Quite shocked...or is everyone weaning this early these days??

[chocfreeclary]

Overheard at the gym the other night: mum was chatting with others re babies and saying what a big baby she had (not sure of the weight but I?m guessign well over 10lb born); well, she said, of course I had to wean him at five weeks because he was so hungry! (main sign of this was that he had his hands in his mouth a lot)
sorry if she?s a MN-er but I was quite I don?t know how long ago this was but not, like 20 years or anything (from the age of the mum).
I mean five weeks?? I personally think the WHO guideline of 6 months is one to take with a pinch of salt and go with it if it works for you. But aren?t there serious health risks of very early weaning? And why would you bother so soon when the milk is so simple? (The puree carrot and courgette stage is the only one I?m really not keen on).
What does anyone else think? Or am I hopelessly off the pace and we are all weaning at 1 month these days?

[NomDePlume]

I was led to belive that 4 months was considered early weaning ! I'd be surprised to hear of 5 week weaning being commonplace. My DD is 2.5 y.o.

[Gwenick]

I weeaned both my boys at 4 months

DS1 - because that was the 'recommended' age at the time

DS2 - because I felt he was ready for it - we were going through a ridiculous amount of formula everyday and he was clearly VERY interested in our food - and weaned well

I would never have considered weaning before 4 months though - far too early IMO

[pabla]

Maybe she just meant weaning him from breast to bottle?

[Easy]

I can't believe that a childs stomach can process solids at 5 weeks!!! I can see that if your child was never full after a feed, you might try the odd spoon of babyrice, (a friend of mine did that from 10 weeks, just to give her a break of more than 2 hrs between feeds), but not actually starting to wean.

Seems like tosh to me

[LIZS]

tbh when I had ds almost 7 years ago it did feel a bit competitive on many fronts. When our ante/post natal group got together topics of conversation would be how big babies were, how many bottle feeds/ breastfeeds, night waking, when they were weaning, how much they could eat, who was first to crawl all the way on to first to toilet train and be dry at night etc (at which point I moved and lost regular contact). Looking back it was pretty wearing, partly cos ds was not the biggest, first and so on, although the friendship seemed important at the time. I feel sad because the ones who were earliest to wean and the heaviest at birth were also the ones who had family history of allergies and eczema and asthma but somehow that got overlooked in their haste. It was a typical "big baby needs more to eat" argument.

At the end of the day there are no prizes for being first, largest, hungriest and so on, you just want happy, healthy kids.

[chocfreeclary]

Yeah, thanks for the quick response girls. I know just what you mean Lizs, ?aren?t you onto pureed steak and chips yet then?? as if it?s a competition. Maybe that?s how it was with her and I should be a bit more sympathetic. TBH if I knew her I?m sure I would be, I just was so surprised and felt I had to sound off.
But no, Pabla, I think she meant onto solid food, as she said she ?fed him herself? until 3 months. Can?t imagine how you would physically feed solids to a 5-wk-old, I mean it?s not as if they can sit in the high chair, is it??

[suedonim]

My oldest was born almost 30yrs ago. My sil gave him solids (baby rice) at 6wks!!! That was a bit earlier than normal even then but babies were expected to be on three meals a day and no bottles/formula by six mths. Ds drank boiled cows milk with sugar added to it.

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[miranda2]

My ds was a very hungry baby, and started the weaning process himself at 3 months by taking a fistful of summer pudding off my plate at a dinner party when he was sitting on my lap, and scoffing it! At which point I thought i might as well start...Anyway, I then 'confessed' to my health visitor ('sorry, sorry, haven't managed to wait til 4 months' which was the guideline then), and she laughed and said 'oh don't worry about that, its the people who put baby rice in the bottles at a few weeks that are the problem'. I got the impression this was actually quite common... (with 'common' in both senses of the word I'm afraid!)

[jbadgirl]

I have been weaning my ds for about 2 weeks now and he is 19 weeks today. I would say this is early but ds has had various problems with his coordination. If he hadnt have had any probs i would have been happy to wait till he was around 6 months x

[soapbox]

Interesting that bliss recommends 4-7 months (unadjusted age) for weaning to solids for premmies.


bliss weaning guidance

[LIZS]

miranda2, I suspect you are right and earlier than the "recommended" age - whatever advice they are given - is always going to happen and is probably far more common than is offically recognised. Also as is evident in some of the recent comments since the advice can vary form one HV to another and over just a few years, many 2nd or subsequent children will be weaned on the basis of the advice they received first time around.

btw cereal in bottles is still popular in Europe (there are instructions as to how to mix it up on the packets). Someone cited a link to obesity as one of the downsides of this (choking hazard being the more significant one) but I wonder about the stats for this as it seems to me that the Swiss, at least, have far less of an obesity problem than in UK where the practice is not recommended.

