Weaning at 4 months opinions

[alakhx]

Has anyone weaned there child at 4 months
Before anyone comes at me I just want opinions and if anyone says it's wrong the food I've been looking at is 4-6 months so if you couldn't give at 4 month it wouldn't say

GiantSpider

That's one paper published 11 years ago, not exactly a recent, balanced evaluation of all the evidence which is what current NHS guidelines are based on.

It doesn’t seem to have done us any harm

The trouble is this kind of thinking is very blinkered. The advice hasn't changed out of fashion it's changed because we now have a better scientific understanding.

As others have said it's similar to the change in advice over car seats and safe sleeping. Just because some babies were fine in the past doesn't mean it's OK to follow outdated advice.

@Violinist64

My children are now in their twenties. In the nineties, weaning age was 3-4 months. I found that they were all ready for it by then. In the sixties, when I was a baby, many babies were given solids at six weeks onwards. It doesn’t seem to have done us any harm. There are fashions about baby care as in anything else.

Same here. DC1 was born in late 1993 when the guidelines said weaning could be started at three to four months.

This changed to four months sometime during 1994, so when DC2 arrived in early 1995 that's when I started weaning, and did the same with DC in 1997.

It was a few years later (around 2003 maybe) when the guidelines changed yet again to six months.

I'm sure if I'd had a baby then I'd have waited until six months.

I really don't like threads like this - current scientific advice is to wait to wean until babies are 6 months old.

Unscrupulous companies will make baby food for 4-6 months of age because some people will buy it.

Weaned both mine at 4 months but they are 18 and 13 so it was a while ago and that was the advice. They were both over 9lb at birth and were so ready. Draining full bottles every 2 hours and very interested in food.

@Coreblimy

GiantSpider

That's one paper published 11 years ago, not exactly a recent, balanced evaluation of all the evidence which is what current NHS guidelines are based on.

The paper is published in the BMJ, the UK's leading medical research journal, and is authored by Mary Fewtrell who is a professor of paediatric nutrition at UCL / Great Ormond Street.

The NHS guidelines changed more than 11 years ago, so they are not based on more recent evidence. The paper also discusses the research on which the 6-month recommendation was based, much of which took place in developing countries so not directly relevant to the UK.

It's an interesting paper - have a read.

No personal experience of weaning early but when I started weaning DD1 I spoke to my cousin about it who has older children and crossed the change in recommendations at the time (her oldest is just out of uni, youngest early in secondary school) she said starting at 6 months was much much easier than starting at 4 as the baby could sit up and had lost the tongue thrust so more went in.

When I joined some weaning groups on Facebook I found the American ones all advised weaning from 4 months and definitely not waiting as long as 6 months. The UK ones were all equally militant about waiting until 6 months.

I started about a week before my baby was 6 months but did BLW so she only ate things she was coordinated enough to get into her own mouth anyway.

Now she’s 19 months I don’t see a huge difference between her and friends babies who did more traditional weaning. Although obviously I can’t comment on their individual gut health!

When I do it again with DC2 (currently pregnant) I won’t be in a rush to start early just because of the mess!

@SpamIAm
Are you saying IBS that started at 24 is the fault of being weaned at 4mths??
Why is giving water dangerous?

You've asked for opinions but you sound so defensive!

Baby rice has virtually no nutritional value. It's not advised at all, even at 6 months.

The success stories you talk about are anecdotes. The scientific evidence doesn't back them up.

It’s absolutely fine. The 6 months is a world wide guideline to promote breastfeeding as long as possible. In places where there is no access to safe food prep/clean water breastfeeding exclusively til 6months is very preferable. In the developed world (or whatever we call it now) there have recently been some very good large studies on weaning from 17 weeks reducing incidence of allergy (see LEAP and EAT). Basically anywhere between 4-6 months is fine. No later than 6. As someone with allergic DC 1 you bet I weaned dc2 at 17 weeks (inc high allergy foods ). DC2 has no allergy’s yet!

Also they market crappy jars of mush from 4 months for the same reasons they sell cot bumpers and sleepy heads. Because they want to make money.

Some parents hold the misguided notion that businesses care about your child's well-being. They don't. In reality there's very little regulation of these things.

Weaned both mine at 4 months but they are 18 and 13 so it was a while ago and that was the advice.

Are you sure that was the advice at the time? My colleague had her child in 2003 and the advice was 6 months then as that's how old they were when she weaned. I think the advice has been 6 months for almost 20 years now.

