Weaning at 4 months? Bad idea

[happeemom]

Baby is 4 months, I wasn't planning to start weaning until 6 months as per guidelines

My family and dh family can't wrap their head around the guidelines as it apparently used to be a lot less? Dh family recommended weaning at 8 weeks which is bizzare to me and my mum said 16 weeks

I'm thinking if I did it now would be an awful idea would I be irresponsible? I don't want to wean because of what family's saying but because baby suffers with severe reflux , he also is on 9oz but he's getting to a stage where he would need to be on 10oz he looks for more after feeding (well realistically because of the reflux he doesn't get the full 9)

His hands are never out of his mouth , he eats anything I hand him (teddy's, rattles etc)

Has anyone else weaned at 4 months?

Yea but only after a paediatrician told us to due to reflux, I wouldn't without medical guidance.

Btw if weaning is recommended at 6 months why on some packets it says 4+

Thank you. We've been back & fourth to the gp and health visitor regarding his reflux but they are adamant 6 months! I definitely think it would ease his reflux

@violetcuriosity did you find weaning eased reflux?

Not really, we didn't properly wean her between 4-6months just baby rice twice a day to try and anchor some of the milk down. The reflux only really stopped when she turned 6m and could sit up.

Because they want to sell more baby rice of course 😁

I had a baby with really bad reflux so I do sympathise. I was really hoping weaning would help but it didn’t.

They eat such tiny amounts at first that it didn’t have an impact on how much milk he still needed and how much he brought back up.

The most important thing is whether he can sit up by himself and has good control of his head - I.e, it’s not flopping around. That makes it safer to try food.

Ignore any rubbish advice about “he seems interested in food so he’s ready, or he chews his hands so he’s ready”

Some people wean at 4 months, some under the guidance of a doctor/dietitian, others because they can’t get their head around the fact that guidance has changed.

The guidance changed to 6 months in 2003 following research studies, the research was reviewed again in 2018 where the evidence showed it should stay at 6 months m.

Putting hands and toys in mouth isn’t a sign of readiness for weaning.

The best sign of readiness is when they loose the tongue trust reflex. If you were to wean baby now they would instinctively try to push the food back out of their mouth to avoid swallowing it. It’s a pretty clean sign that their body isn’t ready for it.

If your gp and health visitor both say you should wait for 6 months they clearly don’t thing the reflux is severe enough for the benefits of early weaning to outweigh the risks.

I was given the go ahead to wean at 4 months due to the fact my little one wasn’t a fan of milk but I decided to wait until 5 months because I just didn’t feel he was ready at 17 weeks - plus he was a good weight so I wasn’t concerned.

I tried at 5 months and he wasn’t that interested, it was at the 6 month mark he started to be interested in his foods.

Weaning helped my sons reflux, and weirdly he now enjoys his milk a lot better and doesn’t have as many bottles as he has larger feeds now.

I would say if you can try and wait until the 5 month mark. Maybe 20 weeks

The guidance changed based on updated and extensive research, as it has done for alcohol, tobacco, safe sleeping, etc.

As per PP, take medical guidance not what your family remembers was done. I bet they can remember drink-driving and no seat belts too.

We where advised to wean at 17 weeks due to reflux. I held off till about week 20 and we definitely got some relief from the reflux with the solid foods.

Can he sit up more or less unaided? How is his tongue thrust? If he can't sit up on his own then it's a real choking hazard. It is unlikely that it will help his reflux although I understand the desperation to help. I would wait until 6 months, the evidence is solid.

Ask your family how they used to put babies down to sleep - chances are they were on their tummies in cots, maybe with cot bumpers around, maybe in a room by themselves from the start or a few months in.

Subsequent research found all those things increase risk of cot death (SIDS). They don't make it a certainty, chances are a baby put down to sleep like that would be fine. But overall, more babies die like that so they advice to everyone is to avoid that because risk is reduced without things they can choke on, being on their backs, and having people around. In 1989 1,500 babies died of SIDS in the UK, now it's more like 300 https://rotherhamscb.proceduresonline.com/pdfs/lullaby_trust_evidence_base.pdf

Same with food. There obviously isn't anything magic that happens the day a baby turns 6 months, but on balance, looking at all the research, the risk of adverse things like allergies and intolerances and choking suggest that is the optimum. It's a balancing act as food too early increases risk of allergy, but eating also helps with oral development etc so they have to agree on a point to recommend to everyone. It's not that clear cut as there are pros and cons, other countries have different recommendations.

In some circumstances eg where babies aren't getting the right nutrition because of some other problem, they might be advised to eat earlier. The packets say 4 months because it's not regulated and the manufacturers can say that to increase their sales.

All babies chew their fingers. If a baby eats well and looks hungry, mothers say they should be weaned early - they say the same if a baby doesn't feed well and they think they need to eat to help with weight gain.

Basically I think you should follow current guidance, which is better informed than your family (even if well intentioned) and hold off until closer to the 6 month mark. And then please give proper food not processed stuff like baby rice.

I mean, my gran used to give brandy and water to help with teething. My mum used to crumble biscuits into tea and give that in a bottle. All seemed ok at the time!

The guidance is based on the WHO guidance that babies should be given absolutely nothing else other than breast milk for the first six months.

ONLY breast milk.

If you have already formula fed your child, then you have already technically gone against the advice. Nobody mentions this bit.

I say it with absolutely no judgement. I had two formula fed children who both had reflux and who were both weaned at 16 weeks. And yes, weaning helped them both because they were both allergic to cows milk.

It's been 6 months for the whole 26 years of my parenting life. And no-it doesn't "keep changing."

There is no solid evidence that weaning earlier than 6 months helps with reflux. The theory is that the heavier food helps keep milk down etc. However, they don't actually eat enough to allow that to happen. I'd wait until 6 months and allow baby's gut to mature. Reflux tends to get a bit better around 6 months when their sphinters strengthen so the end of that is hopefully in sight anyway.

I did with my 17 year old as advised by the HV because he didn't sleep. He wasn't ready and it was an absolute nightmare. It was a seriously messy business as most of what I fed him went over him, me or both as he still had his tongue thrust reflex. He couldn't sit in a high chair. In laws were convinced that because I was weaning that meant they could feed him mashed potatoes and gravy and I was being mean for not letting them. When he was 6 months old he could sit in a high chair and we started doing baby led weaning (although it was just called finger foods then). It was so much easier.

Is the 9oz at once? That’s a massive feed for a baby with reflux. Ds had reflux and didn’t have any feeds bigger than 4oz for months. DD (nearly 5oz) isn’t refluxy but has 4-5oz feeds. Could you try smaller feeds more frequently? I know it’s a pain but it is only for a few months.

^ this. Seriously the guidelines are there as it's best for baby. I sympathise as I've had two reflux baby myself but if they are gaining weight it's still best to wait till 6 months.

"The guidance changed to 6 months in 2003 following research studies, the research was reviewed again in 2018 where the evidence showed it should stay at 6 months m."

It was no earlier than 4, preferably 6, months in 1996.....

It always baffles me when this topic comes up and the baby food companies have so much to answer for.

Why on earth would a small baby with reflux suddenly be cured through the addition of a spoon or two of an Ella pouch of pureed carrots?!

I know it's hard when there is conflicting advice from those around you but stick with the science/research - wait until 6 months and then start introducing family foods, either blended or safely served as per BLW.

Lots of our parents smoked in our presence (or even during pregnancy) back in the day but you never see anyone questioning why we don't still do that!