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Weaning

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

Original poster

Wanted to wait until 6 months and do BLW, but DS seems to want food NOW?!

28 replies

glimmer · 24/04/2008 14:32

I am a first time mum and have to admit I haven't read enough about weaning. I wanted to do BLW at 6 months, but something happened in DS behavior and he seems very eager to start eating solids now (4 months 3 weeks, but born in week 42, so more than 5 momths adjusted). He wants to drink from the cup (and does!!! - EBM and very small amounts of fennel tea) and always grabs my food. If I give him finger-good, he does not move it to his mouth, but he is definitely very interested in the spoon and immediately puts it in his mouth (not just to chedk it out -- he wants to eat from it, e.g. EBM!). He seems to be hungry constantly and is waking up very often during the night to drink.

Now, I am confused as to whether to hold out longer or start to put something mushy in front of him. Could you point me to some sources about this including other threads. I wanted to follow recommendations, but sense that my DS is ready to start on solids.

Insecure, Glimmer

OP posts:
misdee · 24/04/2008 14:36

wakign durin the night is not a sign of wanting to be weaned, its a growth spurt

PinkTulips · 24/04/2008 14:41

myself and Wallace both had baies start of their own accord at 5 months and if the baby is physically able and interested it is ok

HOWEVER if he's not moving the food to his mouth or even trying to eat it then its probably not the food he wants but just something to play with, babies at this age do become very interested in interacting with their surrounding. wanting to touch food is not the same as being ready to eat it.

also adjusted age or not he is still a bit on the young side, needing more BM doesn't necessarily mean they need solids as it's a long time before they gain much in the way of nutrition form solids and BM will be far more beneficial if he's going through a growth spurt.

martini82 · 24/04/2008 14:51

i went against all of what the books and midwifes say and fed ds1 at 1 month he was like a duck to water and was a v hungry baby. ds2 tried at 6 weeks but wasn't interested so waited till he was 4 months just giving him odd bits now and again ds2 is now 8 months and has 3 small meals a day! never did them any harm i'd say go with your gut instinct no one ever has a text book baby!

ImightbeLulumama · 24/04/2008 14:55

you started babies on solids at one month martini?? there are very compelling reasons that babies should not have anything other than milk for around 6 months. you cannot see inside your babies gut to see if it is ready for food

glimmer, if he is not putting the food in his mouth , then leave it

if he still has the tongue thrust reflex and cannot sit very well,, then he is probably not ready. if he is hungry. then a milk feed is mor filling and calorific than food at this age.

www.kellymom.com has some great info about signs and myths regarding readiness to wean

martini82 · 24/04/2008 15:01

it was only a small amount of baby rice or baby rusk mixed with his milk ds1 was very advanced he was rolling over at 1 month and took first steps at 7.5 months

misdee · 24/04/2008 15:02

so did dd2 but i still waited til 5months (hv was telling me 4months).

ImightbeLulumama · 24/04/2008 15:03

wow, still very early, i am amazed that you went against all teh advice.. you know it can lead to more likelihood of food allergy and intolerances.. am just interested to know why you did it when it is against all current and recent advice? babies take 9 months to develop in the womb, so why 4 weeks later would they need food? it jsut seems so counter intuitive to me.

martini82 · 24/04/2008 15:09

my mum had always fed us (me and 4 others) early and it did us no harm my brother was only 10 days when he was given solids.

when i told my hv that i had fed him solids he said as long as ds is not crying (in pain), and is pooing ok its obviously right for him.

fleximum · 24/04/2008 15:13

My ds1 did everything you are describing your baby doing and when increasing daytime milk feeds did nothing to help him sleep through I started solids. At 5 months. He took to it like a duck to water. However, ds2 did similar things at 5 months but we went on to have about 2 weeks of him wanting to eat but still had tongue thrust reflex so frustration all round. he suddenly lost this at 6 months and since has been eating really well. I know all guidelines say 6 months but I think you have to apply a little common sense if your baby is making it as clear as they can that milk just isn't cuttung it any more.

MrsBadger · 24/04/2008 15:16

if he can't can't sit up in a highchair and can't move finger food to his mouth then I wouldn't do it, sorry

I suppose you could load the spoon with baby rice and hand it to him but I really can't see why he'd want to eat a spoon and not a carrot stick if both are offered.

tiktok · 24/04/2008 15:18

at giving a baby of a month old anything but milk.

I really, really hope no one here reads this and thinks it's ok...and yes, I am being critical. There is plenty of evidence to show this can be harmful.

glimmer - your baby is not showing signs of anything except being 4-5 mths old It's not a huge big deal, in my view, to wean a bit before 6 mths, as long as it is not too soon before, but babies don't on the whole actually need it.

