Could be controversial .... help needed

[Kirstie76]

Am trying to start weaning ds who's 4.5 months (that's the controversial bit) but haven't really got a clue what to give him .... he's had farley's rusk in his milk in a morning (not through the bottle) for a couple of weeks now and so this week was advised to give carrot and sweet potato mashed up which I've doen - not even a teaspoon full and he's become this clingy monster that cries every time I put him down and is sick quite a lot .....

I don't want to give up the weaning as I don't want to leave this to the nursery and I'm back at work soon but I don't want to see my ds like this any advice on what to give the poor soul .... ??

Why not wait until your LO is ready & then offer food in the evening (or whenever you eat at home). You don't have to start solids at lunch.(despite what many of the books say) My ds had his first solids with us as part of our evening meal as dh wanted to eat with him.

By pushing him before he is ready you are not only increasing his chances of developing allergies but you may find he has problems with food later due to the stress he now associates with meal times. I would personally stop solids altogether until he is nearer 26 weeks as he doesn;t sound ready for solids yet.

Babies are ready to start solids when they show an interest in food (ie picking it up & eating it) and can sit unaided as well as losing the tongue thrust reflex. Starting solids is just like any other development stage - babies will be ready in their own time. You wouldn;t expect him to start walking or crawling just because you need him to before he starts nursery so why expect him to be ready for solids. Can I ask who reccomended that you start solids? Government guidlines are (& have been for quite some time) that babies should not be given anything other than milk until they are at least 26 weeks.

BTW rusks contain lots of sugar which is really not the best thing for babies during their first few years as it gets them used to the sugary taste & therefore increasing the chances of tooth decay as they will start to expect sugary foods. They also contain gluten which is not reccommended before 6 months as it is quite an allergic food. I you are going to continue with solids I would stick to simple veg like carrots, parsnip, swede and fruits such as apple & pear. Offer only one food per meal in case of allergies and so if he doesn't like something you know what it is.

Thanks for all your advice ... obviously I am not going to do anything which distresses him just because I want him to do it before he goes to nursery - which is why I posted on here in the first place ...

I'd been advised by the HV to wean one meal at a time from breakfast upwards and therefore the obvious solution that I could do dinner with us hadn't hit me .... even though I was staring it in the face!!

That's a way round the issue that I hadn't thought of and so will now use.

THanks everyone ...

I think I did that meal first with DD kirstie. And I do understand what you mean about wanting to do it yourself and not leave it up to nursery. But what I would do is leave it for a while until you think he is ready. Then I would start on the basic fruit & veg at night. Then when he is ready for another meal I would let nursery give him lunch of the fruit and veg you have already tried and start trying more adventurous new ones in the evening.

if your hv is suggesting that you wean at this early age then you should complain because it goes against WHO and NHS guidelines

I would also say that when you do decide to give it another go any processed food .. such as rusk .. should be avoided .. stick to baby rice and individual fruit or veg

baby rice.... a bit tasteless, but good as a start and easy on the tummy - needs to be really runny and they only really take a couple of teaspoonfuls at first.

I would stick with milk to be honest, nursery will follow whatever routine he is on - they won't wean him without you saying it is OK. If he is refusing food, then he really isn't ready. When he iis ready, you could always give him baby rice or porridge in the morning before work, and a veg or fruit puree at tea time. That way you will still get to waen him.

Feel free to ignore me, but that is what I would do.

the rusk in the milk is a meal tbh
I never used rusks as too much sugar but if he is haivng that at 4.5 mths then that is enugh of an extra feed I woudl have thught
try subbing the rusk for baby rice and pureed apple for brek.
If he is getting distressed then he is not ready for anything more - nursery will not start weaning him unless you tell them what he has, dd always had brek and dinner at first, rather than lunch this was about 6-7 mths, lunch came at 8-9 mths.
Stick to apple pear and baby rice and then when he is established on that try carrots etc.
I also found mixing the veg in with baby rice and milk made it more palatable at first.

If you are breastfeeding, when you do wean him, you can always add breastmilk to his food, btw.

Second what everyone has said about nursery, they will follow your routines.

Speaking as an "early" weaner (4 months for both my boys - despite knowing the guidelines) I'd say leave it - he obvisouly isn't ready - if he's not enjoying it, and is being sick then there's no point in continuing for the time being.

As others have said it's a messy business - and he'll soon let you know when he is ready (mine did before they were 4 months - but I stuck it out until then).

Agree with QoQ. I weaned dd at 4.5 months, she was bottlefed and I felt she was ready, though with hindsight she could have gone a bit longer. Ds was weaned at 5.5 months, at 5 months he was no where near ready.

I started to wean one weekend so dh could be around. We started with lunch then moved onto tea. I didn't give either of them breakfast until they had been on solids for about a month.

Very simple fruit and veg are advised at the beginning, rusks contain lots of sugar and most of them gluten too so best avoided.

DD starts nursery in January and the nursery she is going to don't give babies any foods that they have not tried at home. If babies aren't weaned they will just be given formula. I've tried DD (who is 5 months old)on baby rice which she loved and gave all the indications that she is ready for solids. However carrot, sweet potato and banana where not quite as acceptable to her - apple tomorrow!