To be a bit shocked that people are still weaning their babies really early?

[bumbleymummy]

I'm not talking about within a few weeks of 6 months and I know that some babies with reflux are weaned a bit earlier under the guidance of a paediatrician - I'm talking 3 week olds being given bottles of baby rice/rusks because they're big/hungry/whatever. I just can't believe that some people still think this is ok and will argue about how milk just wasn't enough for their baby at that age

YANBU. Although there are many idiots that will say you are.

It makes me laugh when people say the guidelines 'keep changing' as the current 6 month guideline has been around for 10 years now.

A few people have said parents need more information about the dangers of early weaning, but this information is so easily available I really don't think a lack of information is an excuse to put your babies health at risk.

Advice is still 6 months in the UK LittleBear

some of us have been parents longer than 10 years though so have more experience of changing guidelines in feeding and sleeping changing than you.

read the posts.

I've just skim-read the Swedish paper on gluten introduction and it is not conclusive that introducing gluten before 6 months reduces coeliac disease. Continued breastfeeding alongside gluten introduction seems to help, and it may be that the guidelines changing to 4 months reduced the incidence of coeliac disease because it increased the likelihood that the mother was still breastfeeding at the point of introduction.

"Age at gluten introduction might be important because it influences the proportion of infants still breastfed at that time and/or there might be a certain age interval that provides a ?window of opportunity? with respect to developing oral tolerance.18,33 This window has been suggested to occur between 4 and 6 months of age37; however, evidence concerning the most favorable age to introduce gluten is still inconclusive."

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/3/e687.full.html

Sorry, another quote from the Swedish paper

"Breastfeeding has been associated with reduced risk for several autoimmune diseases and for allergy.29 With respect to celiac disease, we have previously shown a protective effect of concomitant breastfeeding and introduction of gluten-containing complementary foods,14 an effect also seen in other studies but not in all.15,17 The current study suggests that this protective effect prevails up to 12 years of age. Introducing gluten during ongoing breastfeeding may increase the chance of developing oral tolerance through immune-modulating factors in breast milk and/or influence on the gut maturation and colonization.33 Differences in the microbiota composition between formula-fed and breastfed infants have been shown, which might involve an increased celiac disease risk because differences in gut microbiota between individuals with and without celiac disease have been reported.34,35 Furthermore, breastfeeding has been associated with a reduced risk of gastrointestinal infections,29 an additional risk factor for celiac disease.36"

Thanks for that giraffe. I'll read the link as part of my ongoing research!

If I take long enough poor DD will be one before I make any decision!!

in a lab somewhere in the world a scientist is preparing a new paper based on new research. 😆

hope so anyway or we are stuck in 2013 for ever!

Also good to see that either way the numbers are still quite low.

LeBFG the diabetes study is here
archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1707785
I don't have full access though.

Interestingly, they also found that breastfeeding alongside introduction to wheat/barley may confer protection against diabetes.

It seems that instead of all this fuss about the right weaning age, more publicity should be given to the benefits of continued breastfeeding during weaning.

My grandpa went to medical school in 1933 I have a text book of paediatric s published in 1929 which suggests introducing solids (bread and milk) at 9 months. Also no mention of formula I assume food especially for babies hadn't yet been invented, so you just had to wait till they were ready for proper food. (FWIW Ds was weaned at 4.5m weighing 8.8kg solely bf dd self weaned at 5.5m).

It's good to see the Swedish report talks about the benefits of breastfeeding alongside and, as you said giraffe not a message I've heard much.

clearly DD had when she steadfastly refused to entertain the idea of bottle feeds at all

It's interesting that they do seem to conclude that their country's recommendation to introduce small amounts of gluten from 4 months alongside breastfeeding is the favourable option.

Crazy that countries can vary so much!

Before anyone reads this and decides to embark on a bread based weaning regime at four months there was also evidence to support the recommendation of small amounts of gluten rather than large amounts as, I understand it, that made things worse.

Best to read the report for yourself as Im no scientist!

Yes, yes giraffe. SO many people interpret 'exclusive bf until 6m' as bf until you start solids and stop bf on the day LO turns 6m. Such a pity!

leBFG all those people must have far more compliant children from mine! Both have refused bottles persistently!

But it's nice to see that simply carrying on breastfeeding will confer benefits no matter when I decide to start weaning

Bumbley, advice to mothers changes like the wind. Many moons ago, in the black and white days ( as my DS's like to say) I was advised by my GP and health visitor to give DS1 baby rice at 6 weeks old. I did. He was breast fed until 10 months old, I only stopped because he had 4 teeth and liked a good old chew. He hadn't read any of the baby books and so really didn't care what they said, I followed his lead. Many aspects of modern babycare seem odd to us oldies, and I am sure it was the same for our mothers. I was recently told by my niece that she " wasn't allowed to bathe her new baby for a month". DS1 is 19, a bodybuilding keep fit nut, never been ill by the way and all 3 of my boys have had a bath/ shower every day of their lives and they have all turned out smashing. There is an awful lotto things to be shocked about in the world, but how others choose to feed their baby isn't one of them.

not all medical professionals give the same advice either which adds confusion....our paediatrician told us to go ahead and put some rice cereal in DS1s bottle(2010) to help him sleep and told us to wean at 4 months. We just ignored her having done our own research.

