Info please - weaning an EBF baby - when / what / how much etc

[orchidee]

BF is going well and I intend to continue to natural term.
DS is 4mo and I'm getting some stuff from HV about weaning (leaflets etc)
I find that some info seems contradictory and seems to assume milk feeds will stop by 12m, it's perhaps written that way for FFing?

Anyway, I'd like some evidence-based info, opinions, stories...

1 There's a reasonable amount of asthma / eczema / hayfever in my family, is this a reason to delay weaning or delay certain foods?

2 If "food is for fun until after one", should I expect to provide a similar number of milk feeds as pre-weaning and let DS set the pace to upping his intake of solids? I sometimes have to remind him to have a feed during the day as he's busy with other things. (he's 91st centile for weight so not undereating!)

3 What sort of things / what amount should I expect him to eat (solids)? I plan to try BLW and thought it'd be okay if he just played with his food, at least initially, but the nhs literature suggests he'd be taking in reasonable quantities as soon as weaning begins.
Lastly, where do you find the time to prepare these meals? [Smile]

I'm not an expert - this is based on my experience... Allergies I would prob say get more advice on

BF - I just carried on bf on demand, then offered food at my meal times from 6 months, BLW I suppose. Only things avoided were honey and whole nuts (and I cut grapes in half). Where poss I would give 'sticks' to start with e.g. cucumber, cooked carrot sticks etc, as these are easier to grasp. I pretty much offered what we were eating (I don't usually cook with salt).

DS (my first) tasted lots of things but didn;t really start eating lots until around 10 months. I fretted a bit at the time but he is 5 yrs old now and eats like a horse

DD got more into eating and was chomping lots by about 8 months, dropped bf during the day etc. She is now 2.8 and pretty bird-like in her appetite, and loves to have bf during the day (thankfully the night feeds have gone)

HTH

Thanks- since DS currently sets the pace with milk feeds it feels natural to have the same approach during weaning. It's interesting to hear how your two varied in weaning.

First milk is supposed to be fun until one, so you continue to make sure breastmilk or formula being their main source of food until one. However a lot of bf mums don't stop completely at 1yo for the first/last feed of the day. If you are into the more gentle school of parenting, you might let your DS drop the last feeds on his own (or until you got fed up).

1. The current thought is that if there's a history of allergy in your family, you should EBF and don't introduce any solids until 6mo. And also remember your due date. If your baby is born in 42 weeks, then weaning at 24 weeks is basically equal to 26 weeks (ie 6mo) for a baby born at 40 weeks. As for certain types of food, I think the NHS birth to 5 has something to say about nuts. Have a look there.

1. I think you'll just have to let your DS take the lead. A lot of mums on this board do a feed an hour before solids. When your DS is up to 3 meals a day, I think you can then just feed first thing in morning, mid morning, mid afternoon and just before bed (and any night feeds). And then just let your DS drop any on his own. It doesn't sound like yours will request more.

1. I think Annabel Karmel says to expect 1-2 tsp of puree to start with. And build on from there. I guess you can stop at about 1 'jar' size of food to make sure he still have stomach for some milk? As for time, I don't know how to answer that :)

I would just take his lead on dropping milk feeds and amounts of solids - they all do it at different paces. Some will be on 3 meals a day by 7 months, some don't get into food til 10 months. All evens out in the end!

When I first started weaning ds I offered food an hour after a breastfeed, so food didn't replace milk too quickly. By about 9 months it was more a case of milk in between meals I think.

They all drop feeds at different times, but I think ds had 6 day feeds/2 night feeds at 5 months, 5 day feeds/1 night feed at 7 months, 4 day feeds and no night feeds by about 9-10 months - and then he's stayed at 4 milk feeds, 3 meals and 1 snack til now at 13 months.

We also have an allergic-asthma-y family and ds has eczema - I introduced everything but honey from 6 months and found at first he reacted to fruit, but that improved, and he is allergic to egg. No other issues.

Oh, and I didn't prepare ds special meals - just gave him bits of ours! Either veg sticks, bits of bread, strips of meat etc as finger food, or I mashed and spoon feed some of ours if it was stew or spag bol that couldn't easily he eaten with fingers.