Starting solids & dropping feeds

It's definitely not b!tchy when you say you know what's right for your daughter. That's 'being a mum'. I could scream at some professionals when they tell me what's best for my baby when I know full well it's not right/not going to improve the situation etc... (like my friggen male doctor when I was having issues breastfeeding! It was making Ashlee sick and he said 'go see a lactation consultant' grr! That wouldn't have solved the problem. Completely new thread for that!!!)

Anyway, we're going to start solids when Ashlee starts waking again in the night, or finishing her bottle in minutes flat and screaming for more, no matter what her age is at that stage.

Toni babe do what you feel is right if u wanna put bubs on some pears try it for 4 days and if she has a reaction to it you will know by then! Just keep up her water coz i have noticed that Ellas poops are firmer! hehe oh and stinkier LOL

Edited by Jezsika

LOL at the shot of whiskey! What is it with older parents and their whiskey?! lol

I agree with Emma - the later the better when starting solids. 4 months is the absolute earliest a baby's digestive system can cope with solid food. I know it is tempting to try them earlier, I really wanted to, but it's sooooo not good for them. Breastmilk or formula is all they need up until at least 4 months, but 5 or 6 is ideal. Like you have said, everyone has the right to make their own choices, but make sure they are informed ones or it could be harmful to baby's immune and digestive systems.

Gripe water used to contain alcohol too... when I had Maya my mum was surprised that it doesn't anymore

I'm not trying to get involved in an argument about whats best for which baby here, I completely agree that Mum knows best. But I felt I needed to share our story because I was pressured into starting solids way too young by the Plunket nurse, and being a first time Mum I assumed that she knew best. And that's why I made it very clear by saying it is only my opinion.

Clare is right tho that a baby's digestive system and immune system are both affected by starting solids regardless of when you start them, and the earlier this happens the higher the chance they will develop an allergy regardless of what actual foods you give them. The older they get the more resistant their immune system gets so the less chance of developing an allergy. We had only a very vague family history of lactose intolerance and eczema, no milk protein allergy at all and yet Maya was badly affected so you can't always predict these things. And when your child is as sick as Maya was it is the hardest thing in the world to watch, so if I can help anyone else avoid going thru such a horrible experience then it's worth it.

I also should add tho that completely aside from starting solids, Maya also had a small amount of dairy formula as a newborn when I had mastitis which her paed believes triggered the allergy to begin with, so if your babies are coping ok with dairy formula the chance of developing a dairy allergy is remote.

Edited by Maya

the only "reaction" Caitlin has had is that she can poo more regularly and without any discomfort. Before we gave her any fruit puree she was so constipated that she ended up having a tear from one hole to the next and was extremely distressed each time she pee'd/poo'd/farted (that was after 3 days of not going, GP said it was ok to leave her for 7 days!).
Anyways, I appreciate that doing this "could" lead to food allergies later in life, but I feel we did the right thing for her to help her with a major problem she had right now and on the scale of things I would rather she had an allergy to pears than to have to live with constipation.

**I hope no one takes this rant personally, that is not my intention at all**

I'd like to ask another question about this as my boy is 4 mnths 3 weeks and i have just started to give him 2 tsp of farex at night but since then he seems to have lost interest in his bottles. He was doing 200mls x 5 pretty well every day but suddenly is only drinking 100-120 mls even if he seemed really hungry. He also plays around biting the teat or pushing it out of his mouth. His weight isnt a problem so should I worry about this decrease in appetite or just continue with what I'm doing? He loves feeding off a spoon even if its just water.

I got told to give the bottle first before the solids coz ur only topping them up so to speak. Do you give the farex before or after the bottle? If Ella doesnt drink all her bottle (rarely ever happens) i dont give her the solids.

Ellas been fine with hers if anything shes improved slightly with being on that amount. Shes never spilled or brought up any solids. She still spills her milk exactly the same as before so im not concerned. I to give it to her when shes most hungry which tends to be in the morning and at night

Jack was having at least 8 feeds a day until he started solids I was so tired but I waited til 4 motnhs because of a family history of allergies. Jack had mild reflux so I was told to start at 4 months for that. It's hard with all the conflicting advice but I would personally wait til 4 months and maybe try giving more bottles. Keep with the little bits for her constipation but maybe not every day til 4 months. After all its only a couple of weeks and she might be having a growth spurt that might settle down. The later they start the better (for you its suc a hassle cooking up batches of food lol)

We started Jack at lunch time and fed him his milk and then wee bits of solids. He had 2 feeds that first day cos he gobbled 2 spoons down. It was laso the day he stopped having night feeds.