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Weaning

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

Original poster

Going to start weaning 4mth old this week..........................

221 replies

Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 09:50

Spoke to my HV as DS is feeding very well with formula. He is putting on weight well and very happy. Sleeps through etc etc....
He is taking a real interest in food and started waking for night feeds etc classic signs that they want more.
My friend is horrified that I am not waiting until he is 6mths, like the guidelines say.
Told HV, she said that weaning is not recommneded until the baby is 6mths however, I am his Mum and she is only there to offer advice, I should do whatever I feel is right for my baby and seek her advice if I need help.
I weaned DD at 4mths with no problems at all, and have to say I find this 'you mustn't do this / that' attitude a bit much.
I know they are only going by new guidelines etc... but my HV does have apoint, all babies are different and only their Mothers know them well to enough to make informed decisions. Maybe we all need to trust our instincts more and use the 'professionals' for support and advice rather than a rulebook.
FB x
P.S. not too sure about BLW though

OP posts:
dunscared · 08/01/2007 10:31

I've also started giving my 4 month old DS a bit of banana, baby cereal, etc.
I'm still BF but he started feeding 2 hourly at night all over Xmas and New Year as well as grabbing at my spoon! My HV said 10 days sounded too long to be a growth spurt so go for it. He's still getting 5-6 milk feeds a day but enjoying trying new tastes and learning to "eat". Also settled at night again 1 week in!!!
I also weaned my 2 year old at the same stage.
I agree with you about the going against guidelines guilt but they are only guidelines and as a health professional know that guidelines change - and then change again. IMO I think the some of the problems with "early weaning" ie obesity may be due to the fact that we were all weaned on to sugar filled rusks. Also think the increased use of processed foods, perservatives, ready meals etc over the last 20-30 years may have something to todays gut problems. Can already hear the guns loading
So go with your instinct and good luck.

aviatrix · 08/01/2007 10:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 10:42

Surely you only get obese children if they are fed high suger, high fat, processed food and get no exercise. I might be being a bit thick here but child obesity can't be blamed on being weaned 8 weeks earlier then recommended.

Sorry, but I had the obesity thing shoved down my throat in hospital when i decided no to BF and gave DS formula from the start, the MW got the arse with me said 'go ahead, if you want your child to be obese!'

dunscared, pleased to have a fellow MNer who understands where I am coming from good luck with the weaning

FB x

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 08/01/2007 10:44

What makes you unsure about BLW by the way?

bandstand · 08/01/2007 10:45

how rude of the midwife!

Original poster
Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 10:45

aviatrix - not really looking for anything other than starting a discussion off. I think lots of Mums, especially new ones, are railroaded into doing as 'tehy are told' by MW's and HV's that they don't trust their own instincts enough when it comes to making decisions. I know I have several friends who won't do anything unless their HV says it is okay.

FB x

OP posts:
Original poster
Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 10:47

MrsBadger - well I have been following the BLW threads with interest and someone posted a link to a BLW website. I think because I weaned my DD the 'traditional' way I don't see any reason to change. That doesn't mean, however, that I am not open to new ideas.

I was thinking that BLW would be quite frustrating for the child, what if they couldn't pick the food up or couldn't get to their mouth, wouldn't they just getted stressed and not bother???

FB x

OP posts:
asleep · 08/01/2007 10:53

good luck! i weaned both of mine from 4 months. BLW sounds great to me, but i couldn't do it as i'm too scared of DS choking.

MrsBadger · 08/01/2007 10:53

I though by definition BLW didn't start till the child can pick things up and put them in his mouth...

Original poster
Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 10:55

So what if the baby is ready, say now at 4mths, but can't pick things and put them in their mouth yet??? Do you just keep on the milk until they can and add in a night feed again??

Sorry, don't mean to sound so thick but I am really interested in this as I might give it a go if I knew more.

FB x

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 08/01/2007 10:59

I was under the impression that 'can't nick things and put them in their mouth' means 'not ready yet' and one should stick to milk till they are.
I know adding in a night feed back in is a pain if they've been sleeping through though.

Original poster
Flumpybumpy · 08/01/2007 11:03

Hmmm i need to do a bit more research on this, I think.

Thanks for the advice though!!

FB x

OP posts:
PinkTulips · 08/01/2007 11:09

flumpy.... ds started blw at 21 weeks but only because he stole food from my plate and ate it and was therefore clearly ready. wallace also started blw at about 22 weeks for the same reason.

the whole ethos behind blw is that they are only developmentally ready for food when they can:
pick it up
hold it
bring it to their mouths
bite, gnaw or chew it
swallow it

if they can't do these tasks they are not ready for food and do not need it and it can actually be damaging for their digestive system to have purreed food introduced to it before it's developed enough to process it.

why not try what i did and have ds on your lap while you eat with suitable food within reach and wait til he decides to grab for it and eat it himself to indicate he's ready for solids?
the emphasis is still on milk and the food is only offered as a learning experiance for the most part.

