Is he ready for solids?

Hi All,

Please give me some advice as being a first time Mum this is all new to me.

My son has just turned 4 months old and for the last few weeks has been really restless at night. He was going 8 hrs or more but now only goes max of 6 hrs then 3 hrs - is this telling me that just milk isn't enough for him? He moves his mouth like he is ready for spoon and everything that he grabs goes towards his mouth. I have mentioned to a couple of people about starting him on solids but haven't got much feedback.

Your help and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi,

My son is 16 weeks old and I started him on solids a few days ago...same as you...he was waking up during the night after sleeping through for 10 hours a night. After the third day of solids, he is back to normal. He absolutly loves it too!

Check with your pediatrician if you have any health concerns but if you think he's fine, it will not hurt to start him now. If by any chance, you find he doesn't like it or becomes whingy after having his food, then stop for a few weeks before trying again.

Goodluck!

Natalie

Sounds like my daughter was! I started her on solids at 3.5 months and she just loves it!

The best way to find out is give it a try!

Best wishes

Thanks Natalie I will give it a try. What time of the day do you find the best? I was told after the first milk feed in the morning but will that still make them sleep through the night?

It will seem strange him eating real food after so long of just breast feeding and are nervous and excited. Thanks again for your help.

Shelley

One way of finding out for sure is to try him on solids. If babies aren't ready they push the food back out of their mouth with their tongue. It's a reflex they have to stop themselves from choking. If he does this, wait another week or so and try again.
Hannah was interested in eating from 3 1/2 months, so i started her on Heinz Baby Rice Cereal, mixed with breast milk. I made it really runny and used a flat spoon so she sucked it off the spoon, rather than eating it off the spoon. She is now 6 months old, and on 3 meals a day and loving it. At around 4 1/2 months i started mixing fruit into the rice cereal to give it a slightly different taste. She has different cereals now, still sometimes the rice, and i still use expressed breast milk for her. Good luck with that.

Hey Shelley,

I give Lachlan his solids after his bottle at about 6.30pm. He's at his happiest then. We have a little routine of him playing with dad ( whos just got home from work), having his bottle, a little more play, solids, bath and bed.

I try to wait a little while after his bottle so he's can learn that they are two different things and so he's not completly full. He loves it.

After a week I will then give him 'breakfast' after his morning bottle. After about another 2 weeks, I'll go for 3 feeds a day.

I hope this helps....this is just what I'm going try and hopefully it works!

Goodluck and enjoy!

Natalie

Hi Shelly,

I started Georgia on the farex rice cereal once a day in the afternoon when she was 4months old. I was not sure if she was ready and I guess she wasn't for she kept pushing the food out with her tongue.

I waited until now Nearly 6months when she started waking again at night. A Heinze phamplet I found said that was a good indication that babies were ready for solids.

I began once a day with apples in the afternoon, after a week I went straight to giving her meals 3 times a day after the breast. The guide on the phamplet was very helpful it said that at 6months give them solids after breast or bottle after morning feed, then afternoon and then second last feed of a night. The last feed before sleeping through should be just breast or bottle.

I have been folowing this for two days now and Georgia is sleeping well during the day and night. It is a bit scary this solids thing isn't it???