Please ignore the fact that I am getting ready to wean dc *4* and should really know better, but am confused ...

[Miaou]

... Was just reading the Healthy Start leaflet on weaning and it says the following:

"Try giving solid foods when your baby:
? Can sit up
? Shows interest in solid food
? Picks up food and puts it in his or her mouth
? Wants to chew and may have teeth
? Appears to still be hungry even though you have
tried increasing milk feeds for a few days."

Well ds2 is 25 weeks and I can only answer yes to "wants to chew" . I can't see any of that changing in the next week!! So I'm confused. I'm quite happy to start weaning but this all seems to suggest he is not ready!

[Miaou]

OK - is ds unusual in not being able to sit up at six months? Blimey I really should know this ...

And should I think of weaning him even though he is quite content on the amount of milk he gets? (bearing in mind that bar the first week of his life he has always fed every 3/4 hours including at night, and I can't get him to sleep through - er, maybe that's an indication then )

Argh, my sleep-deprived brain hurts

[hunkermunker]

I'd say if he's happy on just milk, leave it a bit. Maybe sit him on your lap and let him grab at veggies?

Most babies of 25 weeks want to chew. They can't read Heat magazine yet, so it's all they've got

Milk and chewing random stuff's where it's at for them, in fact. I'm kinda envious

[Miaou]

lol hunker

I guess I could hand him carrot batons etc to see what he thinks?

I can't remember with ds1 but I'm fairly sure he was sitting almost independently when I weaned him (at 25 weeks). Ds2 is nowhere near that - if you sit him up, he just slumps. I couldn't sit him in a high chair yet.

[Miaou]

Dh thinks I need to wean him because he can't go through the night without a feed (well, he's done it a couple of nights but not every night). Not sure if he has a point? I'm a bit twitchy about the thought of leaving him beyond six months tbh (not sure why though!)

Never done BLW - do you give them cooked carrot batons or raw??

[hunkermunker]

Ask DH what there are more calories in, a bit of carrot or milk.

Cook the carrot sticks - too pingy and choky if you don't - same goes for apple, don't give raw till older. Steamed veg fine.

You've seen Aitch's blog? Haven't you?

[hunkermunker]

And lots of babies don't eat much till after six months - neither of mine ate anything appreciable till seven, eight or nine months (DS2 took longer - you'd never know it now!).

[Miaou]

no I hadn't seen it (tiptoes away) - will have a look now!

[hunkermunker]

Where have you beeeeeeeeeeeeen? Having babies, or sommat?

[foxythesnowman]

Hello.

I could have written your OP! Am watching with interest. So far I am giving puree at lunchtime and brocolli or carrots (cooked) at tea time. She isn't that bothered by either really, but she likes sitting up with the rest of the children.

We have the cheapo Ikea high chair and the inflatable insert which holds her up just fine, but she doesn't sit up on her own (I don't think )

[Miaou]

well I kinda knew about it hunker, but just never had cause to look at it before now

Just spoke to dh and showed him the Healthy Start PDF and he said, "what on earth are you doing taking their advice? Ask mumsnet, you'll get far more sensible advice on there!"

And he is prepared to go with the advice on here - sit him on my knee, see if he is interested at taking a swipe of my stuff first

[Jennster]

Hi Miaou SNAP. DS 25 weeks today and not interested at all either. Not sitting, no teeth (dd got them 8 or nine months) will lick stuff but that's about it. I'm not going to worry about it, but put him in his high chair when he can sit up and leave stuff on the tray....he can take it or leave it.

[BITCAT]

As far as i know the latest guidelines for weening are that you should start at around 6mths(used to be 4mths). Go with your instincts, what do they tell you chewing could just be that they are teething so that really doesn't mean anything. Apparently at 6mths there iron stores start to disappear and this is why they need extra (ie food) to make sure they are getting the correct nutrution. Talk to your hv if not sure!

[Miaou]

Aitch's blog is fab !! Why didn't I read it before??

Thank you for the prod in the right direction. I shall sign up and Discuss Progress.

[hunkermunker]

PMSL - that reads like you're sitting DH on your knee Which you can, I guess, but it won't do much for DS2's weaning

[Miaou]

ROFL I didn't preview, obviously!!!!

If you saw the size of me, and the size of my dh, you would really laugh

[Aitch]

see that's why i like BLW, i must say. by and large it means that all the 'are they ready?' stuff is answered when they grab the food out of your hand, whenever that is. miaou, i'm one of four children, i was weaned at 2 weeks onto baby rice stuff... my sister later, my brother even later and according to my mum the wolves came along and weaned my wee sister because she has no recollection of doing it.

[verylittlecarrot]

Hulloo

my dd is 25 weeks today too, and can't sit up, unless you consider wedging her tiny tush into the ikea antilop with the inflatable insert to pad it out. She is so tiny her head barely clears the tray. I imagine her just putting her face on the tray and hoovering up peas or something when we start solids. I'm aiming to do it next weekend when dh can be around for what will clearly be a big anticlimax. I expect her to squish a bit of banana in her mitt and drop it.

Still, he's french, he's a foodie, this stuff matters to him.

[Bodkin]

I just posted the very same thing (well almost) yesterday about my 6mo. She just doesn't seem ready, and can't sit unsupported (or supported TBH, prefers to hurl herself backwards ) The sensible advice I was given here is just to wait until she starts grabbing the food off my plate. By next week, she might have got the hang of sitting and want to have a chomp on a bit of carrot, and then I'd have wasted all that time fretting!

[Jennster]

Aitch I registered unsuccessfully I thought on your forum a while ago, and tried again and it says my email address is in use. Sorry to be a pain but what do I do. (I was JennT on the blog by the way)

[Aitch]

email me at aitch at baby led weaning dot com and i'll sort it out lickety-split. oooh, that's a good name.

[Aitch]

bugger, it's already in use.

[Jennster]

Thanks Aitch, I've not been on the site in ages because dd now nearly 2 and of course she is eating with knives and forks (well ok not knives yet) but like a grown up

[foodfiend]

dd couldn't sit up reliably until well after she crawled! (Not that interested in sitting still...). I fed her in her bouncy chair until nearly 9 months - she would slurp down baby rice and mushed bananas but wasn't that interested for ages. I love Aitch's blog, so hoping to do blw next time round.