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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

Did anyone put their baby on solids 'earlier'??

78 replies

Helenemjay · 01/04/2006 15:16

Im curious to see if anyone got their baby eating solids earlier than the usual 4 months or 6 months? my sister put her ds on solids at 13 weeks, and then her dd on them a 12 weeks - her ds is now 3 and absolutley fine and her dd is almost 1 and she too is fine - no allergies, never had problems with digesting things etc.... what is is thats so taboo about early weaning? - dont shoot me down - just curious!

OP posts:

tegan · 01/04/2006 20:49

DD1 was 8 weeks when solids were introduces and dd2 was 10 weeks and they are both fine.
HV, she's new, was discussing this last week and totally agreed that if they want it give it to them.

SoupDragon · 01/04/2006 20:53

8 weeks ??!!

tegan · 01/04/2006 20:58

Yep 8 weeks. She was bottle fed from birth, gp put her on hungrier milk at 2 weeks and was doing 9 9ounce bottles by 7 weeks hence solids at 8 weeks. She slowed down to 5 9 ounce bottle with rice in the morning and rusk for supper.

SoupDragon · 01/04/2006 20:59

It's just that DD is 8 weeks and I can't imagine feeding her solids despite her being huge. :)

FrannyandZooey · 01/04/2006 21:03

Sorry to hear about your problems threebob. :(

My friend's baby is 14 months and according to her mum, eats about one spoonful of food per day, on a good day. She is still breastfed and one of the chubbiest, healthiest toddlers I know. She is just not interested in food yet. Her mum is lean as a greyhound!

tegan · 01/04/2006 21:06

my friends little boy was bottle fed until 6 months then solids were introduced but now he is 3 and needs his food cut into pieces he can just swallow and physically cannot chew anything, the problem is his little sister is exactly the same and I think it is because they hadn't had solids until they were 6 months that they have no chewing reflex.

lockets · 01/04/2006 21:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FrannyandZooey · 01/04/2006 21:20

So do you think there will be a nation of soup drinkers in 20 years time tegan, if everyone follows the current guidelines? I'm off to buy shares in Campbells.

lockets · 01/04/2006 21:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ButtonMoon · 01/04/2006 21:22

Well I did DD at 15 weeks and just started DS today at 26 weeks! I did DD early due to pressure maily from people saying that I couldnt sustain bf her as she was so big (9 12 born and weighed 16lb when weaned, she dipped slightly on the chart and everyone said that she would sllep thru! HA HA HA...still doesnt do that at 3.5 yrs!? Waited til 6 m with DS as I am a lot wiser now and have learned to ignore everyone and do what I think is best! Plus I am so lazy...it is so much easier just to whip your boobie out as and when! Purees are such a faff!! DS weighs around 20lb now and exclusively bf til today. I reckon he could have gone longer as he still goes 3-4 hrs during feeds. My DH was weaned at 2 weeks as mil says she couldnt fill him up as he was 9lb born. He has the problems with his bowels...suffers from heartburn and regular bouts of IBS....but obviously we will never now why this has occured. I reckon that if you are suseptible to allergies etc then early weaning may trigger these so personally I think it's not worth the risk of early weaning. I also think that sometimes people mistake signs that babies show as signs that they need weaning..such as fists in mouth, waking in the night, rooting etc. Obviously at the end of the day it individual choice but in my humble opinion I say try to stick out til as near to six months as you can, if only to make less work for yourself.

FrannyandZooey · 01/04/2006 21:23

Seriously though tegan, how would that work? Not many babies are on chewy food before 6 months, are they? Just rice mush and pureed slush. How could missing out that stage affect a child's ability to chew?

