| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Lazer
|
 Posted - 27/06/2005 : 18:08:37
|
Hi All,
Looking for some pointers, I rang the health nurse as DD is suddenly looking for a feed every 3 hours instead of 4, and she gets quite upset halve way through the feed, the nurse told me that I might start her on solids (baby rice) so off I went this morning and got some, what fun it was trying to get it into her I finally got most of it into her, and wouldn't you know it 3 hours later she was looking for another feed, maybe I didn't give her enough... I made up 2 teaspoons of rice and then gave her the bottle to wash it down.
Should I give her more? and cancel out the bottle feed which she would normally get at that time?
|
|
|
larah
|
Posted - 27/06/2005 : 20:54:24
|
Hi Lazer,
Don't be in a hurry to wean your baby onto solids because milk provides all the nutrients your baby needs for the first 6 months or so. The Department of Health recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months as this should meet all your baby's nutritional needs. A very young baby's digestive and immune system is not sufficiently developed before this time and there is a greater risk of developing allergic conditions such as asthma, eczema, hay fever and food allergy. Giving solids too early may strain a baby's kidneys which can increase the risk of dehydration. Although if weaning is delayed until after six months, some babies can have difficulty eating foods with lumps. Also as your baby gets older he will need more iron and nutrients than milk alone can provide.
To begin with all your baby's nutritional needs will come from breast or formula milk, so don't cut down on milk feeds. Up to the age of one year, your baby needs a minimum of 600ml (20 oz) of breast or formula milk a day.
Hope this helps.
Larah
|
 |
|
|
busy-mum
|
Posted - 27/06/2005 : 21:13:36
|
| For the first few weeks of feeding the solids are just fillers on top of your babies milk feeds. Milk should always be offered first during this time and then the solids offered until baby is full. don't push the solids too much, your baby will take them when ready. |
|
|
|
preggolucy
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 00:49:13
|
| I'm sorry to be blunt Lazer, but how old is your PHN? Has she ever heard of a GROWTH SPURT??? Give the extra feeds as she's looking for them, she'll eat like mad for a day or 2 & then sleeeeeeep. Dig out the bigger babygros. |
|
|
|
jen26
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 08:44:53
|
Lazer my DD started on solids (baby rice) at 11 weeks as she was starving all the time but not really into the bottles. When I said it to my PHN she was NOT impressed but she's my DD and I made the decision.
Anyway, what I would say to you is to make sure your baby is still getting milk. It's really important to watch she is still getting fluids when she's starting her solids.
What the Department of Health and anyone else says are GUIDELINES. You know your own child and her needs. My DD has never taken the amount of ozs per day she "should" be taking. And she's doing absolutely brilliantly. If she's not interested in the solids though don't force them. As busy-mum says she'll eat it when she's ready. And you don't want her getting constipated.
Best of luck Lazer! |
|
|
|
lazerbud
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 08:58:54
|
It sounds like a growth spurt to me too. However I started my own at ten weeks on solids but after a good read I have stopped. I BF so she is getting everything she needs and doesn't feed to badly.
Lazerbud |
|
|
|
Plums
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 08:59:44
|
Lazer, every child is different. but the only piece i can give you is that my friends sister started her little fella on solids at 14wks old and he is in and out of hospital with asthma. please do not think that i am trying to scare you or anything like that. but the specialist did tell her it was because she started him on solids to soon. maybe you could call your PHN again and double check with her. but at the end of the day it is your baby and you know whats best for her. it is tiring trying to feed a baby every 3hrs. maybe you could change her formula to a higher one instead.
best of luck! |
|
|
|
larah
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 09:05:47
|
Lazer
Just read my comments and realised I come across "very bossy" andn that really was not my intention. I also didn't mean to assume you where breastfeeding by my comments I must have been reading someone elses post first and then got mixed up sorry  . I have twin boys of 18 weeks and know how hard it is. One of them is very laid back and feeds like a dream the other is a complete headcase who feeds well one day and the next just isn't bothered!
Again sorry if my comments were a bit too pushy.
