sudden hes so hungry

 

[Jo]

Jadie, just start him on a couple of spoons of baby rice once a day and if he likes it after about a week add some puree fruit or veg to it.
Whe he is taking a few spoonfuls then give him it for 2 feeds

Personally i would give him it when he has nearly finished a botlle so he is satisfied but not really hungry

youll soon get to grips with it

If not we are here

 

[Lucy]

Hi Jadie

I have just started weaning Olivia, I'm not sure if it would be difference advice for a 5 month old to a 6 month old but what we've been doing is this

started with a bit of baby rice (Olivia didn't like it so she only ate a couple of spoonfuls), then I decided I would start with veg and fruit allowing 2 days of each food to see if she had any allergic reactions (I think the recommendation is to introduce a new food every 4 days).
I've just let Olivia lead me as to how much she wants (or as in her case she doesn't!) want to eat.
The first week I gave her food once a day at lunchtime, the 2nd week I am giving her food twice a day (breakfast and lunch) and next week I'll give her 3 meals a day. I have also been giving Olivia finger foods such as pieces of banana and rice cakes - she much prefers this to being spoonfed!

I'm offering her boob before each feed and afterwards as well.

I'm not sure if I've helped at all but this is what i'm doing!

Lucy x
p.s congratulations on your wedding! Look forward to seeing the pics!

 

[Jadie]

Oh, It sounds hard! I only just got the hang of breast feeding him! He is really moaning. Could this be cos he is hungry?

Jadie

 

[Rosieroo]

Ella went through a really bad stage at around 4-5 months when she had a massive growth spurt, it was hard work keeping up with her. I hated the whole weaning process tbh and started her off with finger foods then introduced some spoonfed meals.

What I also found with Ella was that I was mistaking boredom for hunger, once I started doing different things with her she stopped feeding so much (which was my fault really as I kept popping her on the boob!).

 

[Jadie]

He has had boob every hour since 2 or three today, only for a few mins. He was going every two hours. He was unsettled for a few days so decided to try feeding more. But he still is not him self.

 

[Jadie]

I am so paranoid about him been hungry now I have fed him twice when thats not what he wanted! he was crying as he had a dirty nappy, I did not check and just stuck him on boob, And then he was upset as he was tired but did not think and gave him boob again. He just fell asleep after a few minutes!

 

[Lucy]

Hi Jadie

Like Kina, I found that Olivia had a growth spurt at 22 wks and she fed a lot more often than usual. Also, Olivia's two bottom teeth came in around 20 wks and took me by surprise - do you think Oliver might be teething?

Lucy

 

[Jadie]

I thought he was teethinng thats why he has been moany, But no other signs than chewing and dribbleing. No red cheeks or ears. I dont know what to do! I would hate for him to be hungry but it would be so much easier for me to start him on food next week. Is that selfish?

 

[Jadie]

I think I will try him in the morning with some rice. He was 10 days late so does that make him 5 and 1/2 months now? I dont want him to grow so fast! lol

 

[Lucy]

Hi Jadie

What's Oliver's weight gain been like recently? What does he weigh now?
Did he previously sleep through the night and is waking now or is it just during the day he seems more unsettled.

At the end of the day it's your decision but please don't worry about other babies being on solids at a younger age - all babies are different and will reach milestones at their own pace.

Lucy x

 

[Jadie]

He has not put much weight on for a few weeks now. I cant remenber when I weighed him last he was 16lb, And today he was only 17lb. He still only wakes once or twice in the night. But he wont sleep in the day. I think I feel guilty that I did not realise before now that he was more hungry! He has stopped pooing every day too. Is this another sigh I have missed?

 

[Lucy]

Jadie

Before I started weaning Olivia, she also started to have fewer dirty nappies but the HV said it was just her adbsorbing the breastmilk so no I don't think it's necessarily a sign to start weaning.

Olivia had been putting on a 1lb every 4 wks and the HV said this was fine for a bf baby and she also continued waking twice a night so I didn't see her as ready for solids. She weighs 15lbs 9oz at the moment.

In answer to your earlier question, I don't think it would do any harm if you gave him some rice for a couple of days and then had a couple of days break, but maybe someone else will come along with some more advice as I kinda feel new to the weaning business myself!!

Best of luck Jadie, I agree that the time has flown in and suddenly we're faced with a whole new feeding game (like yourself I feel like I've only just got the hang of bf!)

Oh, one more thought I had, do you think Oliver is getting distracted easily during his feeds? I know that Olivia takes quite short feeds now unless she is really sleepy or first feed of the morning.

Lucy x

 

[Jadie]

He only feed for less than 10 minutes, Then he starts smiling and playing with it! My OH Has been off work and noticed the short feeds and blamed me. I have tried winding him and putting him back on but he wont feed. Just messes, has a suck then starts grinning at me!

 

[Jadie]

Does the rice need heating slightly?

 

[Rosieroo]

When I used to make the rice I would use freshly expressed milk, so it was already warm

Jadie you sound like me when I was panicking Ella was hungry and I was starving her Also she went for a week once without pooing, she wasn't constipated, just didn't go. I agree with Lucy about the breastmilk being more readily absorbed