[mambamum]

Interesting to read the different views on what age to wean. Personally I take advise from the so called professionals with a pinch of salt. I have two grown up children as well as my 13week old DS. With my first I was told to lay him to sleep on his front! If I feel DS is ready for it I will have no qualms about starting to wean him at 16weeks. My other two were weaned at 3months (current advise at the time) and they have both survived! They change their advise all the time, at the end of the day I think every mum tries to do whats best for their own child and like us all babies are individuals in their needs.

[biglips]

i know one of the mumsnetter's son was permantly was hungery and her HV told her to start on the solids at 11 weeks and baba was more happier than before

[meea]

I guess it depends on current advice.
I weaned ds1 now 11 at 12 weeks as that was the current recommended age.
DD1 6 it 16 weeks again recommended age.
DD2 4 the same.
Ds2 was nearly 12 months before he would tolerate solids but he has SN.

[Cam]

Yes mambamum when I had dd1 the advice was to lay the baby on her front but it didn't seem right to me until the child could lift her head, etc so I always put her on her back. I think it was in case they were sick and choked IIRC but dd's head was always turned sideways when on her back. As for weaning I've said it before but mine ate purees at around 12 weeks. I didn't give baby rice so much as pureed veg and fruit though to start with. Thought baby rice was a bit bland. Mine then very quickly moved on to pureed whatever we were having (lots of garlic and other strong tastes involved). Neither of mine has been picky with food other than not liking processed food.

[Toothache]

One of my friends offered her dd her formula milk with a couple of spoonfuls of baby rice in from 6 wks onward. As her bowels coped okay with this and she started sleeping through the night her HV didn't see a problem. That was only 6 yrs ago.

I tried ds with milky runny baby rice at 11 wks, he didn't like it so I tried him at 13wks and he took to it fine. I was giving him it at 7pm to try to get him to sleep longer, he was waking every 2 hrs during the night for a full feed! A very hungry baby.

[Reethi]

I weaned my ds at 4 and a half months, which I thought was a bit early but was advised to by HV and also DS had got to the point where he was refusing most of his feeds and showing signs that he was ready. He took to weaning really well and I glad that I took that decision. Up to the last year or two, they used to advise you to wean between 4-6 months depending on whether you felt that they were ready. Personally, I feel that this is the correct advice, you know your own baby better than anyone else and you can't say that all babies should be weaned at 6 months as all babies are different and develop at different rates.

[tortoiseshell]

I was weaned at 6 weeks on...not lovely baby rice, or pureed banana/carrot...but.......bone and vegetable broth.

[mambamum]

Mmm tortoiseshell, bone and vegetable broth sounds delicious, however think I'll give that one a miss for my DS. But just goes to show how trends come and go but most of us reach adulthood with no ill effects. On the whole I think most babes are resilient little blighters!

[evansmummy]

This is all really interesting for me cos I've been wondering if I shouldn't start weaning (1st) ds, 12 weeks. He's just started feeding every two hours when he had been going 3-4 between feeds. Also he's started watching me eat and followed my sandwich with his eyes from the plate to my mouth today! But as he's only 12 weeks I thought it was too early. What do you think??

[Twiglett]

evansmummy .. a resounding no

he is going through a growth spurt and will calm down feeds in a week or so

the fingers in mouth and other signs you mistake for hunger are just developmental stages

if you can make it to 6 months then I would suggest you try (there are other short term growth spurts at 4 months), especially if you have asthma / excema or allergies in your family.. if you can't make it to 6 months then not before 4 months

HTH

[Judd]

I remember seeing an interview on Look North West with a girl who had just (about 2 weeks previously) given birth to a 13lb+ baby. I'm sure she said he was already taking baby rice.

[Twiglett]

that is so sad .. the size of the baby has no relation at all to the maturity of its gut

[hermykne]

evansmummy
i have to echo twiglett, hands in mouth is a myth thing and of course he is naturally watching you.
dont do it til the 6mths if you can, he will settle back into his sleep pattern, babies habits change all the time,
i breast feed and weaned my 2 at 21wks.