Starting solids at the 4 hr EASY?

[aimeeL]

Hi all - Have just switched to a 4 hr EASY with my almost 5 mo (20 wks) LO... the transition has gone really well, after a few false starts... but she's eating and sleeping great now.. Anyways - was wondering, though, if I'm okay to keep doing a 4 hr EASY with her and NOT start solids?  She's exclusively breastfed....My dr suggested that we start solids gradually at her 4 mo check up, but I was intending on holding off until 6 mo... but after transitioning her to the 4 hr, I began to wonder if there's something in BW that I may have missed that suggests doing solids at this point???  Is she getting enough on the 4 hr EASY (I feed at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m., cluster feed at 6 p.m. and then last feed at 8 p.m. with one middle of the night feed...I've done the DF before, but a cluster feed seems to work better for my LO) to just have breastmilk?  Or - is there some fine print I missed that suggest starting solids along with the 4 hr EASY?  She was 8lbs, 6 oz at birth, but hasn't gained super quickly.  She was 13.5 lbs at her 4 mo checkup, which - according to my dr - was at the 50% on the growth chart and was perfectly healthy.

Thanks so much for your input.
                                                                         Aimee

[dbanana]

There really isn't a right time to start solids. If you think she is ready then she probably is. I have a 5month old daughter too and she is on the 4 hour E.A.S.Y and she also eats solids three times a day. She eats at around the same times as your daughter (7am,11am,3pm adn cluster feeding at 5pm) but has breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm and dinner at 530pm. If she seems hungry inbetween then just try giving her a meal. Thats all I did and then next thing you know she was eating three times a day. If she is not ready she wont eat it. Good luck!

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

One thing that can sometimes happen when you start solids, is that you lo may start taking less milk at each breastfeed - this is something you DON'T want.  Solids during the first year are mostly for practice and exposure to new tastes and textures.  Particularly around 6-8 months, they're really not so much for nutritional value. During the first year, you really want the bulk of your baby's calories and nutrients to come from breastmilk (or formula).  Even with iron, as we once thought they needed fortified cereals and meats for, you can get from breastmilk - the iron in breastmilk is more easily digested than in artificial sources.

So, when starting solids, you need to be cautious to do then shortly after a nursing session.  That way, your baby won't fill up on the relatively non-nutritious solid, and then take less milk at the next feed.

And no, there are NO problems with waiting until 6 months, or even later to start solids when you're on a 4 hr EASY.  HTH!

[aimeeL]

Your last sentence answered my question...  Thanks!  I was just concerned that on a 4 hr EASy - with only 6 feeds a day - she wouldn't be getting enough to eat and would NEED solids... 

So I guess I'll just wait then, and go with my original plan of starting at 6 months... unless she shows me signs otherwise!

[Canwi]

Because she is feeding less often, the feeds will be bigger to give an 24 hour total about the same as her 3hr EASY feeding total.
ie instead of taking 5 oz feeds 6 times a day, she will take 6 oz feeds 5 times a day - does that make sense?

[A pair of Charlies]

Hi

I waited until we passed the recommended 6 month mark for introducing solids and didn't really have an issue. I figured that as he wasn't exhibiting any signs of desparately needing to solid food then it was best in his interests long-term to wait til 6 months. I chose the DF rather than cluster but it's really down to what works best for you IMO.

Charlotte

[Archies mummy]

I bottle feed ds every 4 hrs and he isn't on any solids yet. He usually takes 7 or 8 oz at each feed and seems pretty happy with this. I think if you can hold off till 6 months you should, although some babies need solids earlier most can manage with milk (or hungry milk).

[aimeeL]

Perfect.  That's the reassurance I needed.  And I totally believe that she's taking in the same as she was on a 3 hr EASY... as soon as we switched, feeds were longer and more...substantial.

Thanks!