Ready to start solids.... I think.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Gage and I have struggled, but we are finally reaching a "true" 3 hr EASY. He still wants to eat at 3 hrs. and takes in between 5-8 oz.
He also still wakes at least once in the night for a feed. I wanted to wait until he was at least 6 mths to introduce solids, but I wonder if he is ready now. I am afraid to start them because he has a history of constipation.

Here are some reasons why I think he is ready for solids:

1. HE is almost 20 lbs
2. He farts around during feeds as if he is bored
3. He sometimes wakes a couple of times a night to eat. I try hard to pack the calories in during the day.
4. He can sit up really well in the high chair
5. He likes to practice with an empty spoon
6. When I give him medicine (tylenol, zantac, or mylicon drops) he is spitting it out much less.

Here is yesterdays routine/schedule

8am wake
8:30 7oz
9:25 sleep

11:25 Wake
11:45 8oz
1:05 sleep

1:45 wake
3:00 6oz
4:15 sleep

5:35 wake
6:05 6oz
7:05 sleep

7:30 Wake
bedtime routine 70z
*had a Little poopoo issue that threw off the normal time of 8:30
10:00 sleep

1:42am 3oz
5am 5.5 oz

[tylersmommy]

Hmmm, he seems pretty hungry!!!! Is that his normal formula intake? What a healthy guy! IMHO, he sounds like he's ready to start solids, but whether or not you DO is a completely different story. If you'd prefer to hold off until 6 mo, there's nothing wrong with that...it isn't a law that you have to start solids once he shows signs of readiness. Some things to think about...the farting around during feeding is an age thing. He's noticing that there's a world around him that keeps moving while he's being forced to sit still and take a bottle. He could do the exact same thing once you start solids, or not. Who knows? Solids on a 3 hr EASY can be a PITA because there isn't much awake time for feeding. Solids may or may not help fill him up enough to shift to 4 hr EASY (I'd guess they would, though). Whenever you do start, I'd advise starting with something other than cereal if you can because of his constipation issues. Pears are a great first food.

Keep in mind that if you do start now and it doesn't seem to be working out, you can always stop and give it a go another time! Keep us posted and let us know what you decide and how it goes!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

This formula intake has been the norm for a few weeks now. It is also a change from then because I could barely get him to eat 4 oz during the day, and he waking every 3 hrs at night. I dont mind starting him on solids. I just want to do what is best from him developmentally, and I was hoping to get him on 4 hrs EASY (This just seems like a dream . How could we tweak our routine to add solids? Do you feed them after or before the bottle?

[Jacksmom77]

How did you get him to change from eating no more than 4 ounces & waking up at night to how he is now? I'm having the same problem with my lo...he will never eat more than 4 ounces & wakes up every 2-3 hours...thanks in advance for the help!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

I just kept trying to get him to eat more. I would feed him his standard 4 oz and then try to get him to drink a couple of more a half hour to and hour later. Then I cluster fed him before bed, and gave him a dream feed. Doing all of this did make me worry that I would train him to be a snacker, but thank goodness he isnt. But to be honest I think it was just a phase he had to move out of. I think it was hard for him to sit still because he was becoming more aware of his environment and wanted to practice moving around. In fact, every time I looked down at him he was staring at me and smiling. My bub is such a ham! Oh, I also use 2 different speeds of nipples. I use a faster flow for day feeds and a slower one at night (the night is just to prevent gas not limit intake). This strategy seemed to work the best. hth

[tylersmommy]

For when to feed solids, you can either do it before or after, it's really up to you. The key is to keep an eye on his formula intake and make sure he's still getting the right amount. I always preferred to do bottle first, then solids 30 min-1 hr later. When we tried it the other way, Tyler snarfed down waaaay too much solids and wasn't hungry for his bottles and got a tummyache. I'd be willing to bet Gage would even be hungry for solids if you tried them immediately after his bottle. Try curbing his formula intake just a bit (babies that age should get around 32 oz per day, and he's doing more than fine there) and offer solids right after. That would probably work best with his current routine. If not, post back and we'll tweak from there!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

I was very nervous about giving him solids too early, but everything went great! He hardly spit any out, and although he was unsure he seemed to find it interesting. It is day three with rice cereal and all is well . I have been just giving it to him at breakfast as suggested by Tracy. When should I start giving it to him at other meals? His next food will be pears. When I introduce this do I then bump cereal to lunch? Or can I give him cereal at other times now?

[tylersmommy]

That's great! I'm glad it went well! You can add meals whenever you want, but it's a good idea to wait at least several days to give his body time to get used to solids. What I did once the allergy waiting period (3-5 days) was over was move the newly introduced food (rice cereal, in your case) to lunch and introduce the new food at breakfast. You can also move rice cereal to any meal you'd like or mix it with the new food.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Thank you for your help.