Am I a bad mother - I really didn't mean for this

[MrsOtter]

I planned to wean dd2 at 26, same as dd1. She is ebf.

It seems she has different ideas as tonight, at the tender age of 19 wks, she leaned forward and grabbed a sweet potato wedge from my plate which she then proceeded to suck on. I did not discourage this, in fact I gave her another when had squished the life out of the first-- finished.

Was this really bad - she can't even sit unaided yet?

And where do I go from here? Is it breakfast in the morning or do I try and put the whole episode behind us and wait till 26wks as planned?

Oh dear

Of course it wasn't really bad.

IMO she is still quite young, but I too weaned my first at 26 weeks. My second has been having the odd fistful of veg for about 3 or 4 weeks and she's exactly 26 weeks now. They manage to ingest so little that it seemed daft to worry about it.

Did you BLW your first? Because if you didn't you should definitely do it with your second, it seems like she's got natural talent

I did a mixture of purees and finger food with dd1. I plan to BLW dd2 as I cannot be bothered with the blasted blender and the AK weaning book has long since been thrown in the bin disappeared

Think I will do what your doing wildandcrazy and let dd2 have bits here and there when she shows signs of wanting it rather than go all out offering her food. Seems like a sensible plan.

Thanks for the reassurance

Don't feel bad! My DS2 is 22 weeks old and spent a happy 10 minutes chomping a piece of DS1's toast to bits this afternoon - I felt guilty at first due to the 'no gluten before 6 months' rule but he LOVED it and cried when it was finished. I was but have decided that as it's definitely 'baby led' it's fine :)

You don;t ahve to go anywhere from here. You knwo that babies shouldn't be weaned til 26 weeks - just go back to milk only for another 6 weeks.

If she happens to grab something in the next few weeks, then let her - it's not as if you blended a bag of fish, chips and mushy peas up and force fed it to her, is it? :)

Seeker wasn't there a study recently which showed babies could be weaned from wks? I don't plan to do ths but haven't the lines been blured a bit between 4-6 months?

*16

Sounds similar to dd3. I planned for 6 months but she keeps pinching food. She tends to just play with it so I've given up on distraction. She is 23 weeks & we let her have fruit & veg if she is interested but as it doesn't get eaten we both win.

If it was a toy on your plate she would have grabbed it and put it in her mouth, it is what babies do..

MrsOtter, you may be thinking of a recent review of the evidence which suggested that waiting to 6 months was unnecessary. Firstly it wasn't a new study, just a review of other studies. Secondly there has been no change to the guidance, which remains that babies should never be weaned sooner that 17 weeks. Thirdly it was carried out by individuals who have received funding from formula and baby food companies. You can make your own mind up :)

If you follow strict BLW then the guidelines say you should be fine to start now. Just don't go overboard - I'd include her in mealtimes if she happens to be awake but give her a toy or a cup of water or something to play with and only give her food if she really demands it. It's all exploration at this stage.

If I'd have waited until DS was sitting unaided he'd have been 9 months old by the time he has solids - there was no way I'd have prevented him grabbing something before then anyway. He could cruise at 8 months! They do need to be able to sit with support without slumping though. You can't do BLW in a reclined seat.

I'm now veering towards the opinion that I am a bad mother

I'm not :)

no of course not :o
I agree with the others, I wouldnt give her food as such but involve her in mealtimes and not fret too much if she ends up grabbing a carrot!

You are not a bad mother .