4month weaning-- HV useless

[patsypancake]

At a mum and baby club a few weeks ago a health visitor came in to do a talk on weaning !
she was saying that the weaning research and rules have now changed now and since 2012 it has been advised that the new weaning age is 17 weeks and to start very slowly and start baby led weaning at 6m
she was giving this information to us as a whole group , I began to tell her a little about my dd 17wks at the time , that she had begun to feed more often and was very interested in food and the hv confidently said yes it sounds like she is ready to be weaned . I looked for signs of
readiness her over the next week and then gave her 1st puree at 18 weeks and have been since then ..

Yesterday I casually spoke to a different health visitor and just asked some advise about her progress and weaning tips and she said that the weaning was still 6 months and babies tummies were not ready before then and couldn't seem to understand why the lady had given this talk and basically said she was talking rubbish -

Now I am very confused and worried as my baby is showing signs of readiness but if her stomach isn't developed enough that's a different story and I would have been happy to breastfeed her more often its right for her age .

has anyone heard this new information am I risking dd development by weaning her too soon ?

My dd1 was weaned at 4 months as she was ready for it and it was advised from 4 months if they're ready for it but no wheat till 6 months. She's 6 now and has no known allergies or health problems.

Ds2 was about 5 months, he's now 5 and no problems.

Then the advice was changed to nothing until 6 months when I had dd2 (now 3 yo) I think she was about 5/6 months when she seemed ready.

Then the advice was changed again to baby led weaning from 6 months when I had ds1 (15 months). He was about 7 months when I started weaning as he wasn't interested in food till then but I gave him purées as it was better for us having to fit in with the school run and I didn't want even more mess to have to clean up. I started giving him finger food (BLW) about 10 months for ds2.

None of them have any problems with allergies. Ds2 has slight eczema but he gets that from me as he had it before weaning and food doesn't make it worse or flare up.

The way I look at it is that we were weaned at 3 months and are still alive, and babies haven't changed. I know there are links to wheat before 6months and allergies and nuts obviously so didn't give those in line with advice. I started weaning when it was right for my children not when I was told to.

FWIW, I couldn't produce enough milk so mine have all been formula fed from about a week old as they were losing too much weight and that hasn't affected them either. Dd1 and ds1 are both top of their class with the school having to give dd1 work from the next year up. So early weaning and formula doesn't seem to have caused them any developmental problems either.

Quite honestly, don't fret too much. Advice changes all the time: I started mine at 4.5 months on some baby rice etc. Your baby will be your guide. If their tummy isn't ready, they will be unsettled. The important thing is that meat is more difficult to digest and I would advise leaving this longer to avoid upset bowels..but it won't damage your baby, it will just be difficult to digest as the organs, enzymes etc are still developing..meaning tummy ache and difficult bowel movements. (I have a degree in Physiology fwiw) My ds are 10 and 13 now with fantastic development, walked, talked early, top of their class etc. Is this your first baby? Advice can be incredibly contradictory..Will prob change again before you have your next one! Did between mine. Pureed veg should be fine. Some fruit/prunes may be too strong at this stage The main thing is you're a good enough mum to be trying to find out, caring about your little one. Hth xxx

Afaik it hasn't changed (the MN weaning pages certainly still say 6 months www.mumsnet.com/babies/weaning )There is some research being done but the results aren't out yet on early weaning and allergies. I think Sweden has changed its advice recently which might be what she is thinking of?

I am so annoyed with this lady and am puzzled as to where she got this info she was spouting !! Sdefinatly didn't say Sweden I feel as though she was advising us it was best to start early .. I am annoyed with myself as I know I felt sceptical and couldn't see any other info anywhere (nhs/birth-5/leaflets from clinic ) .

she has only had fruit and veg and baby rice . she seems content pooping normally and loving being fed ..
this is beside the point tho I feel as though I have been given wrong information hopefully when I see the other mums at baby massage next week I can ask what they thought of this information

Advice does change but I feel like you can only go by the best advice that is current and at the minute that is 6 months. I did that with our boy and I'm pleased, You can always drop your weaning for a few more weeks.

How stressful for you all this conflict though

I'm living in Sweden and the advice from my Dr at least is tastes of any/all foods from 4 months (no mention of avoiding wheat etc) and then 'proper weaning' at 6 months.

If you look on the Allergy UK website (can't link sorry) they currently advise frst weaning from 17 weeks. They have a chart of what foods to introduce at what age,

My DD is nearly 8 months and we started weaning at 21 weeks because that's when I thought she was ready.

She sounds very misinformed, it's alarming that she's going around telling people to go against current guidelines!

The current advice to wean at six months has been in place for about 20 years now, so hardly changes 'all the time'.

But of course if your baby's ready before that you do whatever you feel is best - preferably with the guidance of a competent health visitor!

DS is 8 and we began to introduce solids just after 17 weeks, which was in line with the HV advice then (she said that the advice to exclusively BF for six months was introduced to keep mothers doing it for as long as possible, knowing that many are unlikely to get there - not sure how true that is). Milk remained the bulk of his diet for much much longer, but we were keen to have started weaning before I had to go back to work and - crucially - he showed all the signs of being ready.

Anyway, he had fruit and veg purees then finger founds when his teeth came through later on. He is strong, healthy and smart with no allergies, so please don't worry that you have caused irrevocable damage.

My hv said to start weaning between 17 and 25 weeks (or 26 I can't remember) but the earlier we start, the slower we can take it.