Starting weaning on holiday advice please!

[finland]

Would appreciate advice on when to start weaning for DH who has just turned 5 months. Ideally would like to wait till he is 6 months but this falls during our holiday. If I wait till after we come back our DS will be over 6 and half months old which to me seems a bit late. Should I 1.start weaning on holiday ( we are in a villa in south spain) 2. Start weaning before he is 6 months old and get it established to some degree before we go or 3. Wait till we come back
I am concerned if I start weaning on holiday in case he gets some kind of reaction or seriously chokes needing medical attention and we are in unfamiliary country and dont speak the language. But maybe I am worrying needlessly and starting weaning is actually not that difficult...Incidentally he is currently sleeping through the night,weight just under 50th centile but constant, taking 3 hourly breast feeds, not demanding any more frequent feeding on top of this although is showing interest in food.
Hope this is not too confusing!

I would be led by him, if he is happy enough with just milk then wait until you get home from your holiday. 6.5 months is not too late at all, especially as at this age food is more for tastes and textures than for nutrition anyway.

i would wait till your back purely for convenience, 6.5 months may seem like a long time but really its just a few days

are you planning to blw or puree ?

if you start mild puree on hols ie veg, then he's unlikely to have an allegic reaction. if blwing, you can do it anywhere but just watch for choking. weaning is very very easy, especially if you blw !

Personally, my DS started weaning at 24 weeks. (blw). However in hindsight, it was too early and if i could turn back the clock I would probably have started him at about 7-7.5 months. Is he showing any interest now ?

If you decide to wait, he will be absolutely FINE on breastmilk while you're away !

6.5mo isn't late at all. They only take a few tastes during the first weeks anyway. Would just enjoy the convenience of exclusive breastfeeding on holiday and start offering food when you get back.

I would rather wait an extra 2 weeks than start early. I started at 6 months and DS hardly ate anything to start with anyway. Didn't really get into food until around 9-10 months.

Enjoy your holiday

I didn't wean dd3 until she was closer to 8 months {shock] and she's fine. loves her food, eats all sorts of things her older sisters won't , she's nearly 2.

I was getting a bit stressed about weaning, started yesterday @ exactly 6MO and it's fine and quite fun. If I were you, if you've got self-catering facilities, I'd take a bag of baby rice and maybe buy some carrots/fruit out there. If you're spending a lot of time at the villa, it will be nice for your DH and family to share in the fun and get some good photos. Alternatively, if DS is not ready, no biggie as all you've packed is a spoon, bowl and bag of rice.

Thanks, I am veering towards waiting till we get back but as SJS suggested to take some utentils and baby rice with us. What confuses me is that at DSs 3 month check the health visitor ( and she seemed knowledgable) said I could start anytime after 4 months ( and that is without me even raising the subject).

Also if I start DH weaning at 6.5 months does that mean I have to introduce different foods to him quite quickly rather than taking it at a slow pace?

no, still take it slowly introducing new foods. You still have plenty of time. Neither of my dds were properly weaned until 8-9 months, and they're fine.

Your HV was wrong. The department of health (and international health bodies) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. They know that babies become ready for solid food sometime between 4 and 6 months, but there is no way of telling whether your baby is a 4 month or 6 month one - so as there is no harm at all in waiting till 6 months, thats the best thing to do. Below 4 months there are very definate risks to your baby.

Baby rice is foul and unecessary when weaning at 6 months. Just plonk some of whatever you are having in from of your LO, and let them get on with it themselves. Much easier than mushing things up.

HV is talking bobbins re 4m - the guideline is 6m and she should know that.

If you start at 6.5m you don't have to introduce new foods more quickly, but you can if you want to. Take it at whatever pace ds wants, and don't be surprised if he's not interested.

Wht not take advantage of the holiday environemtn and put some foods in front of him while you eat and see what happens? You might be having longer and more relaxed meals anyway, so could be a good time to see if he's interested in food. I wouldn't bother with baby rice - nasty stuff

If you are worried about choking, then check out what to do here:

www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/safety/chokingguide/

it is really unlikely that he will choke, babies are pretty good at managing food when they are ready

Hi Finland. Seems your HV has been giving bad advice
The research behind weaning shows that when born baby's stomachs are permeable, to allow them to absorb the milk easier to digest. Only milk should be entering the stomach when it is permeable to avoid possible allergies or stomach/digestion problems in later life.

Somewhere between 17-26 weeks the stomach becomes unpermeable, and 'seals' which is when the baby is physically internally ready for solids. Unfortunately we can't tell which baby is ready at 17 weeks, and which is ready at 26! That's why they say to wait.

It has been suggested though, that once your baby can sit unaided, grab food, put it in their mouth, chew and swallow that they are likely to be ready internally, until then nature wouldn't allow us to be developmentally ready and we would fail at some point in the process. This normally occurs at some point around 6 months and because of this, there is no need for purees. Pureeing food is purely because babies do not have the ability to chew before this time.

Please try not to worry about starting 'late', any time from 26 weeks will be fine, I'd either start on holiday, just giving baby some carrot or something, or wait til you get back.

Have you had a look at Aitch's blog?