Raising Those Rascals: Weaning before six months?

How is it that several weeks have passed again and I haven't blogged about Raising Those Rascals once!? I'm a terrible one but if ever I needed a short reminder that time does not stand still, it was this morning when I followed the tag on Instagram and saw to my utter surprise that we're heading so very close to 9k posts now! You guys are amazing!

As a family, life has not been slow recently either. Last month saw Jonah turn two, and this month Joshua has moved from his Moses basket into a proper cot- an emotional transition for me as much as it has been for him. I feel us looking towards the future with fresh eyes now as there are so many little life transitions happening all around us and most especially with the children growing, changing and developing so rapidly.

One of the main changes we have been experiencing lately is Joshua's increasing dependence on bottle feeds rather than being breastfed. As you probably know, I have combination fed him from early on because I don't produce enough milk on my own to sustain his weight. I know these days we are advised to wait until the six-month mark before weaning but really, this little boy is hungry and is already displaying a lot of interest in food items around him. For example, if he happens to be perched on my lap while I am eating, his little hands are now reaching out in hopeful attempts to grab whatever is on the end of my fork and with another five weeks to go before he turns 6 months, I'm wondering if we will begin the weaning process early this time...could it be time to start thinking about baby rice and porridge already?!

With regards to breastfeeding, like his brothers, Joshua seems to be reaching the point where he is less interested in latching for long. I don't have 'much there' to offer anyway so our feeds are becoming increasingly fussy with him not really concentrating properly. Whilst I am still feeding him at night time, this week it really has begun to dwindle which has left me wondering more and more about the possibility of weaning sooner than later.

He loves his bottle feeds though and gets very excited when he sees one of us preparing them! His little arms and legs start flapping about and he will be all smiles and gummy grins for the person who comes toward him holding up that (apparently delicious) bottle of the good stuff! Just you wait little boy- if you think formula milk tastes good, wait till you're old enough to try granny's homemade lasagne!! :p

As always, the Instagram feed is filled with some gorgeous entries and I just want to say a big thank you once more for your continued support. Here are some beautiful photos you have posted lately;