Anyone else weaning at 14 wks?

[sleepfinder]

My DS has been taking milk only during daytime hours since week 9 - and recently he has been guzzling so much I think that he's going to explode with so much fluid.

So going on the advice of my mother, I tried a little mashed banana after his morning bottle and he absolutely shrieked with joy. After a few days of this, he is now opening his mouth to accept the spoon and swiping at the spoon with his fist (he's not getting it yet though).

No adverse effects poop wise, sleep wise, mood wise etc. Sleeping well through the nights, napping normally and not guzzling huge quantities of milk before bed.

Anyone else on a similar route?

[CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark]

IMO this is a bad idea. Esp banana, well-known for it's bunging up properties.

Early weaning linked to all sorts of problems from allergies to obesity in later life (and now lots of people will post about their beanpole husbands who were weaned at 6 minutes onto Creme Eggs .

I'd stop if I was you. Plenty of time for him to have food - milk has to be the most substantial part of his diet for the first year.

[sleepfinder]

erm, sorry - not looking for negative advice, just other mums who are doing this successfully.

I was weaned at 12 wks and I'm a slim thing -

He's not got bunged up and as I said, was suffering from the CAPACITY of fluid he was needing to fill up.

Thanks anyway, for chipping in your 10 cents worth

[DizzyBinterWonderland]

you're going to get a lot of negative because 14 weeks is so very very early.

[CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark]

Oh, OK. You should've put "nobody with any common sense need reply" in your OP then, perhaps?

[sleepfinder]

ok, well I'm off to cook my own dinner now, so will probably have a look in at the backlash tomorrow...

[MerryPiffmas]

guzzling huge quantities of milk before bed is actually quite normal in an under 6 mth old baby.
But as you aren't keen on negative comments
I'll refrain from posting further on this topic of a public discussion forum.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

I think Aardvarks post was positive advice.

IMVHO - there is nothing "positive" about weaning at 14 weeks. Im sorry if that offends you. I'm not sure you will find many, if any, others weaning as early as 14 weeks tbh. Im sure your mother is very lovely, but, she has given you some bad advice.

Agree with Aardvark. Guidelines are 26 weeks due to mountains of research linking early weaning with various problems at the point of weaning and later in life.

Volume of milk is not a problem at all. Its packed far more full of calories and nutrients that no amount of fruit puree could provide.

Im sure you dont want someone else putting their "twopenceworth" in, but, i feel obliged, as a mother with a child with various food allergies ot inform you of the most current and up to date research and advice.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Im a little alarmed at your flippancy with regard to advice being given concerning your baby ...

There really isnt any need to rush into weaning, and to dismiss people that have you and your babies best interests in mind is quite astonishing, really.

[noddyholder]

I think sleepfinder has decided what she is doing wrt weaning and is looking for support doing it.

[lulumama]

indeed noddy,, but if we only posted on topic we agreed in, it wouldn't be much of a discussion

i know arguments about the nanny state etc abound...but the DOH guidelines re weaning are there for a reason as VVVQ has said....

weaning at 12 weeks years ago..acceptable then, but there has obviously been a lot of research into this and 12 weeks is agreed to be too earyl in terms of gut maturity.

12 weeks or so is classic growth spurt time...it would have been normal for a lot of milk to be needed then...and would have eased off again.....

a spoon or two of banana is not the same nutritionally as a full milk feed

if this is what sleepfinder is comfortable with , great., hope it works out well for her and LO...but when people post suggesting it is not the best idea , it is based on medical evidence, not being negative...

[munz]

a friend of mine asked about weaning today as she was unsure - but i'll tell u the same as I told her (her DS is 16 weeks so slightly older)

1. in a baby so young all he needs is milk, if he's really hungry (her DS is ahving 5 bottles of 9oz each and still wanting more apparently - anyhow) if your DS is still hungry, have you tried the hungry baby forula (if not BF??) I would recommend you try that first rather than rush in with banana, how much banana are you giving him?
   
