Why wean around 6 months?

[smk84]

Ds is 24 weeks and gaining weight well (finally). We are planning to do blw , with a bit of purée at times, but I am just wondering if there is any hurry? He is mixed fed at the moment, more formula than bm. In the last 2 weeks he has tried some cucumber chunks, a pea and had a good old suck on a banana! He seems to enjoy it, can sit up well in the high chair and is good at taking things to his mouth. We were planning on waiting until26 weeks to go for it properly, but it just got me thinking.... Why then?

[MousyMouse]

no hurry.
just let him try different tastes and textures. at some point he will 'get' it and will eat.
dc2 only started to eat around 9 months old. before that the amount was neligible.

[AndiMac]

I have read that introducing gluten between 5-7 months is the best time to reduce possibilities of your child having difficulties with it later in life. It's not too early to cause an immature system to deal with and it's not too late that their bodies will reject it. I'd have to look hard to find the source of it and some less vague details, but it seemed to make sense when I read it.

[BertieBotts]

Because studies have shown that it's more risky to do it earlier, and I would imagine, because if you hadn't given them food by 6 months most babies will crawl/climb/shuffle and help themselves!

[worldgonecrazy]

If you're doing BLW do baby led weaning. That means when your little one starts picking up food and putting it in his mouth himself, he is ready for weaning. Some babies get there earlier than 26 weeks (DD was 19 weeks when she started). Some babies are later. If he is showing the signs of readiness: loss of tongue thrust, sits up unaided, can transfer food to mouth himself, then he is ready. 26 weeks is an average figure.

I wish that there was more focus on signs of readiness than age.

[smk84]

Thanks everyone. That's interesting about gluten. Yes world I have been trying to look more for signs of readiness, but not too sure about the sitting unaided. If I sit him on the floor he will fall back after a couple of seconds, but with is back supported in the high chair he doesn't slump, but then I guess that doesn't count as sitting unaided. May seem a daft question but how do I know about tongue thrust? Do I have to give a spoon of purée and see if he can take any to the back of his mouth? He is definitely able to find his mouth and put the food in! Bertie that's a good point :)

[BertieBotts]

They don't have to sit unaided, they can be sitting with support. They just need to be able to sit up properly for at least 20 minutes or so, not slipping down after a few minutes, or having to be reclined. That's mainly to do with choking risks (if you do BLW and they're reclined it's a big choking risk) but also I suppose because the earliest age of sitting unaided tends to be around 4 months so I think it's a sneaky way of putting people off spooning rusks into 8 week olds!

I think tongue thrust applies to puree feeding rather than BLW.

[smk84]

Thanks Bertie, that makes things clearer. He is definitely ready I think, 25 weeks today, s feeling a few more questions coming on to post on here! :)