To not want to wean?

[roiya]

My little one is 23 weeks old. I have been researching up on weaning lots and I find myself reading so much conflicting information!

I have really enjoyed breastfeeding her and I want to keep doing it. I know that I will have to for many months to come, to an extent, as she won't eat much in the near future.

I suppose my question is... has anyone had experiences of exclusively breastfeeding past 6 months? Does she need any other nutrients? I'm so confused if it's the right thing for her health and development!

You might want to read this: breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.is/2012/09/bullshitometer-food-before-one-is-just.html

Give your baby some food. You can keep breastfeeding of course and don't stress if the baby isn't eating massive amounts but do not withhold solids. Food before one is not just for fun.

She's only 23 weeks. No need to start on food for another 3 weeks or so........

Don't delay introducing solids. If you want to do it the crunchy, back to nature way, you can always do baby led weaning. Also, as it's now nearly summer, all the lovely soft fruit, fresh peas and new potatoes are coming into the shops and it'd be a shame if your DC were to miss out on that (my DC weaned in November of their first year and I nearly had to remortgage the house after discovering that DD2's favourite food was Waitrose blueberries )

My ds is 2.6 and is still ebf - as in the only milk he'll drink is mine. I started introducing solids at 6 months though. At least dark green veg etc as they need the iron. You still breastfeed when you wean....

When you start weaning many babies don't eat much. My baby is 13 months and only just reached the point where he probably takes in more nutrients from food than breastfeeding, but still breastfeeds around 5-6 times a day.

But yes you should start introducing food from 6 months.

You’re baby will let you know when they really want food. You should start introducing them, giving them the options of trying it etc but if you exclusively breastfeed and ignore signs from your child that they want more, then you’ll end up with an unhappy baby.

I didn’t do the whole purée food thing - I just went straight to very squishy finger foods which were easy shapes for grasping. My kids are great eaters, never had any problems and they don’t get fish finger/beige food or anything. They eat the same food as the adults with no problems.

Don’t make the mistake of giving them only sweet foods - that’s all they’ll want once they get it. Stick with lots of soft greens etc.

Honestly OP they hardly eat anything to begin with, especially if you do blw. Most of it ends up mashed into their hair and clothes then chucked on the floor!

I've read quite a few blogs where women were recommending exclusively breastfeeding past 6 months, a colleague of mine did it with her baby, too. Would tell me no end of the health benefits. It's been very confusing

So no actual official bodies giving the advice? Just some other parents? I would ignore it then.

Having said that, my second daughter ate very little other than milk until around 9 months. She had a lot of allergic reactions and ended up with infected eczema on her face which was aggravated by foods, and for a while it was easier to stop weaning, fix the infected eczema on her face, then wean very slowly, one item at a time.

But please don't interpret that as advice that it's fine to leave weaning till 9 months. It was just something we were forced into.

Of course, it's not a good idea to exclusively breastfeed at one year. It is a fad and selfish mother who enjoys it and doesn't want the child to move on. The baby needs a much wider range of nutrients, to developmentally bite and chew and develop speech muscles. To learn a modicum of self by feeding himself/herself, experience new tastes and more. You cant just decide to freeze babyhood because you like it. This is a little person with needs bigger than yours. Stay off the looney sites

I allowed my babies to set their own timing for introducing solids.
Like you OP I was exclusively breastfeeding, and from the age of 6 months I pretty much allowed my kids to eat what and when they wanted.
So they would sit with me while I ate, we would share a plate- all baby friendly stuff of course.
For the first few months it was nothing more than a squish, a lick a taste.
Both my kids were around 9/10 months when they started eating solid food.

I was relaxed about it.

Yes you would be VU.

Just another ridiculous 'crunchy mum' idea.

Whoever is advocating this just wants their kid hanging off their breast as long as possible because it's what they want. It's not for the good of the child.

Even though babies aren't necessarily interested in eating the food right away, introducing it at around 6 months is vital for many reasons. All of which will be on reputable websites.

With DC1 I started baby lead weaning at 6 months, he was completely disinterested and I'm pretty sure didn't actually swallow anything til about 8 months. DC2 snatched food of my plate at 4.5 months and gobbled it straight up. Both happy healthy big kids now.

I really wouldn't delay weaning your baby because of something you read in a blog. You need to follow advice from official channels, from people who actually know what they're talking about.

If your child shows interest in food, let her explore it.

Breastmilk (or formula) should still be her main source of nutrition until at least 12 months and she should continue to feed several times a day and possibly at night. Many children take longer to develop a real appetite for solids, however.

I was always told by the HV to offer the breast before offering food, since breastmilk is much more nutritionally complete than any of the food the baby will be offered.

Plus, breastmilk helps to develop the infant gut and contains lots of substances that help to develop the immune system. So there's no need to switch to formula if you don't want to.

I volunteer as a breastfeeding peer support helper and most of the mothers I know from the groups have breastfed well into toddlerhood and beyond, myself included. Keep breastfeeding if it feels right for you!

Sorry, I should have said that the baby should still feed FREQUENTLY throughout the day, not just "several" times.

I started mine with exploring foods at 6 months. I went back to work when they were 9 months so they needed to eat some food as they wouldn't take milk out of a bottle . I still bf them until 14 months.

Ignore what you read and just take the hint from your baby. Are they grabbing (or trying to) food from your plate and trying to put food in their mouth? Then they are ready to eat. It also doesn't have to be BLW or purees. Mine got a bit of everything. I loved Annabel karmel's book, so there were some purees, as well as, a little bit of whatever I was having, as well as, cut up whatever is left in the kitchen...I also kept breastfeeding until well over 1 year old.

Just take your cue from your little one. They are usually quite good at giving hints when they are ready for a new phase re eating, toilet training or moving out. :)

( @Evangeline3 still breastfeeding at 2.5yo, in addition to solid foods)

You can read blogs on a lot of things, but has any doctor, scientist or any kind of professional said this is a good idea? No. There you go then.

My 19 year old daughter has never eaten due to an unsafe swallow due to cerebral palsy. She is peg fed directly into her stomach.
She is a chromosomally normal term baby who has cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen during delivery. As a baby her facial features and palate were normal, however over time, her palate became very high, her dentition deformed and this has affected her face significantly. It is something I recognise in some of her peers at her Special School. Obviously she is an extreme case, but she has no spasticity, these malformations are down to her not chewing or eating according to SALT and neurologist. Also eating different flavours and textures sets the neurons off like fireworks, so eating plays a role in brain development too. I’m sure delaying weaning for 23 months wouldn't result in such drastic changes, but why risk missing developmental windows?

Anecdotally I am aware of very underweight babies of hippy parents who stuck to just breastfeeding and no solids past the age of 6 months after reading some bs blog and health visitors having to seriously intervene.

Feed your kid a selection of simple healthy normal family foods and enjoy this new experience with her. There are no health benefits of withholding food. Breast milk can go along side it for as long as you wish.