What advice did your HV give you wrt weaning?

[VictorianSqualorSquelchNSquirm]

Me again, lol. Sorry!

Just been to see my HV (one who I considered quite clued up) and I was a bit about some of the weaning advice she gave me, generally pretty good, but there were some things she neglected to tell me and now I'm writing something about it on the blog, so good or bad (and I don't need to know if you followed it or anything, just what they said) what advice were you given about weaning?
Also, what year was it?

Mine didn't really, when I said I was doing BLW she was really excited as she'd heard about it at a conference and loved the idea but hadn't had chance to look into it so I gave her loads of print outs I had prepared for opposition.

HV said don't wean before 6 months and then do BLW, and really go for it! Continue BFing.

Don't bother with puree or baby rice, baby should eat what you're eating, so long as its healthy and nutritious.

26 weeks if you can manage it. If not 4 months is fine. Pureed carrot, then mashed, then little lumps etc etc. When asked about BLW - ooh, not sure about that, best start with purees.

Then when dd was 28 weeks and I took her to be weighed, apparently I was giving her too much milk, it should be cut right back and she should be on three solid meals a day plus puddings. She'd only been weaned for 2 weeks

I've had a bit of a mixed experience:

This may not seem relevent but first, absolutely brilliant, HV I saw explained that fist sucking, crying etc could be signs of tiredness not hunger. I think if you dug a bit deeper you'd probably find that a lot of the people on bounty with babies that are always hungry are misreading hunger/ tiredness signs. She really helped me read the signs right and since then I've heard her telling someone with a 23 week old to wait a few weeks.

Other HV said because DS was big he would probably not be able to hold out til 6 months but to take it slow if I did start early. He'd just gone from sleeping through to waking up twice a night (16 weeks), when I asked about this she said he'd probably be doing it until he was on 'big boy food'. Must have been a growth spurt as he's sleeping through again now with no solid food.

Feel free to reproduce

In 2006, DS1 was weaned at 18 weeks on the advice of my hv because his 16 week growth spurt was still ongoing after 2 weeks and he was a big lad on 98th percentile (bf) and had never slept through. Sadly I took her advice. We did start slowly and he had no meat/fish or gluten until 6 months but now I wish I'd looked it all up for myself and not just taken her word for it. There doesn't seem to have been any ill effects (yet) though - thank goodness.
DS2 is now 18 weeks and he's just settling down after his 16 week growth spurt but not sleeping through again yet (he did for several weeks!). He certainly isn't ready to wean yet (poor sitting balance, strong tongue reflex and poor hand/ mouth co-ordination) but whenI saw the hv last week she said to go ahead whenever we liked - no mention of 6 months or what to look for before going ahead!

Feel fee to reproduce

Hiya

In 2006 was advised 6 months. Was told even though weight plateod and baby feeding more to wait until 6 months. Was given a lot of information on bad/good food and BLW. Very encouraging nursery nurse who was ace.

In 2008, also advised 6m. Had problems with BFing and put off any additional milk or food until 16w when we had to do something. Was given advice online (!) to introduce solids, I though formula would be better. Despite him being 4 months, HV advised small amounts of formula and absolutely no solids until 6 months.

So all in all, mine have been good!!

Hi

In 2006 when Ds was 20 weeks old my HV told me Ds was ready for weaning ie he had doubled birth weight, had been sleeping through night but now was waking for night feeds etc, I took her as the "expert" so I introduced babyrice, then puree etc...I wish I had known then what I know now or had MN!!!

DD is 8mths and I weaned her at 25 weeks but had pressure from HV (a different one to DS)to wean from 17wks due to slow weight gain. I told HV that milk has more calories etc and was told that a bit of babyrice wouldn't do any harm!! She even wrote in DD's red book "mum thinking of early weaning" DD was 18wks old!! I waited till 25wks when DD grabbed a bit of courgette of my plate and ate it!!

Just remembered - hv this time round said to avoid any meat, fish or gluten until 6 months if we did wean earlier than 6 months but when I asked aboiut strawberries and citrus fruits she saidse's never heard any reason to avoid them. I'm sure I'd read somewhere that they are common allergy triggers so are best avoided to start with.

Sorry, bit late seeing this! I haven't spoke to my HV re. weaning as I'm scared what she'll say!!

Considering the crap she told me about bf, I think it's fair to assume the weaning advice will be just as dire! (she said that because ds was looking like he may start teething, @10 weeks, that I would have to stop bf!!)

Oh, the lady (NOT HV) who does the weighing at surestart, also bfc, has been telling mums that if they do wean at 16 weeks(!) to make sure the food is pureed properly, then it's ok to wean, as it's just like milk going down!! WTF??

Feel free to reproduce any posts!!

jop64, the strawberries/kiwi thing was what I had to practically force out of my HV yesterday. I've started the post on the Blog about it but I want a lot of good and bad HV stories before I go ahead and publish it.

The convo with Hv went like this.

