those of you who (like me) get worked up about early weaning...

[geekgrrl]

do you manage to hold back when friends/acquaintances talk about weaning their little babies?

I think I just managed to offend one of the mums at the school gate who wanted to tell me all about what her 4 month old is eating and whether she could now give her from frais. She's an NCT antenatal teacher too FFS so can't even claim ignorance.

I don't get upset about many things at all - I'm totally laid back really. But this topic really sets me off.

How do you cope with people in real life wanting to discuss this with you (but aren't open to the idea of waiting until later IYKWIM)?????

(I'm not after another weaning fight thread btw - I'm specifically asking how other people who feel that the WHO guidelines are correct handle this kind of situation)

[Blu]

Until a couple of years ago all the advice, from WHO downwards WAS 4 months. Anyone now weaning thier second or third child may well not be up to date, because you don't tend to seek advice as much with subsequent children, do you? Also, they will be using the books they bought then.

NCT teachers teach birth and maybe a little early b/f - not weaning!

Chill!

All you have to say is 'I think unsweetened fromage frais is ok, (or not - i can't rmember!), but haven't the overall guidelines changed now anyway?' . If she isn't inteested, it really isn't your business.

[Blu]

oh, and fwiw, I dod htink the WHO guidelines are correct - but DS was weaned at 4 months because that was what was recommended then.

[beckybrastraps]

I agree. It was 4 mo when ds was a baby, 6 mo for dd. I DID know about the change in guidelines, but not from my HV as I didn't seek her help about weaning at all.

I can't see it as something to "cope" with. I say how lucky I was that dd was so fat and happy on just milk, and how much easier it was to go straight into finger food at 6mo than all that mushing I did with ds at 4mo.

[geekgrrl]

The WHO has been saying 6 months for at least 7 years..... (my eldest dd is 7 and their guidelines then were 6 months)

I don't think it's ok to give from frais to a 4 months old baby... too much concentrated protein, and the wrong protein at that.

[beckybrastraps]

My dh was weaned at 3 months (many years ago!)

[Piffle]

I don't care what anyone else feeds their kids tbh... I do care very much about what mine eat though and when.

[apronstrings]

dd is now 10 and I got sooo much stick for not weaning her until 6 mths!! she showed no signs of needing food - was happy ,gaining weight, went a good long time btwn feeds.The health visitor got really cross with me and said breast milk couldn't possibly provide all the nutrition an active 6 month old needed....oh the irony.

[Piffle]

My ds is nearly 13 and it was def 6 mths then. this was in NZ.
With dd is was 4 mths but I did not wean her til closer to 7-8 mths
My mum says it was always baby led when we were kids, when we could sit up and grab her toast she started feeding us it, she said about 6-7 mths after we had about 6 teeth.

[geekgrrl]

piff, I agree - this person always goes on far too much about her children's eating/sleeping/whatever; I really don't actually give a toss. But when asked directly.... I should just say that I think baby-led weaning is the way to go and to not ask me about early weaning (actually, I did - and then she went on about from frais)

[Alipiggie]

Well if WHO's been saying 6months for years, then a great many of us got the wrong advice. Both mine were weaned before six months and loved it. Sorry, not going to apologise for that. They had healthy fruit and veggie purees before wait for it jars as well. So shoot me. Both mine now age 4 1/2 and 3 are great eaters, love fruit and veggie, fish, meat and have a good varied diet, I think. And more importantly to me they're healthy.

[Mercy]

geekgrrl, how/where/why did you find out what the WHO guidelines were?

Like many others I just read about weaning in books or magazines!

[geekgrrl]

I don't really give a flying fart about how happy your babies are about being weaned early.
I was asking what people who don't think babies should be weaned early say to early weaners when pressed for an opinion.

[CorrieDale]

I have the same problem GG, and I just find myself saying 'mmmmm' a lot. Because this is never discussed in RL before the baby is given the puree/baby rice, which is, I think, the only time you can realistically explain the reasons for the guidelines. You just hear about it afterwards, usually with "and s/he is really enjoying it" so if you say 'hmmmm. But what about allergies, immature gut, IBS..." you sound really - smug? alarmist? judgmental? I tend to just say "it's much easier to wait to 6 months. No pureeing, no fannying about, no crappy nappies until they're 7 months or so." Since all my RL friends know about DS dropping through the centiles, I can't add that DS was fat and healthy on milk. Healthy yes. Fat? not so much. Mind you, he still isn't fat now and he eats & BFs plenty.

[hulababy]

The recommendations given out by almost everyone (maybe not WHO) when DD was a baby, 4 years ago WAS four months. It is only in the last year or so I have noticed a change from 4-6 months, and this is mainly for babies who are exclusively breastfed too. Bottle fed babies aren't actually mentioned - not read where is says that should be exclusive to 6 months.

Also 6 months is a recommendation only, not a "this is what you all must do regardless of your baby"...because all babies are different. To suggest otherwise would be daft IMO. Some are ready to wean at 6 months, some a little before and some later.

I would NEVER say anything to anyone else about how they deal with such issues. It is up to them, so long as they have been pointed to the latest guidelines - that is the most you can do. I don't think they'd appreciate any intference.

If they say early weaning to you, just stick to yuor guns politely and say "we waited until 6 months as that is wwhen I felt DD/DS was ready" or suggest that a natural yogurt or whatever would possibly be a better alternative as it is blander rto match the baby's taste, etc.

[geekgrrl]

mercy - baby books I think. La Leche League leaflets, that kind of material.

[poisson]

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[beckybrastraps]

I think you should say " I don't really give a flying fart about how happy your babies are about being weaned early".

That should shut them up!

[geekgrrl]

LOL becky

[geekgrrl]

just eff off if you find this a parpy thread. There are 100s of other threads to post on.

[hulababy]

Piffle - if I had waited util a few months after DD had 6 teeth, she'd have been over 18 months, narer 2 years!!! I am not she'd have held out

[geekgrrl]

CorrieDale, nice to hear I'm not on my own. Started launching into the leaky gut thing today and really had to stop myself eventually. I think the other party was getting quite pissed off.
She claimed it was necessary due to her babies being big (not that big actually - average size)- WTF was I supposed to say to that, having babies at the 95th centile, fully breastfed for 6-8 months and never dropping off the 95th?

[CorrieDale]

The thing is about just pointing people to the guidelines is that it's always phrased "the govt recommends waiting till 6 monhts to wean" in the same terms as you'd say "the govt recommends voting labour". So i think it's explaining the reasons for the guidelines that's important, but like i say, it's nearly impossibly to do that after the act. Well, unless you want to be a playgroup pariah.

[geekgrrl]

Malory, I don't ever volunteer weaning (or breastfeeding or anything else contentious) information in RL. I was pressed for it today!