Anyone who weaned/is weaning early and wants to talk about it without getting their head bit off step this way

[RagingHormone]

Feel free to chat until your heart's content without being judged on this thread.

What made you decide to wean early? (My baby had awful reflux so I had to, and he was ready for it anyway).

What sort of things did/do you feed your baby at 6 months?

RedSparklers, obviously everyone on this thread is not a bully but many of the posts on here are. Obviously it makes common sense to say please ask a dr first about early weaning but many of these posts go way beyond this. I actually wasn't directing this at you personally but I do feel what has occured on this thread is shameful.

I am sincerely sorry you were given bad advice and many HV are rubbish. I now listen to my paediatrician first and foremost and not ranting MNs or ill-informed HVs.

My issue is that this website was intended as a support network yet it has become something far less savoury. Why can mums not be left in peace to discuss their problems?

RedSparklersOnHerHead, why would your don's condition have anything to do with weaning early?

my ds has had problems with anal fistulas, they started when he was 6 months old, he didn't even have a taste of solids till 7.5 months (as he had been quite poorly) - I just don't se the connection, the paeds all said it was congenital. (not that am saying it is the same thing, just don't understand why you'd blame yourself weaning him?)

hotwaterbottlesrule, you ask why mums cannot be left in peace to discuss this?

I answered this earlier, yet everyone seems to be asking why still....odd. But ehre goes.

By VictorianSqualor on Sun 02-Nov-08 14:27:23
RH, Do you not understand why people will always comment on an early weaning thread?

Imagine you're a new mum, nervous as hell about everything, suffering from sleep exhaustion and baby is going through a growth spurt. You've heard that you should wait til 26 weeks but have no idea why.

You have a bit of a google or browse MN, whatever. Somehow you arrive at a thread entitled 'Anyone who weaned/is weaning early and wants to talk about it without getting their head bit off step this way'.

You have a look at the thread and it's full of people talking about weaning early. No-one has mentioned the guidelines, or the fact that your baby actually lacks certain enzymes, or that the kidneys just are not physically ready to cope, or that iron absorption can be hindered. They say nothing at all of the possible illnesses that could occur, or that as baby has not got the ability to self-regulate food it can stop them ever learning how to regulate and lead to obesity.

You then, on the basis of that thread go ahead to wean your baby. You follow the advice of people whose babies seem to have been the lucky ones.
Your baby, however isn't so lucky. Your baby is not ready for food. Your baby grows up with an illness you later discover could be because of weaning early. Do you not think those people deserve the right to the proper information?

The only way you will get an early weaning thread that does not end up with arguments is if you word it similarly to the post I made earlier.

There is clearly no getting through, perhaps the intransigence is on both sides. It is just such a shame that there are sides and not sisterhood. I am going to stop wasting my time and go do something more productive like have a much-needed nap.

Please can everyone stop going on about who said what? Ok, please speak to a doctor before weaning early.

Can anyone pluck up the courage to come and talk about it? Don't worry, I definately will not judge or ask questions, I would just like to chat about it. I'm not 100% sure what DS should be eating at this stage when other babies his age are still on babyrice. He is well past this now.

dinny
anal fistulas are very different from a rectal prolapse (google if you want)
There have been studies done on pigs that have shown that early weaning can cause rectal prolapse.
Our consultant peadiatrician has said that it might have been from early weaning.
I don't necessarily blame myself, but had I been given the correct information from my HV and the risks, then there is no way I would have began weaning at 16weeks.

Right lets just forget it.

Cheers.

RH.
Your baby can have anything except salt, honey, and nuts from the age of 26 weeks. Before that they can only have vegetables, fruit (not citrus) or cereal that is not wheat based to minimise the risks.

I started a thread here about medical conditions causing early weaning btw

He doesn't have salt, honey or nuts anyway. Does anyone feed their babies rusks? As it seems as though people are against this, or is it just rusk in a bottle people are against?

rusks, even lower/reduced sugar ones are very sweet and sugary.. bit empty calorie wise...

like giving biscuits really..

if he is 6 months, he can have toast fingers, pitta bread smeared with hummous or philadelphia etc

some sort of porridge is better than rusk IMO

something like cauliflower cheese or broccoli and cauli cheese was very popular with my two at 6 months ish

salmon peas & mashed potato also a good one, thikn they can have fish from 6 months !

Just trying to think what ds liked to eat.

Sweet potato was a winner. Yorkshire pudding worked a treat as well.

But he never really ate until he was 8 months or so, and then went straight onto full meals; so spaghetti bolognaise, roast chicken dinners etc.

FWIW, i did give him rusks occasionally when were out and about. I found the Organix rice cakes were popular too. As lulu says, they are a bit pointless calorie wise - but they do get most of their calories from milk anyway, so IMO a bit of sugar isn't going to do any harm!

