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Weaning

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

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Original poster

Whilst the WHO says 6 months....

31 replies

alittlebitshy · 18/03/2006 17:20

... why are so many hv's still saying 16 weeks?

I have a friend whose dd1 is the same age as my dd, and she has a 3 month old dd2. I was asking her yesterday what she was going to do re weaning this time and i was gobsmacked when she said that the hvs are deffo still saying 16 weeks. Esp considering that this tinme she has manged to exclusively breast feed.

I was wondering what you all thought, and what you would say if this came up in conversation... cos i know that when you have a small baby sometimes the word of the Hv is comforting....

hmm... just my musings :)

OP posts:

tortoiseshell · 18/03/2006 17:22

My leaflet from my MW says 6 months, with no reference to 16wks/4months. Ds was recommended 4 months, Dd was 4 months, or 6 months if you are a lentil weaving breast feeder (or live in Africa - my HV actually said - the WHO guidelines are only for African babies ). This one is definitely 6 months.

mears · 18/03/2006 17:22

Because they simply have not updated themselves on current guidance.

beansprout · 18/03/2006 17:22

I think it is as simple as them not keeping themselves up to date, they get into their habits and stay with them. I last saw my hv when ds was about 2 weeks old but I can understand how the word of the "professional" carries so much weight. Even more reason for them to be well informed

Original poster

alittlebitshy · 18/03/2006 17:27

grr. just worries me.

I know that next time, when we get round to having db2, i'll be so much more informed and will hold out. i was told 16 weeks and did it. in many ways it was right for us as dd was no scrap of a thing. she was born a hungry 9lb8oz so by 16 weeks she was deffo hungry hungry hungry but i will always worry about her gut not having been ready. although we stuck to all the guidlines about not giving dairy, meat etc etc til ( when was it? 6 months+)so she was on fruit and veg and (yuk yuk never again) baby rice, whereas i know people who rushed to get to almost full repetoires!!!!

sigh [puzzled emoticon]

OP posts:

tortoiseshell · 18/03/2006 17:30

Recommendations do change all the time. I was weaned at 6 weeks on bone and vegetable broth. Which was the recommended thing then.

intergalacticwalrus · 18/03/2006 17:30

My HV told me my baby would starve if I didn't wean at 4 months. I just smiled sweetly and ignored her. She's a crazy hose beast anyway.

Other HV who is nice was v supportive of my decision, and never once suggested I should wean early. DS didn't eat a scrap of solid food as it was until he was nearly 9 months, as he used to just spit it out.

expatinscotland · 18/03/2006 17:35

I just follow child-led cues as far as weaning. When DD1 was a baby, the recommendation was 4 months, but she wasn't ready till about 5 and a half months, so we left it till then.

When this baby starts showing signs, we'll try her out.

tiktok · 18/03/2006 17:47

tortoise - the recommendations change only very rarely, not 'all the time'.

JoolsToo · 18/03/2006 17:56

expat - I'm with you! your baby knows when its ready. My three were all late weaners 8 months-ish (all bottle fed). I don't have a scooby what was recommended way back then but I'd guess at 4 months.

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 18/03/2006 17:58

My HV when questioned first time said 4 months (Jess is now 20 months so that may have been right?! dont know)

This time round, different modwife - 6 months.

Becky unfortunately is a huge baby and guzzling too much milk so HV has said start her slowly - she is 21 weeks.

tortoiseshell · 18/03/2006 17:59

tiktok - sorry - figure of speech - was meaning more generally actually, not juts with feeding, and trying to reassure alittlebitshy that she probably won't have damaged her baby by weaning at 16 wks! I was very much a 6 monther for dd - she was exclusively bfed till then, despite the HV telling me that no western babies could hold on till 6 months!

