I started my baby on solids 3 weeks before she turned 6 months, I was told my my HV that I had left it a little late, and she was suprised that my daughter had lasted that long.
What did I do wrong? I thought we were supposed to wait until introducing solids until 6 months.
Anyway, she certainly needed it, but I am unsure on how much I should offer her. She never seems to turn down food. Mostly she has about 3/4 full ice cubes of veg, and an ounce of baby rice made up with milk added to that.
I know if she is hungry I should allow her to have what she needs, But can she eat more than she needs?
Also, as my son refused most milk when solids were introduced, I am unsure as to how much milk she should have and when, as managing both solids and formula is getting a bit tricky. My HV told me the golden rule of 20oz, and that scared me as some days she doesn't get past 16 or 17 oz's.
My daughter is nearly 11 months and I am now doing BLW so not sure that what I do will help. I did start off pureeing etc and my daughter would have 2-3 cubes at each sitting (lunch and dinner) and had rice and fruit puree at breakfast. Some days she would eat more than others!
She is still on 4 milk feeds at the moment. Here is a typical day...
She takes approx 25-30oz of milk in a day - sometimes 15-20oz...
Try not too worry. If they are hungry they will let you know....when I was spoon feeding I would know if she had had enough as she would turn her head away.
Sorry been trying to get onto these darn forums for ages. There is so much conflicting advice out there from health professionals. If your baby is eating, looks healthy and putting on weight than dont worry.
The same thing would happen with Katie, as soon as she was well established with solids she would only take about 15 floz of milk a day, i cannot force her to take more. The HV said that it was fine, as long as she was getting between 15-18floz a day, babies when they start solids will want less milk. I have stopped going to the HV as I am happy with the way that she is developing.
If you are worried go to your HV or GP, but go by what your baby wants. I feels that there is no 'golden rule' when it comes to babies, they are all different and go at different paces. Like I said if your baby is putting on weight , happy and healthy and eating solids than that is fine.
I hope that this helps, there is so much advice out there and conflicts, just go with the flow
I should have added that she is a pain with sleeping in the day. Mostly she only has about 1hr 30 mins max, on a good day, so by 7, she is shattered, and usually falls asleep with her milk, but she then doesn't wake until well after 8! some people think this is great, but then because of her waking late and going to bed early, I find it hard to fit all the milk in as well as the food that she enjoys so much.
She will happily go 3 from one feeding to the next, but I don't feed her until she lets me know she is hungry, which she does well!!
I have been told that I should give milk first and then solid, but she won't have the milk, so I put as much with her food.
So her day is usually as follows,
8.oo 8.30 6oz milk
9.oo Cereal with 1oz milk
12.00 Dinner made with about 1oz Followed by bottle about 3oz
4.00 Tea made up with 1oz milk Followed by bottle about 3oz
7.oo 8.00 Bottle 6oz/7oz
I offer her water in between but she probably only has about 2 or 3 ounces.
She is not the happiest of babies, and I am not sure if it because she is hungry as I give her solid (veg and fruit) and she eats it all, I offer her the milk but she often won't take it. Often an hour later she is crying uncontrolably, and I don't know if it's because she is still hungry, just not for milk. I don't want to force feed her, but I know milk is more important.
She gains approx 6oz a fourtnight, which is great, so she is healthy, just not happy. But maybe she is just not a happy baby.
My son was as good as gold, so I suppose it's a case of, is she that bad, or was he just really that good? Lol.
I would start her day at 7am and then that way you have more time to get her milk feeds in. Also you are giving her milk with most feeds as well. I only give solids and or milk...so at 7am my daughter gets milk (7oz) then brekky at 8 (toast) She gets a small bottle at 10ish (4oz) which tides her over till lunch. She has a nap and then gets a bottle at 2ish which keeps her going till dinner - no milk at that and then she is ready for her bottle at 6ish. Your little one is only 6 months and to be honest I was not too bothered about solid intake at this age as I think it is more important for her to take her milk.
Its not easy is it! Sometimes you never know what to do for the best......but I think if you start her day that little bit earlier then this may help.....just a suggestion as it seems to work for us. And remember she is sleeping so well so that must count for something!!
