To think this baby should be on some solids by now

[tuttuttut]

A friend of mine has a 9.5 month old ds who is exclusively breastfed. He has not had anything else pass his lips yet. She is a brilliant mother (she is attachment parenting - probably not relevent though)

Please tell me if i'm wrong and i'll stop worrying but i really thought at this age babies need solids due to there iron levels depleting. Also i thought solids help with speech development because of the chewing?

Everytime i see her i casually ask if he's had any solids yet and she says "i don't think he's ready". He has no sn by the way.

I have suggested BLW as i thought this would suit them but still no. Is this not as 'bad' as mother's thinking their baby is ready at 4 months really?

edam, what scares me is how many breastfeeding resources say that iron runs out!

TMM, I think your friend and her son need to see the GP and both need to be referred to a psychologist, it's not a healthy way for either of them to live their life.

I used to go out with someone who only ate chips, Haribo, S&V crisps and bread, although he will drink squash, pop and alcohol. That's not an exaggeration either! It used to really wind me up, especially when he would say he was vegetarian (erm.... Haribo?) and tell me not to eat meat in front of him! His mother needs a good slap, I can't believe she let him get away with it. Then he was brought up in a house with his nan, mother, 2 aunts and 2 uncles. I think he was (is) rather coddled.

tmm poor little boy he must be malnourished surely

Tink, her HV said DS is getting all his nourishment from his milk so no need to worry, me and another friend have voiced our concerns about it, but she refuses to give him food, where as my DD and my other friends DD eat all the food under the sun lol.

We both introduced our DD to food at about 16 weeks plus and gradually. So both our children eat everything put in front of them now, but in my household i won't cook different meals for ppl so my daughter is growing up knowing that, but then she is willing to try different things which is good.

He might be (you haven't said what he's getting, I'm not sure about FM but BM is perfectly balanced) but there are some psychological problems there too for both mother and child which will only get worse the longer it goes on.

I think it's a difficult thing to put a time limit on, early or late.

Late weaning is pretty common in other countries eg, when I had DD in spain I was constantly told off by the paediatrician but giving too many solids too early and I didn't start til 7 months and then took it v slowly by UK standards. It doesn't affect speech as the baby's mouth gets plenty of action from suckling but don't know anything about this 'window' for learning to chew. I thinkit's a bit strange not to be offering something at this stage eg, rice cakes etc, if only to take some of the pressure off yourself re. the bfing. Agree that I wouldn't bring it up too much as it's not really anyone else's business and I doubt it does anymore harm than weaning at 4 months, whcih is v common in the UK.

Before I get jumped on, didn't mean to imply that weaning at 4 months causes harm!! It was badly phrased, I meant that I don't think early or late weaning is particularly harmful, it's usually down to the individual baby and the parent!

tink,he's on whole milk brought from the shop not FM or BM.

I assumed (silly me) that because the HV said he was getting what he needed from the milk he was getting BM or FM. HV needs a telling off - unless the mother has lied...

nope HV said he's getting plenty of nutrients from the milk. but what can you say with out sounding like your interfering

It's difficult did you hear the HV or is what she's told you? Cow's milk is made for calves, it can't possibly have everything in it that a human child needs.

An old friend of mine...her DS was very keen on his milk..i remembering her worrying about his health...he was around 3ish when he started eating more food than milk.

He was never small and now he is 15 and must be about 6'! A picture of health he is!

I can see why some children prefer milk....IMHO..it's ultra ultra yummy!

Have no idea what the actual nutritional advice would be on this though.

But no matter what time your child is actually ready, you should offer from 6 month on food, and preferable at that agegroup not in a forced way, just offer teh fresh foods (cooked but fresh counts,too) and they take it or they won't, but unless ready they won't take it!

Admittedly the ceral in the morning I fed to my children until above one year (for aiming purpses, lol) but I would never make a child of mine eat it unless they open the beak readily!

I may have misunderstood the end of your post but it seems that you think that mothers are 'bad' because their children are ready to be weaned at 4mths. I know there are a lot of people who do not think 4 mths is the right time, but please do not write this of as bad parenting. My DS was ready at 4mths and i am not a bad mother.

