Help- very hungry but way to early to wean!

[Paintyourbox]

DD is 17 weeks old, exclusively BF. She has always been on the bigger end of the scale weight and height wise and a very hungry baby.

She refuses a bottle so the chance of popping her on some hungry baby milk is slim. I know we shouldn't wean her until 6 months but she's taking a huge interest in food- trying to grab what's on my plate and can sit up unaided.

Several times I have put large bits of veg in front of her to play with while I make dinner, over the past few days I have been astounded that she has picked them up and tried to put them in her mouth and licked them.

Anyone had an experience like this so early?! Should I try some food for her or just leave her a bit longer? She's started waking up in the night again to feed when she was going 10pm until 6am without.

I had similar problems with my DS he was born on 91st centile went up to 98th and was on 7x7oz by 19wks sometimes 8x7oz he had a huge milk tummy and looked very uncomfortable.

I started weaning at 19wks very slowly as I has to drop his milk as I figured that much milk was not healthy and the hv agreed. At 10mo He has eaten everything given to him and never shown any allergy signs though I appreciate this is anecdotal and against the guidelines i guess my ramblings r trying to say not all babies will make 6 months.

How on earth.can milk not be healthy for a baby?

Timothy all the research that I've seen that says its ok to wean earlier than 6 months has been funded by baby food companies. If you have links to neutral evidence, I'd be really interested.

Also, your have should only give advice based on NHS guidelines, if she says weaning is ok from 17 weeks I'd be reluctant to trust her advice on other matters too.

OP you were 'astounded' that your 17 week old puts whatever she can reach in her mouth? Really?

A 2007 study by the European Society of Paedriatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, a well respected scientific body reviewed evidence related to healthy, European children (of course in the third world it is crucial babies are breastfed to 6mths as the risk of food poisoning is much greater). They concluded that exclusive breastfeeding to 6mths was a desirable goal. However they concluded solids should not be introduced before 17weeks or after 26weeks. Dr Gillian Harris, consultant Paediatric clinical psychologist at Birmingham Childrens hospital, is quoted as saying 'I believe that introducing solids between 4 qnd 6 months is important. There is no evidence that it increases the risk of allergies. The evidence shows that giving lots of different tastes early on - and just a taste is fine - increases the childs readiness to accept a range of foods later'.

So wean at 6 monthers, do that if you feel its right for your baby, and we will do what we feel is right for our babies. And both of us to a degree will be correct. It isnt something we have to get cross about, or be sarcastic, or belittle people for, star and seeker. I would be interested to know how many of you (6months over weaners) have babies with birth weights of over 9lb - the odd baby of this size might make it to 6 months on milk, but from talking to people on here the majority that size seem not to make it. Also parents of refluxy babies are often advised to wean earlier than 6 months, to reduce the pain of constant milk reflux, and no doubt that does no harm as well.

We are constantly gathering information about what is best for our children, and advice will change again before we are old. We can all only use the evidence we have with our own instinct. Everyone is just sharing their experience, and we all only have a sample size of one or two babies, but with the combined answers the OP can get a feel for what they think will work for them.

Niggle, it is well known that the 'experts' in that study are also advisors to baby food companies who pay them well.

You may also like to know that my currently 17 week old was born at 9lb and is exclusively breastfed.

Not seen that before, do you know who funded the research Niggle?

I had a 10lb baby who made it to 24 weeks on breastmilk alone, seeing as you ask.

Size of baby has in the region of bugger-all to do with readiness for weaning.

I say breastmillk alone but he did eat a fair chunk of an egg box at about 22 weeks. Not sure if that counts as weaning though.

DS was born 11lb 7oz and was EBF until weaning at just short of 6 months.

Ds was only 7lb 10oz but he doubed his birth weight at 6 weeks on breast milk.