ME: We're just about to hit the 26 week mark so I wondered if you could give me some advice on weaning. (I was sure not to ask any leading questions, I wanted her own response)
HV: 26 weeks? Crikey, he's a big boy isn;t he? But obviously thriving well, you haven't started yet have you? Babies aren't generally ready before 26 weeks and don't need anything extra before then.
ME: I read the 26 week thing. So why do they ened weaning at 26 weeks? How many calories and meals do I need to get into him?(Didn't want to lie as we started BLW on saturday)
HV: Well, they don't really need calories from food just yet, (good start) are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding?
ME: Breastfeeding.
HV: How many feeds is he taking a day?
ME: He feeds once in the morning, once at around noon, another at about 4pm, then a feed before bed at around 7pm.
HV: Any night feeds? (here we go, is this where she says solids will make him sleep?)
ME: Yep, normally between one and two, at about midnight and 4am.
HV: Good, that's perfect, it's normal to wake in the night for feeds at this age although some people expect them not to. (SCORE!)Right, well, he doesn't actually need any calories from the food as yet so there is no need to rush him. (good again, I was quite pleased at this point, seems not all HVs are mad as a box of frogs)
ME: What does he need then? Do I have to start now or could I wait?
HV: Well, he doesn't need anything from the food as such, but we start weaning at 26 weeks to get them used to texture and flavour, it's not until between 9 and 12 months they start to get much from it, his milk is still the most important thing at the moment, so don't cut out any feeds, give the same amount and add one meal at a time. (I love this woman!!)
ME: Just one meal? When does he get more?
HV: Let him lead you, you'll soon see how he gets when he is hungry, when he isn't satisfied on the feeds and one meal anymore, up it to two, by around 8/9 months he will probably be up to 3 meals a day.
ME: I've been looking at baby led weaning and Alex has had a few bits and bobs, he has digested some as I have seen the proof in his nappy but he doesn't seem to want much.
HV: That's normal, it's all about introduction, he can have purees from 6 months and between 6 and 7 months we start to introduce finger foods, he can eat pretty much everything you eat with the exception of nut products. (No real need for the puree talk in my case but I think that it was a good thing, some people will obviously use purees and that way her advice will cover anyone that is listening)
ME: Is there anything else he cannot eat yet?
HV: Erm, eggs must be fully cooked and honey isn't reccommended until after 1 year of age.
ME: Anything else?
HV: No, not really (are you sure?)
ME: What about allergens? Is there anything I should avoid? (this information should really have been offered without me asking)
HV: Well, we say to try each food for a couple of days before introducing a new food, that way if there is any reaction you can see it and work out what it is from (Good girl, back on track) That's for wheat and gluten.
ME: Anything else?
HV: No, not really (are you sure?)
ME: I saw on the internet somewhere that we should avoid strawberries? and kiwi?
HV: Yes, citrus style fruits should be left until about 8 or 9 months unless there is a reaction to something else then left til 1 year (oh, so you did know then? just forgot to tell me)

2008 DS now 16 weeks so not started weaning yet.

At 12 weeks we were discussing DS's size: he is over 98th percentile and excl BF. He was also waking more in the night and feeding alot during the day. HV said I would be fine to wean him from 16 weeks and this would be better for a bigger hungry baby. I asked about the allergy risks and she said that its fine from four months and if I were to look on the sides of the baby food jars in the shops I would see that they all say it is fine too. I.e the governement guidelines can be ignored. I was really pleased I had at least done a bit of reading on MN and ignored her.

Feel free to reproduce.

Ha! I'd swop you your HV for mine! They are not allowed to give out BLW advice She was great really though, apart from the allergies.

my old hv in London (2007) was very on-message. she advised all mothers, from those with whoppers like my DD, to those with slower-to-gain babies, that milk was all that was needed for at least 6 months. I was then advised to start with mashed lumpy foods and finger foods. Which we did .

I was lucky enough to be at a very lentil weavery practice, where extended bf and home births were seen very much as the norm.

Nothing. Saw a different HV every time and they never mentioned it, apart from to say something disapproving when they found out my son was 'still ' having night feeds at 9 months old. I think they gave me some patronising leaflet about making sure your child eats from all the major food groups.

Strawberries and kiwi are surely fine, as are citrus, if the baby is coming to solids at about 6 mths, and if there is no known allergy or food intolerance in the family. The big plus for BLW and for not rushing solids is that most babies of 6 mths plus are fine on just about anything.

I think we need to be careful about intro'ing a whole load of rules - a lot of it is common sense.

Please let me know if there is any good evidence that strawberries etc are best avoided until the baby is older.

Assuming the baby has no known issues or risks of allergy, of course.

At the post-natal classes I went to (held when babies were about 3 months old) the HV gave us a talk about weaning. She was fairly young, but said that the guideline was 6 months but ok to start at 4 months. I questioned her on it and she said vaguely 'oh they say 6 months, but they'll have run out of iron by then'. Disappointing to say the least.

