To consider introducing solids at 4months?

[Azaeli]

He's showing all the signs of being ready (grabs things with both hands and puts them in mouth, watches us eat, is more than double his birth-weight, sits well with support etc).

I know current advice is wait until 6months but don't babies develop at different rates?

Also he suffers with reflux and I've heard introducing solids early can help that. He guzzles milk but rarely seems satisfied (EBF) and has lots of green slimy nappies (8-10 a day).

Anyone else ignored the guidelines and started weaning early?

*"There's no such thing as a mix of BLW and purée"

Pmsl. What are some of these posters on?! grin*

Sorry but this made me lol too. Said who, the BLW police?

OP it's too early. You probably get that now. But the good thing about Finger food is if they can't eat it, they won't. So a better indicator than forcing mush down by spoon

As people said check latch as green nappies could be not getting proper feed or baby is lactose intolerant - can give reflux symptoms. My lo latch got lazy around this age and had to work at it.

Try dc with some finger foods. Mine loved munching on some buttered toast and fit well with bf, plus saves faff of purees. Do what you feel is right

Weaning threads always get some posters flappy and frothing. .

Yes walking, because that's what traditional weaning is - forcing mush down their throats. What misleading and unhelpful language.

Why said traditional weaning was forcing mush down? I said using finger food is a better indicator as to whether they're ready, rather than forcing it. Touché

We did at 5 months but under consultant and dr as lactose intolerance, reflux and high acid production. Would have waited until 6 months because it can cause other problems.

Thanks for all replies.

I have wondered if the green slimy nappies are due to an allergy, but I hardly eat any dairy and GP says it's unlikely as CMPA usually causes constipation and streaks of blood. I also thought maybe oversupply so I expressed anf discarded some of the foremilk for 3weeks but no change. Coleif made no difference.
So I thought maybe introducing some mashed carrot and potato might help his digestion and reflux?

Yes he's sitting up, holding head up well, very good hand-eye-mouth coordination. How do you check for tongue reflex?

I'll speak to GP before trying solids.

Re finger-foods, he likes sucking on large sticks of carrot and cucumber (he will pick them up and put in mouth independently) but has no teeth so can't chew them yet.

You know your baby. hun

AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Bastard

I am not entirely sure what being a dermatologist – however eminent – has to do with information on infant gut and/or face development. Their entire face changes shape in order to start being able to eat without spitting the food out and gagging – it’s not just the gut readiness. There are, however, some arguments in terms of allergies etc that you shouldn’t leave it too late.

here is an interesting article and yes there are studies showing that starting between 4-6 months has benefits. I'm in France and here the official advice in baby books is 4-6 months as well. I don't think French babies are that different. (of course, DD had her own ideas and firmly spat all kinds of solids out until she was 6,5 months, so if yours behaves the same, you might not even have a say here.)
scienceofmom.com/2015/05/14/starting-solids-4-months-6-months-or-somewhere-in-between/

Oh op. You do realise that feeding your baby solids under 6 months is tantamount to feeding it bleach on mumsnet.

In the 80s/90s I weaned mine at 3/4 months just like everyone else.

Now it's 6+ or you are a terrible mother.

Not to worry by the find your dc is having babies it will all change again I expect.

Read the science, look at your baby and decide for yourself.

All will be fine honestly.

If you're already giving him cucumber and carrot, why bother asking when to start on solids?

Medical advice does change all the time - based on scientific research and breakthroughs. We should embrace the advances in knowledge and not just ignore them because our parents did things differently. Remember when we didn't bother with baby car seats or seatbelts?

Breastmilk is like white water, looks like it couldn't nourish a sparrow. Green slimy poo can be CMPI (sometimes), can be indicative of oversupply(v rarely), can represent temporary lactose intolerance after an infection/antibiotics and can happen when lots of snot and drool is also consumed.

Weaning wise, weaning between 17 months and six months raises the risk of gastroenteritis - waiting until six months is fine for most babies unless advised other wise. The guidelines aren't due to be revised, don't change all the time and are subject to review.

There is interesting research happening around allergies but it's not completed and published and concerns babies at high risk of allergy so isnt necessarily relevant to wider populations. It also isnt looking at gastro issues and IBS, crohns etc

Sitting unaided, losing tongue thrust reflex and eating are all reliable signs of readiness, babies rarely manage these in trio before 5 1/2 months.

That's interesting about the face changing mother. I weaned dc1 at 22 weeks and dc2 at 21 weeks and nether did any spitting out after the first taste. Dc2 first tasted egg at 26 weeks and had an allergic reaction.
Felt bad about that and thought maybe should have waited longer with the egg but the allergy consultant we saw said nope, early introduction now recommended.

Anyway fwiw both of mine took to food really well and solids helped dc2's reflux almost overnight.

DS has allergies to cows milk, soy and eggs and frequent green, mucous nappies were his main symptom along side reflux and bit of dry skin and crappy sleeping.

I breastfed DS and even the smallest amounts of dairy/soy in my diet he reacted to. Eggs were ok with breastfeeding but upset his tummy when he had solids. Do allergies/eczema/hayfever run in your families?

Just wanted to say he might not be ready if he isn't actually eating them. Even without teeth they manage just fine. I wouldn't really force him with purées, mind you my DS refused being spoon fed until 12 months.

YouBastard demonstrates said hysteria. Feed you baby how/when you want. Noone else really cares that much.

Katharina, that's a great article, thanks for posting.

Walking, I still think your language is unhelpfully aggressive. It's more than possible to loving prepare nutritious food for your child (i.e. not 'mush') and feed it to them mindfully while responding to their cues (i.e. not 'forcing it down').

Hotchoc, you speak as if scientific advise on food & nutrition is a constant march towards progress and enlightenment. That is manifestly not the case. There are many examples where official advice has been revised or reversed when new contradictory information emerges. Take eggs. In the 80s/90s we were told to limit consumption because eggs increased cholesterol levels. They now know that's not the case and have quietly rewritten official advice

There are videos on YouTube of the tongue thrust reflex in action. For example:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=pJj2NGCm-JQ

The baby is pushing the food out. It's a reflex to prevent choking when they're not ready for solids. If you hold any item to their lips, you can trigger it. It's a clever and useful reflex.

The advice I've been given here ( Sweden) and how I see other mums do it is 4-6 months.

Mums seem to give them a finger to suck after it's been dunked in something like quiche or something. Of the baby pushes it out with the tongue they're not ready for anything bigger but there seems to be a method of getting them to just have a tiny taste of things from about 4 months. Not actually getting them to swallow 'stuff' but just licking a finger. They then go from there and kids here seem to like a huge variety of foods which many uk adults would balk at - my friends kids love pickled herring, coffee etc.

Kids also have välling (thin wheat based stuff) from 4-6 months as well. Never seem that anywhere else...

The weaning topic on here and MN's own weaning pages are good btw.

AIBU is a ruddy disgrace for failing to provide supportive advice without the loaded vitriol.

laurie should we just ignore all current guidelines then in case they're later reversed? Seems a bit daft. People followed the advice to wean at 4 months in the 80s, fine. Why can't they just accept that advice has moved on now?

Advice in the UK. Mainland Europe mostly says 4 months. They're reading the same research.

There are benefits and risks to both. All small. Both stances are almost certainly fine.