To say something to this mum re. early weaning?

[Greywalls12]

Was at a baby class today, when one mum mentioned that she'd started giving her 15 week old baby rice.
No one said anything, but their were quite a few disapproving looks.

AIBU to say it has no nutritional value and she could actually be doing her child harm by weaning before 17 weeks?

Or is that incredibly rude and should stop being miss judgy pants?

I don't actually think she would care as she ignores most guidelines e.g. has baby in own room and puts on front to sleep etc.

Before the invention of baby food in jars, many people wouldn’t wean until 7/8 months and just use mashed veg etc. Then mass produced jars of baby food were invented and the manufacturers managed to convince people to wean earlier and earlier - so you’d buy more. As with many things, I think it’s consumerism related.

I have DS his very first solids about a week before he was 6months. I wish I’d waited longer, to be honest. It became much easier once he was 7.5 - 8 months old.

Recent studies have shown more risk of allergies and Coeliac disease inn babies not weaned until six months, so there are risks involved in waiting for so long

This makes sense to me. When my eldest was young (12 week weaning advice) allergies seemed to be very rare. The only time I heard of a peanut allergy was in Take in Break, it was considered so rare. Most of my friends now have at least one child with a serious allergy and many have an Epipen.

I don't know what current guidelines are in pregnancy re peanut consumption but I read in a medical journal that since advice was issued to pregnant women to not consume nuts that the incidence of peanut allergy has soared.

ethelfleda I'm not sure that that was true. I'm 40 and according to DM the advice back then was weaning at 6 weeks, with baby rice or starch in the bottle. Baby food was a luxury then (like disposable nappies) so people had to make their own. DM recalls giving me clear soup in a bottle, which was standard practice, as was mashing a potato and watering it down to semi liquid consistency with water or milk.

It’s not about substandard food in the world it’s about access to uncontaminated drinking water which is why the advice is also to exclusively breastfeed until six months

The problem with the WHO advice is that it's global. And what applies in one part of the world doesn't apply in another

Yes to all that, and might it not also be case that babies in affluent countries are bigger than those in the developing world, thus take more filling up?

Also, they may be healthier at birth, have better development so are ready earlier for extra vitamins, iron etc.?

I had 5 huge babies. I tried to wean as late as possible, but just couldn’t fill them with milk alone. They were all breastfed on demand.

Before the invention of baby food in jars, many people wouldn’t wean until 7/8 months and just use mashed veg etc.

There’s no actual evidence for this though. And we know that pre industrial cultures made up ‘pap’ type foods and pre chewed food for weaning babies.

I don't think that is true at all, cardamon. Adding food to a baby's feeding bottle would definitely have been considered a choking hazard. If milk was supposed to be more starchy for babies over 6 weeks, then formula manufacturers would have been encouraged to add more starch - they were not!

Baby food eg Heinz and Cow and Gate was both widely available and widely advertised and probably not very different in content to what it is today. Then, as now, the jars of baby food were very expensive for what they actually contain.

I don't know Cecily, only going on what my mum told me. Women only got 6 weeks ML so there was a big emphasis on baby sleeping through the night ASAP. My parents both had good jobs but with me used terry nappies which was the norm. She used disposables with my dsis 4 years later as they were more mainstream. Formula was widely available but I'm not sure about baby food as we have it now.

cardamoncoffee 3 years ago when I had DS all nuts/peanut butter were fine in pregnancy and when DS had suspected allergies (to fruit, he outgrew them all quickly) the peadiatrician said to give him hummus/peanut butter/other nut butters asap while weaning.

Something I always find really interesting is how the most common allergies differ in different countries.

Yes, baby food as we have it now, tins and jars, (though no pouches) was pretty much the same. State funded Maternity Allowance was 18 weeks; 11 weeks prior to birth and 7 after. You couldn't vary it to claim longer after by working closer to the birth either. However, I never knew anyone go back to work so soon (I only ever heard of women in show business doing so!) You could hold your job open, unpaid, for 6 months after the birth if you had been working for the same company for 2 years. However far more women were SAHMs in those days.

