Did I cause this by weaning too early?

[DeathByMonkey]

My ds1 is 6. When he was a baby I read so many parenting books and magazines because I really wanted to do everything right, but I'm very worried I messed up in a big way. At that time the recommended age for introducing first foods was 4 months, and my son was a big strapping boy so on the day he was 16 weeks old I gave him some baby rice. He devoured it and took to food so happily, it never once crossed my mind that I may have done something wrong. I honestly didn't get that 16 weeks is not the same as 4 calender months, but even without that fact it was much too early.

I now have a nearly 6 month old baby and am much more clued up on the guidelines and the reasons behind them. My ds2 is exclusively bf and I am planning to start BLW after he is 26 weeks when he seems ready, and nothing will make me do it earlier. However, ds1, although mostly a healthy and normal child, suffers from encopresis (constipation and soiling.) He has had this condition for a long time, basically since he's been out of nappies, which wasn't until 4 yo.

My question is, has there ever been anything to connect these two things? I know early weaning is connected to allergies and digestive problems, but I'm not sure if encopresis is one of them, as it's a very difficult condition to find the root causes of. I'm not looking to either absolve or blame myself, but just want to feel more in control and knowledgable about the situation, if that makes sense.

I think 16 months is a bit early but not very early. When I had my first child the advice was 4 - 6 months and many mothers I knew were starting to wean at 3 months. The condition your son suffers from is quite rare and I do not think there can be a direct causal link between it and the (not very) early weaning.

More to the point is: was he exclusively bf like your ds2? Formula is a much more likely culprit with regard to constipation.

A friend of mine (now aged 52) was put on solids at 4 DAYS old, due to stupid army doctors giving crap advice and bullying her mother. She also had no breastmilk at all. This friend has suffered from multiple food allergies and digestive difficulties all her adult life.

Would it be possible for you to ask your son's doctor, as they would know your son's medical history and although i doubt they would be able to give a definitive answer would be able to say if early weaning was a possible cause is likely to have exaberbated the condition

Hundreds of thousands of people my age (44) were weaned at 12 weeks.

Surely a lot of this group would have this condition if the two things were linked? I don't know anyone with it.

It's impossible to know what would have happened if you had done things differently without being able to see into another timeline and that's restricted to Sci-Fi!