OK ... so did you REALLY get to 6 months without solids??

[Ghosty]

Just a little survey really ...
DD is coming up to 4 months old now and I would be very rich if I had a $ for every person who has said to me in the last week, "You'll be thinking about solids soon then?"
I have not spoken to one person in real life who has made it to 6 months of exclusive milk (breast or bottle) ... In fact most people I know started solids between 3 and 4 months (me included with DS 4 years ago) ...
I am not in any rush to wean DD yet but I wanted to know ...
When did Mumsnetters introduce solids to their babies?

I'll start -
DS ... 13.5 weeks (shock, horror, gasp!!)
DD ... nothing yet ... she will be 16 weeks on Tuesday ...

Pesme - I've got the meal planner - it's got a huge variety of lovely recipes - some more hassle than others but great for cooking in a dvance in big batches for freezing. I haven't seen the other book, but I'm still using the one I've got for the whole family - ds is2 in the autumn.

Just had dd's 9 month check, and talked to HV about the 6 month weaning thing - dd was b/fed exclusively till then. HV was actually really interested, because she said the current guidelines were to do that, but that generally they thought it was not possible. BUT she seemed quite interested in how it had worked for me, and I think she went away more positive about later weaning. She said the main problem she had thought of was that you would have to feed the babies so often if they were still just b/fed after 4 months, but that wasn't the case with dd.

hi pesme

My dd2 is about 10 days away from six months, and still fully bfed. It's been fine, tho' like musica my HV was a bit negative about exclusive bfeeding till six months, esp as dd's weight gain has been a bit slow (9lb 5oz at birth, down to well below 25th centile now).

But from my point of view it's been fine. She feeds well, but not constantly, sleeps through the night and is contented. I'm planning to start solids at 6 months, hoping that she can go onto a wider variety of foods than a four-month old, with generally less faffing around.

If your baby's happy and sleeping through, then it ain't broke, so why fix it?

dd 7 months and still not eating much... she loves bf too much and her personality seems to be of the delicate nature and not into large quantities of food.
We are trying and she likes her high chair.. but more playing goes on than eating.

4 weeks to go! Still going strong, DS is sleeping through regularly and is big and thriving. Though I am suddenly being bitten a lot!
I did waver at 4 months when the sleeping went awry and well-meaning people suggested that as he was such a big lad and doing lots of hand-chewing I should think about solids. I did baby rice a couple of times and then decided to stick with the b/f. Hopefully we'll make it through to 6 months happily..

DS2 is 6 months today and I'll probably try him on solids in a week or so ... although I think he's eager and willing to try them, he's not feeding more frequently at the moment, infact he's actually started going longer through the night for the last 2 nights! Haven't actually been hassled to start him although when I told HV I was planning to hold off til 6 mths she was quite surprised and said not many people can manage it ... and she's a LC!!

DD1 - 5 months
DD2 - 5 months

5.5 months and still going strong. 4 teeth have sprung forth over the last 2 days!!! but so far there hasn't been any nibbling and surprisingly enough no fever, rash, rosey cheeks, or crankiness. As long as we're both happy I'm going to push on to the seven month mark.

may have to eat my words!
just spent a taxing weekend away with dh and (still exclusively breastfed) dd, ended up not eating much on the long-awaited holiday! dd would cry and get REALLY ANGRY at mealtimes. She seemed REALLY KEEN to try what we were eating and got upset when we didn't feed it to her! dh nearly broke down and was going to let her bite on a slice of melon but I put my foot down. DD has increasingly become more and more grizzly and restless and now constantly chews on her hand. Will have to go out and get some books on weaning now...siighhh..I think I will have to try it this weekend when she will be 20 weeks old..she's obviously not interested in the exclusive b/f for 6 mths thing!! Does anyone have any pointers/tips on this, what else will I need for the big event?? will i need to buy a handprocessor thingy

With dd the guidance was 4 months. Ds got the same, under supervision from the hv. He was more than ready for it (as was dd) and it helped his massive vomiting problem. And like expatkat, they were eating 5-6 cubes of pureed food almost immediatly. Don't let anyone pressure you either way.

