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?

Viola why so angry

Are you angry? I'm not. Couldn't be less so.

So much hot air and angst being expended by so many on such a non-issue. They are guidelines. Not the law. Not carved in tablets of stone handed down from the heavens.

Guidelines change ALL the time. I have no doubt that many of the posters on this thread will, in 20+ years' time, be horrified that their own DDs are daring to wean their own babies at less than 6m because the guidelines have changed. ("Well it wasn't like that in MY day! I didn't wean you till you were 6m to the day and it never did you any harm!")

Stick rigidly to the current guidelines if you want. If you don't, then don't. For myself I am sceptical about a whole generation who didn't have the advantage of a 6m weaning guideline and who were weaned from 4m (my DCs for example) growing up with a raft of "digestive disorders".

I belong to the generation that probably had rusks in their bottles at 12 weeks. My digestion is like iron. Yes maybe I am just lucky. Maybe digestive disorders arise from a whole host of factors and weaning may be a factor in some cases. How much of a factor? How many cases? Who knows.

For me personally, I think weaning is a faff and messy. Much easier to give them milk instead of worrying about meals or times. Although I did blw with dc2 and that was much easier.

I've read more recent studies than the one from 15 years ago that the current recommendations are based on. Studies showing that starting between months 4-6 has its benefits - kids are less likely to develop allergies and lower risk of celiac disease. I am worried about allergies and would not want to be in the position where I had the info, but followed possibly outdated guidelines and therefore increased the risk that my DC will develop allergies. So therefore personally I found it hard to just relax.