Signs Baby is Ready for Wearning - Solid Foods Advice...

We would love to hear your comments or views on this subject. If you would like to ask a question or start a discussion, please post a topic in our Feeding and Weaning forum.

Not yet a member? Join thousands of other parents and parents-to-be and Sign Up Here.

Forgot your Password?

hi could anyone give me some adivce please, i have a 10wk old son that is on 4 7oz bottles aday, normal forumal milk for the 1st 3 feeds and hungry baby food 4the last feed, over the last 2wks he as become even hungrier, so we have given him a 1/4 of a rusk in his lst bottle and 1 teaspoon of baby rice in his morning bottle as this is when he seems to be most hungry, but since doing this i have took him to be weighed and in lst 3weeks he as put 2lbs on, which is apprently a bd thing. does any1 knw what i can do to feed him up but keep his weight gain steady?

added by sarah1710 [Tue 6th Oct 2009 @ 12:08:41]

My daughter is 11weeks old and showing all the signs that she is ready, (she was 2 weeks overdue) i tried her with half a rusk mixed with baby milk and she ate the lot then downed a 7oz bottle lol.
	added by saznjay [Mon 21st Sep 2009 @ 09:17:26]

Wow on reading some of your comments, i feel quite lucky that my little boy sleeps for 12 hours at night, he has 4 x 8oz bottles a day at 7:30, 11:30, 3:30 he then has a bath at half six and a bottle at 7, everyone seems to be asking me why he is not on solids yet, hes 13 weeks old and i feel that introducing solids too early wouldn't be too good for him. P.s it was very hard getting him into this routine but very rewarding :o)

added by larax25 [Tue 14th Jul 2009 @ 17:57:08]

With Regard to the babies digestive system being damaged is this really the truth. My two older sons were weened 9 and 10 years ago at 16 weeks like all their peer groups. I do no know one who has problems with their digestive system. I do agree that breast milk is good but not all mums can breast feed successfully or their milk isn't great and would have to feed every hour to give their babies what they need. All babies are different and grow at different rates . Therefore all babies will take to weening or need weening at different stages. A mother knows whether their child is satisfied after a feed or not. Ljw123

added by LJW123 [Wed 10th Jun 2009 @ 10:01:42]

i have a 5 months baby boy and his weight is 6.7 is it okay ????? and what food i should give him
	added by pratim [Thu 19th Mar 2009 @ 09:32:25]

i think every child is indivadual, if they seem ready and thy are under 4 months then do it, ive got 2 lil boys my 1st wasnt a big eater and i started him on solids at 5 months but my 2nd lil boy seemed ready at bout 7 weeks he wud cry everytime we ate, he wud b v.interested in our food he was finishing all his bottles and still seemed hungry, so we tried him on rusk mixed wiv babymilk and he loved it and we havent looked back since. so as a mother you should trust your own insincts rather than some one who see's your child as another statisc!

added by jennat1985 [Tue 10th Mar 2009 @ 08:49:39]

i am a mum of 1 and my son is nearly 4months old he is a vary hungry baby he has7 9oz bottles a day! he also now takes the baby foods and loves them. i dont think there is anything wrong with starting a baby young just as long as you feel its right.
	added by sarahmoran51108 [Tue 24th Feb 2009 @ 09:45:17]

my baby is just over 4 months and people keep saying is she on anything else yet and i feel that family are so eager for me to start weaning even though ive told them i dont think shes ready as shes on 7 oz every 3 hours an seems satisfied. she crys odd days as i think shes teething. but thier comments are annoying me as she also sleeps through 12 hours some nights. surely she would wake for a feed in the night if she was ready for weaning. just want to know peoples comments on this as they cant judge me

added by jamimarie [Tue 17th Feb 2009 @ 09:44:42]

Sometimes i wish midwives and health visitors should just mind their own business. It's not their baby. If your baby is showing most of the signs as above and is approx 4 months then i think as mum's we should be able to start weaning we see fit! No doubt in another five years the guidelines will be changed back to 4 months anyway
	added by Vanilla [Mon 26th Jan 2009 @ 09:40:33]

My little girl is 11 weeks old and was not satisfied after finishing every bottle! I uped the amount, but this was still not enough. I have now started giving her one or two teaspoons of very weak baby rice at the same time as her bottle and she seems so much better. I think every baby is an individual, and as a mum you know your baby better than anyone. As long as you are only giving a very small amount and not replacing milk with solids, surely this is not harmful?

added by DollyFrilly [Wed 26th Nov 2008 @ 09:13:35]

my daughter is 3 1/2 months old and is showing all of the signs of being ready to wean when i spoke to my health visiter she told me very briskly that she is far to young and i should wait till she is at least 4 mths my daughter wasnt prem and is quite forward so i dont know what to do should i just folow my instincts and just start weaning or should i wait ??
	added by purplefish [Fri 21st Nov 2008 @ 09:10:04]

When do I start giving my baby a little baby rise or porridge? He is 4 months old now, can I give him some or is it too early?
	added by Saz9377 [Fri 14th Nov 2008 @ 09:24:00]

my little girl is now 15weeks old and she been eatting baby food for 3weeks . it help her sleep a bit now she sleep 10-6.15
	added by skyblue07 [Tue 28th Oct 2008 @ 09:22:19]

my baby boy is 16 weeks old and weighed 8lb 7 he is showing all signs of the above and ive been wondering if i shd start weening i am a mother of 3 the others were weened from 12 weeks but back then it wasn't a problem! whats changed between now and then where is the evidence? surely as a parent you have tomake the right decision ..my son is sleeping thro the night but is constant hungry in the dayevery 2 hours having 8oz and throwing alot up..he never seems satisfied. Will i be harming my baby? only my health visitor told mer i could ween him from 20 weeks??? which is it ?

