Advice to help delay weaning?

[rugbykaf]

Hi,

My boys r 4 months old, on 4 feeds a day and now taking 8 - 9oz per feed.  My bottles dont hold any more than that! I dont want wean until 6months if at all possible as would like to go down the route of baby led weaning.

So what happens when they want more than 9oz? Do i add in an extra feed?  just make up 2 bottles? Dont think they've had the 4 month growth spurt yet.

[EllenS]

Only 4 feeds a day seems like a long time apart at only 4 months old, I would split it up into more frequent feeds.  Of course, I bf'ed so am used to more frequent feeds, maybe not the best person to ask.

[Lolly]

Which formula are they on now? If you are in the UK have you considered using a hungry baby formula? These formulas are designed to fill babies up a bit more when they are taking in a good amount of milk but aren't ready for weaning yet.

Laura

[rugbykaf]

Thanks for your replies.  I dont really want to go back to more frequent feeding if i can help it. Feeding twins takes a long time as i like to do them seperately as much as possible to get a bit of 1 to 1 contact. Besides, it was them who decided to start going longer between feeds.

Ive been thinkin about hungry baby formula but am just a bit worried that i would be denyingthem calories by giving them a formula that made them feel full :-/ . . . ?

[*Kara*]

Four feeds is on the low side at 4 months... no night feeds or a dream feed?

[rugbykaf]

No . . .

I stopped giving a dream feed as it didn't seem to make any difference to what time they woke up for their night feed, plus they never really took very much.  A couple of weeks after I stopped the DF they started sleeping through!

Should I go back to a DF?  I don't want to interrupt their sleeping patterns, although I was planning on adding one in during the growth spurt.

[Lolly]

I wouldn't start a DF again I think. If they needed it they would wake at night because they are hungry. Over their 4 bottles they are getting 32- 36oz which is a decent amount of milk really.

I think one of your options is to try and get an extra feed in during the day - maybe at bedtime try a bottle just before their bedtime routine and then more when they go to bed so a sort of cluster feed. The hungry baby formula won't give them any extra calories, it just takes longer to digest so they feel fuller for longer. You could just have another few oz in another bottle ready, but I wonder if that would just be too much liquid for their tummies   If you did start weaning early then the foods you will start with are very low in calories too, so they won't be gaining much calorie wise from solids either.

What does your HV suggest?

Laura

[rugbykaf]

Thanks Lolly,

yeah, a bottle before bath time might be a good idea, or maybe after they wake up from their last nap.  How spaced out should these feeds be?  They usually wake up about 4.30 - 5pm after their nap, bath at 6pm and have their bedtime bottle at 6.45pm.

I intend to discuss this with my HV, shes very nice but a little bit useless :-/

[Lolly]

I think after their nap and then after their bath would be good - try it for a few days and see how it goes.

A nice but useless HV - surely not I think it's part of the job description!

Laura

[*Kara*]

A nice but useless HV - surely not Shocked Tongue I think it's part of the job description!

LOL!  I thought this was just part of the job in Canada!  Luckily enough, we only get the home care nurse one time at one week of age   Then we are stuck with our useless family doctors