to think too many HV are pussyfooting around the "no solids before 6mos" guidelines

[BouncingTurtle]

because so many mums I know are still weaning their babies way before this?
The research backing up why we should wait until 6months has been around a while, the guidelines have been in place for several years, early weaning has only been around since the early part of the last century, co-incidentally about the same time that commercial baby foods and formula became readily available to the masses.

Is it the guilt thing? My mum weaned me at 6mo and I have IBS and other gastro-intestinal complaints which have been linked to early weaning. My mum doesn't feel guilty about weaning me early - and why should she? She was only doing what she was advised to do at the time and there wasn't the research available then that we have today!

Yet HVs are still failing to support mums in waiting til 6months and still hauling out the same old chestnuts about 4mo growth spurt being taken as readiness for solids and ignoring the fact that BM & FM are more nutritionally complete and calorific than baby rice and pureed carrot? They don't seem to tell mums why they should wait.

[wasabipeanut]

Yes I was quite shocked to hear of my friends HV telling her to increase the quantity of solids she was giving her 5 mo to help him sleep through.

Her sister had told her the same and at that point I did say "well actually weaning my ds made bugger all difference to his sleep" but after she said the HV had backed her sister up I just had to let it go for the sake of out friendship.

My HV regarded BLW as a dangerous extremist movement which amused me and annoyed me slightly.

There doesn't seem much point in having these guidelines if health professionals don't stand by them and explain why they are there.

I started weaning at about 23 weeks. I wasn't aware of the 6 month guideline or why it was in place, I just went with my instinct which I now regret. Because I started so slowly I would like to think I didn't cause any harm but I will certainyl wait next time round. You live and learn.

[stretchmarkqueen]

How many times can you say though, " you CAN'T SEE whether they are ready yet, why risk it?" and, "Just because they are fine now (3 or 4 yrs old), doesn't mean they will be later in life!"

My personal opinion, don't want offend anyone though!

Question:

A leader at my bf group, who also deals with weaning, was telling the other women there that early weaning is fine if you pureed everything, very pureed. Almost liquid. She says thats because the gut can only tolerate liquid and this counts too?? Correct or crap?

You see i'm fairly clued up, (thanks to MN ), but that seemed plausible to me??

[wasabipeanut]

Don't know stretchmarkqueen but a friend of my MIL's had her boy on "whatever we had" liquidised from 3 weeks.

He's in his 40's now and I daren't ask if he's had any issues! I was quite when she told me but didn't want to show it.

[MrsMattie]

Ultimately parents can fed their children when and how they want to, though, can't they?

Also, HVs tend to talk shite.

[BouncingTurtle]

SPB - I mean weaning onto solids way before 6months, not necessarily off milk - is that what you meant?

Some interesting points of view have been raised here especially about cultural pressures to get babies into routine.
My feeling is ds won't be a baby for very long I want to make the most of it.

[IndigoMoon]

I do feel that some babies are ready earlier though, dd was a big baby 8lb 14 oz at birth and was sooooooo hungry! i just could not keep her satisfied. the gp told me to wean her! at the time the guidelines were four months and i started just before then.

ds was much smaller and was nearly six months before i started him and took to it like a duck to water.

out of the both of them ds is the one with problem bowels.

[MrsMattie]

I think the 6 mths guideline is probably quite sensible, but it's a rough marker, not set in stone. It's ridiculous to say that on the very day your child turns 6 months old they are magically ready for solid food - for some children it may be a little earlier or much later. At some point you do have to use your own judgement, like every area of parenting. And HVs getting heavy handed isn't going to help the situation.

[sweetkitty]

My mother was utterly horrified when I intened to feed DD1 nothing but milk for 6 months there was no way I could ever do that and I would starve her and "they" would be angry with me (my Mother has issues with these "they" people apparently I suppose she means HVs and doctors).

I was a 34 week premmie and was on custard at 6 weeks and potatoes and mince at 8 weeks, real mince not gravy mind and apaprently it was shovelled into me with a spoon my Mum is very proud of this.

Early weaning is seen as a sign of a advanced baby in that "oh he wans't satisfied with bottles" he's so advanced he needed food at 12 weeks. It's anotehr example of competitive parenting.

[wasabipeanut]

That's really sad Kitty - the competitive bit. I had never thought of it that way but you might be on to something.

I can't understand this desperate race to get to the end of the baby stage. My ds is 1 next week and delighted and proud as I am its a bittersweet thing. I love my toddling munchkin but I loved his baby months too.

again

[foshore]

VS- yes he was sitting up unaided at 14 weeks. He was born quite big though, so perhaps that's why he was doing things quickly?

[sophiebbb]

I am on my second child who is 4mths. I have NO IDEA why people would want to start early weaning. Weaning is a pain in the backside!! It is so easy at the moment to nip out knowing she has my breastmilk on tap. I am truly DREADING the weaning stage and will put it off as long as possible (to 6 mths obviously).

Believe me any first timers out there - leave it as long as you can. It is no fun mushing up vegetables.....

[sweetkitty]

It is so true peanut I don't think the 6 month guidelines will ever be taken up en masse, if wee Johnny down the road is having solids at 12 weeks then surely YOUR baby needs them as well unless he's a bit less advanced IYSWIM.

As a mum of two toddlers and a newborn, I want to freeze time and have her as a newborn for longer, treasure the baby months as the toddler ones come far too soon.

