Mash potato for 5 month old??

[Cunnyfunt18]

Could I mash a potato with ds's formula in to a smooth puree?

@cc4490 that's exactly what we did, started him out with some puree about tea time ish 5/5.30 and then slowly introduced porridge about 9/10ish am and we didn't reduce feeds either and he's a perfectly happy little boy

Do what you want. The idea these days is to be guided by their appetite and not to try and persuade them to eat more than they want. The NHS advice is to move to three meals a day by around 8 to 9 months, if that's something you'd consider bearing in mind.

Defo it's our baby at the end of the day n for now we're keeping it to the small amount of porridge and a puree for dinner then once he's ready again we'll go ahead an up him on to some lunch like carrot sticks apple etc

Oh, the comment about "it ever did me/them any harm" is such a nonsense. Of course there are lots of people who did x/y/z and didn't have any negative consequences. That doesn't change the level of risk. NHS advice is based on research, not just based on trying to annoy parents. The guidelines say never wean before 17 weeks, it's for good sound reasons.

Don't suggest that people should/could wean at 12 weeks just because you apparently haven't suffered any negative consequences.

Aw defo I agree with you there and I understand that some babies have had problems when it comes to eating and sore tummies etc hence why the NHS give out such recommendations

I'm quite sure that the NHS advice we were given 20 years ago was also based on medical research, not plucked out of thin air.

And it won't be long before they will announce the results of further research that supports yet another theory.

Oh goodness. Yes of course advice is always based on current best knowledge. Suggesting that it's ok to ignore things because possibly in the future they might change to match what you want to do is daft and very poor advice.

The current guidelines say around 6 months and when your child is showing the signs of readiness mentioned upthread, and never before 17 weeks. That doesn't seem like a particularly strict or difficult set of guidelines to follow. Starting at 5 months if your child is showing all the signs falls within these guidelines, for example.

We defo waited until he was past 17 weeks n he showed signs of being well ready and everyday he continues to eat as normal and hasn't had any tummy issues or that

Weaning age is simple, whenever the baby can sit up unaided and put food in its mouth then it is ready. Babies vary so I see 6 months as a guideline.

I started weaning ds at almost 17 weeks due to reflux and this was the medical advice from the doctor.

Ds is now 17 months and will eat anything and everything.

I think I gave mashed potato at about 5 1/2 months, used to mix with different veg purées i had made.

If you’re looking for textures, Try sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash and cauliflower/broccoli cheese purées.

Didn't do my Dd any harm. She preferred that to baby rice and baby porridge!

Cheesy mash (using cow's milk, fine to cook with from 6 months) was a favourite with my two.

I started weaning dd at just over 5 months old with puréed carrots, sweet potato and parsnips (which were her favourite). She is 2 now and hates mashed potato!

As I understood the reason weaning is recommended at 6 months is because weaning earlier can lead to problems in adulthood such as IBS or Crohn’s disease. Just because your baby doesn’t have an upset stomach now, doesn’t mean there are not potential negative impacts from early weaning. The guidance is based on research.

Fwiw I chatted to a paediatrician today who said a colleague has seen recent new research on introducing food before 6 mo to help cut back in allergies.

That research is, as far as I can remember, is only applicable to babies with a family history of food allergies and so have a higher than normal risk. The NHS isn't going to be changing the general advice to less than 6 months.

@user1533903238 I was coming on to say that too. If you wean before 6 months and your baby's gut wasn't mature then there is a risk that in adulthood they could get IBS / crohns. But of course there is no way of knowing as a parent whether your baby's gut is mature - it's your choice to make as a parent.

OP can't exactly ungive her baby food, now.

I started DS1 on solids at around 5 months. He was already stealing my food and had started belly crawling everywhere and was beginning to lose weight, as a result.

Ds2, contrast, had no interest until almost 9 months. He was severely developmentally delayed, mind.

Aye I can't exactly stop feeding him how my whole street would hear him haha he's sitting up himself, belly shuffles almost rolling over and I'm convinced he's trying his hardest to say mummy haha

Bizarre first few comments OP! Just ignore them - Some babies are ready at 5 months. The NHS guidelines are guidelines. Take a chill pill guys! The baby is on mashed veg, not burger and peri peri sauce!

Aw the rate he's going he'd give a burger a damn good try haha

As I understood the reason weaning is recommended at 6 months is because weaning earlier can lead to problems in adulthood such as IBS or Crohn’s disease.

No, this is not a correct understanding. The only reason why the weaning guidelines have been changed from 4 months to 6 months is to encourage extended breastfeeding. "Early" weaning post 17 weeks does not create any health risks for the baby (with the exception of a slightly higher risk of minor diarrhoea).

expectingscience.com/2014/11/07/when-is-it-best-to-introduce-solids/
scienceofmom.com/2015/05/14/starting-solids-4-months-6-months-or-somewhere-in-between/

On the other hand, there are a few potential benefits:

• "Early" weaning does improve baby sleep (as evidenced by a recent large study):

www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/babies-fed-solids-earlier-sleep-better/

• There is emerging (albeit inconclusive) evidence that early introduction of solids might reduce risks of allergies later in life:

scienceofmom.com/2016/07/18/the-eat-study-more-food-for-thought-on-earlier-introduction-of-solids-to-prevent-food-allergy/

@Cunnyfunt18 I don't know why you keep justifying why you gave him food before six months - it's perfectly acceptable. Mashed potato is fine - just make it with cows milk and unsalted butter xx

Weaned mine on mash at 17 weeks, never spat any food out. Followed with other veg and avocados. He hated baby rice and ready made baby food. I knew he needed more than just breast milk.All babies are different.

DS weaned at 5 and a half months. We didn’t do mashed food though. Had he had any finger foods yet?
DS loves sticks of steamed sweet potato and butternut squash.