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Need your advice ladies-10weeks and wanting baby rice

hi ladies,

Archie is 10wks on monday, and still takin 5oz a feed every 2 hours through the night. i asked my hv about givin him a teaspoon of baby rice at his 8pm bedtime feed and she didnt really give me an answer apart from weaning too early may put him off his milk, im not tryin to wean him, but just satisfy him enuough so we can both get a good amount of sleep. i gave him some thurs night and he absolutely loved it, he was smiling and gurgling and lapping it off the spoon quicker than i could fill it, and he took his 5oz's and didnt bring up a speck of food or milk....guzzle guts!! he went through til 1.30am had another 5oz, then woke at 4.30 for another 5oz.....problem is he grazes on 2/3 oz per feed thrugh the day, then pigs out from 6pm at night on 5oz feeds....

friends have said theyve done the same as me and it never harmed their babies, so i guess im just asking for some advice, or clarification, as i know my hv cant directly say its ok just in case!!

thanks in advance

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Replies

  • Not for me I'm afraid, they say not to do anything before 17 wks and I wouldn't take the risk. Have you tried swapping his milk to the hungry baby types? I'm bf so can't really advise, but taking 2-3 oz throughout the day and upping to 5oz doesn't really suggest hes ready, perhaps try getting him to take more from a bottle instead? I've read on here about girls weaning early but their babies have been drowning 8oz bottles at EVERY feed and wanting more :\?
  • hi, yes he was on hungry baby milk from 2 weeks old, as i was bf'ing to start, then he damaged my nipples so i had to express instead, he was breastfeeding every 30-45 mins for 30-45mins at a time so i was totally exhausted and in pain. my hv told me to put him on hungry milk, so i did, but all that did was make him terribly constipated and give him aweful colic, he screamed from 5pm to 1am every day for 4 weeks even with infacol or dentinox, untill id had enough and then hv advised to put him back on stage one milk, feed more often, and change him to sma gold as he was on aptamil and that also gave him reflux. at night, from 6pm, he takes 5oz every 90mins until 1.30am, then he goes til 4am, 6am, 7.30am ....
  • Perhaps 5oz isn't enough? What happens if you increase the feeds to 6-7oz? Hopefully someone who is bottle feeding will be able to help soon as I'm just guessing really but I would hold off on weaning as its abit soon
  • Giving food too early can cause serious digestive problems later on down the line. Current guidelines say no solids until six months, although I know some people decide to try earlier if their lo is showing all the signs. I would say that 10 weeks is far too young though.

    I know it's tempting to try and find a solution if your lo isn't sleeping great at night but at 10 weeks it's perfectly normal for them to wake two or three times during the night. If a baby is having all of its nutrition during the day then it is less likely to wake at night so it may help if you try to get your lo to take more in the day. Maybe when he wakes at 4.30 try to hold him off for a couple of hours so he'll have a bigger feed at 6.30/7?

  • I'm sorry but I'm with the others - 10 weeks is too early. I don't think he's taking enough milk to warrant weaning - try upping his milk to 6 - 7 oz and perhaps a dream feed before you go to bed - all these may help but to be honest, the night waking is part and parcel of having a baby.
  • I would agree that 10 weeks is WAY too young!

    I would stop him grazing thriu the day - make him wait 3 hrs and then he will take more at each feed and fill up thru the day instead of trying to at night! You can distract him by going out for a walk or playing or a dummy till it is 3 hrs - I would also up your amount in the bottles to 6/7 oz! I hate to tell you but there is not always a solution to sleep problems and my 14 month old still doesn't regularly sleep thru!

    Good luck!
  • I agree, it sounds like he is snacking. My lo did this, eating every hour or maybe two, not getting the properly nutritious milk just foremilk and having dodgy nappies, constantly fractious etc. I thought he was a hungry baby eating so often but he was just a snacker. So i had to decide i was only going to feed him every 3 hours, and stick to it. I took him out for a walk or drive around in the car, anything to make him go longer so he would eat properly, and it only took a couple of days for him to get the idea. Now he's more like every 3-4 hours, and eats big amounts (not sure how much, bfing, but if he has a bottle it's about 8/9oz). He's 5 months and not weaned yet, milk is enough.

    10 weeks is SO too young, regardless of if they're showing in interest and physically capable of eating it, their insides aren't ready. Two feeds a night isn't bad, if his milk is upped during the day that may improve, but you can't expect him to go through the night yet.

    I hope i haven't sounded harsh, and i know if you've made up your mind to give it to him nothing anyone on here says will change your mind, but the other ladies have given good advice - try getting him to take more milk at each feed and you should see an improvement hun xx
  • thanks for ur advice ladies, i agree that 10wks is too early, its more my oh who is pushing the issue. if i up his feeds he just brings it all back up, then hes starvin and hour later. hes taking 38oz a day at the moment, which is 14oz more than my hv says he should be having. hungry milk doesnt suit him, nor does it fill him as he still feeds every 2 hours on it, so im at a loose end!! dragging out his feeds is difficult as he screams to the point he chokes and gags, and altho i dont go running to him whenever he cries, i know the diff between a mardy cry and a hungry cry. im goin to try and stop him from sleeping during/after a daytime feed to see if i can get more in him....fingers crossed it works!!!!
  • hello there,
    have you thought about swapping the formula to a thicker one (such as c&g comfort) if he brings it back up?

    or

    i read a post ages ago about someone gradually watering down a formula until it was practically water to convince the lo its not worth waking in the night for (maybe someone else rembers that post too)
  • Same here sorry. There is a HUGE difference between wanting loads of milk and wanting real food. My lo was a guzzler too and on 8oz bottles by 10 weeks and yep he did throw most of it back up, cos he had reflux...I would go to your GP and ask for some infant gaviscon, it works wonders at keeping their milk down and may help.

    I would advise against early weaning, I weaned my lo at 4 months and so regret it!!! Weaning is a PITA! Next time it's so gonna be 6 months. xxxx
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