Weaning at 4 months

[Motherhippo]

Hi all,
My DD was 4 months old on Xmas day. Me and my partner have been toying with the idea of weaning. I currently exclusively BF. I was going to start with the jars (purée) and move onto solids (Baby led weaning) when she's 6 months old. I know the NHS guidelines say wait until 6 months. But just wanted any (constructive) advice/opinions on early weaning. LO has excellent neck control, and can sit up when supported. She is big for her age... 98 percentile at her last weigh in a month ago (due to be weighed again on Tuesday). She's a hungry baby and think she'd enjoy moving on to something more tasty than milk. My mum started weaning my brother at 8 weeks, and he's turned out fine. I know opinions are mixed but let me know what you think.
TIA

I just don't see the point in starting earlier. 8 weeks is ridiculously young to wean. Even at the earliest it's not supposed to be before 17 weeks.

I was also tempted to start weaning earlier. I have a chubby, strong baby with a keen interest in what we eat. However, bear in mind that babies stomachs are still not mature enough at 4 mo. I was afraid of intolerances, wind, poo problems, restlessness, rashes, etc etc so I decided to wait until baby matures a little more. Why rush? My dd is quite happy with milk at the moment so I decided not to disturb her stomach just yet.

I started weaning my (98th centile) son at four months which was the advice of the day (he's 18 now, mind). I mixed organic baby rice with breast milk so it was gentle on his tummy and he seemed to love it and also slept better. A couple of years earlier, the recommended weaning age was just three months. Recommendations can change over time.

Why don't you do some reading before making such a big decision to go against all current health recommendations for babies? We found the book Baby Food Matters was really enlightening, gave science based reasoning for various decisions that we made around weaning such as waiting until 6 months, BLW, veggies only for the first 2 weeks. Once you're done the research, you'll be in a position to make an informed decision one way or the other.

Recommendations are always changing due to health care professionals knowledge base widening. At the moment it’s 6 months as there’s lots of ew discoveries around gut health been made, babies guts just aren’t developed enough until around 6 months. Is baby content between breastfeeds?

It doesn't change all the time. It's been 6 months since 2003 and before that was 4-6 months. I weaned dd at 17 weeks and in hindsight it was too soon. With ds I waited until 23 weeks ish

Why do you want to wean early? As others have said, their gut isn’t developed sufficiently before approx 6 months, so it is best to wait.

I have an EBF massive baby who was also interested in food very early on. However, he also had a cows milk protein allergy (as did my daughter). Both of them couldn't handle me having dairy (or soya) until they started weaning at 6 months.

For me, this backed up the science that guts don't mature enough by 4 months and that 6 months is best.

I know 'they sleep better' is really tempting. If it helps, my son eats everything and still doesn't sleep well so it's not always good news! 😂

I weaned at 6 months but avoided jars due to the high levels of sugars!

Yep - a really good question is why do you want to to it now?

Lots of people use the big baby argument but it's not logical that extra calories come from solids; they have such small quantities initially that nutritionally and calorically it will not be as much as milk.

First steps nutrition have published a great evidence based guide about commercial baby food. Why on earth anyone would choose to give it to a baby is beyond me.

Milk has far more calories than the small amounts of solids a baby that age will ingest. Unless medically advised for severe reflux or another health issue, I don't see the point. I think a couple of weeks early is no big deal, we started giving DD the odd bit when she was about 5.5 months, but 4 months is too early when there's no real reason for it IMO.

Why do you want to do it early?

Also I don't know what's in the jars. Ella's Kitchen/Babease pouches etc. at least have no added nasties and are just fruit and veg, but everything kind of tastes the same. Although the Babease ones do have quite interesting flavours - their Keralan vegetable curry one smells really good! But check the ingredients or better still just do your own. We use the fruit pouches for out and about as they're quite handy.

Hi op, what makes you think that milk isn’t enough? It’s designed for babies, nutritionally dense, full of fat, proteins, vitamins and minerals. If you’re breastfeeding then it has even more. A bit of puréed veg isn’t going to fill your baby up more than milk. Wait till 6 months and your baby will be best placed to eat and digest food. I’d trust that the guidelines are in place for a reason and unless you’ve been advised early weaning by a doctor, don't do it.

Incidentally, my mum smoked through her pregnancies because it was the 80s. My brother and I also slept on our fronts, and both of are us are ok, but it doesn’t mean it’s something I’d do with my babies. I’m being crass, but I trust the most up to date advice to be the best we have to offer.

8 weeks is ridiculously young to wean. Even at the earliest it's not supposed to be before 17 weeks

The OP hasn't mentioned 8 weeks.

