15 WEEKS OLD AND FOOD!

[loopyredangel]

My almost 15 week old has been showing a keen interest in food for a couple of weeks now, putting hands in his mouth when we are eating, leaning forward when we have food, fussing when he sees us eating. So today I tried him with some baby rice pudding and he couldn't get enough he was pushing the spoon to his mouth, and was excited everytime the spoon was approaching his mouth. He now weighs 15lb and has been breastfed to this point and Iwill carry on breasfeeding, but is it okay to carry on feeding him, he woofed down a full tin of the small Heinz Rice Pudding. I fear the health visitors won't be happy, but DS seemed so relieved, content and a happy little boy after he got his food!

That proves the point really. People say oh my baby or 10 year old are fine so therefore it must be fine. The point was that any ill effects may not be seen until well into adulthood. And please dont say all adults are healthy and fine.

Personally I dont get the rush and if in teh future the age is raised and we find out it can be harmful at 6 months then I wont feel guilty just like I dont feel guilty I weaned ds at 4 months many years ago despite there being lots of allergies in the family because I knew no better.

yep, i must say that i never really understand why people are so wedded to the age that they weaned their child.
if by the time i have grandchildren the weaning age has gone back to 8-11mos (as it was across North America at the turn of the century) i sure as hell won't be saying to my dd 'well it didn't do you any harm to be weaned at 6 months'. that's just weird. you do what you do using the guideline that have come into being from the best research at the time, or near as dammit.

You are right that some gut problems get noticed later - but what made you think I would say all adults are healthy? (dont get that at all..)But not all unhealthy adults were weaned early. Not EVERYONE with an allergy was weaned early either. Not everyone with coeliac disease was weaned early.

More importantly, I do not think anyone should blame themselves. Some people are faced with HUGE outside pressures. Not everyone can take a MIL constantly on your back, undermining you - especially as a firsttime mum.

The guideline is not strictly six months - )WHO leaflets 4 - 6). If my baby develops gut problems I do not think I would blame myself.
17 weeks is mentioned in the guidelines too.
I would just think, well our family has no allergies so I weaned at 17 weeks and followed advice from doctor especially as I formula feed - I also had outside pressures - partly due to living in another country. and dont say "oh you should stand your ground", as not everyone can initially, we are all different). Should I have another baby (which I will say definite NO - heaps of stress) then I would be wiser - I would know to follow my babys cues, not feel that what the doctor says I should have to abide by and would stand my ground to the mother in law (be best prepared with what to say ). Some people come out wiser second time round. But no, I will not blame myself, unless there had been a very STRICT NO for 17 weeks.

Thats all I have to say.

Well, you are right. I shouldnt have supposed what you would say. It's just that that's a pretty typical line of early weaners. So sorry for that.

What I have read from the WHO research is 6 months and along the lines of if you are going to wean before this then not before 4 months which is different to saying 4-6 months.

Yes, we are all different. Personally I've always wanted to do it my way rather than give in to the pressure from others. If I had then I'd have bottlefed from the start and not coslept ever but as you say we are all different.

But WHY would people want to wean earlier? I genuinely don't understand this - baby rice has fewer calories than milk, so I don't see why it would fill a baby up. And even if you are feeding fo a lot of hours between 4 and 6 months, it's only a couple of months - what;s that out of a lifetime!

Seeker, it's because it's a braggable 'developmental milestone' enforced by the parents, not the child.

We can't make them sit up / walk / talk etc before they're ready, but we can shovel rice down them and say 'Ooh, he's on solids' anytime we like.

[rant over]

Mrs badger - thank you for your rant. It's what I think too, but was too acared to say!

Not always a braggable thing

One of my DD was a very unsettled baby. The guidelines then were 4 months so I weaned her around that time (Ithink she was around 16/17 weeks) This baby was rolling over and commando crawling at the time, almsot sitting up. She had no routine and would take all different amounts of milk and never seemed to enjoy them, she had started to lose weight

She had her first taste and screamed for more, by the end of the 1st week she was on 3 meals a day, by the end of the second she was having pudding too and eating finger foods herself (veg and fruit) She got into a routine and was drinking milk properly for the first time and started gaining weight. And she was a different kid, so happy

By 6 months, she was crawling and pulling up to standing and eating everything we ate in a BLW way (wasnt invented then) She walked at 8 months

I know she would never have waited til 6 months if she had been born today. This is why I am wary if one size fits all for development. Babies develop at different rates, why not where weaning is concerned

My next child was slower (didn't crawl til a year old) and was perfectly content with BF til after 6 months, so wasn't weaned til then

It is not about bragging at all, it's all about doing right for that baby

bragging??

