I am now confused about weaning guidelines!

[Divvy]

Ok, so I have bf my baby to over 7 months, he isnt quite sitting on his own yet, so have only just started to give him some food.

The guidelines say that by 7 month the baby should be on 3 meals a day. How can this be if I have only just started giving him small tastes.

Other gudelines say that you can bf only, a baby till 1 year, with no impact on later eating. With this thinking in mind that bf babies, although breast milk has less iron from milk fm, the iron in bm is absorbed more.

Also night waking is not a sign that they need solid food, when I thought that was the case.

Confused by it all

Which guidelines say he should be on 3 meals a day? Can you post links to the ones you're talking about.

And yes, sadly night waking and food are not directly related in general.

being able to sit unaided, loss of the tongue thrust reflex and a good pincer grip are more reliable signs that a baby is ready for something other than milk

what babies 'should' be doing, and are actually capable of doing, are not always simultaneous

milk is still the primary source of nutrition and at the start of weaning, when just tastes of food are being given, milk is more filling and nutririous and calorie rich . and should be offered before food

i have not seen guidelines from teh NHS or DoH that say a baby should be on 3 meals a day at 7 months, just offer tastes for now, and a mix of puree/finger foods to let him explore food and get used to different texture and taste

Just wanted to say - well done, divvy, that's fab to make it to 7 months with BF. I'd just offer a bit of what you're eating when you're eating it - if this is 3 times a day then fine but it's fine to not eat much at each sitting.

Do they not mean you should offer food at mealtimes - so when you eat breakfast, lunch,tea?
Although I think DS was a lot older when he had lunch as he seemed to always sleep through it

Isn't this your fifth child?

Its on the mn weaning guide!

My 5th child over 20 years, the guidelines have changed. This is also my first bf baby.

At 7 months you can pretty much give your baby anything, whatever you are having, either mashed up or just as finger food. Just start with a bit of lunch and then add in some tea and then breakfast. Maybe try fruit and veg first rather than overlaoding his system with wheat/meat/fish/gluten etc (common allergens).

Just let your baby lead you, if he seems hungry for something more than milk, give him some food. You can spoonfeed him or offer him finger food. If you have made it to 7m without any solids then he must be pretty happy with milk.

I found that food is linked to my twins' sleep (10mo) in that if they are off their food we get a 5/6am waking and if they eat lots they tend to sleep through. But not always, other things come into play such as teething/illness etc. Since starting solids they nap longer in the day too.