17 weeks weaning advice please!

[Xmasbaby2012]

Hi, I am going to start weaning my son next week, he will be 17 weeks so starting early and will be purees. It seems 100 years ago since I last did it but am looking back through all the books and feel fine about the recipes. My question is, with him starting a bit younger, should i still be offering him cooled boiled water with meals?

Thanks!

Or just don't start early?

I think I'd be concerned about milk intake dropping considerably if water was given so I'd stick to milk. In fact i would offer the full milk feed then try purée following that, so as not to fill them up with low calorie food rather than high calorie milk.

Is there a particular reason you've chosen to wean so early?

Is there any reason you're starting him early? Not judging just interested.

Hi, thank you for lack of judgement! Weaning early was never the plan for us but have good reason! My eldest has a string of food allergies which we started to discover at 6 months when he started on solids. Because of the family history we have had the little one allergy tested this week and he passed, such a relief!! I thought that would be it but the immunology consultant has set us off on a plan to train his immune system and prevent him developing any allergies. Part of the plan is putting him on a special formula but she also said we had to start weaning immediately with some special additions to his food all to help him. I was gobsmacked at the advice but am so happy that we are working to prevent him having A&E trips and missing out on eating what his peers do. So all for good reason. Just thought I would have longer to prep for this stage!!

There's actually some really good emerging evidence that weaning early (from 4 months) reduces allergies. In fact, it seems likely that the official guidelines will change to reflect this, as they already have in some other countries. So it's not a completely bonkers plan OP! We weaned at 20 weeks, partly because of the research and also due to milk refusal and reflux. It was actually really easy. We started off with single veg and fruit purees and moved on pretty rapidly to lightly mashed meals including meat and fish. From 6 months we introduced finger foods alongside spoon feeding then gradually increased the lumpiness of the food. I found the Ikea hichair with the inflatable insert great for keeping him in a good upright position.

Sounds like you have proper medical support on everything so sounds good. For most fruit veg purées they are quite watery; to be honest, prob won't need water with those. And in the autumn winter (in the uk??) I would suspect dehydration not likely to be an issue so milk instead is prob better choice -- whatever the normal milk. If it were summer, offering boiled cooled water in sippy cup may be sensible. You can start introducing the cup in a few months anyway, as it's useful to have them used to taking water from that and a good skill for them to learn as different from bottle or breast. Good luck with it all! Has dr given a schedule with all the suggestions for what allergens to introduce and when?