4 month old ready for solids?

[Gabismom06]

Hey everyone,

I was planning on waiting until 6 months as Tracy (and others) advise, but I'm wondering if my DD (4 months yesterday) isn't ready now.  Based on what Tracy discusses in "Solving all your problems" on the food chapter, I almost think she is.  We've been trying to go to a 4 hour routine and sometimes she can make it, but often wants to feed at 3 1/2 hours.  I've done all I can to increase my milk supply, but she'll often still be hungry when I'm empty.  I can hear her stomach growling all the time.  Occasionally she's waking up a night for a full feeding, but is an awesome sleeper otherwise.  She's lost her tongue-thrust reflex, (she tries to chew the spoon when I put it in) she loves to watch us eat, she's been reaching out for things to put into her mouth for a couple of weeks now and has full control of her neck.  She is already trying to sit up on her own and she rolled from back to tummy first and is now trying to get her legs up under her to push off when she's on her tummy.  But she's not a big baby by any means.  We go to the doctor today, but we think she's around 15 pounds and really overall she's quite petite compared to a lot of other babies her age. So I don't know what to think.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  I'd hate to start too early and regret it later, but if she's ready now or even needs it now I don't want to miss it.

Thank you!! 

[momofclaire]

First of all I think you should discuss it with your doctor.  He/She knows your child and can give you the best idea as to what lo is ready for. 

I wanted to wait with dd until 6 mo but my husband was so excited to take part in the feeding of Claire that he talked me into it at 4 1/2 mo.  My doc said it was fine and we started with a very thin rice cereal.  You will know if your lo is ready because she will either push the food right out or she will try to keep it in there and seem to want more.  The first few weeks seem to be more about learning anyway...I am not sure how much she really got then.  We started at lunch.  I bf and then offered cereal.  Good luck and have fun...once you start solids meal time is way more interesting....

[binxyboo]

Hi,

It really is advised to hold off on solids until 6 months, here is some info on that http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

Some bf babies never make it to the four hour schedule, I think it is amazing that she sometimes only needs a nightfeeding. WOW! I would say it may be best to nurse more during the day to see if that helps. I think 15 pounds is a really great weight for that age, it seems like she is thriving on your milk. Have you posted about this on the bf forum before? I may ask someone to pop over here to see what they think.

[Samuel's mum]

I never made it to a 4 hour schedule and was more like 3-3.5 right up until solids which we introduced a week before 6 months. I read a lot about why the recommendations were changed to 6 months with the focus on waiting until 6 months for exclusively breastfed babies in particular. I looked at why the WHO recommendations shifted and it's also worth bearing in mind that so many national health organisations changed from saying 4-6 months to 6 months - these are conservative organisations who do not take such changes lightly. There will be individual babies who are recommended to start solids earlier - e.g due to reflux or health concerns. However for the vast majority of babies the new recommendations are a good fit.

I would say that she's obviously doing really well and is curious about the world around her but even just a few more weeks delay may benefit her in the long term. The 'signs of readiness' discussion comes from the time when we were keen to start solids asap - now it's  ensuring the baby's digestive tract has fully matured.

I would say that a useful step is to talk to your doctor about supplements that can increase milk supply - assuming you have received advice on supply from LCs and really exhausted all the usual avenues. I recognise your photo but I can't remember what your bf history is - sorry.

Starting early solids can have a bunch of effects but one could be a decrease in demand for milk due to feeling full on solids which are significantly less nutritionally valuable and the nutrients they contain are harder for a young baby to absorb. This may decrease your supply further.

I know it must seem disheartening to feel you are not meeting her needs but I would advocate solids as an absolute last resort - formula milk is a preference if you need to supplement with something other than your milk (and please bear in mind I am training to be a bf counsellor and recommending formula isn't my usual course of action!). Post again on the bf board and let's really try and talk it all through and see if there's an avenue you haven't explored.

If she's just 4 months now you are talking about just a few more weeks - feed more frequently, talk to your doctor, do some reading. Those few weeks will seem like a blip when you look back but if she did have a reaction to early solids (which might not reveal itself for years) it will be worth it.

JMO. I know other people will say they started their babies early with no regrets but the WHO,AAP, Health Canada, UK NHS folks must be worth paying some attention to.

[momofclaire]

Ladies, I was unaware of this change.  When did it occur?  I  know that they just changed the height/weight charts also.  My ped usually mentions these things to me.  DD is now a year.

[Gabismom06]

Well, we had the doctor's visit and she's actually only 13.6 pounds, which is still a 2 pound gain from her 2 month checkup and the doctor wasn't concerned.  So although she's just a little peanut, the doctor said that her motor skills are very advanced for her age after talking with me and observing her.  We talked about the change to solid foods and she advised that I go ahead and start just a very small amount. So, I don't know.  I'm torn.  I read the Kelly article and I can see why they say to wait.  It's just that I'm concerned about my supply.  I guess the fact that she sleeps so well at night means that I shouldn't worry too much.  I'm just wondering if because she's so active she's burning a lot of calories and is ready a little earlier.  My mom said that I did everything at least a month or two early, so I'm wondering if she's just kinda the same way. Maybe we'll give it a try and see how she does.  If she likes it and seems to want it we'll probably go for it.  The doctor did say I shouldn't be replacing breastfeeding times with meals at this point of course though, so we're only talking 1 or 2 Tablespoons for now.  I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks!