weaning at 22 weeks?

[washngo]

My dd is 22 weeks, and ebf. For the last few weeks she has seemed a bit unsatisfied with just bf, and has been rather irritable. I know this could be for a hundred reasons, but I often wonder if she is hungry. Also, all her poos are green (when i read this back in my head i sung this along to the tune of the first line of the Mamas and Papas classic 'California Dreaming').

Anyway, a few people have suggested this could be related to her being hungry or ready to wean. So i suppose what i'm asking is, is 22 weeks to early to wean or is it ok? Anyone had similar experiences?

You might be better posting on the weaning board. If she is hungry, try giving her more milk. It has more calories than a few spoonfuls of pureed carrot anyway :)

I think that green poos could indicate your baby is ill, not ready for weaning. Wait until her poos are normal before weaning.

A trip to the hv might be an idea as well.

It is fine (dons suit for flaming) - just stay off gluten stuff, dairy and citrus at first.

It will be fine, it is just common sense

being irritable isn't reason to wean, could be teething or as you say all number of things. Signs a baby is ready are in this leaflet:

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4117080

22 weeks is about 5 months ? We started giving DD tastes of foods at about that age. The guidelines say 6 months (26 weeks), but it's not like babies 'magically' become able to eat food on their 6 month birthday. You could try her on baby rice (no nutritional value really, but gets them used to something more solid than milk) or smooth fruit purees and see what she thinks. Shouldn't do any harm if you start slowly.

Post on breastfeeding board? Search there for green poos, lots of threads.

My DS2 was having about 10-12 BFs a day at 22 weeks including several in the night - had slept through at 8 weeks on 6 weeks. I held off and instead gave one bottle of formula to delay weaning - but my decision was based on me going back to work at 26 weeks and moving him onto formula then anyway.

26 weeks?? . When I had DD I was told to wean her at 12 weeks?? Admittedly she is almost 13yo, but I just did the same with DS1 & DS2. Surely when DS3 comes along in January we aren't now expected to make them wait until they are 6 months before giving them any proper food? Isn't that starving them? Or am I just out of synch with 'modern' advice?

Thanks for the replies-I have taken her to doctor and talked to health visitor about green poo-it was he doctor who said it might "be a sign her gut is maturing and she is ready for weaning". The hv said she thought it might be overfeeding (so completely different advice). So I posted on here for a different p.o.v. Should maybe add she is quite big - 90th centile. Don't know if that makes a difference!

loudlass, yes, advice now 26 weeks

I think there's a common theory that green poo can be caused by too much foremilk and not enough hind milk........whether there is actually any scientific basis to this I have no idea!

Weaning age sparks many a debate on parenting forums. All I can say is that I weaned both my DDs before 6 months and they are fine (so far!). Six months is the World Health Organisation guidelines, but when I was searching for info I found research which disproved the links between early (at 4 months) weaning and allergies.

If you are keen to avoid weaning, then definitely don't feel pressured into it because of green poo

I weaned DS at 4 months. He was FF and on hungry baby milk from a very early age. He was really ready for weaning so I did it at 4 months.

I took it really slowly with small bits of baby rice for a while, then pureed veg, then pureed fruit up until 6 months. Then we gave him meat, cereal and other foods. He was so ready and it went very well. He was immediately satisfied too. As we started early it gave me the chance to take it very slowly instead of getting him onto loards of different foods and lumps within a month of starting. It was relaxed and went far better than I ever thought it would. He never ever spat any food out, which is what I was completely expecting.

If you want to do it, do it. Don't let people put you off by "oh you have to wait until 6 months". No you don't actually. There was no way DS would have gone another 2 months without food. My HV was very unhelpful and told me not to do it. I got a simple book to follow and stuck to it.

washngo DS is between the 75th and 90th centile which is why I am convinced he was ready for food early.

Weaned both of mine (carefully!) at 5 months. They were hungry!

Go for it, I know plenty of babies who had a little baby rice before six months - what's the problem! My ds was around 19 weeks and had a little baby rice every day (he was also ebf). I don't see the problem. My ds was ready before six months, my dd didn't really want any food even at six/seven months. U know best

weaning guidelines

be careful when recommending early weaning to others, please

What does 'be careful' mean? The posters on this thread have spoken of their own experience and are addressing a poster whose child is 22 weeks not 2 weeks. I see no need to address them as if they are toddlers crossing a road!

The guidelines as linked are very useful. They show the signs of weaning readiness.

Waking more is not a sign.

And a baby's weight is nothing to do with it either. And logically wouldn't make sense either. A big baby is obviously thriving on milk.

If a child is sitting up, able to reach, grasp, chew, swallow, no tongue thrust reflex etc then they're probably ready.

Loudlass, 26 weeks on milk alone is really easy actually.

The guidelines have been 6 months for 7 years now. Before that they were 4-6 months for 20 years.

what do you think be careful means?

I am saying be careful, that's all

I'm not saying oh my god how could you you monster, now am I?

[shrug]

this is going to sound like two very silly questions but 1) how do you know they've lost their tongue thrust? and 2) does 'sitting up' mean 'sitting up unsupported' ?

DD is sitting up but not without support yet (I don't think she's ready anyway, despite being a very big baby).

I bored myself by reading all the research used by WHO to recommend their worldwide recommendations.

do the same and draw your own conclusions.

I could find not one piece of resaerch that should any conclusive problems for weaning after 17 weeks if you live in the developed world, take it slow, give appropriate food.

There are a number of signs that they are ready to be weaned, I have never seen green poo as one of those.

Thanks for the links to the guidelines - they are useful. She hasn't been waking in the night any more than usual - been very consistent on that front. One thing she does is chomp on anything she can get her hands on - usually my hand or my shoulder. But she can't quite sit up on her own yet, still a bit wobbly. I just feel that she's not satisfied with being ebf anymore, but perhaps that's in my head more than anything else...

FlyingInTheClouds i hadn't ever heard green poo mentioned in that context either, which is why i was surprised when the doc said that. Perhaps i will take what he said with a pinch of salt then...

Iamsostupid - be careful of links you give...that leaflets now a bit out of date,

a dietian told me last week that they are now revoking the advice about no nuts before three because allergy rates have increased even more since that was advised.

If you hold something near their mouth, their tongue comes out to reject it. See . The baby is clearly trying to expel the food from its mouth. They do it with anything put near their mouth. Generally from 26 weeks you can allow them to self feed so they won't take any solids until this reflex is gone anyway.

Sitting up with a small amount of support is fine I think.

That is the current leaflet on the DoH website though. If it is outdated, it's not Iamsostupid's fault - that is the current weaning advice from the dept of health!