I think people of a certain generation weaned early, feel it worked out fine and now spout anecdotal information about how great it all is which can confuse some new parents.

my own mother goes on and on (and fucking on) about how hungry my brother was, how she needed to have a spoon in each hand ready to go for him...blah, blah, blah. I think she doesn't want to hear about new guidelines because she feels its an assault on her own parenting.

Why on earth would she think it was an assault on her parenting? I'm sure unless your brother is riddled with allergies and ill health directly attributed to ealy weaning and nothing else she couldn't give a shit.

We're bombarded with new advice re babies/ parenting all the time,the vast maj of people I know couldn't give a flying f* k in RL. it's only on MN that people obsess over this kind of thing.

I don't think advice changes that frequently but awareness of guidelines is now much higher and centralised ie NHS web pages on weaning. These weren't available when I and a number of posters were being weaned. Therefore individual GPs gave their own opinion more and depending n their own age/experience this advice probably could differ markedly. I was started on solids in the late 70s and my mum was advised to wait until I was heading towards 4 months. Having seen me wean my own daughter at 6 months she has said it seems so much easier if you wait longer.

What on earth did we all do before we had the interweb to keep us informed???

Oh dear I had no idea there was such a big potential for debate about this!!

I started DD on tiny amounts of puréed veg and apple/pear from 17w. She always hated her bottle and would struggle through it, she did have some reflux and I think some of it was just plain old boredom with her bottle. I used to watch my sister's kids devour bottles with gusto and DD could barely be bothered, it just wasn't something she enjoyed.

We are now a month in from starting puréed veg (now twice a day, still only around a teaspoon maximum each time) and she is happier than ever. It has even made her a fan of bottle feeding, she now finishes each bottle happily. She loved the purée on a spoon from the word Go. Absolutely delighted by it.

I am incredibly careful not to over feed, I have stopped each time when she would go on for a good while longer. The slightest sign of disinterest and I i stop immediately.

I am still assuming she needs ALL her calories from her milk; the purée is just for taste and for getting to experience food.

As soon as she can properly hold stuff (that said, she is grabbing the spoon from me every time) we will start proper finger food etc.

I felt instinctively that it was the right thing for my baby; I would never have weaned before 17w and am not giving her anything but pure veg or fruit.

Reading this thread though I am now doubting myself!! I didn't think it was so complex a subject!!

Really hoping I have done the right thing...

She loves it so much, it has turned miserable feeds into happy ones...

I think many mums from the older generations do feel the current guidelines are an assault on their parenting. No matter how ridiculous as they were just following advice etc. But i know my Mum and Aunts get really cross and bristly when they suggest i do something like feed DS solids at 6wo and i say no guidelines are now x. They take it as an implication that they were somehow wrong and my have damaged their babies (which are usually fine - so you get the 'well it didn't do you any harm reaction. Rather than saying 'oh well, advise has changed' they get defensive. I know that my Mum was looking forward to 'mentoring' me thru the baby stage and then sadly for her all of her advise was 'wrong'.

yes apparently medical advice doesn't change/ contradict/ retract/ do a u turn over the years. us older parents just dreamed it.

emerald, that's just it. weaning isn't a complex subject but of course some parents are so bogged down with advice on the internet/ medical professionals and family all saying different things its become a bloody minefield.

weaning is simply the introduction of solid(y) foods to babies as you need a bit more than milk to grow as you reach a certain age.

best advice now is wait for 6 months( if wrong will take flaming) my 4 were weaned at 3,4,4.5 and 5.2 months each. they are fine.

everyone has an opinion but you know your baby best and sounds like you are doing great.

remember lots of so called child care professionals are making shed loads if cash off the backs of best practise advice and even scientists have been known to take money off drug companies 😋

I think it's how you handle the issue with grandparents who do know how to raise babies,having actually done it with bells on and come out the other side.

Maybe it's the tone one uses.If you smugly blather on re how your baby will end up morbidly obese and ridden with allergies if a spoonful of baby rice passes his lips before 6 months then I can see that you may irritate.If you however just get on with it without giving a science lecture then perhaps it won't be an issue.

Can't remember discussing it with my raw egg,early weaning mother or it being an issue and we were living with her whilst taking over her kitchen churning out Annabel fg Kamel puréed baby food(another supposed expert who has made a fortune on the backs of new parents long before baby led weaning was even invented).

MrsKoala, I certainly do not feel as if current guidelines are an assault on my parenting, good god, I've done it, been there etc. I and all others my generation have years and years of experience. We don't need to post threads asking for advice because we have all done it already, and to be honest I'm sure your Mother and Aunts would be more than a little disappointed to hear you are above taking advice from them. Re-read your comments and imagine their faces if they read them.