Confussed about giving milk and solids at diff times??

[Sharoncattell]

Hi

I don't mean to sound thick or anything but....

My Lo is 24 weeks on tues, I started weaning 3 weeks ago, it was going well then she started to refuse them so I slowed right down and went back to baby rice and she seems to be happy again now. 

She was 4 hourly BF before introducing solids and quite often she is not interested in her 7 am BF?

Looking at the routines on FAQ's most mums give solids seperate to milk, keeping milk 4 hourly and solids 4 hourly but 2 hours apart, if you get what I mean.  i,e
7am milk
9am solids
11am milk
etc


But what I don't understand is how if she was 4 hourly BF and quite happy, how she is going to fit solids in, inbetween and be hungry for them  and her milk. 

Sharon

[Freya'sMum]

Hello Sharon,

Perhaps it would help if you try not to think of her solid foods as 'food' - I know this sounds a bit odd, but actually milk is where your lo's main nutrition comes from until 9 - 10 months old, and solid food is simply for experience.

Babies don't need solid foods for nutrition until nearer 12 months, but you offer them before this so that they know what solid foods are, and what to do with them by the time that they do need them! It really does help to think of introducing solid food as an opportunity for your dd to explore different tastes and textures, and to practise using her oral muscles, rather than 'eating'.

Thinking of it in this way takes the pressure off you to be giving your lo a lot of food very frequently throughout the day, it is vital that she maintains her milk intake, and that solid foods are offered after but close to a milk feed so that she has digested some of the milk, enough to be hungry enough to want to try some solid food, but only 'eats' a little, and has long enough before her next milk feed to be hungry for it again!

HTH?

Ax