Cereals/solids at 4 months?

[calico]

We just had our 4mo appointment. She's small but dr is concerned she may be off her curve from 2mo and said we could start giving her a little bit of solids (oatmeal, purees) to boost her weight. H is all for it but I'm hesitant it could be too soon despite the dr ok and prefer trying to make her eat more. Did anyone start early?

[Deleted]

Breastmilk or formula has more calories/oz than cereal or veggies. Add a dream feed before you go to bed if you're worried.

You won't hurt anything if you do start solids, but I'd be pretty shocked if it really helped anything either.

[tcu2003]

Ditto what tokenhoser said. Breastmilk and formula have more calories per ounce, so I would personally hold off until the latest recommendations of no solids before 6 months. That said, if you want to start solids now, it shouldn't hurt anything, and I'd go with oatmeal cereal and mix with breastmilk or formula to keep the caloric count higher.

[osulori]

Is she showing signs of being ready for solids? Watching you while you eat, opening her mouth if you hold out an empty spoon, able to sit in the high chair somewhat? If she's not, I wouldn't do it-introducing solids before a child is ready can hurt more than it can help.

If she IS ready, you could try cereal or purees made with some BM or formula to increase the calorie load but overall BM/formula is going to have more calories per ounce than cereal or purees.

[curbsideprophet]

If you are concerned about weight I would focus on trying to increase her breast milk or formula intake. If you are nursing have you ever done a weighed feeding?

[tealblue]

DS was the same way- he was growing well and then started dropping at 4 months. I've read on kellymom that breastfed babies grow more rapidly than formula fed babies until they are 2-3 months and then they grow slower. It seemed to apply to my situation. Like others, formula or breastmilk has more calories than solids so I would encourage you to keep nursing or doing bottles before doing solids.

[statlerwaldorf]

I'm debating it. DS just had his 4 month appointment too and his doctor recommended it. He fell from the 95th percentile to the 50th percentile from 2 to 4 months. He's still off the charts for his height, so the weight difference is a little bit of a concern. Although his doctor did say often breastfed babies can slow down around this time too.

[starlily]

Our pedi recommended it at 4mos with both girls. DD1 ended up not being interested until 6mos. DD2 is almost 5mos and we haven't tried yet simply out of laziness.