I felt that I had to stop going to the bf support group at 4 months as the talk was all of weaning, and there was a big board up (this was at my local NHS clinic) about how you could start at 17 weeks but not to introduce gluten or dairy until after 6 months.

Then there was the completely batty older HV I met who was running a baby massage class. DS was about 15 weeks old and I happened to mention that he wasn't sleeping well at night and her response was something along the lines of 'he's a big lad, crack open the baby rice'. Backed up by 'well, you were probably weaned at 6 weeks and it didn't do you any harm' . I wasn't btw, my mum 'held out' until 4 months (considered late in 70s) under pressure from her HV as I was a slow gainer on bf.

Anyhoo, after reading stuff on MN I ignored this and waited until 6 months, then did BLW. It seemed to make more sense to me that when my baby could sit up and pick up food and feed himself, that he was ready - rather than trying to spoon milky slop into a recumbent not-much-more-than newborn.

Sorry it's long - you can reproduce any of this if it's helpful

Had a very nice uptodate HV who said advice was now not to wean till at least 6 mnths. She seemed to think I was very capable and clued up which tbh I wasn't really at least not in terms of guidelines tho am good on nutrition and cooking. No advice BLW which is a pity as I'd have gone for BLW and not bothered with purees at all. Still dd managed to move to 'real' food after a month so didnt stick with the purees for long. TBH tho I didnt actually go to the clinic very often so probably didnt get all the advice going.

my hv was actually holding weaning talks at the weigh in mornings

she was telling everyone to start on baby rice at 4 months (I challenged her on this and she said well, noone will wait till 6 months so there is no point in telling them that)

she was also saying to put baby in bouncy chair so that you can lean them back and pour it in

I actially got into a row with them about this and stopped getting gecko weighed

and yes feel free to reproduce anything i have said
I feel VERY strongly about crap hv spouting shite

Tiktok, from what the HV was saying (she went on to explain it to a medical student afterwards) if we wean at six months and add all possible allergens in then it's hard to tell what the baby is reacting to, so they say to just give non-allergens for the first couple of weeks and gradually introduce them which is why they say do it later.

However everything I can find on weaning says not to feed before 6 months, then goes on to say when you start weaning you can't give them strawberries,wheat,gluten,eggs but in the next paragraph says that from 6 months these things are ok?!? I'm confused tbh.

It's as if the old guidelines that said you can wean from four months using fruit/veg purees, then start on other foods at six months have just had 'four months' changed to 'six months' but everything else left the same...

VS, but I think this is ridiculously complicated and unnecessarily cautious - if you have allergies in your family, or if the baby has shown he is sensitive to something then by all means, avoid common allergens IF YOU WANT TO (I know of no research that shows it is worth it, tbh, but of course allergies stuff is always difficult to get good evidence on).

Indeed, from 6 mths, everything should be ok (yes, I include honey, as the risk of botulism is minuscule and non-existent in most branded honeys) bar nuts. Common sense applies with regard to salt, sugar, highly spiced foods, junk.

If the baby seems to react to something, and you don't know what it is, then I suppose you do a bit of guesswork. But in the vast majority of instances, mild reactions to foods disappear, are not really worth worrying about, or in fact, they were not actually reactions to food, and the baby got a rash for some other reason (or no reason) or had an apparent bout of wind ditto...or a weird looking poo

Risk is, that if we make a big deal of what post-6mths babies can and can't have , or can and can't start with, we make a Big Deal of the whole thing and send mothers scurrying to over-processed, over-priced gloop in jars because they trust them more

True, I think all the things I have found that say they can't have X and then say they can have X seems to enforce that weaning from 4 months is ok too.

DS had D&V at about 16 weeks and started going down the chart. When he was weighed at 19 weeks I think he had actually lost weight (or not put any on, can't quite remember). My (seemingly old fashioned) HV said she wasn't worried, and just to get him checked again in a week when if he still hadn't put on weight she would check for a urine infection. I asked whether I should consider weaning him, and was impressed when she said there was no need until near the end iof the next month (when he'd be about 6 months).
Haven't dared mention BLW though, I think I was asked at 8 mo if he was eating lumps, I just said yes.

lol.
I was pleasantly surprised with my HVs and MWs when they said no need to worry even though DS2 lost 15% of his birth weight. I was expecting a top-up-talk.

VS, I read an interesting article when weaning my toddler (18 months ago) and the gist of it was that if you wean using Baby Led Weaning, babies will naturally avoid food that they are allergic/sensitive too.

Hence I let BLW'd 6 month old DD try everything we ate, with the exception of honey until she was 1 years old (as I have heard of the botulism thing, glad to hear from TT that it is not a serious risk) and I still don't give her nuts, though she eats things with nuts products.

I was invited to a weaning class when DD was 18 weeks old and I was the only parent there !!! So I tried to show interest and ask relevent questions about the puree way of weaning even though I knew I wasn't going to use it.

She was nice and did the standard line that we should wait until 6 months, whatever you do...don't start earlier than 17 weeks.