weaning at 3 months

[queenmools]

This thread is unashamedly judgey and I am aware that there is another weaning thread ongoing atm but I am so aghast at what I heard today that I feel the need to discuss it with you all.
I was at a childminding training course today, during break time a lady started showing pictures of her "clever" 12 week old son eating his beef stew last night! A lady on the other side of the room then piped up with "have you already started weaning?" I was expecting her to say how that was not a good idea but no she then said " I'm glad I'm not the only one" she went onto explain that her baby ( same sge) was just so hungry and therefore was ready for solids.
iabu to be so shocked that seemly intelligent women, who are training to be child minders, have so little regard for current guidelines?

Doesn't hungry at 12 weeks mean more frequent milk feeds? Rather than beef stew?

That's what I thought too culturesucks.

No doubt in another 10 years time the guidelines will have changed again. 20 years ago it was normal to wean at 16 weeks or earlier. I have 4 healthy happy 20+ adults with no medical problems. Perhaps in 20 years time the OP will be "aghast" at the guidelines then?

I'm not aghast at the guidelines. I was aghast at two people who seemed not to know about them.

12 weeks is so much younger than four months. Beef stew isn't exactly a spoonful of baby rice so Yanbu.

I have seen how different babies are though and am willing take on board the four month old baby who wants to put some food in its mouth.

I've been down the other route with a baby who simply refused to let any kind of spoon near him, never ate purée, and wasn't having any of it until he could pick it up himself and put it in his mouth (ten months). That was fun*

*that was not fun

Part of his personality though - has to learn himself

YANBU and I can't stand all this "do what's best for you and bubz nonsense" .

Simply because a mum thinks it's best to wean HER child early certainly doesn't mean she would not follow instructions from parents of the children she minds.

" should be at the end of bubz serves me right for being a judgy cow I suppose

I don't get the rush to wean. It's messy. You go from being able to leave the house with boobs/formula to needing food, spoons, bowls, somewhere to heat the foid, a highchair, etc. it's a huge pain in the arse, frankly.

And to the "early weaning didn't do me any harm" crew food allergies, intolerance and digestive problems like ibs are very common in the generations who were advised to be weaned early. Of course some people will be fine, just like some 20 a day smokers make it to 90 in great health.

Weaning is a process, when I've looked at weaning charts I've been surprised that from the first tastes to 3 meals a day seems to happen over 3 weeks! I started at 5m with a few teaspoons of baby rice, she wasn't on 3 meals a day until 2 weeks ago and she's 8m now.
I don't know why anyone would start on beef stew, it's too rich and too many flavours at once, it should be slower with 1-2 flavours at a time.
As for the guidelines, 6m is late compared to most other countries, it used to be 4 months in this country.
I don't think babies are all the same but I think anything under 4 months is unnecesary and potentially harmful.

YANBU.

Jw- if you wait until 6mo there's no need to do a gradual introduction to flavours/foods or to purée. Beef stew is fine for a 6mo.

Surely the issue with beef stew for a 12 month old is that the baby couldn't possibly digest it properly and it would also replace a nutritious milk feed. Not that it's too flavourful and rich.

Oops, meant 12 weeks not 12 months.

Murfles that is not really what I meant. It is more a mum might go to the child minder for advice and you'd want it to be up to date advice.

Also, on a wider note: this isn't done in isolation. Since the invention of baby purée manufacturers have been keen for us to buy it to wean our babies. Purée has been a round a long time in jars and I do think it's now part of the mythology and culture of babyhood. But it isn't necessarily (obv it makes life on the go a little bit easier depending on the baby)

Now we have 'baby led weaning' and lots of people keen to sell that concept because they can then sell fancy foods to wean our babies on (food technology has advanced blind purée in jars).

I think that the sensible parent inhabits a place somewhere between those two, without wanting to accelerate everything and with some observation of their own child.

unashamedly judgey and I am aware that there is another weaning thread ongoing atm but I am so aghast at what I heard today that I feel the need to discuss it with you all.

You are looking to shame those who you were training with, don't try to disguise that fact.

You are entitled to your opinion and to point out current guidelines in view of your profession, did
you tell these women your opinion?

For what it's worth I've been a NNEB trained Nanny, Nursery assistant and am currently a TA.

I could murder a bowl of beef stew with a warm crusty roll now.

As you were...

It is more a mum might go to the child minder for advice and you'd want it to be up to date advice.

Most mums do what they feel is right for their children anyway. Clearly the training gave out the up to date guidelines. I think your being particularly harsh tbh and you actually don't know if the person feeding her child beef stew wouldn't give official guidance to parents.

I'm not looking to shame them because none of you know them. I have been judgey yes I admitted that from the start. I'm not looking to play who's more qualified than who because that is not what this is about. I'm no expert on child care, I have some children of my own and I'm at the start of a career change. I wanted a discussion, that is what aibu is for. I am more than willing to listen to different views. You seem determined to find me offensive.

Did you speak up and tell your fellow trainees that they were not following current guidelines?

I'm interested in how people come to the decision that solids at a very young age is the right choice for their baby. (Again not those under the care of hcp who are advising it).

That's true murfles i don't know that.

It is more a mum might go to the child minder for advice and you'd want it to be up to date advice.

I strongly doubt a mother would approach a childminder for feeding advice. This is absolutely no disrespect to childminders btw. As I said earlier, you don't actually KNOW the advice the women you came on here to shame would give wrong advice do you? You are assuming, which is wrong. Therefore YABU. Those women on the training course with you were given up to date guidelines. Who are you to decide they wouldn't give parents the advice in the guidelines?

I've seen similar myself. baby in arms wasn't even properly supporting it's head let alone anywhere near sitting up. actually lying down in the arms all wrapped up being spoon fed. I. say spoon fed but more wipe spoon over baby's mouth and fid eventually swallowed between baby style salve bubbles and mouth scrunching

although we were at a drs surgery so baby could have been prem or disabled in some way or just very small and food could have been on advice who knows.

Dd was weaned at four months but she was ready and loved food. even so I started "light" beef stew was for later on.

I guess what I'm saying is there's a chance weaning was dine in advice. not saying it's correct advice but just that it could

could be from pressure from grandparents etc. we all know how overbearing sone family can be.

or they could just be idiots.

I think we cross posted murfles.