ButtonMoon · 01/04/2006 21:26

tegan...my DS had solids today..pureed carrot, rice and breatmilk (YUM!!!) and he was chewing that. I think the chewing relux has been shown to appear aroung the 5-6 months mark until then most babies just cant do it. But obviously all babies are different. It's got a lot to do with encouraging different textures etc once weaning has started. I mean if you always give pureed food then a baby will never develop the skill of chewing.

edam · 01/04/2006 21:47

MT, my sister's baby was also Michelin man material - off the top of the centile charts. Fully breastfed, not weaned until six months. Didn't start to slim down until he started walking. Neither of his parents are large - mother is size 8 and dad is only 5'9' and slight. Suspect my sister produces Gold top!

peaches27 · 01/04/2006 21:49

My kids were weaned at about 12 weeks and are both healthy adults now with no allergies nor bowel problems.

We had one or two hassles with feeding my granddaughter (who lives with me) so when hv mentioned baby rice at 4m we did it, and she loves it! She is one of those babies who dont take much formula 2-3 oz at a time, and it works for us. She goes at the spoon like a mad thing. She even looks enviously at us when we are eating and leans forward to inspect!

RedZuleika · 01/04/2006 22:35

Hmm... haven't read the whole thread but...

My MIL is another one for saying that she weaned my husband early and it's not done him any harm. She's never seen him doubled up in pain with IBS and is obviously blind to the goat's milk in the fridge (because of his dairy intolerance).

Maybe the two aren't connected - and maybe they are. The guidance was difference in the 70s and she thought he was hungry for solids. I'm all for following one's instinct, but I think it's just plain arrogant to completely discount current research on the subject. Curiosity and a high weight are no indication of physiological maturity.

As for the HV who is supposed to have said that if they want it, you should give it to them - if she did really say this, she should be reported to her line manager(s).

JoolsToo · 01/04/2006 22:35

knock knock!

beetroot · 01/04/2006 22:36

got you jools

JoolsToo · 01/04/2006 22:36

drat!

expatinscotland · 01/04/2006 22:39

i was weaned early, it was the norm back then to give babies a bit of baby cereal at about 4 weeks.

it's not done me any harm that i can tell.

but it's so much hassle! another thing to do when you have a newborn baby - as if getting up every two hours isn't bad enough.

dd1 was weaned at a bit over 5 months even tho the guidline was 4 months back then - 2003.

misdee · 01/04/2006 22:46

dd1 was switched to formaul at 6 weeks, her eczema really flared up then. then she was weaned at 4months on advise of HV. Eczema gets worse. DD1 is my most allergic child, dd2 isnt as bad but still has some allergies and intolerences. She was weaned at about 5months IIRC.

now dd3 was weaned just before 6months old (basically she grabbed food off me), hardly any eczema and so far has only had a skin reaction to eggs.

hunkermunker · 01/04/2006 22:48

If they want it, give it to them?

DS2 is 10 weeks old. How do I tell if he "wants" solids? He can't talk, he can't get himself to the kitchen (not sure he's even been in our kitchen yet!), what the fuck was this HV on?

joash · 01/04/2006 22:49

DD2 was on solids at 8 weeks on the advice from our doc and Health Visitor - mind you, she was on 12 - 14oz bottles by then, we just couldn't fill her. She's 21 now, no allergies or anything

sweetkitty · 01/04/2006 23:01

DD2 is 9 weeks and on the 91st centile for weight and height but her head is still floppy and she cannot sit up yet, seems completely absurd to be trying to feed her!

I was being fed potatoes and mince proper mince mind not gravy at 8 weeks old, rusk in a bottle at 2 weeks too apparently I slept for 18 hours a day no bloody wonder. My mother cannot believe a baby can survive on breastmilk for 6 months.

expatinscotland · 01/04/2006 23:03

my dad was bf'd for 2 years. he still can't believe a baby can be satisfied on breastmilk. why i don't know, considering they were too poor to feed him anything else till he starting getting teeth at around . . . 6 months!

ffs . . .

lanismum · 02/04/2006 00:01

my dd was 8 weeks when my aunt gave her rusk in her bottle, i also gave her baby rice and other packet stuff, but wouldnt say i weaned her that young, they were only tastes, prob wouldnt do it next time though as by 5 months she was only drinking 1 bottle of formula a day, and prob only drinking about 7 oz of that. she is 1 now though and will eat anything.

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