weaning

[mummy2t]

Hi all My little one is 20 weeks old and i have just begun to offer a very small portion of baby rice mid morning, he is doing really well with it and really enjoying it. Today i offered the baby poridge and he loved that too, how long should i wait before a offer more tastes and eventually start the proper veg and fruit purees? i dont want to go to fast with it all
all advice welcomed
steph x

i agree with you bergentulip.

all of us who have had to start weaning early do it because we have to.

some people have been lucky to have babies who are happy to have nothing but milk for 6 month.

these people should see it from others points of view. they should not bully or scare monger people like you and i who have not been so lucky.

i accept that for a majority of women they feel that weaning is for strictly 6 months plus. i don't judge them or badger them to start feeding their child solids.

i value their opinion on these discussions.

however i feel they are wrong to tell us not to feed our children solids in such a forcefull manner on this site

Don't feel like shit mummyt. You are doing everything right!! For your baby, for your child.

I'd say the best next things to introduce are root veggies, like sweet potato, carrots, squashes, and then a little bit of apple, pear,.... I pureed and froze them all in icecubes in the freezer and then could just get out mini portions to initially mix with the baby rice.

Just keep away from the proteins, anything with gluten in, and anything too acidic, like oranges etc.... until past the 6mth stage. (and stealing from Gina Ford here a bit, if you are introducing something a bit strong, then mix it with something they like for the first few tries)

Honestly, slowly slowly, just as you are doing, and it'll be a piece of pee.
Weaning is great fun, and I view it as a bit of a project.

thanks bergentulip, i feel like i am doing whats right, as he has gone from been very distressed to been his usual contented selve. just everyone throwing there point at me makes you feel as though your wrong

i can't believe the way some of you have responded to mummy2t's post. Do you enjoy making other mum's feel like crap if they don't parent they way you do/the way you think they should? Where do you get off?

i should imagine that mummy2t cares far more about her own baby than those of you who are telling her to stop giving him solids or accusing her of harming him. She didn't post asking whether you thought she should be weaning or not; she posted asking a specific question about solids. I feel some of you just love sitting on your high horses. VictorianSqualor, your post was just abusive.

mummy2t, you know your baby better than anyone. i've posted a question about weaning on here before and i couldn't believe some of the vicious responses i got. I consulted a consultant paediatrician who recommended i give my 21 week old baby solids early because of his problems feeding on milk. I think it sounds like you've done absolutely the right thing for you and DS if his milk intake has increased so much and he still wasn't satisfied.
Like others have said, the 3 day rule is great. Just be careful not to lower his milk intake too much, too quickly. And keep food very smooth and bland for the next few months.
Good luck!
MM X

here here MM

thats what i said earlier after an ear bashing from victorian

thanks MM, this is exactly what intend on doing. Nice to know other mums care the way i do xxx

thanks for your support yvonnek xxx

Have read a few of these replies and as tempted as I am not to get involved any further, I think you'd like to know there are people out there that are supportive and I think you should do whatever you think is right for your baby.
All those that were weaned at 4 months, including myself, are fine.
Nice if you can wait, but it if you believe your baby needs it now, then s/he does. I was told by lots of people to wait longer, but it's not fair on my ds just coz guidlines say different.
Goodluck with it all.

enjoy ur baby. x mother knows best.

thanks littleboyblue, you have all made me feel better about this. earlier on i was quite upset and started panicking almost but i know i have done right for my son.
xxx

Sorry, only got the gist of the posts. Just wanted to add my two pen' orth

When dd was born it was 4/5 months and when ds was born it was 6 months.

I didn't even try the baby rice - didn't really know about it. I started on apple!

I loved weaning both of them. Enjoy feeding him. If you do, he will!!

Have fun

i have not posted anything aggressive or nasty.
and i totally refute the insinuation that posting about not weaning early is designed to make mothers feel bad.

for the sake of waiting a few weeks , you can almost guarantee your baby will be weaned at the optimum time to reduce the risks of allergies and intolerances etc.

the OP said 'all advice welcomed' and that she did not want to go too fast

as the NHS and DoH recommend weaning at 26 weeks, those of us posting that are backed up by years of research, we are not just plucking info out of thin air to guilt trip other mothers.

it is all very well to say 'don;t tell mums not to wean early. i weaned early and my baby is ok' but why keep the truth from mothers

there are a lot of women who lurk on this site for advice and do not post, and those wh o find MN via google...and they have a right to see the correct information, rather than pages of women saying, 'yeah, you know your baby best, ignore the guidelines'

i am a huge believer in mother's insincts, but you cannot see inside your babies gut to see if it is mature enough for food. watching them for signs of readines

sitting, head held strongly, loss of tongue thrust reflex, able to pick up, chew and swallow food, are good indicators that a baby is ready

not waking up more or being hungrier, all babies have growth spurts

nor is watching you eat, babies watch you do everything!

Not one of you that has weaned your baby early can say that it was definitely right, you know why?
Because these conditions manifest in adulthood.

I don't care if you wan to bury your heads in the sand about the risks or claim your baby was extra hungry so couldn't cope on milk when all around the world babies of older age are coping fine.

The UK is one of the first countries to start weaning at all, in many many countries you'd be thought a crackpot for introducing foods as early as 6 months, but again, you know best

As for abusive, I haven't expressed myself and my thoughts and your inability to grasp science anywhere near as aggressively as I would have liked to, because I'm not here to hurt people.

