It's not rocket science - "it may cause harm to wean early, it does no harm to leave it till 6m" - WHY do people still want to shovel baby rice in at 12 weeks (or earlier)?

[hunkermunker]

I have come up with some ideas as to why people wean early:

they have competitive baby syndrome and are annoyed someone else's baby rolled first, so they want to get theirs onto steak and chips via baby rice and one fruit or veg a week for months

Well, an idea. Any more?

deegwart..your children don't have any problems, fine for you, however, it could be a matter of 'yet' though..., how will you feel then?

NOt wishing your children any harm or anything...was just a rethorical question...

I owuld have thought their little tummys would still be very sensitive at 12 weeks

No I'm sorry I was weaned around the same time - no problems, kids no problems, dh same no problems, nephews no problems. I think this thread is really confrontational.

Some children get allergies, some intolerances, some people develop crohns, it happens, to BLAME it on something that happened when they were a baby to me is plain DAFT.

We live in a society that there has to be blame, or a reason. Life just happens, bad things happen to good people, without there always being a reason.

deegwart...so, how do you explain then the research away that clearly shows that until they reach around 6 month the Baby's gut isn't ready and will leak, etc...? All made up?

Hatrick - how do you know it was attributable to early weaning though? Given that Deegward and co haven't got IBS from being weaned at 12 weeks?

It Leaks?

yep, IBS too. no idea what caused it, but i was weaned at a month or something. if there is a link, i'm not about to risk it.

but what f new reseacrh comes along, like for example bread causes IBS. Will you give that up and insist your children do too 'just in case'?

Isn't this an impossible thing to either prove or disprove?

You can say "Didn't do me / my dd / my ds any harm" until the cows come home, but it is logically impossible to compare your experience of weaning as it actually is, (either how your own parents weaned you, or how you are weaning your baby) with what it could have been if you had done xyz differently. We'd have to have parallel universes at our disposal in order to make genuine comparisons between the difference between weaning the same child at 3, 4, 6 or 9 months, all other factors eg where you live, cleaning products used, mother's own diet etc . (that would be so cool, tho, eh?! )

I have crohns - it is impossible for me to tell if this were to do with when I was weaned as a baby, or the milk I drink most days, or the 'fridge theory' that hasn't been mentioned yet, or some lost genetic link that no-one could ever tell for sure as Crohn's was only identified and named about 80 yrs ago I think (I may be wrong there but I know it was comparitively recently).

So............the moral of the story is we do our best, we listen to the best advice at the time from the most trusted sources and if we have an ounce of common sense we follow it!

Roseylea - surely it's pretty easy to tell if it's the milk you drink most days? Give up for a wee while?!!

leak is maybe not the correct way...but, until the gut is ready to actuyally digest solid food things could end up int eh bloodstream that shouldn't...
not explaining this very well, sorry!
It's not meant in a way of a big leakage of intestinal fluid leaking into the tummy cavity or anything like that...

what's the fridge theory, rosey?

Not saying that the research is made up, but until recently this was the norm in this country, so why hasn't eveyone got IBS?!

If it causes IBS everyone who was weaned before 6 mths should have it. Or could it be that some people are just susceptable (sp) to it and weaning after 6mths lowers their chance of it. This is not the same as weaning before 6mths causing it.

I'm sorry baby guts leaking?!!! Well my two must have leaked quietly and painlessly, as they both tucked into their food with gusto!

Hatrick - fair comment

what is "fridge theroy"
[blond emoticon]

I was about to ask the same

Walking away, done the damage now to my children as you would all say, so I'll just have to wait and see.

deegward, no one is claiming though that everyone is gonna get ill...jus tthat until teh gut is ready the risk is higher by quite a bit...so, why take th risk?
WHO have so many sources and look at all sorts of studies from different countrys, etc...and then they work out the statistics...surely they are more then capable of doing that, and therefore, why would I, as a mom want to ignore the best advice at this time?
I have no problem if new research will show new things and will make them change guidelines, I still will know that I did my best in trying to avoid my child to come to possible harm. I can't blame myself for not knowing what they find out in the future, but I could balme myself if my child devellopes a diseas that I could have avoided by simply following the guidelines , that make an incredible amount of sense to me.

where's hunker?

Compo - oh that it were that easy! (tried that lots of times, no obvious benefit)

The fridge theory is that the upsurge in cases of Crohn's has been since the 1950s when we all started buying fridges. Before then people shopped for and ate food freshly most days, before nasty bacteria had had the chance to mutliply too much. Nowadays it languishes in the fridge for a week looking fresh but developing low-level bacteria, and to most people no probs, but to some susceptible souls those bacteria are too much for the gut to cope with... It is just a theory but it's an interesting one!

done a runner?...or maybe she ran to hard against that brickwall and is out cold...?