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?

Oh, I worry so much about this too! DS is 22 weeks and I have been going him baby rice (mixed with BM) and sweet potato (mashed with BM) for a week. He seems so much happier and contented - much less fretful since I have. However, reading all the links has worried me that I'm going to hurt him...

:(

I don't know what to do for the best!

For going him please read giving him

Current guidelines are 6 months Eggy.

BDA Paediatric Group Position Statement: Weaning infants onto solid foods

Helped me to make up my mind to wean at 21 weeks. I also looked at some of the research papers that supported the statement. Took it slow with baby rice and Organix porrige (flakes not ready made stuff), pureed veg and fruit, one meal / day to start for first week then 2 for another week, then 3 meals from 3rd week.

Because of family histroy of egg and fish allergy and preweaning eczema we have held off on those and only give 1 food a try at a time (i.e. strawberries one one day, would only give stuff he's already had like carrot and advocado).

DS literally eats a tiny pot full of food at each meal, we've had no worsening of eczema, no constipation, no illness etc.

Each child is different. Worked for us. Each decision on when to wean is absolutely reasonable for that family. Hence, YANBU.

I did.

To date, no problems! I mix-fed until 4 months then bottled, and once they started needing 9oz bottles every 2 hours I knew they were ready.

I find it really odd that HVs differ so much - I did ask mine and she couldn't have been more supportive.

ah crap, posted on the wrong thread

when i read it back then in january the nHS site recommend minimum 17 weeks...so in essence, it was still4-6 months even though the headline recommend was 6 mths IYSWIM

other thread

Well, they recommend 6 months, but if you are going to wean early then never to do it before 17 weeks - not quite the same as saying anytime 4-6 months is ok, just that before 17 weeks is riskier than after.

YANBU, it's up to you and only you will know if your child is ready.

I weaned all my 3 DS's before 6 months as guidelines then were 4-6 months and IMO they were ready before 6 months. This time I plan to wait until 6 months, but if baby seems ready a bit before then, then I'll consider weaning before.

Someone I know has recently been posting on FB about her son, who is 6 weeks old, having baby rice at night and therefore sleeping through the night and she was so 'proud' of him. That is, IMO, unreasonable.

The point that is being made repeatedly is that there are a number of good reasons not to wean prior to 6 mths but are there any reasons why you should?

If your child was, say 5 weeks prem though Rita and was showing signs of being ready at 22 weeks would you hold off?
As technically the child would only be 17 weeks if you go by EDC and now ADC

my ds is almost 24 weeks and I am going to start letting him play with some food tomorrow. We're going to do BLW so if he shows no interest we'll leave it.

If my baby could sit up, pick up food and get it to their mouth, and had lost their tongue thrust reflex I would let them have some suitable bits to play with/eat mumnotmachine.

please read the reasearch about early weaning before you do it. It's much healthier to wait.

I wouldn't wean before 6 months without medical advice but if you're convinced they're ready there's nothing wrong with getting an appointment with your GP for a second opinion.

I did always wonder how Mums did weaning with prem babies, both mine were on date so never had the needto know at the time- but weaning mine at 13/14 weeks would technically have made them about 8/9 weeks which is waaaaay too young!

Some premature babies need to be weaned before 6 months on medical advice as their iron stores can be lower at birth than term babies.

see the link from inflames bleow

"3.4 No evidence of harm in early weaning
In developed countries there are no reported disadvantages to beginning weaning onto solid foods between 4 and 6 months compared with waiting until 6 months (EFSA 2009)."

i do see major disadvantages in feeding a baby that is feeding non-stop and leaving you feeling drained and exhausted. such was DD2 @ 5 months. (and worse at 7 months when the little bugger reverse weaned)

The Specialist Paediatric Group of the British Dietetic Association concludes that:
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Breastfeeding is the best form of nutrition for healthy infants and can provide complete nutrition for the first 6 months (26 weeks) of life for some infants.
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Breastfeeding mothers need appropriate nutritional advice (including advice on vitamin D supplementation) to ensure that their breast milk provides good nutrition for their babies (Mughal et al 1999, Shaw & Pal 2002, Savoie & Rioux 2002). Despite these measures, some infants may experience a faltering in their growth or show evidence of nutritional deficiencies when exclusively breastfed for 6 months (Butte et al 2002, Lanigan et al 2001). Therefore, individual
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circumstances need to be considered when professionals are giving advice on the introduction of solid foods.
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Each infant should be managed individually and developmental signs of readiness for solid food in the infant and parental opinions should be taken into consideration when advising on the ideal age to begin weaning an infant.
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Weaning onto solid foods should begin by 6 months but not before 4 months (17 weeks).
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Infants who are weaned at or near 6 months will need to be moved from smooth pureed foods onto the second stage of weaning more quickly than those weaned earlier to ensure continued development of normal feeding behaviour and continued nutritional adequacy. In particular mashed food with soft lumps and soft finger foods and foods high in iron including meat, oily fish and pulses should be introduced from around 6 months.
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Further studies to clarify the ideal age range for commencing weaning should continue.
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The age range recommended for beginning weaning should not be changed unless there is strong scientific evidence as frequent changes in policy undermine the credibility of HCPs with parents.
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Preterm infants are a special case and advice should be sought from the dietitian and medical team who are caring for them. More information is available on weaning preterm infants from a booklet produced by BLISS ?The premature baby charity?: www.BLISS.org.uk (and see section above)
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Whatever feeding decisions parents make (breastfeeding or formula feeding; early or later weaning) they need to be supported and given appropriate advice to ensure that all infants are fed safely and are having a nutritionally adequate diet.
April 2010

Quoted from the guidelines linked in my earlier post