Hazel, watch the baby not the calendar! Chewing hands means nothing, BTW, but if she is upset at not getting a taste of melon, then just give her a taste of melon

You don't have to then race to three meals a day or even solids every day - but a taste of melon is fine at her age....no big deal

19 weeks after pressure from DH, who heard the doctor say 4 months was right and he didn't know anything about advice on 6 months (it was last July). Very reluctant so only gave a couple of spoons a day, no water and didn't cut down on breast feeds. Took her off it 3 weeks later after a tummy upset. Tried again at 6 months - there was a big difference in how much she could eat and digest (i.e the look of her poo!). I still wish I'd delayed till 6 months but it's a bit difficult arguing with a doctor, even if his facts were out of date.

ok tiktok, i believe you! (gosh, must not show dh this thread, he'll say I told you so!) am looking forward to the big day tmrw! am digging out old and dusty monologue camcorder for the event!!

Hazel, baby-led weaning means gradually and relaxedly moving on to solids from tiny curious tastes (and that's what your dd is - curious, not starving hungry!!) shared every so often, when it's convenient and suitable. The younger the baby, the longer this process takes, on the whole. At this stage, your baby really doesn't need anything else but breastmilk for her nutrition but if a tiny spot of something bland and easy to digest like melon (or pear, or mashed potato....) is swiped off your plate, then there's no sweat.....

Dear Ghosty,
I went the whole 6 months exclusively breastfeediing. It seemed to suit my ds perfectly and it certainly suited me, but the pressure from in laws to give solids sooner was immense. MIL was desperate to get her hands on any kind of feeding/drinking she could! I carried on breastfeeding my ds for a long long time after that and am really pleased I did. I'd always say to follow your instincts and do what feels right to you. I waited to wean until it didn't make me tearful to think of it, then when I did it felt just right. I know as many feeding stories as I do babies and I think everyone finds a solution unique to themselves. Good luck.

The official advice for weaning is not before 6 months for breast fed babies but bottle fed babies need an extra source of iron from 4 months. The reason being that breast milk adapts to meet the growing babies needs and ALL the iron in the milk is absorbed, the baby dosen't absolutely need solids till after 1 year old when the iron content in milk is not sufficient. In formula the iron absorbtion rate is very low so the baby's needs have to be met by another medium (solids).
I'm still breastfeeding my 6th child (who will be 1 in 2 weeks) and intend to for a good couple of years yet (or until he self weans whatever comes first) and I started giving him solids when he was 1 week under 6 months. My HV had never seen a baby who'd been kept off solids till 6 months (I was her test case) and she now advises all her clients to wean that way.

dd2 I think about 14 weeks - and guess what, she slept TONS better. Sorry But she was really interested in food and she still eats like a pig...anyway I was quite glad to give up bfeeding (although I carried on until she was 6 months) as it made me tired (yeah, I know, its not supposed to...)

If you've got some spare time tigga try reading this recent thread!

oopsforgetthelink

tigga, I was told that bottle feeding is ok till 6 months also, as but no later as baby has enough iron stores till 6 months (??)

I'm a couple of weeks away from making it to 6 months with DD. She's thriving (sleeping well too) and I'm feeling really pleased with myself as I have struggled to persevere at times. DS had solids at 15 weeks which I feel a bit guilty about but he hasn't suffered - eats everything and anything and no allergies.

Would definitely keep going to 6 months next time.

I love breastfeeding but dd's sleep was getting worse and worse so have started on a little baby rice at 16weeks.

Alibo, I was given all this information on a course for Breastfeeding counselling, of course one could say they feed this line to encourage more women to breastfeed but from experience (I couldn't breastfeed 2 of my children because of illness) a bottle fed baby needs to start weaning before 6 months, DD2 wouldn't touch food till she was 7 months and was visibly losing weight. I suppose really the only thing we can do as parents is let our children lead us, what works for one won't necessarily work for another.

Hi Tigga. Qucik question - why does a bottle fed baby need to be weaned B4 6 months?

Because the iron in formula milk is not as readily absorbed as breast milk and by 4 or 5 months the need for iron is greater than the amount absorbed from the formula. HV's know very little about weaning and breastfeeding. In training they are given the choice of courses to do and breastfeeding is only one of them, subsequently some of them know nothing at all about it. My own HV had never even heard of weaning babies at 6 months before she moved here, I got all my advice from our local hospitals breastfeeding clinic then decided to do breastfeeding counselling myself ...... put on hold at the moment though because I'm trying (not very sucessfully, I keep miscarrying) to have another baby.