Hi Karen, thanks for that, I purposely set my alarm and turn the loghts on to wake her up, and very often I feel horrible, as I know I would not like to be woken from a deep sleep, But I am currently getting her to wake at 7.30, as she never used to wake until 9!! Imagine the nightmare there.
I Know it is more important for the milk feeds, that is why I am looking for advice, I have been experimenting the last few weeks, and I have found that staggering the milk with food worked best, and she was also taking more that way, today I am trying her with her milk at about 3, anytime now, and then her teah at about 4.30 or 5, that way she will get more.
She is going off her milk, but she is better than her brother, I had lots of problems with him, and he weaned himself off the bottle at 9 months and had what little milk he would take form a free flow cup, HV said thsi was great, but I was worried. My daughter is taking about twice the ammount of milk my son did at this age, and he turned out ok. But it is still a worry.
If I put her to bed earlier, maybe she will get up earlier. That way she will get more feeds in.
It is so difficult, all babies are different like you said you did not have the same problems with your son. When I was a baby, many moons ago I did not drink much milk or eat either, I was very petite. My mum used to worry so much that I as not gaining weight, and look at me now a size 14 heffer. Katie in comparison is normally a good eater but does not drink much milk.
What I try to do is offer her breakfast, lunch and dinner first before milk, then an hour later will give her milk when she has had the chance to digest. She still has about 7 floz in the night (shock horror from hv). I am now a stay at home mum, so katie gets up about 8am and will give her a little milk before breakfast.
Today she has been difficult, she ate a fe3w spoonfuls of breakfast, about 4 floz of milk, few spoons of lunch and would not eat. I hope that she will eat dinner. good luck hysteria i hope that this helps
I was exactly the same piglet, it may be familiar to you, but I weighed about the same as my daughter (26 weeks) when I was 12 months old. 16lb! My mum was always worried despite having had 2 previous children. I had to be taken off the breast, which made no difference. All the same occurances started with my son, and until he was about 3 months old he was a consstant worry, he just didn't know how to suck.
But that was him. My daughter is totally different, and seems to have a much better appetite.
I have worked out one way to get her to have the reccomended min '20oz'
8.00 Bottle 6oz 9.00 Cereal 1oz milk added
12.00 Dinner 1oz milk added
02.00 Bottle 6oz 04.00 Tea 1oz milk added
07.00 Bottle 6/7oz
This way she is definatly getting at least 20oz if she has all of what is offered, and a little extra if she refuses some.
I tried a few days like this last week also, and she seemed to be alot happier this way as she wasn't going big lengths between meal times.
She tends to fit in her naps amongst these times well also, having about 30 mins from 11.00 to 11.30 and then usually drops off with the bottle at 2.00 .
Thank you all for helping me out here, if she is still strugglng with fitting this in, I will have to wake her up and expand her day as you have suggested Karen999.
Darn just lost my reply again. Sorry, i was just testing whether the forums were working. I think that there is an obsession from hv about how many floz a baby is getting in, how do women who bf measure this I wonder! As long as your baby seems healthy and has energy than i dont think you have a problem.
Exactly! as a one year old i must have weighed about 16lb, and look at me now, i would hardley call myself underweight he he he! All babies are different and eat and drink at different rates, it is great that you are finding ways of getting 20floz in.
I never thought of it that way, I suppose in that case the baby only has the ammount they want weather it is a large or a small ammount. She certainly has plenty of energy, she has a good pair of lungs on her.
She just likes her food, there is not much that can be done about it.
I have two choices, attempt to force feed her milk that she doesn't want (and usually throws it back up) Or I can let her have tho solid she wants, and then let her have the ammount of milk she wants.
She is certainly not underweight, but if I carry trying too much with the milk, she will probably get a bit overweight.
I think that you have answered your own question, I am no child expert but what I found is that babies will generally take what they want. At the moment Katie is not eating much solids, I think that it is to do with teething, so I have attempted to force feed her but it just makes everything worse. She has got so much energy and is drinking plenty milk which is good.
I expect that she will make up for it later on. she is on the petite side but it is her natural shape. the more you worry the worse things look. Gosh i have to take my own advice, I know that it is only natural to worry. I remember during the summer katie had colic, it was hot and she was hardly drinking any milk, I took her to the doctors frantic with worry, the GP examined her and said that she was perfectly fine, and just to feed her what she wants and not to force it.
