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

[Flumpybumpy]

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

And FB, so many women are told by their HVs to wean early/put their children onto formula, etc when there's no need, so I agree with you to a certain extent. I don't agree that anyone should ever just be told they have to do something without exploring the reasons behind it.

I dont think its a "do as you are told" "attitude" at all.

I think, in this Nanny State of affairs that people wish to live in when it suits them, it is important that healthcare professionals ensure that people have the most up to date and correct information. If you think that an informed person, telling you what you should do, amounts to that, then I would be inclined to think that it is you that has an "attitude".

I dont understand why it is offensive to ensure that a person has understood, and have fully researched a decision that affects their child now and in the childs adulthood, and if they choose to ignore/override this important information then it is not a bad thing to question why.

i agree, Hunkermunker. Many if not most of us find mumsnet through doing a search on google or somesuch and finding an archived thread. it's important that off-piste advice is challenged by the current guidleines. hopefully a mother finding the thread will then look for other information so that she gets the most up-to-date advice, certainly, but leaving a thread filled with 'yeah, go for it, your instincts are best' unchallenged isn't particularly helpful.

I agree, it is worth posting with the 'mainstream' advice. I had so much pressure to wean DS early from people who were either out of date on what the guidance is (my DM&D, MIL, & my older sisters), or who had tried it & 'it didn't do mine any harm'. But since I have coeliac and potentially fatal allergies (yes, I was weaned early...), early weaning would have been a potentially disastrous choice for my DS. Reading a thread of encouragement might have weakened my resolve, since I already had to justify myself every darned day for not weaning him 'til 6 months. Now I'm so glad I waited...

And if you are feeling guilty, perhaps it's an idea to explore why you are feeling guilty, rather than sticking your fingers in your ears and going "la-la-la not listening!"

I am giving my child baby rice - he is 3 1/2 months. I haven't told my HV as I suspect she would explode
I looked at the guidelines. What they say is that weaning before 6 months shows no benefit over weaning after six months. They also say that there is a small increased risk of things like coeliac disease - so I'm not planning on giving any gluten until 6 months old. They also say that all babies are different and that advice must be tailored to the child. The other thing to say about the guidelines are that they are based on WHO advice - which clearly will take into account things like water safety and quality of diet in the developing world when recommending exclusive BFing.
Interestingly, I posted a question about early weaning on an internet forum for doctors (DH is doctor). The overwhelming majority told me to do what felt right for my child and that baby rice is so pure that it was extremely unlikely to do any harm at all.
Sorry about the crappy grammar in this post!

Why are you giving it so early?

Not judging (well, perhaps a bit ) but genuinely curious.

It's a risk/benefit thing, IMO.

If you look at the evidence and are happy to take the risk that your child will be one of the ones who develops an allergy, coeliac disease, etc, then fine - for your child.

If you think there are benefits to be had by weaning early over and above that risk, then fine - for your child.

What I object to is people who wean early telling other people that their child "will be fine" because theirs is (esp when their child is only 9mo - because problems often don't show up that early.

Oh, and the "six months is only for the developing world" thing is a red herring - gut maturity isn't geographic.

As for baby rice being "so pure" - it's just rice. Nothing magically sacred about it. It actually annoys me (slightly) that because it's called "baby" rice - like it's not really proper food, just something you give babies who are still really, really young.

That's just what I was about to post yellowpoppy. The WHO advice is particularly based on developing countries (based on the research I've done).

I have been trailing the internet for the last week and a half looking for advice on early weaning. I want to put my two penneth in merely as advice for other mum's in my position. I am a university educated and sensible mum and have just started giving my 14 week old a bit of baby rice, veg and fruit.

He was a great bf for 9 weeks sleeing through etc, when he started screaming after every feed. Rather than making myself ill with more night feeds and producing enough milk than my body could take any more (I know that your body makes what you need - but 'I know' that I was suffering). I put him on formula which was great for a few weeks.

Over Christmas he was restless, crying after a feed - wanting more and had permanent wind from the amount of fluid I had to give him to satisfy his hunger. His tummy sounded like a water balloon(at this point he was 18lb - a big boy but only though bf). I then gave hungry baby milk but saw no improvement. When I finally gave in and offered a little bit of banana he absolutely chomped it down. He is now settled, happy and sleeping like he was.

My gut feeling was that it was better to give him natural veg and fruit with actual natural vitamins etc than fill him up with fatty man made formula. My hv has been supportive. She did some calculations on the amount of milk he should be getting based on his weight which was 45oz! She agreed that this was a ridiculous amount and therefore there was no other option but to start solids.

Although my gut feeling was always to give him food, I looked at so much research and government advice etc and could quite easily be now dealing with an extremely hungry and upset baby. Why would anyone want to put their babies, or themselves through that?

Just wanted to add - hunkermunker, based on what I've read, the advice from the WHO regarding waiting til 6 months based on research done in developing worlds is around the fact that developing worlds are less likely to have clean and sterile environments for feeding anything other than breastmilk.

oh, so exclusively bf babies in the developing world have less mature guts than exclusively bf babies in the developed world?

how?

yellow Poppy - I am surprised any one would say baby rice is "pure". It may be pure, but is it necessary ? Rice, like most cereals, has very little value to a baby. It is full of carbs. and just fills baby up. You are better off weaning straight onto fruit and veg as these have more vital vits.