However I am here to point out facts that you all seem to think are for every baby but your own. Of course, your wonderfully forward, extra quick developmental baby is ready for solids, that's why you have to give it puréed mush.

I really hope any new mother that isn't quite sure of why she should wait to feed her baby doesn't come on her smack bang in the middle of a growth spurt (Which all babies go through and makes them drink milk almost constantly for at the least a few days) and decide because of your uneducated, ill-advised ideas that they should try it too.

Lulumama got it right in her first post,

' your baby does not need food at this age. but if you are going to offer food, ensure there is no gluten in it. and check the salt content. recommended weaning age is around 26 weeks. have a look at this for no fuss weaning BLW '

You managed to put the correct gudelines across sensitively but were also understanding to the OP's question, giving her the best advice for her situation.

VS, There is absolutely no need to call people 'fucking mentalists' and start throwing guilt-ladden comments in all directions. Also, try to leave out the sarcasm and the 'more-holier-than-thou' attitude. What you are saying is right about correct guidelines but you are just going to alienate people if you carry on in this manner.

Hope all goes well in whatever you decide Mummy2t

CJMommy, my first post was purely factual, but when it becomes akin to banging your head against a brick wall it can get rather frustrating.

This isn't a cosy little chat between a couple of friends, it is a thread that will be read time and time and time again, by mothers asking themselves whether they should wean early, and without the few posts on here that actually talk sense babies are being put at risk.

I'll risk alienating people who have already made their decision to make sure the right information is put across.

As for fucking mentalists, I could think of a hell of a lot of worse remarks to make to people who are possibly doing damage to their baby's internal organs because they want them to sleep through again, or are convinced they are drinking too much milk.

let me tell you my weaning story

DS 17 weeks

offered baby rice - thought it would help a hungry boy

next nappy change - blood in his nappy

I beat myself up about it now and he is 2!

babies are meant to gain weight fast in the first few motnhs and then it levels off

Lulu and VS are two very well informed and lovely posters

my DH was weaned at 8 weeks - he has a very dodgy tummy

as i kep saying i am not doing this to make him sleep through! its not about that! if he needs to feed in the night i feed him!
i understand about growth spurts and i have left him 2 plus weeks before i eventually decided on the baby rice, after speaking to 2 healthcare proffesionals. it isnt something i decided on overnight!
if babies organs are getting damaged and there is actaul proof of this why is the food still on the shelves, like i said before things get recalled if they are going to harm a child so why hasnt the food. i dont want to argue about the whole weaning issue.
to all other mother's reading this post......
the guidelines are 26 weeks but if you feel your little one wont get to the 26 weeks, seriously think things through and consult your G.P and H.V. Every child is different.

GP's are not always the best - they can give some dodgy advice IMO.

VS and Lulu know their stuff.

Manufacturers make profit, they don't give a rats ass about your baby's tummy.

Similar to Rubyslippers: I weaned dd1 at 17 weeks and she had blood in her nappy and was constipated. I wish I hadn't. DD2 was weaned at 26 weeks and still doesn't eat a huge amount at nearly 9 months.

I think milk is the most important source of nutrition in the first year of life and we wean too early and too much in general in this country.

This is not about making people feel guilty at all. It's about giving the right information to people about to wean their babies. Weaning earlier than 26 weeks can cause allergies and gut problems in later life.

It's only 6 weeks away for you mummy2T, I can't understand why you would take a risk when you have such a short time to wait until you can wean with no risk at all.

If your baby can sit up unaided, pick up a baton of softish boiled carrot, put it in his mouth, chew it and swallow it (not just suck it) in all probability he is ready for solids. If he can't do this yet you really should wait. If the volume of milk makes him sick couldn't you try giving more feeds with slightly less milk in each feed?

Not trying to have a go at you or make you feel bad but the baby food manufacturers have not got your best interests at heart, they are interested in profits and nothing else.
A previous poster already said they've been asked to change the labelling on their jars but have been saying that they need more time to make more profits first to do so.

I'm not saying that VS doesn't know her stuff , i Know she as does as I've frequently read her posts and i agree with all the factual info. I jus think that if you start attacking people, they are less likely to remember the factual stuff and more likely to remember the attack.

sorry for the errors in that last post! in a bit of a rush

baby food manafacturers, as has been said on this or possibly a different weaning thread are supposed to legally comply with relabelling their products, but it takes time!!!

they will label their products as suitable from 4 months not 6, so they get 2 more months profit from you. they do not care if 25 years down the line your child has IBS or crohns or wheat intolerance.

you can possibly and potentially cause harm to your baby by weaning early

you reduce or even negate that risk by waiting until around 26 weeks.

i think Victoriansqualor, who i adore who is a wonderful person, was wrong to say 'fucking mentalist' BUT she is trying to get across a strong message that early weanign can be dangerous, harmful and deliberately ignoring advice and guidelines , thinking you know best, is not always the right path.

can i reiterate, if you post about weaning and say 'ALL ADVICE WELCOMED' DO NOT GET CROSS IF NOT ALL THE ADVICE AGREES WITH YOUR POST.

Lulu - its the same as sneaky formula advertising IMHO

Growth spurts are really hard times, Millie has just had one, but it doesnt mean food, it means more milk.