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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

Not sure about when to wean..

14 replies

mumtomoley · 04/09/2011 12:23

DS is only 20 weeks but (on the advice of pretty much everyone I know) I've already given him baby rice and baby porridge.

Anyway now I've started looking into it a bit more and think I'm probably being a bit hasty.

I already knew that the advice was to wait till 6 months but to be honest I thought this was a bit like the advice to breastfeed for the first 5 years (i.e. widely ignored) I don't want to give him food too young unecessarily. The only thing I would say is that he really enjoyed what he's been given so far and wanted more so in that sense he is definitely ready but it's a question of whether he's ready digestively.

I'm sure this has been done to death already so I'm sorry for repeating, and I have been looking at other threads.

Would you carry on? Or stop and wait for the 6 month mark?

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Flisspaps · 04/09/2011 12:27

I'd stop and wait a bit longer - he'll be getting all the calories and nutrition he needs from the milk anyway so it's not as if the rice/porridge will be giving him anything he wouldn't get otherwise. If anything the milk is more calorie and nutrient rich than the solids.

Then again, I did BLW at 6mo as I couldn't be arsed with spoons and measuring out powder and pureeing vegetables.

Original poster
mumtomoley · 04/09/2011 12:52

I think you're probably right.. and that I've been swayed by NCT group peer pressure as they're all at it :)

My DP and two DSS's are mega fussy eaters (I'm not) and if BLW does help with this then perhaps that'd be better. Perhaps if I order a BLW weaning book by the time I've read it he'll be six months anyway.

It feels a shame in a way as he's really enjoyed what he's had. (smiles, opens his mouth wide for the spoon eaten it up!) Ah well think how much he'll love getting his hands on 'proper' food!

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Original poster
mumtomoley · 04/09/2011 13:08

Though I've just read this from eatwell that was posted on another thread: When it says 'solids' does that include purees?

from eatwell.gov.uk

"When to start

You should start giving your baby solid foods when he or she is around six months old.

"In recent years the advice about when to start babies on solid foods has changed. This is because we now know more about when babies are ready for starting solid foods and the effects of giving solid foods too early.

We now know that it?s usually best to wait until [around] six months, but all babies are different so you might want to ask your health visitor or GP for advice about when is best for your baby.

If you want to introduce solid foods before six months, make sure you check with your health visitor or GP first. And don?t give any solid foods to your baby before he or she is four months old (17 weeks)."

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Flisspaps · 04/09/2011 18:00

Solids does include purees - I can't see that you'd cause any harm in giving your DS food now (it's not like you're feeding him rusks in his bottle at 3 weeks!) - it's about informed personal choice :)

worldgonecrazy · 04/09/2011 18:07

If you google baby led weaning it all falls into place because you start weaning when your baby tells you that they're ready through what they can and can't do. Basically if they can sit up themselves and put a bit of food in their mouth without your help, they're ready for weaning. If they can't, they're not. It's all so much simpler.l

lilham · 04/09/2011 18:18

All my NCT group has weaned too so I know the peer pressure! My DD is 5mo and what I'm doing atm is a BLW trial. She sits in her high chair with me for breakfast and lunch. I give her some finger food to play with and she can work out how to eat it. So far she's licked a lot of veg and I think not much has gone in. I plan to start puree at 6mo, but still offer finger food. My take on this is that I'm weaning with the others but Im letting my DD lead before 6mo.

lilham · 04/09/2011 18:23

Not sure if your LO can sit in a high chair yet. But my DD who has good back and head support but can't sit unaided, and I don't think she will be able to at 6mo. I found she can sort of sit in both the bumbo and ikea antilop. They are very useful for BLW a baby who can sit with some support.

Flisspaps · 04/09/2011 18:50

lilham Out of sheer curiosity, why do you plan to start BLW then move on to puree? If DD takes to BLW then why not carry on with just that? (Like I say, sheer curiosity!)

lilham · 04/09/2011 18:55

I'm going back to work when my DD is 7mo. Sad She won't take a bottle so it's important for her to eat solids. Most people say purees are faster in getting the amount of solid in a baby.

Original poster
mumtomoley · 04/09/2011 21:23

You never know lilham by six months she might be chomping away anyway - though I imagine BLW must be dependant to some extent on teeth?

He has good head control and can sit up fine in a high chair (though not unaided) perhaps we'll continue with the kinds of things we've been doing - sitting him at the table, showing him foods and letting him smell them. No idea if the smelling them makes any differences but thought it might be interesting to him to find out that different foods smell differently especially because of the association between smell and taste.

On a related subject, I've wondered if the smell of cooking is enticing to babies. So when we can smell, for example, a roast dinner cooking it seems to trigger something that makes you think 'yum' and also makes you feel hungry. Or if before they've eaten it, the only thing that smells 'yum' to them is milk? It's not really relevant to weaning but I'm just curious.

I love cooking (and eating Blush) so think this is why I'm quite keen but a few more weeks won't hurt.

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lilham · 04/09/2011 22:11

Actually they don't need teeth to do BLW. I've got Gill Rapley's book and it's a fascinating read. They can chew and bite with their gums. If you are letting him smell the food, why not just offer a piece or too to your DS too? Mine loves putting everything in her mouth. So far she's treating the food exactly like her toys.

Flisspaps · 04/09/2011 22:22

:( Will she take a cup Lilham? Also, she may just take to a bottle one day - it's a case of finding one she agrees with. One of the children I look after refused a bottle point blank until she was just over 6mo, then overnight was happy with one. It might turn out that if she's not getting anything else then she'll accept the bottle, and milk is more important for calories and nutrition than anything else at that age. Of course, if she doesn't then there's nothing wrong with puree (in case anyone thinks I think otherwise, it just wasn't right for us!) Grin

mumtomoley teeth aren't needed at all for BLW, you'd be surprised at how much damage can be done to various foods by a pair of hard gums and a good old chomp. A piece of delicious looking beef can be reduced to a grey, manky, soggy bit of rag fairly quickly by a toothless baby. Teething generally starts at around 6mo anyway, so it ties in with the rough age of weaning :) That's a good question about the smell of food - I have no idea. Maybe someone else will be along who does!

Parietal · 04/09/2011 22:26

My dd2 is 5 months and has started slightly haphazardly on BLW. She is sitting up and loves the food so it seems very cruel to wait another month. And I'm sure she still gets 95% of her calories from milk. But the odd carrot stick keeps her very happy when the rest of us are eating.

Original poster
mumtomoley · 05/09/2011 08:34

Interesting to know about the teeth - though having had my finger chomped on I should know how hard those gums are!

I've ordered Gill Rapley's book - thanks lilham

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