Giving solids at 14 weeks? or hungrier milk?

SarahC11

Hi! i was wondering if anyone started there baby on solids at 14 weeks,i know your supposed to wait untill 4-6months so she's not far off the 4month mark! my ma keeps saying she's fine feed her but i cant help sticking to the rules!! ive tried her with the odd spoonful of milupa baby deserts she doesnt seem to like them!so i was thinking about maybe cooking a bit of veg for her. problem is she's never took her bottles well, she's on 5 6oz bottles a day now and she rarely finishes one, sometimes only taking 2-3 oz's. people have suggested hungrier milk but im not sure, isnt that for babys who are draining bottles? basically i always feel she's not getting enough everyday so would hungrier milk give her more food in her belly or make her drink less?? ok im rambling now!
any advice would be great!

NextSteps

You're not supposed to give solids till 6 months, for lots of reasons. Why not talk to your public health nurse?

edellc

what tip are you using on her bottle, you may need to change it to the next size up as she may be getting too tired trying to suck, that may help with the amount she is taking

I had to do this for my fella who I combination feed. I also bought 1 or 2 of the cartoons for hungrier babies and tried him on that before bed to help him sleep longer but he didnt like it, in the end it was the tip of the bottle that was the problem

I didnt start him on solids until he was 6mths old exactly he is now 13mths and loves his grub

THe phn is there for a reason so if you have any question believe me I know what mams are like mine was the same so I just asked the phn and went with what she said

Best of luck with it all

LashingLady

I think 14 weeks is too young yet for solids. Back in the day 12 weeks was considered ok for solids but they found that early weaning led to increased risk of stomach problems, allergies, and asthma.

You baby definitely doesn't sound like a hungry baby so I wouldn't give her hungry milk. You're right, it would actaully make her drink less as it would fill her up more.

I second the suggestion of moving up a teat size and she might get more out of the bottles.

What did your phn say about her weight gain when you had her last check? As long as she is gaining and having wet and dirty nappies I wouldn't be worried at the moment.

From the sounds of your baby she won't even need solids til she'e closer to 6 months. With my two babies I always tried to let them tell me when they needed something. If she seems happy out with the amount of bottles taht she's getting then I wouldn't hurry. I don't know if she's your first or not. I know I was very excited about giving solids to my first, but the novelty soon wore off when I realised it's twice the work of bottles!

qwertytlk

Solids arent reccomended untill between 17 weeks to 6months. Obviously if the baby is not being satisfied by their bottle, i.e-draining the bottle and looking for more, then you could try hungrier babies or solids. But in my opinion if she is only taking 3oz then this probably wouldnt be the time to move to solids at all. Or hunrier babies, as she doesnt really seem like a hungry baby? My son is 15wees and taking 8oz every 5hours and he is not really on solids yet. Talk to your phn about it? As for being concerned about her not getting enough, well id say as long as she is gaining weight then you dont need to worry. Also as an above poster said, what size teat is she is on? She may need to move to the next as she is getting tired sucking.

SarahC11

she's on tommie tippee (closer to nature) changed her teats from size 1 to the size 2's and vari flows last week. she seems to prefare the vari flows so il keep at them ones. the baby nurse was out today and her weight is fine,she told me not to go onto solids till 17 weeks but said she might eat better thank she drinks the milk. funnily enough she's been finishing bottles all day! she seems to think its ok that some babies just dont take as much as others.so il hold off on the solids for a couple of weeks aleast, she's almost 15 weeks so wont be much of a wait!