@Violinist64

My children are now in their twenties. In the nineties, weaning age was 3-4 months. I found that they were all ready for it by then. In the sixties, when I was a baby, many babies were given solids at six weeks onwards. It doesn’t seem to have done us any harm. There are fashions about baby care as in anything else.

But it did do harm, instead of spouting nonsense out of nowhere, actually look at the evidence.

I wouldn’t buy baby jars though op. Just give little bits of your food. I focused on allergens so Porridge made with milk, scrambled eggs, peanut butter and puréed/mushed veg & fruit/yoghurt. It will only be small amounts to start with.

You sound very sure of yourself, you’ve already done it, you’re not after opinions at all. I made different choices and didn’t take parenting advice from marketing on packets. You don’t need ready made stuff to feed babies, normal food is fine when they’re ready.

This thread is pointless the OP has already started weaning her baby (mumma knows best!) and clearly doesn't want opinions, just validation.

I really do hope all works out well OP but in my view there really is no need to wean before 6 months. Don't rush through the baby stages and wish your baby was older quicker. They are only tiny babies for a very short time, try and enjoy it.

If I was going to do it early against advice I'd be going for early introduction of allergens and a broad spectrum of flavours, as there's evidence this helps prevent picky eating. I definitely wouldn't go for bland, sweet, mass produced pap like baby porridge and rusks.

@Beees

I honestly don't get why anyone would want to?

I weaned my son early due to medical advice as he had allergies and a milk intolerance and if I have any more children I sincerely hope I don't have to repeat the process. It's all such a faff in comparison to when they are just having milk. Why anyone wants to start earlier than necessary is beyond me.

Unless adviced by a medical professional then personally I'd wait.

I weaned my dc at 4 months because that was the advice then.

I am very grateful that I did because, just like your dc, mine was allergic to milk. But it wasn’t spotted (apparently it was me who was seeing issues that didn’t exist) until much later on. Giving solid allowed me to feed him at a time when he was refusing to milk - because he was so uncomfortable.

@alakhx how would I feel NOW about weaning at 6 months, knowing what we know/the advice has changed?
I think that I would still have weaned before 6 months. I had two dcs who big, who ate a lot (still do as older teens!) and would take my clues from them rather than a prescriptive limit from HCP.

@IWasFunBeforeMum

Guidance NOW is 6 months but 10/15 years ago it was 4! Go for it if you think she's ready!

Guidance was 6months at least 17 years ago.

@cdba88

Not disagreeing with your points but I have been reading up on weaning as my baby is 5.5months and noticed that the nhs website mentions baby rice as a starting point to weaning.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/babys-first-solid-foods/

My older DC started weaning at 4/ 3 months but the nhs advice had well and truly changed by the time my youngest was a baby 21 years ago. I was delighted. It made so much sense to me. No messing around with purées no frustration because, actually they weren't ready. Baby eating more or less the same as the rest of the family.
OP you are behaving as if when to wean is a matter of opinion when in fact that here is medical advice to suggest that for most babies it is better and safer to wait.

I was advised by dietician to wean my DS early, although I was terrified at the thought, I waited til his 5 month birthday and he took to it right away. I hadn't realised until I started buying the baby foods that some say 4months+ and they are super runny so he took it to right away.
It's up to you really whatever you feel right,
My SIL weaned her DD from 4 months and she ballooned, huge and quickly! However she's 2 in may now and a healthy if not on the slightly skinny side since she was active it all came off anyway.
Do what you feel right

I am now. Baby literally eats everything he's given (smooth food). It's fine as long as it's appropriate food for a 4m old.

@cdba88

Also they market crappy jars of mush from 4 months for the same reasons they sell cot bumpers and sleepy heads. Because they want to make money.

Some parents hold the misguided notion that businesses care about your child's well-being. They don't. In reality there's very little regulation of these things.

Sometimes we can use our own discretion. Early weaning is not recommended but not really unsafe.

Same as bed sharing. NHS never explicitly recommend it because that's not best practice. It's easier to just blankety say no than risk it going wrong. Likewise weaning at 4m is fine if done appropriately.

Safer to say 6m so it's not misinterpreted. (If they say 4m people will push it and do 3m. Whereas saying 6m gives a buffer)

I just don't understand why some food states 4m+ and also years ago people would be encouraged to give food earlier than what is advised mow

Women used to be advised to drink a Guinness every day whilst pregnant. Doesn’t mean we still think it’s a good idea now. It’s called medical advancement OP.