when can i start feeding my baby solids?!?

[xaneesx]

Have a 3month old. Baby food jars say start at 4 months health visitor says 6 months. I feel he is very hungry and ready for solids however have been told his digestive system may not be fully developed. Please help.

"I would listen to my Mother as a rule over some random (and rather unkind) person on the internet."

Well, I would generally agree with this. Sensibly, my mother said very early on when my DS was born that as all her experience of babies was from 30 plus years ago, she wasn't sure she'd be of much help with the specifics. And I certainly wouldn't listen to my mother if what she was saying went against current health advice with no more backing than "well, that's what I did".

well my mum was dead by the time i had my dd and id i had asked her what she did with me and my sisters she would have told me that she crumbled farleys rusk into a bottle of warm milk for breakfast and the same with an added tot of whiskey at bedtime. I guess her excuse was ignorance and it was 60 odd years ago when my eldest sister did that. Thank the lord advice has moved on. Anyone remember that poor baby who died of being fed ready brek? take the advice of those who know better katieemily , like your HV

Overmill- that any years ago didn't die of ready break ( just milled oats), he died of a salt overdose from all the instant mash and gravy he was also fed

You do realise that you don't have to, and in this case should not, listen to your mother. When DD was little my DM was forever saying that I should give DD water, as that's what she did. I just smiled, nodded, and completely ignored her advice because it was out of date. You can use the Internet, so there's no reason to rely on well-meaning relatives' advice.

I was weaned early and suffer terrible IBS. DD was given food a week before she turned 6 months and I hope that it will help her avoid digestive issues.

I was weaned early and thankfully suffered no ill effects from baby rice at 10 weeks.

However, my mother is not daft. She listened as I told her about current advice and didn't try and say her way was better (as an aside, she thinks the old way was shit!).

I would listen to my Mother as a rule over some random (and rather unkind) person on the internet.

I agree with this. However, there is safety based advice - front/back sleeping, car seats, weaning - where this really doesn't apply.

Also, the advice changed to at least four months in 1994. Anyone under the age of 21 weaned below four months was going against the current advice even when they were weaned, let alone following it now.

No. Of course I don't blindly follow all healthcare professional advice, but I don't completely ignore it either, that's what I would call naive! I do my own research and make my own decision on what is best. I don't just listen to what my mother tells me, when it's clearly evidenced that baby's shouldn't and don't need to be weaned before 6 months.

I would (and do) listen to randoms on the internet before my own mother.

She told me breastfeeding was unhygienic, I couldn't regulate the amount of milk properly, and I couldn't do it in public anyway.

She was very much of the opinion I should park the baby in the garden and bring it in every 4 hours for 7 oz of milk. Giving water at night and letting them cry.

She also tried to persuade me to wean early, with bread dipped in gravy -gravy being an oxo cube in boiling water. I should feed her white buttons, as they don't make a mess like chocolate ones.

I checked her advice with randoms on the Internet, and found they made far more sense and reassured me cuddling, demand feeding and night feeding would leave me with a better adjusted child.

DH was weaned early at around 12 weeks, mil mixed rusks in his bottle before that. DH has ibs and really suffers a lot, she's still convinced that it did no harm. I didn't want to play Russian roulette with my DCs, so with the exception of DD who suffered with bad reflux and was weaned at just over 4 months, I waited. It's not worth the risk IMO.

Katieemily I've seen a few of your posts and you always bring up the fact that you are 17. I'm a youngish mum myself and if you're old enough to have a baby you're old enough to make decisions for it, despite what anyone says. Weaning at ten weeks is crazy. He'll survive it, yes, and maybe looks like he 'enjoys' it. But don't you want to do the best for your baby??
Plus, everyone in he world seems to think their baby is an exceptionally hungry baby. They are all hungry! They grow all the time!
I think giving baby rice is fine... After six months. Babies need milk, that's what they're supposed to eat.

Tbh my mum is giving me the advice gets quite Confusing I get told one thing then another I said I wanted to wait abit longer she said it's nonense so not much I can do there..

What do you mean not much you can do? You are the baby's mother, not her.

Do you live at home? Is that why you feel you have to do what she says?

Not much you can do? Why? Just tell her you're the child's mother and will be making the decisions. That's what I tell my interfering DF!

We waited until 6 months both times, but actually they weren't ready until around 7 months. We did BLW (not by choice, I'd have loved all that puree making stuff, but they refused to be spoon-fed).

Katie you might be her child, but you're not a child. You don't have to do as she says. You may be young, but that doesn't mean you don't get to make your own decisions regarding your own baby. You may look back one day and regret not doing things your way.

I live in Ireland and the advice here is 4 months onwards for formula fed babies and 6 month for breast fed. Many other European countries recommend introducing solids around 4 months. Introducing solids younger than this is or conversely older than 6 months is when it is believed problems may occur with sensitivity to certain foods, ie, wheat and an increased risk of celiac disease.

Chaos, that EAT study is very interesting. I have wondered this myself, but am not a scientist.

Both mine started weaning at a few days short of 16 weeks, which was about the four-month recommendation back in the late nineties. At 17 and 18 they seem fine, thankfully.

WHO say middle of the first year. I weaned both kids just before 6 months when they decided to grab food from my plate and have ago. They had head control, had lost tongue thrust . And could sit up in their high chair.

Saying things like this is a fad is misleading. There is legitimate research to say that weaning too early can be harmful to baby and is unnecessary. Just because we did it years ago isn't a defence to doing it now and ignoring current knowledge.

By that logic you'd take your baby home by sticking them in a Moses basket in the back seat of the car because it was ok when you were a baby. I appreciate car seats are law now but perhaps the law should change as far as baby food advertising goes to reflect this now longstanding recommendation.

As for weaning before 4 months frankly I find that exceptionally irresponsible.

Abraid my IBS issues didn't appear until my late 30s. I would have been weaned in 1959 and goodness knows what the advice was then.

As I said in pp, DH has ibs and from what I have observed over time is that these issues seem to start in the 30s. Mil and fil both suffer from ibs starting late 30s both were weaned very early, it can't just be coincidence can it?

There is legitimate research to show that giving solids to a baby under 4 months is harmful. There is also more recent research, conducted since the WHO recommendations were made to suggest that waiting until 6 months or after may be harmful too in terms of increased risk anaemia and celiac disease. Where I live the recommendation is to introduce solids after 4 months.

I think that the increased risk of anemia is aimed at BF babies as formula milk has iron and other vitamins and minerals added Gracymac. But correct me if I'm wrong there.

And I suppose it depends on what you are eating whilst BF also as to what is being passed onto baby.

Gray mac - can you link to the evidence that waiting is harmful? I know the EAT study is ongoing - has it reported? What was linked to up thread was just a meta analysis hat questioned the benefits of waiting wasn't it?

Or *anaemia (UK English)

katieemily if course it's your decision to make.
Speak to your HV about he pressure you're under, show your DM some of the leaflets/web links mentioned here.
The car seat/thalidomide analogy is always a good one to use to explain changes. Although my MIL thinks car seats still aren't required

Trouble is Rolling that for people like kate whose parents are giving out this advice, will have no respect for HCP and will rubbish the reasons they give, sadly.