Early Weaning? Advice please!

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Hi ladies,
My DS, who is my first baby, is going to be 21 weeks on Thursday and is currently bottle fed. He is a big baby - in the 91st percentile and was feeding every 4 hours and the amount he was taking was around 7oz and this has recently increased to 8oz. However, the last couple of days he has gone back to needing to be fed every 3 hours still taking the same amount and then today it's every 3 hours but he is taking 10oz.

I am wondering if it's time to wean him, however I am nervous because of the official guidelines saying this is not advised before 6 months. However there's so many mixed messages out there! I have read other things where suposedly its ok, if they are ready, between 17 and 24 weeks and that 6 months is a worldwide guideline that takes into account underdeveloped countries where it is imperative they breast feed for at least 6 months as breast milk is sterile and their water is not. I do wonder as he is big that he might need to be weaned earlier. He has good head control and can sit well when supported and often chews his tongue. It has not affected night time as yet, he sleeps for 12 hours.

Any advice would be gratefully received as I am loathe to ask health visitor as they seem to just regurgitate the official guidelines.... Many thanks in advance!

The risks of early weaning is more about damaging the gut and the baby being more susceptible to infection and diarrhoea than about allergies by the way - and that risk is only really clear for babies weaned before 17 weeks, there is little evidence of risk between 17-26 weeks. The position is basically that around 26 weeks is the safest point - it will do no harm to wait til then.

Sorry- pressed send too soon. I'd agree that if you start him on BLW then it gives him the opportunity to accept or reject, and also usually slows down the process a little. I weaned DD at about 5 months because she could sit up unassisted and was reaching for food. I think I used carrot batons and stewed apple cut into chip type pieces as a first meal. She could get them in her mouth, gum them, and swallow small pieces without gagging. By the time she was 6mo she was eating a fair bit. I just kept a close eye on her for signs of digestive discomfort/ bloating and constipation but she was always okay.

YY steamed/boiled carrot stick would work for the banana test too :) Just avoid hard foods like apple as a chunk can break off.

My health visitor told me that if you've introduced formula then you may as well wean at 5 months, because you've already introduced an allergen and hence there are no benefits to waiting until 6 months I have no idea if this is true, I suspect not.

I also went with BLW at 5 months BTW and it worked well for us. Slowed things down but kept ds interested/occupied at meal times and satisfied his desire to explore.

It probably is true to be honest - the best health outcomes are in babies EBF to 6 months. If they're not EBF by 17+ weeks then there is little difference in weaning at 4 or 5 months or waiting til 6. The risks of introducing food before 17 weeks are there for formula or breastfed babies though.

I thought they had to be able to sit up by themselves? Sitting in a tilted highchair doesn't sound like much of an indication, mine could do that at about 15 weeks.

Has he got a pincer grip yet, and has he lost his tongue thrust reflex?

He needs to be sitting upright before trying solids, not leaning back, or he could choke.

Sitting with support is fine but it HAS to be sitting up, not reclined. Otherwise if they gag there's a chance the food will go backwards and choke them. If they're sitting up then they gag and the food just falls out onto the table/tray.

Also pincer grip tends to come at around 8 or 9 months so isn't a sign of readiness. Being able to grab things is if it's in combination with the other signs.

Iggly - I saw the same study saying that if you wean after 6 months they are more likely to develop allergies... And the guidelines say the opposite that's why it's so confusing!

Thanks to those of you offering supportive advice but there are some people that seem to be so strongly against it. I guess I was so upset when I was unable to BF and people are so judgemental about that, even without knowing your personal circumstances, I don't want to have the same thing with weaning! But by he same token, Im not liking seeing my baby grisly when he has just finished a bottle, clearly unsatisfied.

Re the highchair it can tilt back but he does sit upright in it :-)

At the end of the day, we're not talking about a2 month old baby here. I am anti early weaning in that sense.
However if your baby can sit upright, can grab things and put in his mouth and has lost his tongue thrust thingie, I cannot see the harm.

I thought I'd never say that - i was very "must wait until 6 months" with ds. Less so with dd. because I figured that babies probably would be okay with tastes of solids between 4-6 months but giving them three meals a day would be stupid until they were older.

Thanks Iggly - I think I am going to just offer him something soft and see what he does with it and go from there...

I was all set for not weaning till 6 months in line with advice. However, while at a breastfeeding cafe by DD went for my cookie (and my mums) the breastfeeding counceller asked if I'd thought about weaning, she went through the 'readiness' clues and she met them all (except the pushing food out of mouth/swallowing as I'd not tried her yet so didn't know)

I've done a bit of loose BLW with soft fruit with her and she loves it, not getting much but I figure thats just the way. I'm keeping her off wheat, dairy and meat till 6 months to avoid allergy stuff (shes ebf and I figure a few weeks of fruit and veg is probably a good intro anyway)