Larah |
|
|
|
pauladoran
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 09:08:22
|
| Lazer as preggolucy says, it is more than likely that she has hit a growth spurt and needs more but not solids, I too would wonder at your phn'sexperience as I have never heard of a phn advising starting solids on a baby so young. It is not just the dept of health who advocate 6 mths but also the WHO, and while they may be guidelines, they don't say it without goodreason. Studies have shown that the later a child is weaned the better for their health. If a baby this young is getting hungrier then you just need to increase their milk feeds - milk, either breast or formula is enough for them. You have to remember that at this young age their digestive systems are not fully formed and this can lead to complications for the baby. She could also be teething and this might explain her being unsettled, as you have discovered despite giving her solid food she was still unsettled after 3 hours -so it did'nt solve the problem you have. Try to hold off untill at least 18/20 weeks. I have 4 children and the youngest I started on solids was my first (could'nt wait for her to eat 'real food')and I had problems then with her weaning herself off the breast much earlier than she really should have and she suffered from terrible constipation (combination of too much solid and not enough liquid) on the other 3 I left them until they were 5/6 mths and no problems. HTH and good luck. |
|
|
|
lazerbud
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 09:16:14
|
Lazer, yyou are not the first person I have heard off who was told to start their baby on solids except my friend it was at 8 weeks.
People are going to get very confused with me Lazerbud and you lazer!!
Anyway, my own little one is 10 weeks and she is sleeping 10.30 - 8.15 in the morning but I feed her allot during the day. Why not drop in on the April 2005 board to talk to Mothers in your Month?
|
|
|
|
Newtothis
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 09:23:10
|
Hi Lazer, I'd agree with what's been said here - it's most likely a growth spurt. When my little guy goes through these he'd feed every two hours day and night and it would last two to three days.
The 'what to expect the first year' has some very good guidelines on when to start solid food which I went by, things like the baby is able to support his/her head while sitting, follows your fork when you're eating, if on your lap reaches for your food, and there's a tongue test too which shows whehter or not the baby is able to swallow - basically if you put a tiny bit of baby rice on the tip of their tongue and they push it back out they're not ready - I could never manage to get anything on the tip of his tongue however. Tracey Hogg's guideline is good too - 6 months or 16/17lbs.
I have a friend who started her baby on solids at 10 weeks and he's doing fine but he is HUGE. I started my guy on solids at about 5 months; I wanted to hold off until then to give his digestion a chance to develop and even though I started him gently it still took about 3 weeks for him to get into a regular poo-ing rhythm; although he was hungry his digestion was clearly not quite able to cope with the change straight away.
Every baby is different and trust your instinct.
All the best
M |
|
|
|
Lazer
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 13:57:28
|
Thanks All,
Just to clarify I am still breastfeeding twice a day and the rest is formula, I didn't realise that weaning could lead to those illnesses, I'm gonna drop down to the clinic on Thursday and have a long chat with the nurse I think she's from the old school of babycare.
Today DD has gone 4 hours between feeds, go figure ....
So I think I'll forget about the rice for the mo.
Thanks again. |
|
|
|
rainbow73
|
Posted - 28/06/2005 : 21:58:24
|
| My DD has asthma and I didnt start her on solids until 20 weeks at a time when the guideline was 4 months. I agree that it could cause digestive problems but I dont think giving solids too early can cause asthma. |
|
|
|
lilyc
|
Posted - 29/06/2005 : 11:14:42
|
I started my ds on solids when he was 6 months but I'm still not giving him very much and its not affecting his sleep (he's almost 8 months now). He is getting mainly milk at this stage (bmilk) and some rice/readybreak, apple, and veg (an icecube worth or two a day) I'm handing him bits of apple/pear and he kind of sucks/gnaws on it for a few mins and then looses interest.
I reckon when he's ready for more he'll let me know and I'm not that keen on moving the bulk of his nutrition away from milk for the first year anyway.
Luckily we seem to have finished with growth spurts now -they always caught me off guard. He got them at 2,6,8,and 12 weeks and they lasted for a few days each time. Its easier with bfeeding because everything seems to just go back to normal afterwards (no worrying about oz etc) but I would expect that with formula its just a matter of increasing the amount in his bottles by a couple of oz each time. It will probably take a couple of days to work out how much he/she actually needs to be satisfied for the 3-4 hrs in between feeds.