Ever since that, I have been more relaxed about it. I know that if Katie needs milk/solids she will ask for it.
Thanks piglet, if nothing else... a problem shared, is a problem halved.
I do tend to worry to much, and am constantly thinking about what she should be having, and not what she actually wants. Like you say, missing a few ounces one day, will probabluy be made up for the next.
Yes entirely, I have stopped going to the HV as there is so much conflicting advice out there. My HV told me that two feeds comprising of 15floz was all that baby needed, I thought that most of a babies diet was meant to be milk, but heh ho.
well, madam is refusing her bottle forst thinkg in the morning now! I am getting to my wits end as I see the trend of her brother all over again. He was having his daily feeds in a cup already at this stage, so I don't know weather to try that.
She is unhappy now as she has only had 4oz of milk this morning. This is the most frustrating feed as I would think at this time she is the most hungry.
I have been tryin the less solids, more milk trick, and tried cutting out her fruit for pudding, but she gets really upset. I don't know weather to try a different formula, but that could be expensive and get no results.
I have tried to keep in mind how much ,milk she has been having the last few days and it has been between 14oz and 18oz.
I tell myself is she is hungry she will have it, but she only seems to want food. Evan after having her solids she will still look at my plate and help herself if she can reach!
Hi Hysteria...my daughter went through a spell of refusing her bottle too....it did not last long! Does she have a feed during the night at all? Also, I switched to BLW at around 7 months and this really seemed to help.....am not sure if this is what you are doing now but it seemed to help re the milk situation.
From what I can gather from your posts she seems to be doing really well! 14-18oz is obviously all that she wants/needs. If she was hungry she would let you know....
I too have stopped going to the HV as I really dont think that mine has much of a clue....when I mentioned I was doing BLW she did not seem to know much about it!
Try not too worry. I know that thats easier said than done but your little one seems to be thriving....and remember they eventually go onto three good meals a day and cut out milk altogether. I do find that growth spurts can really have an effect on how much they eat/drink too.....
Hi Karen999, she is healthy, and certainly not a 'slim' baby, but not 'heavy' either and like you said, she is having what she wants.
She doesn's have a bottle in the night. She has always slept through the night from a young age. so she doesn't get a feed in then either.
I just feel as if I am making her have a certain ammount of milk when she doesn't want it.
I should trust her, as she knows best as to what she wants. But I have told that a baby having too much solids before 12 months and not enough milk can cause neurological problems, as the brain and the rest of the body needs mostly milk fro development at this age.
That is the sort of thing that worries me. I haven't looked into that any further as is scared me.
Hi Hysteria - she is getting milk so try not to worry too much about any damage....I am sure that this kind of thing would only happen in extremem circs and to be honest I have never heard of this. If you are worried speak to your GP - to be honest I would bypass the HV.
She sounds like she is doing great - she is eating, sleeping and is well rested. My HV had said to be that by 9/10 months most babies are only 2 bottles a day.....one in the morning and one at night...which would be about 14-20oz anyway.
I have the other problem. Freya is still on 5 milk feeds a day and she will be 1 next month!! For what its worth I am not too concerned. Things will sort themselves out eventually. And this is my second baby so I am far less stressed.....perhaps you can tell??
Give yourself a pat on the back for doing well and the best you can for her....who would be a mother? Its bloody hard work, tiring, worrying and pretty thankless......and then they smile and its all worth it!!
Hi Karen999, I think it is mostly down to her age, she is very forward, and I think she has started to think that milk is boring and that there are mouch more interesting things to do than sit and drink a bottle. Also she knows that she will get her lunch and tea, she is not daft! Lol. I was hoping it was something that woukd pass, but it look like this will be the case now.
I will take her and speak to her personal HV on fri, and if I am not happy then I will make an appointment with the doctor, just to be on the safe side.
Who would think that she is my second? You wouldn't think.!
I spoke to her HV and was told to not bother offering her the bottle mid afternoon, as staggering feeds encourages snacking, therefore she will never be completely empyy when a meal time comes, creating a vicious circle. So now I put as much milk as I can in her food, and she is having more milk at night. So even without the bottle in the afternoon, she is having as much as, and sometimes more than she was with the bottle.