PinkTulips · 08/01/2007 11:10

wierd... my last 2 paragraphs got swapped around just there!

fortyplus · 08/01/2007 11:10

Back in the olden days I was told that it was ok to start weaning at 3 months.
Both mine had a mixture of bought baby foods and home prepared foods. ds1 would eat anything that was put in front of him (garlic bread and houmos at 8 months old ) - ds2 was a fussy little git till he was about 3 years. ds1 didn't have chocolate until he was nearly 2 - ds2 had it from 9 months as he was so skinny I wanted to fatten him up a bit!
They're 11 & 13 now - both fit healthy boys and a normal weight. ds2 still on the skinny side.
All children are different - too many people try to boss mums around, which leads to some mums becoming paranoid know it alls who will try to frighten you into believing that you're damaging your child if you don't obey the baby police! Would post {grin} but actually makes me feel more like

MissGolightly · 08/01/2007 11:10

As far as I understand BLW (and I'm not by any stretch an expert!) the idea is that their motor development is in line with the rest of their development and by the time they are ready to eat they will have acquired the skills to do so. Ie a newborn cannot pick up and guide a piece of toast to their mouth, which is a fairly good indication that you should not be giving it to them. By the time they are old enough to take soft fruit and mash it in their mouths they are old enough to digest it. They will only start eating small, chokable bits of food when their pincer grip is effective enough to pick up the tiny pieces, by which time they should be old enough to deal with them.

You get the gist.

FWIW I have given my baby finger foods from 6 months on, he has always coped with them fine and has never seriously choked (of course we've had a few coughing fits but you get that even with milk!) You have to be sensible about what you give them of course.

AitchTwoOhOhSeven · 08/01/2007 11:15

"P.S. not too sure about BLW though "

if you read the BLW study you'll see that the babies were given food in front of them at 4 months but didn't start to pick it up until 6-ish. Rapley took this as an indication that babies instinctively knew when they and their guts were ready (rather than their mothers, who would all have started them based on night feeding, sitting up unaided, showing an interest etc). this was in line with studies on gut maturity and the WHO's guidelines...clever little babies.

as we've seen recently with wallace and pinktinsel, some babies do know that they are ready earlier. this might be the case with your baby, who knows, but the only was to test the theory is NOT to spoon feed. if the bub feeds itself then according to blw thinking you are ready to rock. if not, you have to accept that and deal with growth spurts with milk for the time being.

i'll be really interested to find out if you are instinctively right about your baby being ready or not. give us a shout back if he feeds himself, will you?

DizzyBint · 08/01/2007 11:15

that's right mrs golightly.

i'm not sure what the rush is flumpy bumpy. why not just leave it til he's 6 months and he can feed himself? i'm not sure why you would want to make extra work for yourself. i waited til 6 months and dd just has what i'm having. she's nearly 8 months now. we're having sandwiches for lunch, and salmon with new potatoes for dinner.

bandstand · 08/01/2007 11:27

agree with extra work.... that really got me down..

fortyplus · 08/01/2007 11:33

My ds1 was squealing and reaching out for food at 3 months, which was why I went ahead with introducing solids. If I'd waited till he could pick it up himself he would've been very frustrated. He knew that he wanted it but couldn't have fed himself at that stage.
I don't think babies have some sort of innate 'cleverness' to know what's good for their guts. Otherwise why would Indian babies suck on the chillies that their mothers give them as soon as they gcan grasp them, thereby wrecking their digestive systems for life?

MrsBadger · 08/01/2007 11:39

ooh, fortyplus, have you got a reference to that chilli study?
Someone mentioned this to me the other day and my Google skills failed me...

FWIW I don't think babies have an 'innate cleverness', it's just one of those things like they won't walk till their bones are ready, not because they 'know' the bones aren't ready, but because they just can't manage it till then, then when the bones are ready they can manage it.

AitchTwoOhOhSeven · 08/01/2007 11:43

i'd be interested in seeing that study too, fortyplus. i've asked Pakistani friends and they say that they don't give any spices until a year, although my Malaysian friends do. FWIW dd has eaten chili (including one very hot pickled chili) from six months with no ill effects.
and i wouldn't get hung up on the cleverness thing. obviously it's to do with ability. i was meaning that it's clever of them to have read the WHO guidelines.

fortyplus · 08/01/2007 11:53

Sorry - no. It was something that a friend happened to mention one day - she was a MW till about 2 years ago and is now a HV. Apparently healthcare professionals have been trying for years to stop mums giving babies chillies. Quite successfully in my local area, apparently, but the hapbit is very ingrained elsewhere.

fortyplus · 08/01/2007 11:56

Sorry - that should be 'habit'. And I'm sure that one pickled chilli wouldn't harm a 6 month old - she was talking about babies as young as a couple of months being given a whole raw chilli to hold and suck/chew on a daily basis!

MrsBadger · 08/01/2007 11:57

(how do chillis harm the digestive system again? I should know this...)