The 6 month excl bf and what WHO says has nothing to do with where you live.

WHO is a global organisation, it may give certain guidelines to poorer countries, but its guidelines re. bf are global. As you rightly say re. the lack of clean water, yes it is much more important for a mum who has NO access to clean water in some parts of Africa to bf, than say a woman in Sweden. Dirty water added to formual leads to the death of many thousands of babies in the devleoping world (the last estimates I saw said 1.5 million babies die globally due to lack of bf - it was on the Baby Milk Action website).

There are FEWER risks involved with formula feeding in the industrialised world, but that does not mean there are no risks. There have for example been several recent cases of contaminated baby formula in Europe and USA.

I don't think the research had anything to do with gut maturity.

It is based around that fact that developing worlds do not have sterile environments and that breastmilk is sterile. Therefore, in an unsterile environment, it could be beneficial to wait until 6 months - when most babies guts ARE more mature (I don't disagree with that) and can handle any bacteria which they may face.

Just to point out again though that my 3 month old is now 19lb (the size of a 5 month old). Both myself and my hubbie are thin and don't forget he was bf for 9 weeks and put on a lb a week! So weaning should be judged individually.

Iweaned both my eldest DDs at 4months as that was standard then(they are 11 & 9yrs now)My 2 are both robust healthy girls but thats not to say they wont develop a bowel condition later in life,i believe you have to listen to all the information and then make the best decision for your child,you are the person who knows your child best.
I recently had another baby and was a bit confused to be told that weaning was now at 6months,i do wish health professionals would make there minds upI have met a lot of mums who are weaning before 6m.I will try and get to 6m before i wean my new DD but who can say if that will suit her

catajalee, but even in the developed world we don't live in a sterile environment. BF mothers don't sterilise their nipples, babies don't sterilise their hands, toys or blankets before chewing on them...

Tiny babies' guts can handle everyday bacteria; what they can't handle is solid food.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to look and see if a baby's gut is ready for food, which is why other developmental cues (can they sit up well unaided, are they stealing bits of food from your plate, can they lift bits of food to their mouth and chew them?) are handy for gauging the development of the bits you can't see.

WHO Makes guidelines for the WORLD not for the developing countries. It puts forward a set of very conservative, evidence based guidelines. If it was making a set for the developing world, then why hasn't it also proposed a set of guidelines for the industrialised one. Or Are you saying that it is prejudiced in favour of the developing world?

14 weeks is incredibly early - it's 3 weeks even before the "old" 17-26 week guidelines.

But your baby, your decision, as I say.

I am not sure why you object to "fatty" formula though - babies and small children need fat in their diets.

"Think FB wanted to hear from people who were going through what she is not made to feel more guilty." This is so like another thread a while back. You have to expect some criticism when you post a thread with this title! I found MN from a Google search btw, so I entirely agree that it is dangerous if inaccurate/misleading information is left unchallenged.

I cannot criticise anyone for weaning before 6 months obviously. But what gets me is the feeling guilty thing - if anyone is feeling guilty then why do it? I do not feel guilty for my decision - I thought long and hard about it and I'm confident that I have done the best thing for my particular circumstances. Therefore I am not too concerned if others disagree, which I'm sure they do. On the other hand, I do feel incredibly guilty for not exclusively breastfeeding my baby, even though that was completely out of my control. If I could have changed that I would have done in an instant.

To my mind, if anyone feels guilty for weaning their LO early then deep down they must doubt their own reasons for doing it. Unlike being unable to breastfeed, it is entirely within their control to reverse the decision.

'Interestingly, I posted a question about early weaning on an internet forum for doctors (DH is doctor). The overwhelming majority told me to do what felt right for my child and that baby rice is so pure that it was extremely unlikely to do any harm at all. '

yellowpoppy- what sort of doctor is your dh?

The big baby thing is a red herring. My dd is big. 99th centile for weight and length. She continued on her curve quite happily with just breastmilk for more than 6 months. Yes, she did require some extra night feeds, but as I've said before, I don't necessarily agree that babies must require solid food just because they wake for more milk feeds. Just give them the milk!

Sorry. Perhaps I was a bit emphatic there.

same here becky. dd followed 91st centile, never had anything but breastmilk until she was 26 weeks. when she seemed more hungry i gave her more milk. she's 8 months old now.

'Interestingly, I posted a question about early weaning on an internet forum for doctors (DH is doctor). The overwhelming majority told me to do what felt right for my child and that baby rice is so pure that it was extremely unlikely to do any harm at all. '
It's dangerous to go just on what doctors say - my GP (very nice and helpful as he is) was still working on the 3-4 months guidance and was surprised that my LO wasn't on solids already at 17 weeks.

The trouble is most doctors know very little about breastfeeding and weaning. I think I said earlier that at my practise the doctors are advised about these things by the head hv. The same woman had never heard of leaving it to six months and that was only a couple of years ago.
Naturally I complained to my health trust who said that unless they go on specific courses or research it themselves they wouldnt know.

If you go on to the health visitors/midwives website (cant remember what it is called ) it did explain about weaning at six months. Shame so many of them dont read it.

I love it when people say their hv supported them/thought it was the right thing to do. SOmeone said on another thread as a joke that was akin to Gandhi or someone like that saying it was okay!