I stand corrected on my poor use of English!

thelennox · 18/03/2006 18:00

My hv said keep going to six months if you can with breastfeeding, but none of them seem to think it is realistic. My dd is now 5 and a half months and I have been giving her solids for the last 2 weeks because we were getting no sleep at all and she was obviously really hungry by 5 at night but no matter how much I fed i really could not boost supplies any more. Think HV's are aware of new guidelines, just willing to accept we might not make it!!

tortoiseshell · 18/03/2006 18:02

It does feel that my 2 children (and 3rd to be) have all had very different advice though, on all sorts of things, depending on the current recommendations. Perhaps I just hit a 'changing' time.

Just for info, when I was born, not only was weaning at 6 weeks recommended, but you were not allowed to give the baby anything for 12 hours after the birth, and then only a little cooled water. After some more time you could give them 1 min on each breast, followed by a measured amount of formula, which had to be recorded. You then stayed in hospital for 12 days, during which time you increased the breast feed by a minute each day, and accordingly decreased the formula. I have my feeding chart from then, and it is really interesting! Don't know if it was nationwide policy, or local hospital policy!

expatinscotland · 18/03/2006 18:03

We've left it to DD1 in pretty much everything - when to wean, give up the bottle, have a bash at toilet-training, move into a bed, etc.

Spot on, JT, the body doesn't lie. When they're ready to eat, they let you know!

DD1 started trying to grab our eating utensils - she has always 'sat' at the table w/us at meals, just as DD2 does now - she sits on a lap right now - smacking her lips and pulling her tongue in rather than pushing it out. So I mashed up some pinto beans and she lurved 'em! We just went from there.

Enid · 18/03/2006 18:03

I wean once baby starts trying to grab the spoon out of your hand and stares intently at your food

JoolsToo · 18/03/2006 18:05

yes a good tip expat and one that I've always used

ie - follow your nose and you won't go far wrong!

tortoiseshell · 18/03/2006 18:05

One thing I learnt on here, is that when they start waking in the night at 4 months, it's not necessarily a cue to start solids - it could be a cue to up the milk production, as feeding in the night is what gets it going. And as the amount of solids they take to start with has less calories than the amount of milk they would take instead, it can actually make them wake more.

When ds was weaned at 4 months he really took a fair bit of persuading, dd at 6 months couldn't wait to stuff it in!!! And hasn't changed!

JoolsToo · 18/03/2006 18:05

that's if you haven't already snaffled the eclair Enid

WigWamBam · 18/03/2006 18:06

It's only since joining Mumsnet that I've realised the recommendation has been six months for years - dd is almost 5 and my HV (and everyone else's HV, and all the weaning books) trundled out the 16 week figure ... and not knowing any better, that's when I weaned. I wish I'd known then what I know now, but I trusted my HV and thought she knew best; most people do, and that's why there are still so many people who don't know that the advice is 6 months.

Looking back, I think my HV was well aware of the guidelines; she did once mention in passing that "some women" wait until six months, but was pretty scathing of the idea. I believe she was just giving out the advice she'd been giving out for years - it was good enough 35 years ago when she was starting out in midwifery, so it must still be good enough now.

Enid · 18/03/2006 18:19

sorry for being a dimwit but why ARE you supposed to wait until 6 months?

dooley1 · 18/03/2006 18:21

I thought it was because the digestive system is properly formed until then

Enid · 18/03/2006 18:26

but that can't be true surely otherwise it would not cope with formula/bm?

grannygoose · 18/03/2006 18:33

I learned fairly quickly to smile and nod at my HV and then completely ignore everything she says. When swapping stories with other moms in my little town, I note that all the HV's give different advice. I am sure that there are some really good HV's out there, but so far I am not impressed. The younger HV's seem to be better, whilst the older MW's beat the younger ones hands down! Go figure...I'll take advice from MN any day over my HV advice.

Tinker · 18/03/2006 18:35

\link{http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html\Here's why enid}

expatinscotland · 18/03/2006 18:44

i don't care how intently she stares at my eclair - she is NOT having that!

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