Starting to wean and have a couple of questions

[SallyDom]

Hi everyone, I have a 19 week little boy and he has just started on solids; he has some Cow & Gate 'fruity breakfast' in the morning and something like blended carrot and baby rice for tea. He is on a 3.5 - 4 hour EASY and sleeps well for 3 naps and his night time sleep.
My questions are: When do I start to give him more food than this? When should he start having lunch and snacks? To be honest he doesn't seem to be any different for eating; he is still waking once in the night for a feed and if anything he has been waking earlier since starting to eat than before.
Another question I have comes from a conversation I had with my mother in law; she said that her first baby woke in the night for a feed until he was 2 years old and she thinks it is because his body got used to always having that feed and that amount of calories. She said I should start to water Dom's milk down so at first he is still having 8oz water but with only maybe 6oz milk in until eventually it is just water and then cut down the amount of water I give him. I sort of feel that if he is waking and drinking a whole bottle then he must need it, and as he wakes at different times then I don't think it is habitual waking. What do you think? Should I water his milk down?
Any advice is much appreciated
Sally
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[macsmum]

Hello there,
sorry no advice regarding the solids i get so confused with it even now my ds is 29 weeks and he is my 3rd child you would think i could deal with anything now, but how much solid food to feed i am still unsure, the main thing is the milk is still the main source of nutrition so not to over feed the solids otherwise the milk intake will drop!
as for watering down the night feeds this is exactly what i did over a period of 9 nights the idea is that they stop waking but my ds didnt master it that easy so once i got down to 7oz water to 2 scoops of milk i stopped feeding altogether and this has worked wonders he still wakes sometimes only once between 4 and 6 am but now i just give him a dummy(which he never had until the night feeds stopped) kiss him and leave the room, touch wood he goes back to sleep within minutes!
still cant believe it my 2 girls were 2yrs plus and still feeding at night,
good luck
Emma

[SallyDom]

Thanks Emma, how old was your little boy when you started to water his milk down? I guess I am worried Dominic really needs the milk; he is a big boy (9lb 9oz at birth, 17lb 11oz at 16 weeks) so not sure whether I think he'll be ok without a night feed because he's got enough meat on him to last the night(!) or because he is such a big baby does he need the milk to keep him going...

It's so hard this motherhood thing, I feel like I'm blagging my way through it sometimes - but loving every minute!

Sal
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[Zoey]

Hi Sally!  I have a few thoughts!

It is recomended that babies don't start solids until they are 6 months, unless otherwise directed by a doctor.  That said, I started around 5.5 months - directed by his doctor.

It is also recomended that formula be the main source of nurishment for baby until 12 months.  If you have been directed to give solids at this age, they are meant for experimentation purposes only.  They should never get in the way of formula consumption.  Always give bottle then 30-60 mins after offer solids, and I would only do one meal a day at this age - again my opinion, as this is what I did.

Feeding solids most often does not make baby sleep through the night.  In fact sometimes it backfires creating gas, constapation and other GI troubles at this young age which can make baby wake more often for discomfort. I can also atest to this because it happened to Owen and that is why we backed off to one meal a day in the AM.

It is also completely normal to have 1-2 feeds at night up until baby is 12 months.   If baby is taking a full bottle at a night feed, it probably means he needs these calories.  Personally at this age, wouldn't water his formula down.  When baby wakes for a feed, and it's a full feed, he needs those calories - giving him plain water isn't going to fix that - in my opinion.  When baby is 8-9-10 months and still waking for a feed, then I would perhaps do the water down method to wean that feed - at that age solids are firmly established.

Are you tanking up before bed and doing a DF around 10-11pm?  These may be better options for you at this time.  Trying to get as much formula into him during the evening, as he will take is a good plan.  I always made Owen's 3pm, 630pm and DF bottles with more in them (and he took it all) to try and keep him fuller longer.

