I accept I’m being judgey but I can’t help it!!

[BifsWif]

A friend has just posted a picture of her spoon feeding her baby what looks to be rusk mixed with milk or baby porridge. The baby is 4 and a half weeks old.

All the comments are supportive and ‘you know your baby best’ and I’m just like .

HE’S FOUR WEEKS OLD.

I was going to comment, but there’s no point is there? Better to come and rant to some randoms on the internet instead.

Cosmic it's like you're playing hun bingo. "Vile" "stay classy" it's cringeworthy.
Go sway.

Strange. Should be 6months.

I can only go by my dealings with the HV team here and they wouldn’t go round on heresay and tell someone off as such but they’d appreciate someone going to them with this information and then having the opportunity to then ask questions etc. Nothing accusatory, more, ‘how is feeding going’ to open a dialogue.

I’d rather share concerns with them than stay silent knowing a baby could be being fed in a way that could cause harm.

I'm a HV and frequently have parents of 6 weekers trying to appease them it's okay to give baby rice/rusks in bottles. I don't- it isn't.

I've seen this too and from personal experience know a friend whose baby got v poorly and he wasn't as young as 4 weeks! I commented something like "Please be careful my friends baby got very poorly from
not yet being able to process anything more than milk, it can cause problems with kidneys at this age."

Who cares if she objects at least you've said your bit.

I had my MIL round the other day huffing and puffing that I hadn’t put my dd on solids yet and that back in her day she fed her babies at 40 days old and now “no-one follows to her advice anymore, they just like to listen to their GP’s”

Well, my dd is 22 and the advice was no younger than 4 months and preferably 6 when I was weaning her.

My XMIL used to very proudly brag that her babies were weaned on her homemade scotch broth and proper Scottish porridge by 8 weeks.

The salt content was eye watering. I controlled DS food intake around her very carefully as she kept trying to sneak him the bloody soup!

A friend in my baby group did this when I had DD1. I wasn't confident enough to talk to her about it given that I was a new mother myself and was sick of the constant judgements and suggestions from everyone else. I wish I had. Baby seems to be fine now (school age), but it wasn't safe and I knew it.

I'd contact the HV if you can.

The stupidity of some people is astounding. A friend of mine recently sent me a screenshot of someone’s FB post, announcing that they had given their 8 week old chocolate and ‘she loved it’

Oh God. See, seriously what goes through the minds of some people?No,I'd never give chocolate to an 8 week old baby.Why would I send a screenshot of someone's FB post. presumably to mock/judge? I'm in two minds. Of course baby would love it, it's bloody chocolate FFS! On the other hand (my hand) you're not getting it yet as you just don't need it.
I'm not even exaggerating,DS1 was 5 years old before he properly tasted chocolate.
You don't need it at 8 weeks.
I really couldn't bring myself to report as it's such a personal call and experience.

My health visitor just told me off for giving my 4 month old baby rice, because he can’t properly digest it yet. He’s 14lb 12oz so not tiny either, and there’s lots more research to show that babies were getting poorly being weaned too early.

Oh.see,this is where I'm conflicted! I have a 14 year old. When he was weaning, I stuck rigidly to the rules. Which was at 4 months old you could start to introduce solids such as baby rice. At 14lbs that was definitely OK. He's now nearly 15, no allergies strong, and taller and bigger than me!

In no particular order:

Babies that age are not ready to swallow solids. There is a risk of choking.

Babies that age are not ready to process solids. The constipation may well be very unpleasant.

Babies that age need the nutrition from milk (be it breast or formula). If they fill up on solids, they are likely to fail to thrive.

Babies that age don't have the immune system to cope with more than milk. They are more likely to have problems with allergies etc by starting the wrong foods too soon.

At what Footie?

If you’re suggesting I spent my Saturday evening making up a ‘baby being weaned early’ thread then you’re mistaken. Happy to send you the screenshot through DM if you wish

I always hate when people use the excuse of baby being big as to why they wean at a ridiculous age. From 4 months I think fair enough, any earlier IS ridiculous. Both my dds where over 9lb at birth and weaned at 5 months and 6 months. DS was 10lb8oz and I waited until 6months. He drank a lot of milk in the last two months before weaning....but that's what babies do

nocoolnamesleft post below is a really good short summary of the main points, can you send her this too? I really really hope she takes the advice in the NHS link on board, I am now worried for a baby I've never met. Poor little thing will probably have such a sore tummy with the undigested food.

Also I never understand the rush to wean. Weaning is the most horrendous mess and it only gets worse!