hiya some of you may disagree or agree but because Matthew is a hungry baby i thought i would try him on some baby rice if he don't take to it he will spit it back out , got told to put it in a bottle but not a huge fan off that just wondered if any mums had started there baby early on how much to give to start with thank you please don't judge and say i should be waiting till 6 months xx

It may be worth speaking to your HV...Your LO is very young to start on solids so I would be asking for professional advice rather than from anyone on a forum.

Not judging at all hun - you know your baby best so he may well be hungry, but there are medical reasons why you shouldn't give your baby any solids at all before 17 weeks old - it increases the risk of them having problems like coeliacs disease, chron's disease and gut infections.

Also you should never put anything but milk in bottles as it can make them choke as the mouth action needed to swallow anything thicker than milk is very different to the one they use when drinking from a bottle.

Please please speak to a HV or doctor before giving any food - have you tried him with hungry baby milk first - maybe this could get your LO to 4 months when it is safe to start with baby rice?

I think everyone is going to say the same as the ladies above - no one is likely to think its a good idea without a medical reason.

Not everyone will say wait til 6 months - all babies are different, however 4 months really is the earliest you want to be even thinking about - no matter how hungry your LO is the risks involved aren't worth it.

Hiya hon, my health visitor told me on Tuesday to start giving my lil girl baby porridge and baby rice, as although she is drinking LOADS of milk (the one for hungrier babies) she hasn't been putting on enough weight due to constantly having bowel movements the consistency of water, and she is STILL hungry for more. HV said it would be healthier for her to start weaning.

Ruby is LOVING her new food (starts grinning as soon as she sees her spoon!) and her bowel movements are beginning to improve already.

HV told us every baby is different and to let her show us what she wanted. If she wanted the food then she'd eat it, but if she wasn't ready for it she'd spit it out as the way she would need to eat it is different and babies are incapable of eating other foods until the mechanical workings of their mouth, tongue and throat were sufficient enough to cope with it. As for digestion, as long as the foods given are of a creamy texture and milk or water based then there is no reason for baby's stomach to reject the food. ie: porridge or rice or plain baby yogurt. HV also said to keep it as simple as possible and don't add anything else to flavour it such as banana etc. as these are the things baby cannot digest until around 4months of age.

Good luck xx

we started ryan on rusks mixed with milk and baby rice last week as he was such a hungry baby (7oz ever 3 hours) he loves it 4 months is the recomended age but you know your baby best.
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I started my little man on baby rice at 12 weeks (it used to be from 3months plus not sooo long ago)! He is a big baby - he is 16 weeks now and nearly 20 lb! He started sleeping through as a result! I only give it once a day and will only be starting other tastes when he is 17 weeks. The government changes its recommendations all the time. Lets just remember they expect exclusive breast feeding till 6 months - formula is alot fattier and some bigger babies will benefit from weaning earlier! IMO!

We started weaning at 4 months but before then (for my son anyway) we put half a rusk in his usual milk feeds, which seemed to fill him up a bit more. I do agree with the other ladies though - seek advice from your health visitor before doing anything. Just because this worked for my little boy (and was based on medical advice btw), it doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for yours. Good luck though hun xx

Sorry but 6 months is the recommended age for weaning now. Recent studies have shown that babies digestive systems are just not ready until then. I think 3 months is too early to wean. Perhaps try increasing the milk to 8 oz every 3 hours?

My eldest 2 were weaned at 4 moths (as was recommended then) but they were totally ready for it and like you said if they weren't they wud have spat the food back out. My daughter is 5 1/2 months and is not ready for weaning yet and we have only just got her taking a decent amount of milk, so each baby is different and ready at a different age. I wud ask your HV as your LO isnt 4 months yet and see what she says. Please dont put anything in their milk bottle though - that has a high risk of choking and steer clear of rusks - they are loaded with sugar.