Lily |
|
|
|
jen26
|
Posted - 29/06/2005 : 13:49:21
|
| That didn't cut it with my DD lilyc (hi by the way!!!) .. I put her on solids so early because she had NO interest in the breast and then no interest in the formula. She hadn't got a strong suck although she does now and she had to eat. She loved the baby rice although it was an ordeal to get it into her and it actually made her want the bottles more. She's now eating all sorts and drinking between 3-4 7 ozs bottles a day depending on her mood! ;-) |
|
|
|
Oranges**at home**
|
Posted - 29/06/2005 : 21:31:43
|
| hi, i started my dd on solids when she was almost 15 wks and even at that i thought it was too early but she was very hungry..she took to the food brilliantly and always loved her bottle..i suppose i was lucky as none of this seems to have affected her and she is nearly 20 months now..i have to say though after reading these posts it would actually make be a bit worried as i never heard that you should only feed your baby milk till 6 months as the leaflet i was given by our phn was to start a small amount of solids at 4 months...i told my doc and midwife at the time that she had started solids and they both said that it was fine that every baby was diff..i said it to the phn and she said to wait till 4 months..all in all i think everybody is different and every baby is different. have a good long chat with the phn and see if she can provide you with further information. good luck. |
|
|
|
lazerbud
|
Posted - 29/06/2005 : 21:43:47
|
I started my first at four months and I agree with you Oranges, every baby is differant. I have stopped feeding my ten week old solids because it was a growth spurt but by six months I had my first weened to a cup because she wouldn't take a bottle. All she wanted was the breast milk and her three meals a day at six months I had started to wean her off the breat but she didn't compleltly stop with the breast until she was ten months and then I had her on proper milk because she wouldn't take formula. My first never had a bottle or formula. My second daughter has had formula when I go out and drinks a bottle of water every day no probs and would have stayed on solids because she munched through five spoonfuls of baby rice no problems at all but I felt it didn't feel right. But it just shows you how differant they were
I feel that you have to do whats right by your children, read all the guidelines and discuss it with your friends or partner and make a decision which is best by your child. It doesn't take long to relise your child isn't happy or is happy. The child will tell you quick enough if they don't like it or if they are not happy.
What do you think? |
|
|
|
Lazer
|
Posted - 30/06/2005 : 13:04:29
|
| I agree at the end of the day every mother has an instinct which tells them what the right thing to do is in every situation, no matter how experienced. I have actually found another solution to my feeding problem I changed the teat to a number 3 (medium flow) and now she takes almost the full bottle without any fuss, so it'll be a while before she takes the rice, then again, as I've learned over the past 12 weeks, never say never! |
|
|
|
pogs
|
Posted - 30/06/2005 : 13:16:49
|
its amazing how everyone has a very different opinion on this. my health nurse told me that by 6 months, my dd should be eating red meat, chicken, spuds,m weetabix, lots of differnt fruit and should also be more or less off the bottle. i've been giving her solids for about 2.5 months now (she's just 7 months) and she's doing great. she was looking for a bottle every 2 hours so i thought it was time. she has 7 heaped teaspoons of milupa and drinks about 6-7 ozs with each feed. i've started giving her some juice (very very weak) to sip on while she's having her food. hasn't been constipated once since we started and has 2 dirty nappies a day....very regular.
each baby is different. you'll know if they're starving or not!! |
|
|
|
kavala
|
Posted - 30/06/2005 : 13:37:33
|
Hi pogs,
my PHN even handed me out a feeding plan starting at 4 months!
Luckily I knew about the recommendation and bf my twins exclusivly for six months.
Katrin |
|
|
|
pogs
|
Posted - 30/06/2005 : 14:18:05
|
| its mental!! being told totally different things from all sides!! i didnt bf at all! she's doing great on the formula!! fair play to you bf-ing both!!! don't know how i'd cope!!! |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
12 wk old starting on solids how much to give?
101 Monkstown Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Tel:+353 1 2805050 Fax:+353 1 2805251
The information in eumom.com is not a substitute for examination, diagnosis
or treatment by a qualified healthcare professional. All contents copyright © 2000-2008 eumom.com. All rights reserved.
Click here to see our full disclaimer.