4 month old - tips for weening & advice pls? x

Question

Hi, my baby's 4 months and ive started weening. I give her organic baby rice mixed with her formula milk at 12 then something different at 6 (heinz tins of baby veg & chicken, choc pudding) she's doing great, i know shes only getting a feel for it at the minute and most of it ends up on her! but she's keep to have more so she must be enjoying the tastes! Can anyone else tell me how often and what they first weened there baby with, foods they loved and foods they didnt? also, is there any 'finger' food she can have so young!? Thanks in advance, Mandi x*x

Answer 1

The criticisers are out again today.  Obviously your own homemade purees are the best but we don't all have the time or inclination to do this.  The 6 month weening advice was only introduced a few years ago, prior to this it was around 16 weeks which is the yard stick I've always used and I have four children ~(youngest 14 weeks).  They are all good eaters, and I mixed using homemade foods with jars as they are often more convenient especially if you're out.

If you need to make the puree more runny I used to add the baby's usual milk.

If you make your own purees its great to freeze them in icecube trays then you can just defrost as much as you want.  They may need thickening so use baby rice.

The other mums are right re finger food-as it suggests its for when baby is old enough to pick it us themselves and have a nibble!

Sweet potatoes and butternut squash are lovely creamy purees and firm favourites.  In fact I still make sweet potato mash for all of us, its delish!

Answer 2

If 'most of it is ending up on her' it sounds to me like she still has the tongue thrust, and so isn't ready for solids yet.  

Since the usual advice is to start solids at 6-7 months, NOT 4 months -- I'd just stop for a while. If she must have solids, once a day is more than enough (fed with a spoon, from a bowl -- I hope you aren't putting her noon cereal in her bottle...)  -- and surely you are joking about giving  her chocolate pudding!  (She's at a high risk for allergy at this age, and certainly doesn't need sugar and chocolate.  Solids, if given at all, should be simple foods -- cereals, fruits, veggies -- and offered one new food at a time, no no 'chicken and veg' until she's had chicken separately and veg separately.)

She's still far too young for finger foods -- 7-9 months is the typical time.

EDIT: While the tins may say '4-6 months' most reliable sources (including t he World Health Organization and UNICEF say 6 months.  And the 'new' guidelines aren't all that new -- in the  U.S. it's' been '6 months' since 1997.

While 4 months may not be harmful; since, as you say she IS 'wearing most of it' that does indicate that for HER, 4 months is too early.  A baby who has lost the tongue thrust and is able to sit up well by 4 months may be ok with small amounts of solids, but it does sound like YOUR baby isn't ready yet.  So just stop for a while. (If it has to be very runny, that's another indication that she isn't ready.)  

And no, chocolate pudding is NOT a good idea for a 4 month old.  WHy give her empty sugar when you can be offering healthier foods? (Formula, fruits, veggies.)  

Go slow.  There is really NO rush here. Whether or not you opt to keep offering, remember that solids are still just for fun.  A few tastes a day are more than ample for her.  Her milk (she should be taking around 30-40 ounces) is still all she needs. Offer her regular bottles at the usual times, and then, once a day, after her bottle, offer a bit of solid food.

Answer 3

Both my kids were introduced to veges 1st, then fruit.  I did not give them anything sweet, like pudding, until much later-my daughter was over the age of one.  I also never gave them any kind of meat until they were old enough to chew. . .the thought of pureed meat was always gross to me.  My son loves the veges and my daughter to this day (she is 5yrs) prefers to veges over anything else, she even asks for frozen veges for lunch.

Answer 4

I weened my son at 4months because milk wasn't satisfying enough for him, even though you're suppose to wean from 6months onwards, I was advised to give him baby rice for lunch after a bit of his bottle. And then after about 4weeks I started introducing puree veg like sweet potatoes and carrots for dinner, these are plenty sweet enough for babies and I certainly wouldn't advise giving your baby anything with sugar in. And she's certainly too young for finger foods, I introduced them at about 7months, it should tell you on the box of the product what age the finger foods should be given. Hope this helps

I boiled the potatoes and the carrots and added abit of the water to make it slightly watery. I wouldn't advise giving them chocolate, you don't want them to get used to haveing sugar. I never used baby jar food unitll he was abit older and for convinience, when we're out and about. I had a little blender, I would make alot of the puree and put it in the freezer and take it out when I needed some. Fresh is defanutly better and with some of the baby jar food's they add sugar and salt. Hope this helps too

Answer 5

I started my son at 4 months with just a mashed root veg (ie potato, pumpkin, carrots etc) for lunch only - when he was about 6 months then he had weetabix or cereal for breakfast and then around 7 to 8 months he was having 3 meals per day plus snacks.  he never had any finger foods at 4 months

Answer 6

You'd be better off making your own food. Not only are some jars full of additives and preservatives, once your baby is a toddler you'll need to wean her off the jars an onto your own food, this will then be a struggle.

Good first foods are pureed fruit and veg.  Try an Annabel Karmel puree book, they are really good

Maj