Do I have to wean at 26 weeks?

[katster37]

DS is 25 weeks, and does not seem interested in solids. He is v busy, and when I try to sit him down to feed him porridge, he turns round and tries to play. He is not interested and spits any porridge that actually makes it into his mouth, straight out. He is exclusively BF. HV yesterday told me off for not weaning earlier, as he has dropped a tiny bit on his chart. She also said 'he is in control' if he would rather play/not gobble his food, and that I haven't set proper boundaries and need to go to parenting classes?!?! I am a primary school teacher and have run the odd parenting class so was a bit taken aback, since she knows nothing about me and not much about my DS. Anyway - any tips from MNers who may have had similar problems? I tried carrot and potato too, with similar reactions.

there is often a thread about with daft things HV's say!

anyway, the current guidelines from dept of health is all babies to only have milk (either breastmilk or formula) until 6 mths, maybe your HV missed that latest update ????

Have a look at baby led weaning on here and also there is a dedicated website. Lots and lots of mums are choosing to let their babies start solids when they are ready.

Good saying too "food for fun until they're 1, from 1 till 2 they'll copy you...."

It's also perfectly normal for breastfed babies to have weight gains that plateau or slow down, especially around 5 or 6 mths old. The charts are generally the old formula fed ones. Breastfed babies often gain faster in first few months then weight gain slows down. Babies are often rolling about and some are crawling at this stage so they are also using up more energy.

you are doing a great job with simply breastfeeding up to 6 months, so many mums have the rug pulled out from underneath them at a much earlier stage about breastfeeding by HV's!!!

you may find your local La Leche League group a useful form of support and they have information about starting solids. The Babyled Weaning book is available on amazon or from local libraries and have a look at their forum too. Your local Childrens Centre may also have the current info from dept of health which also backs up baby led weaning

after all that, maybe share some of this "new" info with your HV????

I agree with everything Chocolate has said.

I would also add that 'baby led weaning' might suit your baby better than the whole spoon-feeding purees thing. I didn't follow it rigidly (have never followed anything rigidly ), but you basically let your child pick up and eat bits of whatever you're having at dinner and /or offer finger foods from the word go. You let your baby eat (or not eat) what they want.

Providing your baby's weight doesn't dip too much and he is otherwise healthy, I cannot see a problem. My first child wasn't very interested in solids until well into his second year.

haven't set proper boundaries? with a 25 week old? hahaha she's bonkers . I would try him with a bit of food from time to time and take your lead from your him.

No, you do not have to wean the moment the calendar says 6 months...

DD wasn't remotely interested in solids until she was 7 months. Even then she wasn't really fussed until she was about 9 months, although she would eat the odd thing.

She is now 4 and eats everything in sight.

I don't know about parenting classes, I think your HV could do with some health visiting classes! They recommended nothing but milk for the first 6 months 4 years ago when DD was a baby, and I'm pretty sure the advice was the same when DS2 was a baby too (he is now 6). So she is really out of touch!

oh dear at the hv. well done with the ebf!!

i am blw dd (7.5 months) theres no way she'd have taken anything off a spoon at the start but after 6 weeks of finger food she will happily open her mouth for spoon (we give her yoghurt and fruit off a spoon).

sounds like you ds needs to take his time and get the idea about food with no pressure. sticks og steamed parsnip were the first thing dd got really excited about

The guidelines actually say around 6 months. You don't have to wean the day the calendar ticks over. In fact if you follow the signs (loss of tongue thrust reflex, sitting unaided, pincer grasp, ability to get food to mouth, chew and swallow), then the theory is your baby will let you know when s/he is ready. If your child is immediately pushing the food back out then he has not lost the tongue thrust reflex and is showing you that his gut is not ready.

DD wasn't interested until 7 months and didn't really eat much until nearer 12 months. She's 3 now and a brilliant, unfaddy eater.

And yes the weight gain slows at this age. It's because they're more mobile, among other factors.

Really don't worry. Your hv sounds a bit strange.

Thanks everyone. I was in a bit of a state after seeing the HV yesterday, having convinced myself I was a bad mother and had let my child get skinny by not force-feeding him two months ago, but I have now decided not to go back to this particular HV and relax things a bit. Thanks for the reassurances.