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.

My dd was weaned at 4 months because of reflux, and she also slept on her front because I was more afraid that she would aspirate when she vomited and couldn't roll over. She slept in the same room with us (and I usually co-slept with her when I went to bed as she was a holdy baby) until she was 9 months old, just to be sure she was ok. You don't know everyone's situation, I'd keep out of it.

That’s not true, Tallgreenbottle, front sleeping is a SIDS risk even without any other risk factors. Movement monitors won’t prevent SIDS either. Fine if you think the very small risk is worth it, but there still is a risk.

Guidelines differ between years and between countries.

I agree with the person who said how important these things seem at the time, but later you look at your grown kids and wonder how on earth you got so concerned about a few days either way on anything.

And yes, mine was definitely on baby rice by, if not a few days before 4 months. At the advice of the health visitor.

Anyway, this person mentioned what she was doing at a class. If it was a huge mistake, the teacher/tutor/HV would have said something.

GPatz, no you haven't missed anything, the weaning age is 6 months. So actually 15 weeks is way off 6 months.

Early weaning is bad for them, but everyone goes by the packets of commercial baby food companies who want to flog their products and make a profit and couldn't give a shiny shit what the NHS guidelines are. There's a loophole which allows food products to advertise 4-6 months but actually yes, weaning guidelines are 6 months. Of which lots of people ignore because they know their baby best.

Yes in many instances, mums do, but until 6 months all babies actually "need" is milk. Milk, milk and more milk. There simply isn't the calories either of fat in food when you are replacing milk with feeds.

It's different for babies who suffer severe reflux and need to wean early as they are under consultant care.

MyOpinionIsValid

Yes, that was my experience too. When my 27 YO was a baby, my HV advised me to give him rice at 12 weeks, because he seemed "hungry" . It said "from 3 months" on the packet. By the time I'd had my third DC (now 21) the advice was 4 months at earliest. The advice changes all the time.

I have literally no idea what baby led weaning is, but have 5 healthy offspring of various ages.

Guidelines change over time - the weaning guidelines changed between my children.

Oh, and mind your own business OP.

We don’t know that the advice we’re given now will be utter crud in 10 years time

I'm so happy to see other people on here say the guidelines used to be to wean at 12 weeks, as I put that on a post the other day and was ripped to shreds by posters who said it's always been 4 to 6 months. Thought I was going mad as I specifically remember reading the guidance and considering it over and over, and gave my baby baby rice at 13 weeks. She was fine, it helped her to sleep through and was the start to weaning. Started with baby rice then moved on to pureed, yoghurt etc.

You are making a really big deal of what is a very small decision she is making for her baby.
She is not feeling the baby vodka!
Baby rice will help the baby sleep better, especially if he/she is a hungry baby.
Your friend is following her own instincts, and doing things her own way.
You are following the guidelines.
Two different approaches, neither are wrong.

Well said TabbyMunz and urbanlife (& anyone else I haven't read who says the same).

I love that "children grew up as well as any" - you don't have any statistics and your point seems to be the fact that people are still alive from that era means it was a total success.

Also, I dont think weaning advice is the same round the world, and there will be millions of babies weaned earlier or later than we do in the UK, and the world isnt took over by ill kids or adults with stomach problems.

Nah don’t say anything. Anyone who feeds their child baby rice doesn’t really give a shit enough to do any research so just leave them to it.

I also think its particularly cruel if you have a baby that clearly wants and needs more than just milk, and you make it wait till 6 months to feel full.

Keep quiet!

I once sat there in silence while my cousin fed her 11 week old baby a jar of chicken casserole baby food whilst she told me how he was getting through 3 jars a day.

I was screaming inside but it wasn't my child or my business.

He did seem to love it!

I love that "children grew up as well as any" - you don't have any statistics

What are the statistics then, MmmBlowholes?

Wtf is with people wanting their newborns to sleep through the night to the extent they’re feeding them baby rice?

Babies are supposed to wake frequently, it is a defence against sids, if they’re waking for milk why are you giving them nutrient empty food as a replacement for a night bottle?

I don’t understand people’s parent priority’s at all.

TabbyMumz It’s well known that the ages where people start to wean early are stages where babies generally want more milk, so instead of giving a baby something that contains nothing beneficial to them, a parent could just whip up a bottle for them and give them the nutrients their bodies are asking for?

You never hear a breastfeeding mum complaining that milk isn’t enough for them and they need to wean at 12 weeks.

Look at it this way @MmmBlowholes, a lot of people posting here were probably put to sleep on their tummies and fed baby rice at 12 weeks. You’re all here to put the latest guidelines in place, aren’t you?

Babies are supposed to wake frequently, it is a defence against sids

Where did you get this information from?

Alsohuman You could say that about anything dangerous. It’s ignorant at best.

Tbh I wouldn’t say anything as you have no idea of what is going on.

Dc2 refused to sleep in his back. The best I managed was to have him on his side rather than his front.

Dc1 was weaning just before 4 months. In part because 16 weeks was still the guidelines then but also because I was having massive issues with him feeding and being unsettled. He was starting to refuse his bottle but was happy eating food so solid food it was (I realised later that he was actually allergic to milk hence the feeding issues and him preferring solids...).

(And fwiw I never followed any advice from HV. Mines were just rubbish)

NiLunNiLautre

Research I did around 5 years ago in a formal learning setting.

But it clearly wasn’t “dangerous”. It was fine. As a pp said, your daughters will be given completely different advice and probably see today’s guidelines as outdated nonsense.