   
2. around this age babies have growth spurts and my mum tried hard as she could to tell me my BF milk wasn't good enough any more and I should wean J at 13.5 weeks - but I held firm as until 17 weeks a babys digestive ssytem and kidneys are TOO IMMATURE to cope with the weaning process. I did try him at 17 weeks with abbay rice and it was a disaster so we waitied until 22 weeks when he was fully ready. tbh I wish i'd gone straight to BLW rather than purees as it's sooooo much easier - bit more mess yes but much less hassle.
   
   if you feel you're doing the best for your baby then by all means carry on, but seek advice form your h/v first - weaning a babay this young shouldn't be done without advice being taken imho.
   
   (also j's growth spurt at this age lasted for about 10 days)

[merrylissiemas]

i weaned ds at 8 weeks (no bolt of lightening has hit me yet) and he is now a very healthy, happy 19mo. he loves food and will eat\try absolutely anything. i do understand why there are so many negative posts on this thread but every baby is different and as long as your baby has no adverse effects ie, diarreha, constipation, vomiting or rash then carry on doing what you think is right for your baby. all i would say is keep to bland gluten free foods until the 6 m mark

ps, a friend of mine put off weaning til 6m despite her ds showing all the signs of being ready and at 6m he wouldn't touch solid food let alone lumps.

[munz]

please excuse my typo's J's trying to help me type lol

[terramum]

Sleepfinder - my DS slept thru from about 8 weeks but as he was bf I didnt see the volume of milk he had during the day. Im sure I wouldve felt the same as you had I been able to measure his intake - he certainly spent an awful lot of time on the boob from late afternoon onwards . Coupled with the growth spurts many babies have at 3-4 months they do seem to have huge appetites! What signs did your LO show to make your worried about how much he was taking?

[MerryPiffmas]

to counter that, I weaned both of mine at 6 mth and they went straight onto lumpy/mashed food
Both now eat anything.
Early weaning is no guarantee of future eating habits

[CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark]

Noddy, I can't give support to early weaning - this is before even the old "17-26w" guidelines suggested.

You can't say that your child's not been affected by weaning early before they're much older, IMO.

[CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark]

Piff, both my DSs were weaned post 6m too and both have taken to food brilliantly - to add to the "personal anecdotery" on this thread

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

noddy - she is getting support - just not in the way that she thought she may have.

There is nothing wrong with giving people good advice. Just because they choose not to listen doesnt make it negative or bad. If you always go on the assumption that someone has taken all steps and advice before making a decision you are doing someone a great disservice, IMVHO.

[DizzyBinterWonderland]

merrylissiemas- it's not a case of early weaning may cause vomitting or a rash, it's a case of worldwide studies showing that early weaning is linked to allergies, IBS and other digestive disorders. these may not show up for several years.

we can all give anecdotes but they aren't helpful. my dh was weaned on mashed egg at 8 weeks, he has IBS and all kinds of stomach problems. my dd was weaned at 6 months on blw and loves her food. so what?

[merrylissiemas]

no i appreciate that but what i meant is that every child is different and early weaning worked brilliantly for us. he loves food and seems very comfortable with trying new foods. and while i worried myself silly about this i trusted my own instincts and it has worked, we are told that mums know what is best for their child and i think everyone is being a bit harsh on sleepfinder. when 1 hv told me off for weaning i offered to let her have ds for the night and wake every 25 mins for a 7oz feed. and my hv was fully supportive of early weaning if it felt right to me

[MerryPiffmas]

Absolutely we are simply furnishing her with lots of information out of the goodness of our well nourished and later weaned hearts.

[merrylissiemas]

but surely starting off with babyrice is a bit different to egg

[MerryPiffmas]

I was the mug that allowed ds to feed all night on my breast - he was a voracious feeder at one point sleeping 20 mins out of every hour - feding the other 40
I thought gosh he is a hungry baby, and then thought, oh he must need more milk, not oh he must need a big mac and fries.

It seems I was a martyr indeed

[DizzyBinterWonderland]

you see i wouldn't trust my instincts on something like this, i don't know best. i look at all the research and make a well considered decision. having read the WHOs information as well as information about BLW, i decided to wean at 6 months.

[CouldEquallyHaveBeenAnAardvark]

Baby rice is still "foreign" to a baby's gut. It's not the same as a peanut butter and jam sandwich, true - but it's still food.

I do get fed up seeing "oh, I'm not really weaning him, just giving him baby rice and pureed fruit" - it's still food!