[sophiebbb]

PS It is not just the mushing up vegetables part (which is alright the first time round but not the 30th time round), it is also the complete fag of having to get a food bag ready for them when you go out because they can't simply eat what you are eating.

Am I just lazy...?!!!

[sophiebbb]

sweetkitty - I am with you on this one. I am in no rush for my second born (who will probably be the last) to advance quickly!! I have never understood why people are so desperate for their babies to get to the next stage. They all get there eventually anyway.

Now this is a personal thing so don't take offence because I am not saying it is "right" or anything...but up until DS was about 18mths I dressed him in 'baby clothes'. People kept buying me jeans, trainers and caps for him which I just refused to put him in. He has got the rest of his childhood for that!!

[StealthPolarBear]

It was just with you saying you didn't know if your IBS is linked to early wedaning but you were weaned at 6 mo?
Confused!! (It doesn't take much )

[stretchmarkqueen]

sophiebbb, me too. I kept him in babygros for 8 weeks. Anything else just looks uncomfortable, IMO!

[sophiebbb]

My 4mth old DD is currently feeding dressed in a babygro!!! It is pretty with flowers. SO comfy for her and cosy in this weather!!!

I have so many tiny dresses people have given me which she hasn't worn because her legs too cold...!!!

[sophiebbb]

Just going back to the hassle of first solids (you can tell I am not looking forward to this second time round) - you spend hours cooking all this mush (which I don't know when I will find the time with a toddler) and they only eat half a teaspoon anyway, you end up throwing half of it away. Oh it is all coming back to me now!!!

[oldnewmummy]

Sophie.

Try blw.

Great for lazy mums like me!

[sophiebbb]

oldnewmummy - I don't understand how that works. Is it about giving them whole bits of food to chew??

When I gave DS (now 21mths) even roughly chopped food when he was about 8mths old, he gagged...

How does it work?

[BouncingTurtle]

Well spotted SPB - meant to put 12 weeks - I was weaned at 12 weeks!!!!



Babygros are so cute aren't they? I've got ds a couple of short sleeved ones and he looks so adorable in them

[tori32]

My brother was weaned on weetabix at 8wks! I was weaned at 12wks! Neither of us has had any bowel related disorders.
I weaned dd1 2.5yrs at 17wks and now have a very healthy girl who eats anything pretty much including salad stuff, most veg and all fruit and all meat. I have friends who waited as per the guidelines and each one I know has children who are picky eaters with lots of dislikes.
DD2 was on baby rice at tea time at 13wks for 3 weeks, then other things introduced other things and now at 5mths eats family foods pureed (obviously casseroles and veg, not fishfingers with chips!) She rapidly gained weight once weaned so obviously there are more calories in food with milk than just milk. I physically could not feed her more in a day bfing as she fed approx 15 times as it was. I stand by my decisions and have found it to be right for both dds who have now got good routines and have settled patterns. Without food my dd2 was constantly crying, constantly hungry and slept badly. Since introducing solids she has settled down to the ocassional night feed and sleeps well generally now.
At 13wks she weighed 16.6lb so average for 6mths and at 17wks was average for 8mths. She is also tall for her age and in proportion. I still say that weaning should be weight related, as just as bigger adults burn more calories through daily activities, so do bigger babies. Pure physics. There is such a thing as demand outstripping supply. Other factors such as time come into play. Its easy for parents with 1 child to say feed milk on demand as often as the baby needs, unfortunately with a toddler I feel to spend all this time breast feeding is unfair on the other child, who already is making sacrifices in sharing you without viewing the baby as being the favourite because in their eyes you are constantly 'cuddling' the baby.
I found that once I cut down the amount of breast feeds my dd1 began to like the baby and was much less attention seeking/jealous.

[sophiebbb]

tori32 - each to their own but just to say to anyone who is worred about waiting til 6mths that I weaned DS1 at 6mths and he is not a picky eater. He eats most things.

I am also breastfeeding DD2 who is 4 mths with DS1 around who is 21mths. I personally would not deny DD2 breastmilk because of DS1. I will breastfeed her exclusively until 6mths. I spend 1-1 time with DS1 and he is not attention seeking or jealous. I guess I have been lucky. But as I said each to their own.

[TinkerBellesMum]

lol sophie, same here, Tink will eat anything. I told her she could have some sweets today on the way home from the CM, she went into the shop and choose rice pudding! If we go into Boots she likes nothing more than to have a prawn mayo sandwich and she eats the prawns out of it like sweets then finishes the (brown) bread. There is nothing we can't give her.

I'm finding the comments about how dangerous late weaning is hysterical! 100 years ago weaning was done later than it is today and that was early for our history. It was only with the introduction of formula that was promoted by scientists as being better than BM but wasn't adequate to support a baby for the 9 months that most people were used to that early weaning started. Considering that there are very few people who wait beyond 6 months I don't see how anyone can draw a link between later weaning and the rise in allergies!

[tori32]

sophie was your dd feeding 15 times per day plus night feeds? I am still breast feeding dd2 who is 5mths, which I couldn't have carried on doing without early weaning. Not only that, it is completely different when there is a smaller gap between dcs as the oldest child understands less being under 2yrs. With a 2.2yo who is mentally and physically more like a 3yo its more tricky from a jealousy perspective because they have more understanding and are not so accepting of sharing. I know this because my dd1 was 15mths when I began CM 2 other under 2's. I had no issues from her sharing toys/me but this has gradually got worse as she has gained more independence and insight/possessiveness and an awareness of what is rightfully hers.