3andnomore why six months? In many parts of the world (not just poor countries either) weaning ages are higher than that, in our own history they were too.

6 month is, I believe an adequate age to "OFFER" food to a Baby, because that is, where scientifically profen (at the moment) that they can actually digest the food that they may eat. Before that some can some can't which can cause healthproblems in the longterm.
A child that is offered food at that age but chooses not to take t will instinctively refuse, maybe because an allergy or because of whatever reason at that time.
I truely believe that especially if breastfeeding, until a year old there is no worry as such, in a nutritional kind of way...BUT, a child has to be giving options (preferable healthy ones) if they want to take solids or not...and if after a year you would start to worry a little bit slowly....i.e. why is the child not taking food, is there something physically wrong or what could be the reason....and there might be nothing wrong, of course, some Kids are just late starters...but it is about the balance to at least look at things and maybe see if there is a problem of any kind if things don't go the straightforward way....it's not aboput overworrying, but actually looking at your child objectively, because if there is a problem, the earlier you recognize the problem, the earlier you can reacty and seek help!"

Adequate, yes, but that doesn't mean that a parent has to. I don't think one year is a time to worry, I know someone from a country (not a poor country) that weans at 2 years, BLW style. I know quite a few women from other countries who wean after one year.

I do think the story of the three year old living on cows milk is worrying, but I don't think that six months or a year is a problem and the parents should be rushing to get food into them.

OH, and tinkerbelle, 6month because that is what current research actually suggest, and, it has done for the past 10 years or so, so, maybe they actually sorted the general weaning point out, who knows...but I will always be happy by going by current guidelines, as well as personally researching it and making my mind up...forinstance with the whole back to back thing, I decided I would get a support pillow and my boys would sleep on their side, where they couldn't roll over anyway, I made that decision, because all 3 of my boys were extremely sickky boys, so, whilst I except that sleeping on the back is what is adviced, I looked into why the sideposition wasn't....reason being was, that a Baby could roll ontop their front easily, therefore I supplied a supportcushion that made this impossible, so,whilst not going by all the research and the advice I found hte solution that suited my lot! Just as an example now, obviously!

I understand, however, what is wrong wiht offering food at 6 month, that is, when the digestive tract is able to cope with foods...if you give a child the choice they wlll choose, nd at first that choice would be, try it or don't try it..your choice...but Babies are interested in anything infront of them, pARTICULAR CHEWING IT from a very young age, and that is why early weaning is a problem, bevcause a Baby will be "forced" in a gentle wayto take that food of the spoon, it's an expectation...

I understand, however, what is wrong wiht offering food at 6 month, that is, when the digestive tract is able to cope with foods...if you give a child the choice they wlll choose, nd at first that choice would be, try it or don't try it..your choice...but Babies are interested in anything infront of them, pARTICULAR CHEWING IT from a very young age, and that is why early weaning is a problem, bevcause a Baby will be "forced" in a gentle wayto take that food of the spoon, it's an expectation...

I understand, however, what is wrong wiht offering food at 6 month, that is, when the digestive tract is able to cope with foods...if you give a child the choice they wlll choose, nd at first that choice would be, try it or don't try it..your choice...but Babies are interested in anything infront of them, pARTICULAR CHEWING IT from a very young age, and that is why early weaning is a problem, bevcause a Baby will be "forced" in a gentle wayto take that food of the spoon, it's an expectation...

But that's the age to start, it's not saying it's a window or you must start now, it's saying when babies are starting to be ready. Food is for fun until they're one anyway so what does it matter if there's no food play in the meantime?

WRT sleeping, Tink was either with us or in a moses until she was 11 months and always a front sleeper (I blame the hospital putting her to sleep on her front, but then they told me it wasn't a problem as long as we were doing everything else right, no smoking around her etc)

sorry for those numeral postings there

What's wrong with not?

wrong whith not...TYOU DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD THE CHOICE WEHEN THEY ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE...that is what is wrong, it is neglect! YOu then do NOT feed your child adequate;y...OP said she had never tried, therefore, how do you know...there is no soft way about it to be, it is neglect of duty of care!

what I meant as, if you offer and you child doesn't take, say under year,, it is a different story...it's the not offereing part of it that is worrysome!