too early for solids at 3 months?

[Liz R]

Hi,
Jake is 3 months, and recently after sleeping through, has started waking and is hungry.dummies, shush pat, are not working!
he was 8lb 3 born, and is now nearly 16lbs, takes 7 oz every 3 hours, and I think he could take to some solids !
I know this is too early by all guidelines, but my two older daughters were weaned at 3 months(as that was the advice then) and there are no food alergies in our family.
any advice?

[Samanthas mum]

Tough one this really especially in light of old advice and the fact that your older kids are fine.

The UK guidelines have recently changed and they are seriously advising not to wean before 17 weeks and if possible ideally not before 6 months. I think if you spoke to your health visitor she would strongly advise against starting solids now.

Do you give your ds a dreamfeed? If not then I would definitely recommend it. If you already dreamfeed then 3 months is still very young and it may be that he needs an extra feed at night especially if he is going through a growth spurt. My memory is a bit fuzzy but I think 3 months is a classic time for a growth spurt.

Personally I would say don't start solids now but maybe you should speak to your health visitor and see what she has to say.

HTH 

[Deb_in_oz]

i would definitely say he is having a growth spurt and would say feed him when he wakes and see if he takes a full feed.  when the GS is over he will go back to sleeping thorugh (might take a while or might happen quickly)  i don't think solids are the answer as a GS is a temporary change.

when olivia had her 3 mo GS she had been sleeping through since 10 1/2 weeks. it took until near 4 mo to get it back but she has been fine ever since. as much as night feeds really stink, i personally woudl think it is better than introducing solids at 3 mo and risking gastro trouble, upsetting sleep further, allergies, etc.

IMO i would give it a week of feeding if wakes hungry and see what happens.

[ryan's mum]

i would agree with other posts, try and offer more milk rather than solids.we started ds on solids at 5 mths and since then have had constipation problems, i don't know if this is the reason but i do feel he was a little young.he guzzled 4x9oz bottles in the day but wasn't waking in the night,just looking for more in the day.

[nestor]

Hi there,

I must disagree with other post.

I started my baby girl on solids when she was 3.5 mths old. Although she was a premature baby by one month, she was very big, if she was at term she would have weight 5 kg. In my familly we were all big babys.

The reason she started so soon is b/c she showed much interest when we were eating, also she started to wake up at night more often and she would cry for more after each fed. I have noticed that she was saliving a lot.

I tried solids and noticed that she was a happier baby, no allergies, no constipation, and was sleeping better. I know that Tracy advise to start on fruits but I started on veggies such as squash. Some of my friends started with fruits and had harder times when it came to veggies. This is only my opinion. Also instead of starting with rice ceral I started with wheat but without the pouder milk. For me rice constipates. I know they say otherwise but I tried oat first and there was no pb, it is true that in the begging I would add some of my milk to it. Don't forget tha brest milk is the best protection for your baby. So sometimes if you noticed that she has some tummy acke give her more brest milk. It really worked for me. Again it is me.   

You know some times the more you read about things the more you see contradictions, so you listen to your babys needs and try. I spoke about this with my pediatrician and he agreed with me. Each baby is unique. Tracy also agrees with that. Mabe your baby is in that percantage that needs solid earlier. My mom told me I was.

Hope this helps,
Huggs,
Nestor

[Joey'sMom]

I talked to my ped (granted, I live in a different country, so our health guidelines may differ), and she said that the solids were fine.  The reason they recommend against them, she said, was because many babies can't handle swallowing solids until 6 months.  She said if ds could handle it, then excellent.

And he is happier now, and is actually recovering from constipation he suffered pre-solids.

Every baby is different, and everyone's rules are different, I guess.

[julieb]

I wouldn't risk it and waited until DS was 6.5 mths to start solids.  We also have no food allergies in the family and he was a big baby, 9 lb 10 oz at birth and 17.5 lbs at 4 months.  Check out this information which was a deciding factor for us:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

At the same time, I never had the luxury of DS sleeping through, but I didn't DF either (woke once a night for a full feed).  Toward the end, I was doubling up on the BFing to get more in him and through the naps (BF after AND before every nap), taking in a good 50-60 oz a day.

But after we added the 3rd meal of solids per day for a week (4 weeks after starting solids), DS started sleeping through on his own! 

Looking back, I'm still glad I waited, but would probably introduce a dreamfeed for my next baby.   

[nestor]

Hi Joey's mom,

I totally agree with you, and by the way beautiful baby you hve there.

nestor

[Liz R]

Thank for the replies, I think it prob was growth spurt! 
I really still don't recon he will last till 6 months, but will take it as it comes. My Health visitor advised me to try a Hungry Baby formula and that seems to be helping(SMA white by the way)
love Liz x

[evanskimberley]

Ah Liz you beat me to it, that's wha I was about to say!!!! We wnt to hungry baby formula till 4mo. I weaned then, but stopped soldis one mo later because she wasn't drinking enough milk. She was obv having a growth spurt at 4mo but wasn't hungry enough for solids and milk at 5mo. I reintroduced solids at 6mo and all has been well since.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I'm glad to hear things worked out for you!  It's hard to know, sometimes, if it's just a growth spurt!  But that's part of the reason why the guidelines suggest waiting, I think... Babies really just need milk until 6 months - solid food just doesn't have the necessary nutrients and it's just too hard to digest before then.  For one thing, the solids babies start on are usually cereal and veggies or fruit - no protein or fat, which are exactly what babies need more of to develop their brains! Babies can't digest the concentration of protein that you get from meats until AFTER 6 months and it can actually damage their kidneys to start meat too soon. So, if you start solids too early, they might fill up on that and not get the nutrients they REALLY need, as well as potentially do some damage. Obviously, it's your choice what you do, but it's a good idea to make sure you know ALL the facts before making your choice. I know many of us were started on solids earlier, but that's because we just didn't KNOW the risks.  Same as how many of our parents brought us home from the hospital in a bassinet on the back seat of the car....the didn't know that car seats would be MUCH safer!