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?

Should be 14 units, most ppl should be under 24 units

I am going to wean my dd at 4 months, my DS was weaned at 4 months on advice from his consultant at St.Thomas' to help prevent allergies - 2012. It was slow but all main allergens were introduced before 6 months.

I told my HV that I am going to start at 4 months & she said that she felt that advice would be changing to be between 4&6 months rather than at 6 months.

I don't have research to back up what she said or to support my own experience, but if you want to wean at 4 months you can, just go slowly & introduce food groups on their own so if they have a reaction you know what it was that triggered it.

Please find me the evidence that the WHO guidelines are based on contaminated water - and I mean evidence from the WHO. I've just had a look and the guidelines I've seen just say 'on a population basis'.

OP I think you asked re reflux and weaning. I found that solid foods did not help stop reflux. Had to make sure at least an hour passed between food and milk or I'd see everything again. Everyone had told me solids helped with reflux but sadly twas not the case for DD. She grew out of it in the end though at nearly a year

Solid foods didn't help reflux here either. In fact I think having a wide range of foods aggravated it and made it worse.

Why do people get so het up about how a stranger feeds their baby? It's good to have a discussion but some posters are investing waaay to much care factor in this!

Presumably anyone this concerned over exact weaning age will until the child reaches 18 years of age be feeding organic food always from paraben free cutlery / containers, calorie and nutrition checking every meal and making it from scratch every day? No? Because it doesn't make much of a difference unless you get it DRASTICALLY wrong, just like weaning.

In 2013 I had a big discussion with both DDs paediatrician and dietician about their advice to wean her at 4 months and not wait until 6 months.

I was told that the WHO advised 6 months because a lot of countries have poor sanitation. I was also told that most parentS equate 4 weeks as a month, which is not quite correct. So saying 6 months equates to 24 weeks. When the advice was 4 months parents were starting at 16 weeks and not 4 calendar months. Also I can't remember what foods to avoid before 6 months but think egg and meat was on the 'no' list.

Anyway I checked with HVs and they didn't seem overly concerned as it was medical advice, given a list of foods to try and to avoid etc. She did say that if you do try to wean a baby too soon they mostly just push it back out of their mouth. Which is exactly what happened for weeks and was a complete pain in the arse to try with a baby not ready.

I have to say the phrases BLW and baby wearing simply give me the rage.

Op do what anyone sensible does.

Take heed of current guidelines, they aren't the set in stone commandments, look at your kid and decide for yourself

Who has actually read the original literature review from WHO? I don't have it on my phone but as I recall from reading it
A. It focused specifically on the benefits and risks of weaning at six months in developed countries
B. It concluded that in developed countries that there were no significant risks to weaning at six months for breastfed infants and may be some minor benefits to waiting. Primarily a reduction in gastroenteritis
C the evidence for timing of weaning in formula or mixed fed infants was lacking
D. Weaning before 17 weeks increased risk (I don't recall of what)
D weaning at 6 months was important for iron and zinc

Personally I'd wait until six months before an ebf baby unless a compelling reason to start earlier. Somewhere between 17 weeks and 6 months for a formula fed or mixed fed baby and start on foods high in iron and zinc ie not potatoes and carrots.

I am not quite sure where all the hysteria about long term gut damage etc comes from. I can't find any good evidence, maybe I'm missing it. I do think research on allergies may affect timing of weaning and what should be introduced when.

As for public health policy in other countries. Well public health policy is not solely based on evidence. The UK accepted long ago that 6 months was ideal but thought people wouldn't manage to change from weaning pre 3 months to 6 months so they made it 4-6 months. That was public health policy based on what was achievable not what the evidence said. They then moved to 6 months more recently when the average age had risen so it was achievable.

Jane I don't exceed 14 units but if I did that would be fine as it is my choice for my body. I personally think when you are dealing with somebody else and their health and well being then medical guidelines should be followed

Maybe as I work in a medical field I'm a lot more skeptical about the guidelines.

Are you a paediatrician? I'm not sure randomly advising people on the Internet to disregard guidelines is ethical if you are medically trained

Jane I have no idea what 24 units a week has to do with it at all. I like booze. I am an adult. Waiting until 6m is easy, and babies who don't know what food is don't miss it. Is a completely random comparison.

You shouldn't wean before 6 months unless you have been told to by a doctor. The guidelines are there for a reason

Early weaning is proven to be linked with digestive issues in adults. Don't inflect that on your child unless there is good reason.

Anyone else ignored the guidelines and started weaning early?
When I read OPs like this, I always picture some exec at a baby food company telling an underling to go off and start another thread on mn/nm/bc.

You'd realise how U YAB if you knew what a PITA weaning is - messy, time consuming, wasteful, frustrating!

It's honestly easier to stick to milk for as long as possible! Your baby won't magically start sleeping longer in fact they may sleep shorter as the food will be hard to digest and mushed up veg doesn't have as many calories as milk.

Read about virgin gut, the signs your saying are not signs for wanting food, their just development stages, some of mine were fed at 4 months (as was the recommendation at the time) and some at 6 months, the 6 month babies coped a lot better with their eating at 4 months they just weren't ready more food was still being pushed out their mouth than going in and at 6 months that reflex has gone, read and do your own research I would personally never give a baby food that early now the longer the better imo

I'm no expert in medical terms but have heard that 4 months ish weaning is often recommended for reflux. It's quite easy to check with your gp if not sure though.

I think the anecdotal evidence of other parents is a perfectly fine thing to consider , but gp won't mind you checking.

Wouldn't go to hv on this as they can be so varied, and often just trotting out a "script"of advice without medical knowledge (sorry to good hvs).

I haven't read the whole thread, but have picked up on some bits. I posted above that I'd weaned early, not on medical advice. It just got to the stage where we'd be having meals, dd would be reaching for food and I'd give her something to chew on (like a teether) or I'd try to bf and she wouldn't settle until I'd given her some food to try. It just felt wrong for me to keep refusing her food for a whole month. She never particularly gagged on food either. Since babies all walk, talk, crawl, potty train at different times, does that not mean they are ready for food at different times too? Or is the only sign them being six month old? It's too late for me to change what I did with dd, but I'd be open to doing different with another dc.

Arietty the issue is that the gut matures somewhere between 4 and 6 months and there is no way of telling when this will happen in each individual baby.
There is useful information on Kellymom on warly weaning which is a breastfeeding site but is ysef

Oops! Useful even if you ff rather

Another lot who believe the Gut Fairy comes and waves her magic wand over the baby at the stroke of midnight on their half birthday, I see. 🙄

The guidelines state no earlier than 17 weeks. Not if you give solids before 26 weeks it's tantamount to feeding the baby rat poison.

As I understand it, the NHS is likely to change again in the next couple of years.

I wouldn't risk it for the sake of a couple of months. I come from an era where it was recommended to wean earlier than six months (so my dm tells me). I got IBS aged 16 and have had it 30 years. I'm also intolerant of gluten and get duodenitis. Interestingly 3 out of 6 in my ante natal group (similar ages) also had IBS. That might be coincidence. But for the sake of a few weeks, why not wait?

Look, youse can all wank on as long as you like about science and guidelines and "never did me any harm", but using your loaf for once it should be fairly easy: babies have milk. They have, hopefully, many decades to eat food, so calm the fuck down and leave them to their milk awhile.