Starting to wean...I think

[Daffodilly]

Hi

First time mum here and I'm after a sanity check as well as some advice please.

DD is 23 weeks old and at her last HV appt I was advised to start weaning her now. I had planned on waiting until 6 mths, but following this advice I decided that as we will be abroad at 6 mths it may make more sense to start slowly now rather than start on foreign territory.

So for the past couple of days I've given her a tablespoon of baby rice (made up with boiled water) after her morning milk feed. She seems to really like it. Opens her mouth for it, slurps it off the spoon and basically wolfs the whole lot down - complaining when it is finished! I didn't really know what to expect, but is this an indication she is ready for more?

Also I made it with water so far as she is breastfed and I HATE expressing (never got on with it). Once she reaches 6 mths I understand I can give her cows milk in food - but would it be better to give her formula than cows milk in food?

We had a LOT of trouble establishing breastfeeding in the early weeks. I am thrilled that I managed to stick with it and keep it up for this long, but not sure how much past 6 months I want to go so not sure about how to proceed from here with milk feeds either?

Any thoughts from those with more experience would be very welcome.

Daff

[Coolmama]

The weaning thing can be very confusing - I would suggest mixing the baby rice with formula rather than cow's milk at 6 months as, If I remember correctly, cow's milk should only be given after baby is a year old. If she looks like she would like to try some more baby rice, then give her a little more and see what happens, but I would suggest not to be in too much of a hurry to introduce other foods just yet - maybe let her settle first as see how you both get on -

That's my two-pence worth, but keep bumping this thread as there are lots of very experienced mums here who will be much more help - good luck!

[beansprout]

Your b/milk will sustain her and contains a millions more nutrients than baby rice. That stuff won't fill her up and is nutritionally void. I would carry on b/feeding for a bit. All the advice is not to wean until 26 weeks but a lot of HVs don't follow this (even though they are supposed to!)

[lulumama]

you can have cows milk in cooking from 6 mponths,but not as a main drink until 12 months

thing is , if she is hungry, then more milk is the best thing to fill her up, why not wait until you get back from hols, as then you have no worrying about food when you are on hols?

[Daffodilly]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm not trying to fill her up at all and I actually don't think she is hungry. She seemse really satisfied with what I am feeding her myself. She has 4 day feeds, about 4 hours apart, and usually 1 night feed. While I would LOVE to drop this, I am under no illusions that a bit of baby rice or even some veg will make that happen.

I guess I was just worried we should really get going as HV said we should start and that she needs to be up to 3 meals within a couple of months.

Since she really seems to like the baby rice I think I will continue with small amounts of it and get her (and me) to start to get used to the idea that food comes from places other than just Mummy.

Daff

[colditz]

She will progress exremely quickly so certainly don't worry about getting 3 meals down her. I would wait until she is 6 months, then plonk he in from of some chopped banana, bits of toast, broccoli astick etc, and let her feed herself. pasta twirls work well too! If you sit her with you every meal and let her eat her fill, plus a couple of little snack, she will be getting plenty.

What is this magical '3 meals a day' rule anyway? It's purely culteral, there isn't any biological reason for it to be three, and not, say, five.

[Daffodilly]

Couldn't agree more with that - personally I like a good 5-6 meals a day. I can't go more than a few hours without a snack of some sort (especially since BFing). So why do I expect her to!

Like the idea of trying her on some finger foods in a few weeks time. Even better I'll try it while we are away on holiday and let someone else clear up the mess!!

[LexB]

Hi Daff
Just to say I'm in the same boat as you with a DD who is 24 weeks this Tuesday! Having weaned DS at 5months (ff) I have been wondering how to go with DD who is BF, given that everyone says def to wait till 26 weeks now. My HV advised me to start weaning about 3 weeks ago too. I have done a bit of baby rice and pear but am still feeling unsure (and have not enjoyed trying to hand express into a small pot!!). Maybe I will go back to just milk for a few more weeks having read everything here. Hope you have a good holiday
Axxx

[jetjets]

Message withdrawn

[Busybean]

I wait till you come back from abroad, much less hassle

[Daffodilly]

LexB - great to hear that someone else is in the same place. It is so hard to know what to do for the best isn't it!

I have to say that after one morning of peeling, steaming and pureeing veg, then trying to feed her orange puree in a cafe while she swivelled her head around watching everyone, I wondered why all my friends have been in such a rush to reach this stage. Breastfeeding is SO much easier - no preparation (unless you count a large latte and a muffin for me), no sterilising, always at the right temperature.... glad I've managed to get it going and kept it up this long.