Now feel like a shit mother because I didn't incorporate egg boxes into my weaning plan. In my defence though my first HV was shit, she recommended weaning at 16 weeks and told me aptimil was just as good BM

Star well known by who? Where is your evidence? Hearsay abounds.

Jilted I dont know I'm afraid. My source is River Cottage, which I have quoted from, so trust it is true as printed (ie they will not have lied about what the study said or what the person quoted said), but havent tracked down the study myself for further analysis. Partly because I am happy with what I've done with my DC, and happy for others to wait if they feel its best. I'll admit I don't understand why weaning is such an emotive issue. People with no actual evidence for their beliefs, such as Size of baby has in the region of bugger all to do with readiness for weaning (Incidentally, I was not advocating size as a rule per se for weaning, just feel larger babies often reach the criteria of readiness sooner than average or smaller sized ones) feel its legitimate to be really quite rude about other peoples choices. Its odd. I dont think doctors, as professionals, have opinions which are as easy to 'buy' by baby food companies as some people would like to think... And much of the advice that 17 weeks is fine comes from those who are only interested in selling books and whose sales will be uninfluenced by when you wish to wean your baby... As I said I dont understand why people get so cross about it....

It was a wnaky basket style attempt to entertain him whilst I cooked

jilted that's shocking about the aptamil!!

My DS was hungry every 2hrs up to 14wks we then managed to push feeds to 3hrs never managed more than that and by 19wks he was back to 2hr feeds 45-50oz a day, couldn't go on hungry baby due to constipation and was increasingly unsettled and bloated. Glad to hear so many of you waited to 6mo but weaning at 19wks was right for us he could sit, never gagged and grabbed the spoon and fed himself 1st go genuinely not all babies can manage 26wks.

I am very bad and weaned dd2 at three months, she is now just four. She was fine! I also weaned dd1 at 3 months but that was when it was allowed

goon I'm sure she is fine but weaning at 3 months isn't really recommended, all the studies say that it's best to wait.

But... physical size doesn't reflect internal development.

That's like saying larger toddler will be ready to potty train earlier, or smaller babies won't learn to talk until later.

I'm not actually a rigid 26 weeks stickler, you know. I go with the theory that around the middle of the first year, babies will be ready for something more than milk. That might be a but before 26 weeks (like with DS, who was stealing the food from our plates at 24 weeks) or a bit after. I'm not cross about it and I don't really care what informed choices other people make.

But the 'big babies need weaning earlier' line is a total myth and I get so fed up of hearing it! The world and his wife were telling me that about DS from 3 months onwards, and it was utter crap. He was piling weight on just fine. Funnily enough my friend with a similar aged but tiny baby was constantly being told her DD must need weaning early because she was so small

It's not that weaning at 17 weeks is ok/recommended, just that weaning before 17 weeks has been shown to be actively harmful and is risky for the baby without providing any benefits.

Obviously the closer you get to 6 months the safer you are, but anytime after 17 weeks is probably ok.

Goonatic - I'm afraid at 4 years old you cannot say that weaning so early has done your DD no harm, as much of the damage done does not become apparent until later, for example Coeliac disease. Weaning at 3 months has never been recommended by the way - from 1994 the official NHS advice has been 4-6 months.

Wow, I think I'll hide this thread. So much sarcasm seeker and starlight

Maybe you are experts but she's my first baby, I have no family around to help and not much idea what I should or shouldn't be doing. That's why I came here to ask for advice.

Thanks for your input

Paint. Listen to the department of Health and the scientific research - that's th best advice.

Also I'm sceptical about listening to Annabel Karmel Nigglenaggle and all her research given she makes considerable amounts of cash from telling people to purée everything and selling her own brand food mashers etc. Most of this isn't necessary after 6 months when mashing with a fork will do.

I wasn't sarcastic! I just said that it really isn't a good idea to wean your baby early. T doesn't make thm sleep better- it has no advantage at all (apart from in a few, rare medical conditions) and could possibly in somencases be harmful. So why do it?

You asked for advice!