Disposable nappies were pretty poor though; they were generally just pads held on with plastic pants rather shaped elasticated nappies with an outer layer of plastic which we have today.

Didn't know that about ML, mum said she had to go back 6 weeks later and she worked up until 5 days before I was born. Maybe she just didn't want to be a SAHP any longer than she had to.

Oh for goodness sake, 100, 50, 20 years ago, the advice differed. Now its 6 months exclusive breast feeding. These are only guidelines ( we are now living into our 80s and 90s). I really doubt 2 weeks of baby rice will have that much of an effect. After all, these 80/ 90 year olds were probably weaned onto solid food at 2 weeks, or such.
What are we trying to do?
I realise we're trying to reduce allergies, (doesnt seem to have much good over 20 years).
As for living longer, who wants that, especially with our resources and government not giving a f **k

Cardamom your mother must be talking about her mother.

40 years ago was 1979. There was plenty of baby food available then and the advice was to start weaning at 12 weeks. Not 6 weeks. And not by adding things to bottles, or giving stock in bottles.

I agree with most others and I'd say nothing. Personally I think a lot of people actually start weaning early and don't admit it. My DD is 17 weeks and I wanted to give it another while before starting weaning but I don't think I can manage it.

My DD is now 22 & the guidelines for weaning were 12 weeks onwards in the late 90’s, never did her or her siblings any harm whatsoever!

My oldest is 27 and back then you weaned from 12 weeks... it seems to be more about current trends than hard and fast rules

@Bozlem80 oh same! Hadn’t read your post

It depends to be honest. I believe you shouldn’t wean before 6 months as a baby’s digestive system isn’t developed enough and it can cause problems later down the line. However, some babies with bad reflux etc are advised to be weaned earlier.

Most people i know have some sort of bowel, digestive, ibs related problems and we were all born in the 80s when I believe most babies were started on solids at a younger age than 6 months so there must be something in the 6 month guideline.

I probably wouldn’t say anything though as it’s her baby.

@cardomoncoffee that is interesting however, my sister was weaned at about 8-12 weeks and she is coeliac but i suppose we are all different

I was weaned at 12 weeks, DH at 6 weeks (baby rice in the bottle). We both have IBS, he has other digestive issues. Could be related, could be a coincidence, who knows?
I weaned all 3 of mine at 6 months as per current guidelines. I figured the guidelines are there for a reason.

Was she ramming it down the baby's throat? If not, I'm presuming the baby wanted it? There is an instinct at play, and sometimes it's best to just go with it. Nutritionally it won't do any harm.

It’s nothing to do with you . It’s her baby so her rules. She’s not abusing the child just doing things differently to you

Yes definitely say something! Current guidelines are no solids before 26 weeks so that's very very early! She could be doing a lot of digestive damage.

It sounds like baby is just approaching the 4 month growth spurt and she needs to know that cluster feeding and upping milk feeds is very normal

I wouldn't, yes the guideline is now 6 months but it wasn't always. I fed both of mine at 3 months (12 weeks) because they needed it, they are both perfectly healthy (albeit still eating me out of house and home!)

I weaned both my children on to baby rice at 12 weeks old. It’s not about nutritional value, but making them feel full/content. If she is doing it, because it helps them sleep longer and therefore she gets a good sleep then why is that a problem? She is not doing the child any harm, but actually will have a happier child due to the fact that she has more energy and patience.

Btw my son’s are now 12 & 8, both very fit, healthy & clever kids. My eldest is 6’1” and still growing. As a baby he was always hungry and needed weaning earlier. Not all children are the same and nobody knows a child like their own parents so yeah you should mind your own business.

Regardless of guidelines and what everyone thinks here, the issue is whether or not the OP should say anything.

An early update suggested she had no intention of doing so which suggests this post is simply an invitation for MN to judge this mum who isn't here to defend herself.

Say nothing OP, and enjoy basking in the glory of how great a parent you are compared to her.

know better do better
Surely this also applies to casting judgements on mums, especially those not here to make their own case.