to wean dd at 21 weeks?

[pregnantpause]

I really think my dd is ready to be weaned. she is ebf, and is a big baby. In the last week she has started feeding every hour/two. waking in the night. watching dd1 eat with much interest etc.
I really think its time BUT when i spoke to hv this mnorning she said 'i should wait until 26 weeks 'for the sake of her health'.
AIBU to think sod it my baby, my way and wean her anyway?surely it wont damage her?

[RitaMorgan]

The guidelines changed from 4 months to 4-6 months in 1994.
Then changed from 4-6 months to 6 months in 2003.

Hardly a daily basis!

[choceyes]

The guidelines have been 6 months for many years now I think. it does not change on a daily basis.

i wouldn't risk it. Weaning before 6 months is not beneficial to the baby and can cause harm...so why do it?
watching someone eat with interest is not a sign of readiness to wean. Weaning is a faff and I'd rather breastfeed more often than mess around with purees.

[BertieBotts]

They don't change on a daily basis They haven't changed for about 8 years.

[WidowWadman]

We started BLW at around 22 weeks as we figured that if she happily stuffs carpet fluff in her mouth, asparagus spears won't hurt either. I've never done the puree thing, but believe that you shouldn't go by calendar but by baby's behaviour.

That said, frequent feeding is not really a sign for weaning time, burt just bringing the milk supply up.

[happy2bhomely]

Hmmmm, 2 of mine were bottlefed/early weaned from 16 weeks. The youngest 2 were EBF/started blw at 7 months. No ill effects so far to any of them. The older 2 were given 'tastes', so 1 spoon of mashed banana, stewed apple etc from very young. The little ones started eating what we were eating right away because they were sitting and feeding themselves. I prefer breastfeeding and baby led weaning 100%. I feel sad that I used to bottlefeed and feed 'baby foods', even though I can see that it has done no harm. (I can't explain it) All my babies were big, hungry babies, but my youngest was 11lb, huge appetite and could support his head from birth. We still managed to hold off weaning til 7 months. All my kids are good eaters now and are healthy. Weigh up the pros and cons, make your own mind up based on what you know about your own baby and all the facts available to you. Then stand by your decision and know that you did your best.

[mumnotmachine]

Ah well I'm obviously the crappiest mother ever then

[RitaMorgan]

Not your fault that your HV gave poor advice.

[Sqee]

They are called guide lines for a reason tho aren't they? Every baby is different. I would go with your instincts OP. :)

[worraliberty]

3 kids here all weaned from 14wks/16wks.

The best advice I ever had was from my Mum (a Mum of 5) who told me "They'll let you know when they're ready..but you must listen to them"

And boy did they let me know

[LineRunner]

I think that mumnotmachine was satirising the changes of advice that mothers have received through time and which on occasion have immediately been rebutted by quasi-medical TV pundits and 'health professionals'.

I really don't think she was being literal.

[MichaelaS]

I think you have instincts for a reason and should pay attention to them over any general advice.

Weaning is not a cut and dried thing - there is a long middle stage where the baby is getting most of the nutrition from milk and is having just a few bits of food. This could be baby rice, pears / bananas, BLW stuff, or however you approach it. But they do not go from 100% milk to 100% food overnight. You can also swap and change- try a bit of food, then go back to milk if its not working.

The recommendation to wean at 6 months is all about the tummy's ability to cope with more complex digestion. I think I read somewhere (?) that bf improves the gut flora and the baby is therefore more robust in terms of digestion ability. If I remembered that correctly, it means bf whilst weaning is the best of both worlds - you're helping the baby to digest the food by replacing gut bacteria through breast milk? maybe i got wires crossed though.

When my sister and I were babies my mother was advised to wean us at 6 WEEKS. This was considered normal - and when I waited until my son was 4 months corrected (7 months actual) she found it really hard to cope with. There is a lot more development between 6 and 16 weeks than between 16 and 26.

Good luck, hope whatever you decide works out for the best for your family.

