Could be controversial .... help needed

[Kirstie76]

Am trying to start weaning ds who's 4.5 months (that's the controversial bit) but haven't really got a clue what to give him .... he's had farley's rusk in his milk in a morning (not through the bottle) for a couple of weeks now and so this week was advised to give carrot and sweet potato mashed up which I've doen - not even a teaspoon full and he's become this clingy monster that cries every time I put him down and is sick quite a lot .....

I don't want to give up the weaning as I don't want to leave this to the nursery and I'm back at work soon but I don't want to see my ds like this any advice on what to give the poor soul .... ??

[SoupDragon]

Apple or pear?

[Tinker]

When do you go back to work? Why are you worried about leaving it for the nursery? Not being controversial, just trying to work out what I would do

[dingdongmeggymooonhigh]

Kirstie, why are you in a hurry to get me weaned, just out of interest?

[Mercy]

Baby rice and fruit were more acceptable to my two in the beginning. When you say mashed up, what exactly do you mean? It should be pureed at this stage (sorry if this is what you mean)

[Mud]

a child who pikes and shows obvious distress with food is too young to be weaned so stop

[flamesparrow]

I'm with Tipex - stop. Wait until HE is ready, and then do it yourself in evenings & weekends. I know nothing of nurseries, but surely if you tell them not to feed him, they won't??

[flamesparrow]

That was based on his reactions, not age btw...

[CharBell]

But if you want to then do! Why not try pureeing it with a bit of milk mixed it to make it a little creamier?

[tiktok]

Who's advising you to give solids so soon, Kirstie? Weaning is clearly not making your son anything but distressed and sick....I don't get it. Why persist? You wouldn't force him to do anything else that made him vomit and cry, would you?

[flamesparrow]

Its a bit like forcing a child to potty train because you've taken time off work, when they aren't ready...

[dingdongmeggymooonhigh]

Tipex...pmsl that will teach me not to read my posts before hitting the post button!

[Kirstie76]

Knew this would be controversial ... I started weaning cos I wanted the responsibility and the pleasure for myself .... was just wondering if there was any other way round it than the carrot and potato option (it is pureed) and had already decided to stop that - ie stop the weaning if there isn't ... was just wondering if there was something gentler ....

[hunkermunker]

You want the pleasure for yourself so you are doing something that's obviously upsetting your DS?

Agree with Tiktok - just give him milk. It's all he needs, very obviously.

[morningpaper]

No pleasure in weaning. It's fun for the first day and then it's all mess, cooking, and rejection. Leaving it to someone else is the best way! There are loads more fun thing to look forward to.

[SnowmAngeliz]

Kirstie, i really would leave it as he doesn't sound ready.

[CarolinaMoon]

what do you mean by "anyway round it?". I suppose cooked pureed pear (passed through a sieve) is something that's often recommended if you don't want to do baby rice.

Tbh, I wouldn't have thought rusks are the "gentlest" things either - especially starting from 16 weeks.

[Mercy]

Kirstie, when are you expecting to go back to work?

[edam]

If he's becoming distressed, it's a clear signal that his digestive system isn't developed enough to cope with solid food yet. Many babies aren't physically able to digest solids at his age, that's why the guidance says six months. It may be disappointing, but there's really nothing to be gained by forcing him.

IIRC when a baby is ready for solids their gut changes. This is a vague memory so may be inaccurate, but I think small babies have an 'open' gut, with walls that allow large particles through into the bloodstream so they can get all the nutrients from milk fast. Give something other than milk to a baby of that age, and large particles of food will go through the gut walls, causing problems (which could include food allergies).

[northender]

I felt my dd was probably ready to be weaned at about 4 1/2 months and tried her with various different alternatives all of which got a disgusted look and were spat straight back out! at around 6 months (almost to the day) she started eating pretty much anything mashed up (not pureed) so we bypassed the puree/baby rice stage completely. They know when they're ready.

[Racers]

edam that explanation is also my understanding of the gut issue.

Maybe someone has experience of weaning on non-nursery days only, iyswim? Or does that not work? I'm lucky as I've felt able to wait until nearly 6m and part of my reasons for taking longer off work was that I could do all the weaning myself with no limitations.

[Bozza]

Its obviously not right for him. So you could basically try him with apple/pear/babyrice or wait.