I have plenty of friends/family who have weaned their children before the recommended age (ranging from a cousin who began to offer her baby solids at 6 weeks!! ) for a variety of reasons. Many of these were totally incomprehensible to me, however i can say with certainty that none of them were bragging ...

I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that i haven't come across that at all, I find that a very odd thing to say

In fact, the only bragging that i have heard is from those that have waited till their baby is 6 months old before they weaned.

So totally the opposite of your experiences here ...

I wouldn't say it was bragging either, but when your baby is screaming for food and is very unsettled, and sitting up on their own and developing quickly and taking the food themselves, then I think you are doing what you can for your baby, granted I made a mistake and tried him too early, but I was trying to do what I could for him, and I will be seeing if he settles after this growth spurt, when he is at the right age for food I may well have to try him with it to ensure he is satisfied and putting weight on and a happier baby.

Can I say this board is NASTY - I wont be coming back. While every one is entitled to their own opinion please be careful not to upset.

I think if you ever read any of my posts, I never actually voted FOR early weaning. I think I made a very concerned post about the fact that I am devastated I weaned early. I am a new mum, was advised by doc 4 months due to bottle feeeding. I wrote I worried about possible damage. The last two nights I have lost sleep reading through this post. My daughter is six months old and very precious to me. I also misinterpreted the guidelines and thought any time after 17 weeks was ok and as my doctor gave the ok went ahead. Then when I read all your posts against early weaning, which make out I am actall FOR early weaning personally, makes me feel sick. Then I get sarcastic comments posted at me :

". Personally I've always wanted to do it my way rather than give in to the pressure from others. If I had then I'd have bottlefed from the start and not coslept ever but as you say we are all different."

I HAD to bottle feed - my baby had severe jaundice and went under phototherapy, was very sleepy two weeks after birth and it never worked. I am cut up about that but NOT my fault. I am made to feel I am to blame if my daughter gets ill and that I should have stood my ground.

I am going to another forum. Sod this. I have been worried SICK.

Goodbye the lot of you.

and Bragging...?

Do I brag my baby eats solids? Two months down the line, she still is not ready. She is NOT guzzling down solids and I cannot say to anyone "Wow I weaned early, she is eating 3 course meals". We struggle with a glass of food at the mo and she cut her milk intake too soon aswell, so we are battling with bottles too.

I think I once commented that some babies maybe ready and IF having to start early, then with baby rice and after the suggested 17 weeks. other than that I have never expressed a personal "FOR" early weaning.

I think you have enjoyed upsetting me the lot of you - knowing that I am worried sick - like I said I will not be back here..I am going to discuss my worries about having early weaned somewhere else. You lot have kept me awake for the past two nights and make me feel like I am a failure as a mum.

Absolutely DISGUSTING and DISGRACEFUL and I type in tears now..

Goodbye mumsnet.com.

I know so many mums that have weaned early for a variety of reasons, but most are very secretive about it because of the crap they get from mums who think they know it all, follow the guidelines religiously, and see everything in black and white. Being a parent, especially first time round, is hard enough without 7 pages of threads condeming you.

All you have succeeded in doing is making sure that mums who wean early or are thinking about it just won't post for fear of the same treatment.

Motherly instinct seems to be out of fashion.

Isn't being a parent hard enough!?!?!?!

I am new to mumsnet and I am shocked at how unpleasant some of the posters can be!

It is fair enough to "direct" someone to the latest research or advice but to reduce someone to tears is terrible......I do hope that no one ever makes you feel like this about a decision that you make during the long journey that is parenthood.

Well, coastalmum, maybe we're having this weaning discussion all wrong.

Maybe, next time someone posts to say "My 14 week baby seem very hungry, should I start solids?" we should all just say "Yes, yes, you do whatever you feel is right".

And if they should come back a bit later, furious, saying "I asked if I should wean my baby and you all said yes, and I've since discovered that there are all these studies and all these experts saying we shouldn't wean too early and now I'm really worried"......

