Early weaning

[serendipity16]

A relative is weaning her baby at 16wks & hasn't taken too kindly to me telling her (in a nice and polite way) that she shouldn't really be weaning so early.

I am right in what i say that 16 weeks is too early aren't i?

Their reasons for weaning are -
Baby was a big baby at birth (9lbs)
Baby is hungry
Their HV recommended they start weaning at 16 weeks.

They've taken my advise the wrong way & are a little narked that i have said anything.

The baby is drinking 5oz bottles & is hungry but they refuse to up her feeds because they are worried about her weight..... and peoples comments that shes a big baby.... 18lbs at 16wks.
I've said that they should maybe try giving her more milk at each feed instead of feeding her 5ozs and refusing to give more milk.

I just think giving her food is silly & i don't understand why a hv would recommend weaning earlier than 17wks.

I only said it out of concern for the baby.

Has anyone elses HV recommended weaning early?
Maybe i'm wrong & if i am i will say so.

I think that technically of course you are right, but on the other hand, it is her baby and as we always say on MN "your baby, your way". Weaning recommendations have changed many times over the years and hopefully no harm will come to her. If you continue pushing your opinion onto her you are likely to fall out.

Can I just clarify that the weaning recommendations haven't changed many times. They've been 6 months for the last 8 years and before that they were 4-6 months for 20 years. So that's nearly 30 years of the earliest weaning age being 17 weeks. Hardly changing all the time. Just for good info's sake.

It's difficult because it's hv sanctioned but those reasons for weaning are utter nonsense. If a baby is growing well on milk, why would you assume it isn't enough? And why would you limit the milk needed for a growing child. You could try offering a copy of the weaning guidelines. They're clear, fair, non-prescriptive and describe proper readiness for solids.

But sadly you may be wasting your time. SIL insisted on weaning at 13wks as her dd was waking in the night for feeds. She would not hear otherwise. She was almost proud that her dd was so 'advanced'. Sadly it was one of the rare cases where irreparable damage was done and sil weaned her next baby at 27 weeks.

Thanks ladies.

I won't push it anymore.

I've told her to research and know the risk of early weaning but if she does is another matter.

My 1st child was weaned early as it recommended back then & he has numerous allergies. Maybe there is no link but he's my only child that was weaned earlier and only one to have allergies.

What i don't get it the only allowing her 5ozs of milk at feeds when clearly she needs a bit more because she crying and seems hungry after finishing the bottle. I don't see weaning as the answer but hey ho its their child not mine.

My husband wasn't happy i said anything at all but i felt that someone should say something incase she wasn't fully aware of the guildlines/risks. No one in the family ever says anything to her cos they are scared of upsetting her.

There is also an element of pride at weaning their baby before mine which i don't get.

Anyway thanks again ladies i shall let it rest now

Some babies are ready at 16 weeks, but i think they're few and far between. 9lbs isn't a huge weight (it's certainly a good weight!) and some babies do double their birth weight by 4 months. As others have said, her baby, her way although i do share your concerns on why so many people are in such a rush to wean for no apparent reason. I got a bit sick of everybody saying to me "Do you think he's ready for solids yet?" like it was some kind of race. I'm his mother, i know when he's ready. I'd much rather take my time an ensure i end up with a good, un-fussy eater.

I've always said that i'd wean DS when he was really ready within certain boundaries - no earlier than four months, no later six. He was probably ready around 22 weeks but i delayed because we were on holiday. I'm guessing i got the timing right as he's eagerly tucking into lots of different foods and has become very independent minded regarding shoving the spoon in his mouth!

How many 5 oz bottles?
We switched to the Hungry Baby formula at about 16 weeks because my health visitor had made me so paranoid about DDs weight gain. Before that she was on 6 6oz feeds a day. As soon as we switched to the hungry formula she dropped to 5 6oz feeds. I'd always thought it had more calories. In fact it has the same but the proportions of protein are different and it keeps them fuller for longer.
At 23 weeks when we started BLW she was on 4 7oz bottles a day and above the 91st centile. 6 weeks on she eats reasonably well but very variable and I can't rely on her getting many calories from her solids and she's on the same milk feed.
It's her choice what she does with her baby but she, like I, may not realise that the hungry baby formula might be a good option here.

I think they are giving her 5ozs every 3-4 hours & she sleeps through the night.
They have stopped weaning her as they said she doesn't like it & they don't think she's ready.
Hungry baby formula was mentioned but i think that was not long after she was born & the HV said not too.
I will get my husband to mention it (his side of the family) as i have already suggested upping her milk a bit to see if that helped & it didn't go down well.
Thanks everyone

SOH God, what happened? What was the nature of the damage?

I have a friend with a 'big baby', currently about 10 weeks, and a couple of weeks back she was on FB, wondering how soon she should venture a bit of baby rice. I don't understand why people say that their bigger baby is hungry (ok, I believe them) and needs 'more', and then decide that to meet that 'more', they are essentially going to fool his appetite and tummy by filling it with nutrient-light stodge rather than calorific milk.