ImightbeLulumama · 24/04/2008 15:21

am amazed your HV said it was ok, she is going against everything the department of health, NHS and world health organisation are advising.

just becasue your mum did it 20 years ago, does not mean it was right then and definitely not right now

why would a 10 day old new born need food

am genuinely flabbergasted

and amazed you would go against the advice of midwives and the books....

claireybee · 24/04/2008 15:27

martini.

martini82 · 24/04/2008 16:50

i'm not saying its right for every one just saying its what i did a worked fine for my ds.

Original poster
glimmer · 24/04/2008 17:15

Wow I am really impressed by all the responses I got! Thank you - controversial or not! I also should have given more info. DS is BF, could sit up in a high chair (we don't have one at the moment - DS sits normally on my lap). Well, I think he has lost his tongue trust reflex. Is there a way finding out other than putting some mashed food on a spoon? As far as I can tell he eats liquids from the spoon without thrust. I am a big believer in baby-led anything, really, so always intended to do baby-led weaning. He clearly wanted to drink from the cup and eat from the spoon. It would have never crossed my mind, to offer them IFSWIM. There seems to be no harm in waiting longer and upping the BM. But if he grabs food from my plate and puts it in his mouth, should I just allow it (as long as it has no gluten?)

OP posts:
Original poster
glimmer · 24/04/2008 17:23

Thanks for the link to Kellymom. Love the idea of a momsicle (icecube of breastmilk) or having him use a spoon to serve himself breastmilk (although I have a hard time expressing)...

OP posts:
Stefka · 24/04/2008 17:59

I started at five months and really regret it. I would try and hold on if you can.

hanaflower · 24/04/2008 18:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tiktok · 24/04/2008 18:37
Hmm
ImightbeLulumama · 24/04/2008 19:13

yes to your last question glimmer, if he can get food to his mouth, chew and swallow and does not push it out with his tongue
but at this age, milk then food, and milk is the main source of nutrition for the fist year anyway. and look at aitch's www.babyledweaning.com site too.

hanaflower, i also noticed that on martini's profile and did also wonder if that might be connected to such early weaning.

AitchTwoOhelicopterfraek · 24/04/2008 19:41

i'd go along with that, mrsb, tiktok, lulu et al, if he can't get food to his mouth then imo leave it. he does sound like he'll get the picture quickly though, so maybe just offer finger food (no gluten, stick to steamed veg perhaps) and see how quickly he learns? for me, the logic follows that if they can do it on the outside, as it were, they are most likely ready on the inside.

and with the greatest respect at the food sensitivities and early weaning doing no harm. how can you know? all we're/the WHO etc are trying to do is prevent harm by being cautious.

StealthPolarBear · 24/04/2008 19:49

martini your HV needs retraining at the very least.
in answer to the OP I started DS at 23 weeks but it was BLW and it literally was BL - we put vegetable sticks in front of him and left him to it.
Even so, my advice would be to wait until 6 months if possible, and if I had another baby I would aim for 26 weeks again

StealthPolarBear · 24/04/2008 19:50

When I said "left him to it" I don't mean we left the room
I mean we didn't feed him - some nights he sat there and didn't touch the food, in which case he had eaten nothing.

martini82 · 24/04/2008 20:51

yes my son does have food intolerances but this is due to him having genetic ADHD and it is all the usual things that trigger childen with this condition.

chankins · 24/04/2008 21:04

I was pretty sure my ds was wanting solids from about 3 mo as he tried to grab our spoons, etc, stared at all food practically slavering - but I held out until he was 5 mo, then started letting him suck things from my hand, ie juice from an apple, or cucumber, this seemed to keep him going a bit longer, and finally one week before he was 6 mo I started plonking finger foods in front of him on the high chair tray and let him get on with it.

I didn't do this with my dds, they were puree fed at 4 mo, as advice was different then.

Am SO glad I waited with ds, it has made the world of difference to his appetite and his relationnship with food. He loves is and will eat anything you put in front of him. He had never choked, rarely even gagged, and this must be because at 6 mo he was physically ready for food. He seems to take such delight in his food, and will sit in high chair for ages, gobbling away !

Also, in relation to allergies, eczema and asthma run in my family, and the dds got bad eczema almost as soon as starting solids. Dd2 still suffers terrible now.

Ds got a tad when started solids at 6 mo, and then it disappeared , and now he is almost one (in two weeks time sob where did that time go ??!) he has no sign of eczema or dry skin in the slightest. Phew, big relief there !

Just wanted to share my feelings on this subject. I suggest blw to friends etc but they all look at me like I am mad !