I believe he will tell you when he is ready to not be fed anymore at night - he will show you by not taking a full amount, or just by not waking up anymore for it!    When you get closer to a year and he is still waking often in the night, then perhaps re-evaluate things.  But for now, I feel he needs those calories - my opinion of course

Hunger wakings are sporadic - habitual wakings are consistent.  I would really work toward a full 4 hour easy - being on the wrong easy can create night wakings.  Go with your gut, and your heart   If you think he needs the bottle (I think he does too) then give it to him, you know him best.

You are a fabulous Mommy, there is nothing wrong with a night feeding or two - please don't feel this is odd - its more the norm!

Love and hugs - I hope this helps a wee bit!
Zoey

[macsmum]

my son was 6 months so i only got rid of the night feed 3 weeks ago, but that said i knew he didnt need it because when he took a full bottle in the night he would only take 2oz of his 7am bottle, so by gradually watering down the milk he started to take more at the 7 am bottle once he was taking 8oz at that feed i just stopped feeding at night and so far so good.
only you really know if your lo needs that night feed, if the wakings are at different times at night then i too would say he still needs it, when he stops drinking his first morning feed then maybe start looking at watering down the night feeds.

Emma

[SallyDom]

Now I really don't know what to do!!! I guess if I'm honest I felt pressured by people like my mum and mum in law who by the sounds of it had us eating 3 course meals at 8 weeks old! They both kept saying how he is such a big baby and would feel better for something more than milk in his tum...I feel really bad now that I should have gone with my instincts and not started to feed him. Maybe I was just being selfish and wanting him to sleep through when he's just not ready to. He is a really good day and night time sleeper (is usually asleep just after 7pm and doesn't often wake up till 7.30-8am. So one little feed really isn't bad at all. As I said he is having a bit of breakfast and tea and although he is eating it he doesn't seem desperate for it or particularly bothered at all so should/can I stop now I've started? It hasn't affected his wake up times in the night though now I think about it the first few days he'd eaten he woke really early, 11pm the 1st night and midnight the next two. Maybe he had tummy ache, poor little thing. Major guilty feeling mum sat here.

I try to tank him up but know I'm not doing it the best way I could. He is on 8oz feeds so will often feed at 8am, 11.30am, 3pm, and I'll give him maybe 6oz at 5.30pm and then another 4oz before he goes to sleep at 7pm. Looking at it like that looks rubbish! He's only getting 2 extra oz.

Dom never got the hang of dream feeding, he was always too sleepy to take anything, he'd just clamp his little gums together so the bottle wouldn't go in! We started to change his nappy to wake him up a bit but he still didn't take much, 4oz was about the best we ever got and when we stopped feeding him at this time him his night wake time didn't come.

He has gone until 5am a few times (our record was 6.35am which is practically sleeping through I think!) and if he takes a full bottle then he won't take anything when he wakes up in the morning. We then have a problem where he starts to get sleepy so will fall asleep on the bottle without eating much. Maybe only if he wakes after 5am I should water it down but not before, to ensure he has a full morning feed, or is it all relative and the calories he missed at 5am will be grabbed at the 8am feed? Don't want him to miss vital calories.

I guess in the future I will have to just listen to my instincts more and not feel pressured by people. If I am honest I know Dom wasn't really 'asking' for solids. He really stares at us when we eat so is getting ready for it, but not quite yet.

[Zoey]

  Sally, didn't mean to add more stress lol.   I think you are right to follow your mommy gut. As stacy says, everyone is always going to have an opinion and not be shy with sharing it!  Lol

Follow his cues, he knows what he needs! 

Zoe

[SallyDom]

I really appreciate your advice. I think I thought I shouldn't be feeding him but felt like I needed somebody on my side to tell me so. I didn't give him any breakfast this morning and he was certainly happy enough with a big 'ole bottle.

Once again thanks for your help, this site is such a life saver, don't know where I'd be without it.

Sal
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