Also - check the ingredients on reduced sugar rusks because they sometimes have aspartame in.

What's aspartime? This is really valuable stuff, keep it coming!! Thanks!

I had no idea he could move onto toast and philidelphia and humus and stuff. He's 6 months in a few days. It'll be good to try him on these things as I really don't like the jars. They smell horrible.

VS - could I point out that whilst you are flinging your opinions about you might bear in mind that this forum is read by women whose children are older than 5. Women who were advised to wean from 16 weeks and who maybe don't appreciate being told "your baby actually lacks certain enzymes, or that the kidneys just are not physically ready to cope, or that iron absorption can be hindered. They say nothing at all of the possible illnesses that could occur, or that as baby has not got the ability to self-regulate food it can stop them ever learning how to regulate and lead to obesity."
In my mothering experience weaning after 16 weeks was not 'weaning early' - weaning pre 16 weeks was 'early' and advised against. It's a bit much for people to be continually lambasted for caring for their baby in what they were advised was the best way, such a short period of time ago. Weaning is a process not an event and being 26 weeks doesn't necessarily imply a baby is ready anymore than being 16 weeks did.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which can be pretty harmful (IMO) and has been linked to childhood obesity and certain types of cancer! This is an interesting article.

It's the only thing I'm really fussy about ds not having, other than that I'm pretty relaxed about what he eats!

I know he used to enjoy pitta breads stuffed with tuna and cheese, but I don't know whether it might be too salty for your lo!

NL, maybe you should read the whole thread. Then you'll see I too weaned a child early once.
Please remind me on sleep threads not to ever menti0n the back to sleep campaign too, eh?

Hi RH, I am here and ready to share ideas/recipes. What other things were you thinking of? Easy to prepare and quick or stuff thats good when travelling (I am getting good at this one as am determined to get out more now I don't have the worlds pukiest baby).

How are you getting on with giving your LO water?

I would definitely avoid anything with aspartame. I was advised by my gynie to not even take it myself through my whole pregnancy!! I thought it was a bit OTT at the time, but throughout the preg I realise she is just a very cautious lady who isn't prepared to let me take any risks. Love her.

Totally agree with your gynae Gabster. Aspartame carries a risk to unborn children as well.

I had read the whole thread

Interesting that you mention back to sleep. I was talking at work with a pregnant colleague about various baby issues and the issue of SIDs guidance came up. Another colleague heard what we were saying and interjected that no it was wrong - babies must be put on their fronts or they would choke. She had raised four children that way. So we talked it over and I googled the research for her - which devasted her. She was horrified that she had been 'wrong' and even though her children were healthy 20 somethings, she felt guilty. Talking to a mum of a newborn baby yes I would try to dissuade them from putting a baby on its front - but my experience with my colleague has shown me that I should remember and respect that for generations of mothers that was thought best. If I throw my not inconsiderable weight about condemning that experience what do I achieve? It's a very powerful thing this maternal guilt and just saying somebody shouldn't feel guilty isn't anyway near a remedy. I think that by and large we have to tread softly when talking about things so close to our heart and thats what troubles me about what has happened on this thread and on many weaning threads. It's certainly a tricky line to tread between giving the advice that we know to be the optimum now - to wait to wean - and dealing with the valid experiences of those advised otherwise. All too often that experience is being attacked, denigrated or condemned and I don't think that's helpful to anyone.

Oh, you know what it's like NL.

They take the placenta out and put the guilt in!

Hi Gab.

Really struggling giving him water. He hates it and isn't interested. Plus sometimes he thinks he's getting fed and then get annoyed it's only water. I might try the Hipp Organic flavoured water. I was watering his feeds down a little but now I'm getting those pre-made cartons so not opportunity to do this. How much should I be giving him?

So far I've made him Shepherd's Pie, fish and cheese sauce, chicken, onion and tomato pasta, and casserole. But I really want to do quick and easy so any quick and easy recipies or ideas would be good!!

Well if you've read the whole thread you'll see I offered advice in my first post on how to have a thread that wouldn't get hijacked.

You'll also see that I have done nothing but tell facts and explained why some posters feel that threads on early weaning cannot just be left to run without the facts mentioned.

Feeling guilty is nothing I can do anything about although I'm sorry if people feel that way.

Personally I left my guilt behind when I realised all I was doing was what I had been told was correct.

But I cannot just not post the reasons behind the 26 week guidelines to stop people who weaned before these guidelines were changed feeling guilty. That's a ridiculous notion. Do people who have not yet weaned not deserve the information that is out there because once upon a time, it wasn't so people were advised differently? Of course not.

Babies that have already been weaned cannot have anything changed but if people who are unsure about weaning early read the thread then maybe something there can be.

RH, did you say DS was eating finger food?
If he is then you might want to take a look at www.babyledweaning.com