weaning 17 weeks

[kiki22]

Ds2 is to be weaned at 17 weeks on consultant advice all fine I'm fully informed about the pros and cons totally happy to do it he's physically ready in her and my opinion, my hv left for a new job and I don't have another yet which I a problem because I cant remember how much they need to start with.

How many oz of formula and how much of a jar/pouch do they have? Ds1 loved food and took to it straight away I've totally forgotten how I started though regarding amounts

Onthenaughtylist - no, thats not always correct. In my case, the advice to wean early was based on extreme prematurity and the need to put weight on. Consultant's time was precious - he didn't have time to go through the ins and outs of what weaning means.

Broomstick that may have been the case for babies you know, but obviously its not always the case. I was just advised to wean - no special diet, no special foods, just that it was now the right time.

I imagine it's like when you break something, the surgeon fixes you up and tells you to do Physio, he doesn't sit there and go through it all.

Exactly the consultants advice was to wean at 17 weeks as normal and speak to hv for info hv is swamped and as a second time mum they seem to think I should be an expert but its been over 4 years I just couldn't think of how I started etc

If your weaning at 17 weeks .
I would keep the milk the same and use baby rice . Veg puree and fruit puree .
I would avoid everything else until 6 months .
I weaned at 25 weeks and started with a few spoons of rice for a week. Then a veg puree for a week and added a fruit in
Until we had three " meals " .
Kept milk the same and even at 10 months she is still having 3-4 7 oz bottles in 24 hours .
At six months I would add in finger foods
Good ones to start
Toast
Veg fingers
Anything soft etc .
Then I added in meat
And then puddings etc

Time- that's roughly what I did too ( apart from the chocolate cake my dad thought he might like)

The consultant we saw for DD1 who suggested early weaning said there's no definitive advice on what to offer if you're starting early BUT that if it were her baby she'd only give puréed fruit and veg, loosened with BM or formula as needed. No baby rice, porridge, whatever.

I'm generally in the wean at 26 weeks camp (which is what we ultimately did with DD1 after we sorted the right medication to get her reflux under control) but our consultant (lead gastro consultant for a major teaching children's hospital) was very relaxed about early weaning and thought risks were/are overplayed. That said, please nobody take this as encouragement to go early. Mostly, it's just SO much easier to hang on till 26 weeks!

Oh - for I this was two and a bit years ago.

This might be useful OP www.cwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CHEW-1stYearLifePracticalGuide.pdf

Its all a bit ridiculous though isn't it? For my first baby, the advice was 4-6 months - so 17 weeks would not have been classed as early. Now the advice has changed for the time being everyone is suddenly aghast at the thought of weaning at 17 weeks.

The advice changed about 13 or so years ago to be the current advice which is "around 6 months when they're showing (actual) signs of being ready". It's not like the NHS change their advice on a yearly basis.

If you are weaning early due to reflux be careful that foods you give aren't upsetting the reflux. Apple,pear,carrot,tomatoes and a few other things made DS1's reflux much worse and they are some of the first foods it's suggested to give.

5 minutes, have you got any more tips for reflux baby weaning? My dd has silent reflux (and cow's milk protein allergy) and is nearly 6 months. So far the weaning (veg puréed first week, added pear and apple for breakfast this week) is not going well. Much screaming in the afternoons/ evenings. I've decided to drop the fruit for now as I read that it might be the pear or apple. There seems to be very little practical advice for how to wean reflux or allergy babies!

Op. I went to a weaning talk today. Keep normal milk feeds. She said aim for baby to be on three meals, 2 snack and 2 milk feeds a day by 12 months. So no hurry to get to the three meal milestone. No meat etc until 6 months. No honey until after they're one. Basically veg or fruit purée (doesn't have to be very smooth) and/or baby rice or porridge until 6 months. Can introduce meat etc after 6 months. Their belly's are the size of their fist so no need to shuvel it down them. Finger food after 6 months and should be squishable when pressed and the size of an adult finger.

Well my first DC is 11 and it was still 4-6 months then so it didn't change to 6 months 13 years ago???

We stopped purees completely seven and just did finger food. Ds1 has CMPI too, I found weaning really hard going. Just take your time with introducing new foods. Maybe keep a note of bad reactions so you don't forget. (I didn't do that but probably should have!)

It was 2003 that the NHS changed its advice to around 6 months instead of 4 to 6 months. There's a timeline here that refers to it:

www.jfhc.co.uk/introduction-of-solids-in-babies-at-risk-of-allergies/

Thanks five minutes. I am just pissed off that the gp's, hv's, weaning talk nurse or the dietician (though she did say watch out for egg) did not mention this at all despite knowing about my dd's silent reflux and cmpa. Aghhh! I'm going to give her peas for the next four days and see how that goes.

It was definitely 2003 that the advice changed as that was when I had Dd and it changed that year.

That's not true - or at least it hadn't been universally adopted. It was 2005 when I had DC and it was 4-6 months. But like I said up thread I made a formal complaint about my areas HV which led to better training throughout the region on weaning so I think the "advice" or guidelines may have been bloody hopeless patchy.

Maybe your HV just wasn't up to date but I distinctly remember it changing as I had just had my baby and was reading about it so it is certainly true

It is true that NHS official advice was changed to 6 months in 2003. What an individual health visitor may have told you in 2005 may well have been wrong and out of date, particularly if they were bad at their job in other ways.

Can I ask a question which may have a simple answer... the advice says no dairy before six months but there is dairy in formula and that's allowed?! Plus BF mum aren't told to avoid eggs, dairy, wheat etc for six months? Even though they transfer?! Am I being stupid?

About the dairy. It's sort of filtered through breast milk so maybe that's why mums can eat it. Was told no meat before 6 months as it's harder to digest, maybe it's a similar reason. I'm only guessing though.

Exactly the consultants advice was to wean at 17 weeks as normal and speak to hv for info

So your consultant thinks weaning at 17 weeks is normal? Unless your baby was premature (in which case it is recommended to wean between 5 and 8 months, not 17 weeks), I can't see any good reason for weaning this early.

Thanks seven it's not filtered through though. DD1 has allergies and would react through my breast milk even if I had a tiny bit of dairy or gluten. This is not uncommon either. It just doesn't make sense to me? Seems conflicting!

I imagine the consultant meant to wean the baby normally with no special requirements.

I love the fact there are posters on this thread that presume they know better than the consultant who has examined the baby and has its medical notes and has done umpteen years at medical school.