Starting solids

Just wondering...those with hungry babies, when did you start solids?
When my daughter was a baby, she was happily breasfed until she was 6 months.
Now I have a hungry boy who doesn't sleep longer than 3 - 4 hours at night.
Last night I added a little bit of organic powdered baby rice to a EBM bottle to see if that would make a difference (my sisters suggestion). Well the feeding was a bit of a disaster cos the hole in the teat kept getting blocked, but afterwards he slept for 6 hours...wahoo!
I am considering giving him a couple of teaspoons of a really sloppy mixtue of it tonight, but I don't want to damage him by giving him solids too early I have heard tht you shouldn't give them any until they are 4 months.
Anyone thoughts?

He is definately hungry at night cos I have tried rewrapping him and putting his dummy back and night and he will only sleep for another 20 mins - half an hour before he wakes up hungry again.
Am I supposed to just keep feeding him that much until he is old enough for solids.....or just go ahead?
I am thinking about a small teaspoon of the powder made into quite a wet mixture..

some babies are just not great sleepers..in terms of sleeping it is if they were good sleepers and regress but that isnt always what is causing it..its a contriversial thing..personally i wouldnt as their tummies just arent ready and giving them food too early can lead to allergies.. for some babies its normal not to sleep more than 3-4 hours..(such as my baby we just increased his milk to 180 and now hes sleeping longer) oh i just read you breastfeed him..

there is the odd baby that is ready but generally their digestive systems arent ready till at least 4 months..and other signs such as watching you eat etc... it can appear they are but they are really just watching you ..have you got the plunket book...page 74 talks about it.

as i said its totally a personal thing and you need to do what you feel is right for your baby:)

Check with Emz in the January Mums thread. She has been giving her baby solids since very young as she could not satisfy his hunger, I think she was advised to offer baby rice to him. She may be able to give you some advice!

baby could also be going through a growth spurt? im sure they have one around 12weeks???

Eden started on solids at 3 3/4months but she was wanting food, reaching for mine, taking a spoon with pamol on it like it was going out of fashion etc.

i would try and wait a few more weeks atleast, their digestive tracks generally arent developed enough at 12weeks

Have you tried cluster feeding in the afternoon/evening before he goes to bed? Or possibly expressing in the morning and offering that at night? As others have mentioned personally I wouldn't start solids until at least 4mths, Jack was 6mths when we started.

I use Blessed Thistle, and that thickens up your milk. It's been a big help for me.

what about giving a bottle of formula at night instead?

Thanks again ladies.
The super milk thing I will definately give a go. What is blessed thistle? Is it a pill? tea? powder? Where can I get it?

Thanks for sharing your experience Maya. There was no way I was going to give veges or fruits. And the rice in the bottle was a disaster anyway The teat kept getting blocked and he got very frustrated with me. ooops! As you probably know, a sleep deprived mum will give anything a go for an extra 10 mins of sleep

I have tried the formula feed at night and no difference! I have been feeding EBM just so I can see how much he is having. Some nights he will have 180mls and then still want a top up from me....yikes!

Like I said, I don't want to damage him....

I think trying to make 'super milk' sounds good. From my experience (and noone judge me as I'm sure I'll probably get my head bitten off by at least one 'by the book' person) I was advised to try Jack on baby rice (just a teaspoon) to start with at 3 months as his weight was dropping off considerably but he just couldn't be bothered with milk. This wasn't a once-off, it was happening for about 4 weeks. I had to weigh up the pros and cons, and luckily because we have no history of allergies etc in the family I decided to give it a go. We also have a family history of babies going on to solids really early.

I know its advised to keep them off solids for as long as possible, but I guess just research it and do what is best for you and your boy. Hopefully your milk will get better for him. The one thing I would advise is to try and hold off the baby rice as long as possible as Jack started getting sick of it but still needed solids so we have just started him on vegies (which at just before 4 months is OK I guess after holding him out this long on just baby rice).

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Its worked for us, doesn't mean its 'right' or that it will work for you.

hehe thanks Maya. I think God made babies pretty durable cos he new mummy's aren't purfect ...just like the first weeks of grace when you are pregnant and don't know it

Actually the amount of stories I have heard about new mummies hurting their babies by accident...
One friend cooked her baby in the pram. She was so nervous about taking the baby out in the cold, she put layers of clothes and blankets over the baby and then the rain cover on which sort of created a mini oven. She cried for ages when she got the baby out and he was drenched in sweat   

I appreciate all your comments. Another thing about being sleep deprived is I struggle to make a decision and I sometime worry about my judgements

Its great to have a sounding board so I can get some perspective on things.

Yay for forums!