We could reply "Oh yes, of course we knew all that - we just didn't want to hurt your feelings by giving you the information".

...That would be better, would it?

Bekkie32, I don't see anyone attacking you. In fact, I don't see anyone attacking anyone on this thread. You've been arguing quite strongly, and some people are arguing back - do you think you might be reading more into this than the posters intended?

welliemum......

when someone posts a discussion topic then people should just "discuss" much as the title suggests.....rather than jumping on the person, pulling their ideas to pieces and making them feel terrible.

Bekkie32 said that she felt pushed into this by their MIL and Paed. She did not need to be told how she was going to potentially cause respiratory or kidney damage etc...

Bekkie, I'm sorry if I inadvertantly upset you - I was responding to seeker who asked why people might want to wean early.

I gave one reason (from my personal experience) why people might want to.

You, as you reiterated, didn't want to wean early, and I'm sorry you were pressured into it.

No-one has been getting at you personally - in fact as far as I can see there's been nothing but support and sympathy for the awful pressure you were under.

Please think about sticking around .

Bekkie from what I have read of your posts you have been advising early weaning and telling people that they don't need to worry if they feel they need to wean early

I think people have been correcting this misinformation

I haven't seen anyone attacking your or your choices, but disagreeing with the facts and opinions you have given

if you want a forum where everyone just says "fine, do what you like, we don't care and we won't point you in the direction of some more correct information if you seem to have some incorrect ideas" then I would agree that MN is not for you

"After 17 weeks (if you need to) you should be ok with baby rice mixed with breastmilk"

"there are THOUSANDS of people who introduce baby rice at 17 weeks."

"These first foods are not dangerous"

"I do not think you can really go wrong with baby rice and formula. "

these are all posts from you and I think they give incorrect information, which has been corrected / disagreed with by other posters

No I will not be staying.

In one of my final posts I mentioned that I had misinterpreted the guidelines. I have re-read them again. It is not the arguments to that, that has offeneded me.

It was the fact that I had misinterpreted the guidelines from the start and that I had pressure.

When I wrote that, I was still on the belief that ANY tiem after 27 weeks was ok. Until Hercules1 made a post, which corrected my misinterpretation.

What hurts like hell is it is easy to misinterpret the guidelines, WHO leaflets are conflicting, AND I HAD PRESSURE AND INCORRECT ADVICE TO WEAN EARLY.

THE POINT IS IN MY LAST POSTS IS THAT I AM NOW WORRIED SICK ABOUT MY ACTIONS AS A RESULT AND IN MY CASE DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE.

I am not FOR early weaning. Never was, yes, originally I thought 17 weeks was ok. But once I knew it was wrong started to panic as I have ALREADY WEANED. Then I get comments where I feel like I need to blame myself.

OK? Does that clarify?

BYE.

Bekkie - slow down a second. These boards move very fast, and sometimes posts get skipped, which I suspect is what happened to your post where you said how upset you were to have weaned early, and why you had had lots of external pressure to do lots of things. That's very unfortunate, but it's also the nature of an internet forum. I do think MN can be quite "robust" at times, but the reason I like it is that people will say what they believe, instead of simply agreeing and offering the tea and sympathy approach. This can be very hard to take, especially if you are already stressed, but in the long run it is much better.

Take a step back, read other threads, and feel free to feel cross, but please don't dismiss this place out of hand. It can be, and very often is, extraordinarily supportive. Good luck.

b ekkie, i am really sorry you feel like this

there is every chance that your baby will be absolutely fine.

you had pressure to wean early, and found the information confusing and conflicting

you did what you thought was best at the time

like i did when i weaned my son at 5 months, like hercules1 did when she weaned hers at 4 months.. that was the advice we had AT THE TIME.

you have nothing to feel guilty or tearful about, you cannot undo what is done. but no need to get so distressed.

the thing is, anyone can read these weaning threads, someone might have a baby a similar age, and be looking at this thread, but not posting, so you have to give information that is not just directed at the OP and the question origionally asked, and go in to more detail so that people considering weaning at 12 weeks , 14 weeks, or whatever might think twice before adding solids to their baby's diet.

weaning age might change in the future,but i would advise my children when they have children to follow CURRENT information , not do what i did