My little boy is nearly 4 months old drinks 7oz bottles every 3-4 hours sleeps through the night, When is the right time to start weaning him like starting off on baby rice ??? I know midwifes say best time is 6 months onwards but every time i shop i see lots off food which say 4-6 months surely if they really did not like them being weaned till 6 months why do they sale food for 4-6 months...???

His weight gain is lovely at 3 months + 1 week he weighd 14ilb 3oz...

Sometimes he has his bottle then an hour or too later wants more, we do also give him 3oz water daily to clench his thirst.. like i say he has 7oz if i gave him 9oz he wouldnt drink it all in one go...some days he has his 7oz then 1-2 hrs l8r wants more n probs drinks another 6oz..when i eat snack things like crisps he watches me n moans at me lol (very cute) i have dipped my fingers in some foods n gave him a little taster n he loves it n wants more....

Is it ok to wean @ 4 months n how do ya know there actually ready for weaning ???

Thanks for replying && reading x

Zachary's Mummy

It really depends on the baby. He needs to be able to hold his head up with good neck control and if you put a spoon in his mouth and he thrusts it out with his tounge then he is not ready. IS he showing signf of interest when your eating?

I started weaning Euan about 5 months as he was showing lots of interest. We started off on baby rice and for the first few days he was just getting used to something new in his mouth and didnt really swallow alot of it. We gave baby rice 1-2 times per day from 5 months to 6 months but didnt start any other foods until 6 months.

You could always try and if he is not ready you will know. As i say alot of us have weaned early, with no problems.

I don't agree with if they are showing interest, watching you eat and all that that it means they are ready. Babies are always interested in what their parents are doing and will mimic that. 3-4mo is a really big growth spurt so he might be going through that, or some babies just need more milk. Here are a couple of things to read through before deciding to wean before 6mo

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

Here are the signs that they are ready
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/readyforsolids.htm


Good luck

Agreed! The watching you eat thing is really not a sign of readiness.

Ruby LOVES watching me straighten my hair that doesn't mean i'm going to do hers! lol

I think if he is going 3-4 hours between feeds and sleeping through the night then he is probably not ready to be weaned yet. It is up to you but it doesn't sound like he is needing anything extra right now, but that's just me. It might be best to ask your HV x

Thanks ladies for ur replys i will sit it out n wait till he is really ready x

It'll be a lot easier and more enjoyable for you both if you do.

If he's doing well on just the milk for now then I'd say keep it that way as long as possible... Its a nightmare once you've gota start lugging food pots around along with all the other baby stuff! We weaned just after 4 months as Layla was not satisfied on just breast milk any more. It was definately the right decision for us a she was a much happier baby for it and loves her grub now. Do what feels right for you and the bubs. x

we started weaning at about 5.5months

alys stopped sleeping through the nights, she doubled her birth weight (and more)

she could sit and didnt thrust her tongue, she loved the food from the word go lol and still does, we use some purees and some BLW

xx

i think babies are ready when they can sit up in aided and get things to their own mouths. x