Help me!! Is she ready or telling me she isnt?

[Elf1981]

Okay, probably been done before but...

My DD is 17 weeks old. I read on Baby.Com there are nine signs that a baby is probably ready for weaning. She's showing 7 (list at the bottom of the post, the two she isn't showing at the bottom). I decided to try her today on a bit of baby rice. I mixed 2 tablespoons of EBM with 1 teaspoon of Hinez Organic rice. She had maybe a teaspoon full before she pursed her lips shut and refused anymore food. I did all the praising bit and took the food away.
Now I'm wondering, do I continue? Is she telling me she isn't really ready? Do I make it sloppier and perserveer? What would you do?

NINE SIGNS

• Holding his or her head up and controlling head movements.
• Sitting well when supported.
• Making chewing motions.
• Being unsatisfied after a full milk feed
• Demanding increasing and more frequent milk feeds
• Attempting to put things in his or her mouth
• Displaying curiosity about what you are eating.
• After a period of sleeping through the night waking in the night with hunger
• Doubling his or her birth weight. (born weighing 8lbs 13 was 13.9 at last weigh in)

think you will find this an erm interesting thread - some people try and stick religiously to DOH guidelines of 6 months, others wean from 4 months as per the old style.

I think those signs of weaning that you list sound a bit ropey tbh - you would expect babies to be able to have decent head control by 3 months anyway, and mouthing is more to do with getting more sensory feedback from mouth than hands at this stage. I'ld try and get info about weaning somewhere a bit better - say What to Expect the First Year/Miriam Stoppard.

I would say 1 tbsp of baby rice is enough for a first meal anyway, but if she's not interested in any baby rice at further meals she's so young still that I really wouldn't bother trying to persevere.

Thanks. I have read other signs elsewhere, but they all sound a little ropey! Waking up could be teething / change in routine etc (my DD is always settled by a feed, even if she isnt waking in hunger, she'll nibble on the breast). Increased milk feed may just be a growth spurt. And as you say, head control should be good by three months anyway. I read another site that suggests weaning after the baby has learned to crawl.
Anyway, I thought I'd try her to see if she is ready, and now I'm thinking maybe she isn't, or am I expecting too much from the first time?

Why don't you have a try with baby-led weaning. There are loads of threads about it on MN. We've been doing it with DS (7.5 months) since he was 26 weeks and although the mess is, erm, messy, it's a stress-free form of weaning. Basically, he eats what he wants! I just decide what finger foods to put in front of him, and release him upon them. So, alone out of all my baby-owning friends, I don't have to worry about whether he's eating enough, or too much, etc. And we don't have a problem moving him of puree onto lumps. Plus it's working marvels for his co-ordination, etc. I really can't recommend it enough.

She's not ready and she is really young. It's nothing to do with her emotional readiness - it's her physical gut readiness - so the nearer 26 weeks the better for that.

Birth weight and sleep have nothing to do with it, and putting things in mouth is a sensory thing to learn about the world. Nothing to do with readiness for food.

There's a lot of confusion about the guidelines for weaning. Bizarrely, as the official advice is simple - wait until six months. Before then you can't be sure your baby's gut is ready.

Young babies have an 'open' gut which means large particles can pass through the walls into the bloodstream, IIRC. This helps them absorb everything they need from milk. It closes (becomes more mature) by six months when they are ready for weaning. Holding her head up or putting things in her mouth is nothing to do with how mature her gut is, it's just normal for babies to explore the world and get more lively around this age.

A baby with an 'open' gut who is fed solid food is more likely to develop food allergies, because of the particles of solid food passing through the walls of the gut into the bloodstream (again IIRC).

Your dd pursed her lips shut, so I wouldn't push it any further if I were you.

(disclaimer - weaned ds at 18 weeks against my better judgement but dh was very, very keen to feed ds. Wish we'd waited as dh has asthma and eczema so ds is at risk of allerges and already has eczema. Would stand my ground much more firmly second time around!)

HTH

elf I have a 3.6 year old and weaned her at 16 weeks - she is fine.

I have also started weaning my 15 week ds as per hv, I am a very sensible mum with lots of common sense and know when my children are ready to wean. Every child is unique.

The thing that worries me about the "new" guidlines are that if the "old" ones where wrong and it was only 3 years ago, will these "new" guidlines be wrong in another few years!!

And just to make everyone shout at me even more I think it is what you feed your child between 4 and 6 months that make the difference - should be gluten free and basically only fruit and veg!

As my ds is so young I am going to stick to my carrot and apple/babyrice (have to mix this as he doesnt like the baby rice on its own) only for a few weeks and then start introducing his new food evry 3 days! He loves the carrot, I have to stop feeding it to him or he wouldnt stop! Oh but remember always give the milk first as it is still the most impotant food just now.

Dont beat yourself up elf, I was last week until I called my hv to discuss it.

GOOD LUCK!!

I know weaning can be such an emotive subject. I dont want to push my daughter, but how can you ever tell when they are ready? Usually she'd go to sleep around half seven and sleep til half seven the next morning, whereas the past couple of days she's fed constantly from half seven until around nine.

Gave her a small bit of yoghurt this afternoon, not even a teaspoon full (in dips and dabs off my finger) and she loved it (it was a danone baby yoghurt, free of everything and suitable from four months). She lapped it up, but I took it off her because I was worried I was going to "damage" her by feeding her something other than milk.

mummygow - was your health visitor supportive? Mine seems hit or miss, but I might pop into the drop in centre next Thursday to talk to her.

CorrieDale - baby led sounds pretty good too, I might try that for in the evenings when she is a bit older. At the mo, anything goes in the mouth when placed in front of her!

But not free of cows milk protein. Formula is different - it has been modified for use from birth.

The baby food manufacturers write 4 months because they get away with it - not because that's when you should introduce these things.

She's fine. Wait.

Yes elf she was supportive just asked me why I thought he was raedy and explained about his gut and kidneys and told me to take it very slowly and to watch his stools for a few days and to make sure he didnt appear uncomfortable at all and not to give him anything with salt etc - I have not used any baby jars, I pureed my own carrot and apple as I know exactly whats in it - nothing!!

My mum told me the other day that she weaned us at 6 weeks with mince, potatoes and custard and that was the norm then - no wonder people have allergies etc being weaned food like that (oh, by the way my sister, brother and I have never had an allergy or any illnesses - pot luck I guess) but I wouldnt choose to wean my children on it!

Sorry, I didn't make it clear about BLW! One other advantage of it is that you don't have to stress about whether or not baby is 'ready'. I waited until the full six months to try DS with carrot sticks (was completely freaked out by the open gut!), but according to the initial study (well worth a read , babies who weren't ready for solids may be able to pick up the food, they might even go so far as to put it in their mouths, but they won't chew/swallow/actually eat it. And none of the babies in the study were ready to eat until they were six months old. So it seems that babies know the reason for the guidelines better even than we do!

The guidelines are not new. They have been WHO recommnedations for over 10 years now.

The 4 months guidelines were a fairly recent thing as in the 20's - 30's etc the guidlines in this country were to wait until 8-9 months for weaning.

excellent website