Decided to do purees insted of BLW. Going well!

[messylittlemonkey]

Hi

Just wanted to offer my thoughts about weaning.

I have two DDs. DD1 is almost five and just started school. She was weaned at about 22 weeks on purees and is a good eater, although a bit fussy about veg!

When DD2 arrived, I was keen to explore the 'new fangled' BLW and bought GR's book. It all looked very exciting, but then as DD2 started nearing weaning age, I suddenly thought about the practicalities of this laid back approach (what with me being not laid back at all, we do the Gina Ford routine with DD2 as we did with DD1!) and it occurred to me that BLW was perhaps not right for us.

So, DD2 is nearly 26 weeks and has been having fruit/veg purees for about four weeks, just about to move onto dairy/wheat/meat/fish etc... It's all going very well, she loves her food and she's going to start having lots more finger food now too - this is my nod to BLW!

I just wanted to say, I don't think it's necesarily cut and dried with weaning and you have to think about what's going to work best for you and your child. Not only did we not follow BLW in the end, we also started at five months instead of the recommended six.

Good luck to everyone weaning their children right now!

'And, having attempted to give my DS "finger foods" for fun, I am baffled as to what these poor babies actually eat! They have no teeth FGS, offering them a steak and "letting them get on with it" just seems cruel...'

My "poor baby" has been eating a wider range of foods from ~7.5mo than most adults I know, and that was 'pure' BLW - fail to see what's cruel about that.

I like that we're not allowed to bash purees but BLW is fair game.

Hear hear thedollshouse

I love a bit of sarcasm but talking daft about carseats is out of order.

Oh gawd, no-one should be bashing anyone. That's not why I posted.

I think BLW is great but I'm not relaxed enough to follow it in any pure form. That's all I was saying and just making the point tht puree weaning is, imo, a perfectly good route too.

Why? Expert opinion says that babies should not be weaned before 6 months. People say that it's OK top wean earlier because they have never heard of anyone who came to harm by early weaning - and that we were all weaned at anything from 2 weeks to 4 months without any ill effects.

Expert opinion is that babies should travel in car seats. But I didn't as a baby. Neither did anyone else - and I have never heard of anyone coming to harm by not travelling in a car seat.

The analogy is clear. Most babies will be fine not in a car seat and being weaned before 6 months. The trouble is, you don't know which journey is going to involve an accident - maybe none - maybe the next one. And we don't know which babies are going to suffer gut problems from early weaning - maybe none - maybe the next one.

The analogy between early weaning and not using a carseat is just ludicrous. The two are not similar.

If a baby was travelling without a carseat and that car crashed at even a moderate speed, chances are very high that the baby would be catapulted through the windscreen and the outcome would be obvious.

If a baby is weaned at 21 or 22 weeks, the chances of them then having a gut disorder are low. However, you look at it, you cannot compare that with a car accident.

I understand what you saying about not knowing when either of these outcomes could occur and therefore why take the risk, but to liken someone weaning their child three or four weeks early to someone putting their child at risk of death is plain contentious.

I'm not a big fan of car seats actually, and regularly encourage mine to lick her fingers and put them in plug sockets. Pfft. Oh, and she even snatched a jaffa cake out of my hand and ate it in one go at 15 weeks.

justabout that shows every child and parent are an individual with individual needs so there is no right or wrong way for all. The problem I've seen is that parents get so scared by one or two pretty inconsequential gagging episodes that finger foods are put on the back burner for ages.

www.bda.uk.com/publications/statements/PositionStatementWeaning.pdf

not wishing to be controversial but the British Dietetic Association support weaning onto solids between 4-6months as per their position statement above.

I understand the American Dietetic Association has a similar position ( www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=8049 )

It is my understanding that the WHO's 6 month guideline is based on studies which have now been superseded but perhaps most importantly in support of their breastfeeding initiative. It was thought that weaning breastfed babies before 6 months may cause them to reduce their milk consumption and therefore threaten the mothers supply which is why when many Health Visitors and other health professionals discuss weaning with parents they are often more supportive of formula fed babies being weaning during the 4-6 month period than they are of breastfed babies, especially when the mother has expressed a preference to continue breastfeeding beyond 6 months.

Well said SugarPlumFairy. Seeker please learn more before posting inflammatory comments.
What would you say to a mother of a baby with reflux advised to wean early?

I'm doing purees too OP, I've just started in earnest this week. (DD3 is about 25 weeks) Of course I will give lots of finger foods too, and let her try what the rest of the family is having when this is suitable, but I'm quite keen to actually get some food inside her as well. She is liking it so far. Good luck with it and enjoy.