Have I started weaning my breastfed baby too soon?

[MsPea]

Hi there,

Yesterday, on the advice of my HV, I gave my 19 week old dd baby rice and again today. This was because she has dropped from the 9th centile where she was born and stayed until recently onto the 2nd centile. Also she looks interested in our food but has not noticeably begun feeding or waking more often.

Since the first baby rice she has had watery diahorrea so that virtually every nappy change involves changing her clothes. Also she had a bad night (though of course she dose have them; it could have been concincidence).

Shall I stop? Have we started too early? Sad to see her with the squits.

Jools, I know you weren't going to post again on this thread but just to give you my Mum's experience with my brother who had really, really severe reflux. The advice back then (80's) was to wean to solids at 12 weeks which she did but in her opinion it didn't alleviate his symptoms at all, and if anything, made things worse. I must stress that his reflux was very severe, leading to complications and he ended up needing surgery at 13, never having "grown out of it" and your dd is probably nothing like as bad as my brother, but just felt I should say it. She ended up breastfeeding him for 3 years as it was the only source of nutrition he could tolerate reasonably well.

i still find the good doctor's comments on 'experts' intriguing and not fully addressed.

i thought that unicef, the who and the doh employed very well informed medical practitioners and researchers to advise the public on things like infant feeding and weaning. This expert takes the 'expertise' of these organisations into consideration when I decided on how to feed and wean my dd.

As for the guidelines changing 5 yrs from now, well i think the 6 month weaning guideline has been in place for nearly 10 yrs and will be amazed if they are reduced again in anything like the next 5 yrs. I wouldn't be amazed though if it was increased from 6 mos.

"I am also used to guidelines changing, and fully aware that research can very much be shaped to show the evidence you want it to show in the absence of double-blind randomised controlled trials."

Who would want to shape research suggesting weaning should be delayed, and why? What benefit would this be to anyone - apart from to the babies?

I dont think the WHO would have any agenda as such....?

Obviously a contraversial point and not one I necessarily subscribe to, but it fits in conveniently with the advice to b/f exclusively for 6 months.

What fits in TM?

What I meant is that the WHO couldn't really be recommending exclusive b/f to six months but on the other hand give the OK to weaning from 4 months onwards. That would be a really mixed message. I'm not suggesting for one minute that the weaning research has been shaped, just that this would be a reason to do so if they were so inclined IWSWIM. Shall I stop digging now?

Joolsandoliver, pleased you found my comments helpful. I weaned my mixed-fed son at 4months (as recommended) and my exclusively breastfed daughter just before six months (she got hold of some banana!). I think it was easier at six months - she was sitting up much better, I didn't bother with purees or even jars, just gave her mashed up food. My only problem was that she was so easy to feed and I was so much more relaxed about it that I got carried away and started giving her all sorts, which gave her awful tummy ache, so I'd advise being a bit less gung-ho than I was! But neither child seemed remotely emotionally involved with their food. They liked it or didn't, were hungry or not. I really, honestly don't think it is a huge deal and think Annabel Karmel has a lot to answer for! Please do enjoy your baby - she'll be massive and scarfing down chips before you know it. Good luck.

Twinkle - think about what you said....

They are recommending exclusive b/feeding for the first 6 months.......

This is based on extensive research....

Good post Jools, and no need to apologise!

I'm very very sorry if you felt jumped on, especially by me, as I certainly didn't intend it that way. My apologies if that's so. I know how emotive these things are and I bet you're stressing about going back to work (I did).

I agree with everything you say about how (as parents) we make the best decisions we can, which is the important thing after all.

Regarding the guidelines: we'll just have to agree to differ. I think they're pretty good, considering the lack of rock solid evidence.

I agree that they'll probably change as time goes by, BUT, from the research coming out now, I'm fairly certain that if the 6 month recommendation changes, it will be to increase the duration of exclusive breastfeeding.

Another strong possibility is that parents will be advised to limit solids in the early months of weaning, ie keep milk very much predominant.

In other words, I and other 6 month weaners are likely to be the "early weaners" of the future....

Sorry Ms Pea for the hijack, but you see what a controversial topic this is..... at the same time, keeping it all in persepective, it seems soooo important when you're weaning your baby, and soooo trivial a year or 2 down the line!

i too came back to apologise to MsPea. (have been at work all day) sorry if my interventions got in the way of the advice you were asking for. I'm glad that you were glad jools posted. I too thought her original post was valid and interesting. (though whether or not I agree with it is a different matter which I have no intention of entering into! )

Thought about it VVVQV before you posted - duh!