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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

BLW before 6mths!

14 replies

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 11:01

Daft question maybe!

My ds is 20 wks this wk and i was hoping to do baby led weaning. However, i think he seems to displaying signs of being ready to wean. I really did want to hang on and i know he may not need any food but i think he would rather like some!

We have been naughty at times and given him little bits of food off our fingers and he has gone mental for it(sweet stuff so thats probably why) and he stares and stares now at us at the table and makes a chewing motion. Im feeling really mean!

I know its cos i weaning ds1 even before he was 4 mths as were the guideliines back then and he was probably on meat and two veg by now!!

Would it be possible to maybe give hom some little bits(not pureed) at the table with us or should i just hang on?

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Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 11:22

Any thoughts/suggestions anyone?

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witchandchips · 05/02/2008 11:29

There is a school of thought that suggests that if they are developmentally ready to put food in their mouths and chew, then their guts should be able to cope. Seems quite logical to me, so i would see how it goes. I would perhaps steer away from gluten and dairy until the magic six months though

guggie · 05/02/2008 11:34

agree with witch and chips. blw my dd from about 20 weeks with fruit, veg, toast etc.

i think you need to trust your instincts and not a 'one rule fits all' guideline (becase thats all it is - a guideline)

Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 11:35

Thats what i thought. They are all different arent they. Iwas thinking of maybe getting a highchair and just letting him play wioth bit of carrot or fruit. I wasnt planning on giving him a full dinner or anything!

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Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 11:39

Thanks you have reinforced what i was thinking!

I Know some babies arent fussed about food other than milk even at 6mths, but ive a feeling my ds isnt like that! HE s a big lad too(i know that doesnt mean hes ready)and i suspect he will be sitting up very soon, hes almost there.

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ib · 05/02/2008 12:07

I had read in some of the blw literature hat they started giving babies food to play with from 4 months, but that although some put it in their mouths none swallowed it.

So I gave ds a banana at 4.5 months thinking he would play with it but not eat it.

Well the bugger ate the whole thing. I told his ped ge, who phsl, and told me not to believe everything I read!

Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 12:14

Ive got a feeling my ds might eat a whole bunch

That was my plan really just to sit him with us and mess with a bit of food while we eat cos at the moment he stares and looks a bit fed up with his teething ring!

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TinkerbellesMum · 05/02/2008 13:30

Lots of good advice, sounds like you know what to do. If he's ready he will go for it in his own time.

Gill Rapley started her study from four months, none of her babies ate before six months, although some did.

Babies are wired to appreciate taste, they get it in the womb from the amniotic fluid and then they get it through breastmilk if you BF them - even if they are FF they still like tastes - so that is why they will go mad if you offer them tastes of things.

LittleBottle · 05/02/2008 13:43

My DS is 26 weeks today, and has been displaying all the typical weaning signs for about 4 weeks. However, it's only in the last 2 weeks or so that he's actually chewed and swallowed anything - before that he would suck bits of fruit/veg, but not really 'eat' it. I don't think there's any harm in letting your DS experiment, after all if he is ready he'll eat it, and if not then he'll feel 'included' at mealtimes and you'll not feel guilty about not starting weaning yet

AitchTwoOh · 05/02/2008 13:50

there were only very few babies in the Gill Rapley study, it was never quantitative, only observational, so i wouldn't be overly swayed by the numbers etc.
from what i understand of the general weaning research, there's no evidence of actual harm in giving a chid food before 6 months (avoiding gluten etc) but no evidence of good either. so you could definitely save yourself the hassle.
but if the baby seems desperate for it (and if it's not just you getting over-excited ) and can sit up, hold head up etc etc then offering a carrot doesn't seem like a bad idea. if he can't get it to his mouth and eat it, then assume he's not quite ready and try another time.
personally, though, it's something i'd postpone just because as much fun as BLW is, it's a lot more cleaning than with lovely milk.

AitchTwoOh · 05/02/2008 13:51

no evidence between 4 and 6 months, i should perhaps say.

TinkerbellesMum · 05/02/2008 16:15

I think I stopped midsentence! That doesn't make much sense to me. I think I meant to say some did try. As Aitch says, there weren't many babies in the study and there are lots of babies on the different sites that did start before six months.

Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 17:31

Thanks everyone!

Im not desperate to get him weaned, i remember what a mess they make! I think its just i want him included. I dont plan on spooning anything specific into his mouth as such, so if its there and he wants it im sure like you say, he will

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Original poster

carmenelectra · 05/02/2008 17:32

Eat it! Didnt finish sentence

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