DS was weaned at 17 weeks but that was 18 years ago,I'm not sure what is do now tbh, if your baby is doing fine and gaining weight is probably leave it a bit.

O gosh 4 months is to early, there is really no need to start now, baby is getting what she needs with milk at the moment. And blw is fantastic btw i waited with all of mine till they were 6 months ( or just before ...like a week ) and started straight away with it... also the jar food is bloody crap.

( I don't mean to sound rude)

OP mentioned her mum had weaned at 8 weeks so that's why I made that comment.

OP mentioned her mum had weaned at 8 weeks so that's why I made that comment

That'll teach me to skim read, sorry!

I remember being really excited to wean my twins when they came up to six months, and conversely dreading it with my third baby. When it’s your first you don’t realise that weaning is just another thing to do: you’ve got to prepare the food (I was never happy to use jars or pouches), do the feeding, clean up afterwards, and you have to start thinking so much more about what to do if you’ll be out over a mealtime and what the baby will eat. It’s a big change, particularly when you’ve been enjoying the convenience of exclusively breastfeeding.

If you’re keen to think about weaning now, I’d take the opportunity to prepare. Read some books, do some batch cooking, and generally get ready. I always think it’s useful to have pots of blended veggie tomato sauce and cheese sauce, which I kept in the freezer for quick, healthy meals. Make that the focus of your energy for now, and save yourself the effort of weaning until you really need to start. Six months will come round so quickly.

Op it's not about whether your seeing physical signs of baby being ready, how do you know their gut is matured enough? You don't which is why the guidelines are 6 months. They don't get a lot of calories from solids either so just increase milk intake if you think they aren't currently satisfied. Also when you do wean, don't use jars. It's so much better to make your own.

4 months is the recommended guideline in the US, Australia, Canada and new Zealand. There is some research that suggests the rise in allergies is due to delays in introducing allergens into children's diets so late.

We weaned our DD at 4 months because she had bad reflux, and it vastly improved things. If you think the baby is ready to try solid foods then crack on. It is the recommended age in the other i5 countries.

I don't really see the point myself - the tiny amount of purée they'll take in at first won't fill them up any more, and risks giving them digestive problems. My baby was previously sleeping through every night (from about 12 weeks to 6 months)... when we started weaning that stopped, he woke up multiple times a night farting and in pain. It calmed down after a couple of months and he's fine now at 10 months, but it was a real shock to the system!

Also it is a real hassle once you get past the initial veg/fruit purée stage. Having to think of three meals a day, feed them, clear up, and usually change them, is very wearing! It makes leaving the house much harder too.

I use a mix of homemade stuff and pouches (actually more finger foods than anything now he's older and wants to feed himself), but a pp is right, they do all taste kind of the same.

Weaning is a complete ball ache. I'd suggest putting it off for as long as possible.

Recommendations are always changing due to health care professionals knowledge base widening

Incorrect.

It last changed in 2003 to around 6 months.

It is this flippant comment which has so many people weaning from 12 weeks as their parents and grandparents did it.

The advice is simple and has been in place for over 16 years from World Health Organisation (WHO) and recommended by reputable organisations such as the NHS, BDA, NCT and Allergy UK (links below)

Early weaning (eg before 6 months) is advice mainly (loosely) said by baby food organisations (then backed up by parents), who will skim around the 6 month mark, as their food will be marked “4-6 months” to confuse parents and ultimately encourage parents to buy their jars and pouches. They’d ultimately sell more food if the advice was “from 4 months” rather than “around 6 months”. It’s a clever trick.

Who’s advice is best to follow - reputable organisations, or baby food manufacturers?

Here are two good summaries of the history of weaning:

Bounty - summary of weaning through the ages

Irish Times - good one talking about the history and sums up the main advice post 2003

There is some research that suggests the rise in allergies is due to delays in introducing allergens into children's diets so late.

The research you refer to is based on those “high” risk of allergies, eg a mother, father, sibling with an allergy. It specifically states to introduce egg or peanut earlier, not wean earlier too. See further information on allergy concerns from:

BSACI
Allergy UK

OP, do your research like you would have researched your car seat and buggy.

These links are a good start:

British Diet Association
NHS
National Childbirth Trust

Based on all of the above, wait as close to 6 months as you can and please, speak to a health care professional about your baby.

Around 6 months means just that, some babies may be ready earlier than 6 months, and some later, yours may be ready earlier, but there are a number of signs you need to look for, not just relying on her being on a high centile.

You know your baby and your reasons for wanting to start weaning earlier than the advice given in the links I’ve posted. Using the baby’s weight / centile is not a reason to wean earlier, albeit it could be alongside other signs that your baby is showing but talking to a HC professional is your first point of call.