[Sassybeast]

Agreed that you won't get a concensus here but as part of your research and reading I always think it's wise to bear in mind that many of the health problems related to earlier weaning don't manifest themselves until much later in life so don't be swayed by those who hold their healthy 3 year olds up as examples of the benefits/non harm of early weaning. It's the same argument that is often used in BF/FF debates but again, many of the health problems are those which develope in adulthood.
I had baby rice in my bottle at 6 weeks and have had a lifetime of digestive and gastric problems. I can't say if they are definately related but I personally think there is a link for me.

[LadyThumb]

You obviousy mean 'supplement' with some food + milk. Just do it and don't worry. All these guidelines are just that, they are not written in stone. If you know the baby is ready, then go for it!

[seeker]

"AIBU to think sod it my baby, my way and wean her anyway?"

Absolutely. You do that. Ignore HCP advice, WHO advice and do it your way. Your baby, your rules.

You are of course able to tell purely by mother's insinct that she is not one of the small minority of babies who will suffer long term after effects from early weaning, so go right ahead.

[motherinferior]

Wot Seeker said.

[MichaelaS]

but seeker there is another side which is not spoken about often - the effect of nutrition (sufficient calories and trace elements e.g. magnesium) on brain development. A baby which is growing fast may compromise neural development if their calorie intake is not sufficient to their fast physical growth. NB I am talking about babies who grow tall / big fast and not just fat.

Yes, early weaning has disadvantages, but so does late weaning. Babies develop at different rates. One size does not fit all.

[JustAnother]

weaned my DS at 17 weeks. He was definitely ready, and the advice at the time was 16 weeks anyway, so I had not reason not to do it. He is an allergy-free healthy child

[seeker]

MichaelsS - sources, please?

[pregnantpause]

Michealas- My mum and mil both weaned their children (me and dh) at four months and have both been, aah- encouraging me to do the same since about 16 weeks. They both seems to find it very hard that they may not have done the best thing for their children.

With my dd1 we lived far far away so mum and mil didnt get to offer advice and I dont remember ever seeing a hv about weaning. I think i will have to go with my instincts and see how she takes to some food, as said earlier if she doesnt like it/seem ready then i can go back to ebf cant I?

[Quenelle]

I would prefer to just breastfeed more often for a few more weeks, far less faff.

[MichaelaS]

sources:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016538068790232X concluding: "It is concluded that the chronic caloric undernutrition at an early age can impart permanent shifts in the organization of cerebral functioning, and that the post-growth spurt rehabilitatory feeding can contribute only little to reverse or reduce the effects of the previous undernutrition."

Vitamin C crucial to early brain development: snowdrop-snowdropblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/vitamin-c-critical-to-early-brain.html

[motherinferior]

I'm always amazed, actually, at people who 'know their babies'. Mine were both complete mysteries to me. Small apes with weird urges.

[IgnoringTheChildren]

I think that people sometimes get a bit hung up on the age of a baby when they should be focusing on the baby's development instead. I intended to wait until 26 weeks with DS2 but he actually had his first taste of food at 17 weeks when he grabbed some cucumber and stuck it in his mouth and gummed it to death. However he would have been 18 weeks if born on his EDD or potentially even older if he had been premature.

Your HV could be saying wait until 26 weeks because she doesn't think your DD is showing the signs of being ready to wean (sitting up with or without support; picking up and chewing on toys). Or it could be that she's incapable of independent thought/reasoning and if your baby had been born at 35 weeks gestation then you'd be given the all clear purely because of hitting the magic weaning number!

Ultimately you get to make the decision based on the information available to you and your judgement of your DDs development.

[bruffin]

" Weaning before 6 months is not beneficial to the baby and can cause harm...so why do it?"

Have you actually go any evidence that weaning before 6 months is harmful other than what you have read on mumsnet. esphgan say the gut and kidneys are ready by 17 weeks and weaning should start by 26 weeks.

[Quenelle]

MichaelaS Doesn't a baby get more calories from breast milk than solids though?