added by dan1983 [Fri 24th Oct 2008 @ 16:50:31]

I am concerned about the fact that people are being offered this advice. Babies have growth spurts that can last a week - but so many people seem to be desperate to move on to food quickly. A 6 month old is likely to only sleep for a maximum of 6hrs in one go, that is considered normal, so I'm not worried about my baby going - 4-6 hrs at 5 months. We discovered that my baby was waking early, not because he was hungry, but because he was constipated. How do I know this? He'd been sleeping well at 12weeks, but at 16 he was only going 1 1/2 hrs. We gave him some prescribed laxatives and within 2 days he was sleeping through 4-6hrs again. A few weeks later and again he stopped sleeping so well, but his bowel movements had slowed, laxatives and he's sleeping.
Babies put things in their mouths - it is part of their exploration of the world - the tongue is very sensitive. Babies watch you whatever you're doing - it is how they learn. Sure, he might watch you eat, but I bet he'll also watch you tie your shoelace. Just because a baby can sit when supported or hold their head up, it does not mean that they're ready for food. When my baby cries after coming off a feed himself, it is usually because he has wind.
From what I have read in the last century we have had all kinds of random 'developments' that aren't developments. Formula was invented at the same time as the washing machine, and I personally suspect that this early weaning (before 6 months) only started in the last 100 years or so, although I have no proof to back up this guess.
I am not in anyway medically trained, but I have read a lot about this issue.

added by cornishlass [Fri 24th Oct 2008 @ 09:00:09]

after reading all of the comments below i feel a whole lot better about feeding my 4 month old. He was showing all of the above signs about 14 weeks and was hungry every 2-3 hours after 7 oz. i started giving him a little bit of baby rice and porridge with his bottle and now he is much more content and goes 3-4 hours between feeds. i was concerned that i was feeding him too soon but it seems many parents have had the same problem.

added by jo1ox [Fri 11th Jul 2008 @ 09:02:07]

My baby is almost 3 1/2 months old and I have just started feeding him baby porridge. He is also breast fed, however I found that he was watching whenever I ate anything and moving his mouth as if he was eating himself. He absolutely loved the porridge and have now began feeding him baby porridge once a day for the past 3 days and I have not noticed any problems with him, I know 3 days is no time at all but I think you know when your baby is ready for weaning. Hope this helps.

added by nike78 [Mon 7th Jul 2008 @ 09:07:03]

My baby is 14wks old, and isn't satisfied with just milk. He was sleeping through from 6.30pm until 7.00am from 7wks, and has started waking between 4-5am really hungry. He can only manage beween 6-7ozs milk, but doesn't seem full after. He can not physically take any more fluids. He was holding his head up unsupported when he was 5hrs old, and can almost sit unaided now. He has been watching the rest of the family eat, and puts everything into his mouth. So I gave hime some baby rice yesterday and he had all of it. I gave him a bottle first then the rice. He had no probs swallowing it and would have had more if offered. Did the same this morning and he seems much happier. He is still drinking the same amount of milk. My daughter was weaned at 16wks (she is 4 1/2) and has had no health problems. Lots of friends have weaned their children earlier than recommended, again without problems. Am I doing the right thing?

added by SexOnFire [Fri 27th Jun 2008 @ 08:51:05]

I knew my daughter was ready for solids when she would watch us when we were eating and also her weilght had dropped. I took her to the health visitor and asked if it is ok for her to start as she was only 20 weeks, and the health visitor agreed with this, even gthough they say start at 6 months, but I knew my daughter was ready. I started off with baby rice then later with vegetables which i kept slihtly lumpy and she was fine with it and she chews her food like we do.

added by raman [Wed 30th Apr 2008 @ 08:45:49]

My baby is 4 1/2 months old and is feeding between 2 and 4 ozs every 2 hours,but sleeps of a night for 8 hours,is he ready for solids(ie baby dinners and puddings).
	added by noley [Fri 28th Mar 2008 @ 09:32:19]

My baby is 7 weeks old and wants food every 1 1/2 hours on hungry baby milk still not enough does anyone have any advice as they say to wait at least 4 months and i really want him to settle he is worse at night then sleeps between 2 - 7
	added by TraceyB [Fri 4th Jan 2008 @ 08:58:36]

my friends baby wasnt satisfied with just milk even hungry baby they would be feeding her every 30 - 45 mins an she would still be crying for food at 5 weeks old they decided to mix rusks in with the milk which she guzzled down and still not satisfeid so then they tried a bit of baby food and she snatched at the food like she never been fed i thought that possibly it could be down to problems with her tummy as they decided not to take her to the drs my self i would of if the milk wasnt satisfying the child but the baby is now almost 3 months old and loving the food i was just wondering if anyone else has a simalar experience and what they did

added by mcflurry [Fri 26th Oct 2007 @ 08:51:01]

A bit of me time...

Signs your baby is ready for weaning

Your Comments

Related Information