Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

My DD was 2 weeks old when she went onto Farleys second milk- against midwifes advise. At 9 weeks she was having 9 oz every hour and thowing it back up. Took her to she the nurse who advised she was hungry but her small stomach could not cope with the amount of milk she wanted so at 9 weeks and 5 days she went onto solids. My health visitor was livid and I was told she would be over weight and I was doing her more bad than good. However she is now 5 and tall and slim, she has had no serious health problems- touch wood.

DS1 was 16 weeks and had major problems, he would only eat fruit and refused savoury food, health visitor told me to force feed i.e. when he was crying because he didn't want it to shove the food in.- I didn't bother following the advise of someone who had no experience of young children and did it my own way and succeeded.

DS2 was about 30 weeks and again was an eay one.

None of my children are fussy eaters, in fact DS2's favourite food is sprouts!! IMO I have had 3 health visitors and only 1 had children, mothers learn through experience not text books so you know when your child is ready.

I had been told by my midwife that second milk can make babies constipated. With DD I never had a problem changing her over. DS2 however was constipated from week1 on first milk, the midwife questioned how I was making his bottles incase I was doing it wrong- not likely as DD was 3, DS1 was 2. I told her on her last visit I was putting him on second milk, she disagreed but I did it and within the day he was pooing without having to feed him prune juice.

This is just my experience and other people will have there own opinions, but you could start off by giving a ready made carton at bedtime to ensure a full belly over night. If baby does get a little constipated cooled boiled water normally works. Or else diluted prune juice- not a cheap option, £3.00 a bottle and it only lasts 3 days and no one else in our house would drink it!! Trust me to have a fussy baby.- Oh and he was the most well behaved until the terrible 2's struck. lol.:rotfl:

Both mine were 4 months, though I found out recently that the guidelines from 4 months to 6 months actually changed when my youngest hadn't reached 4 months, but no-one told me this including my HV who I used to see on a weekly basis cos she ran a 'young babies and mums' group. Neither of mine could abide baby rice (having tried it, I could see their point;) ) and I used banana as a first food.

My friend sees a dietician for her eldest child as she has cerebal palsy and when she asked her about the new 6 months weaning rule, the dietician told her it was a government response to the obesity problem, the thinking being that the older you wean the child the less likely you are to overfeed!
I didn't really see how this would work personally.
They try and tell you it is to decrease the risks of allergys but i, mychildren, my sisters all my friends and no doubt thousends of other babies were weaned at four months and we are all fine!!!!
My babies were ready at four months so i did it simple as that!!!!

Research is always being done, which means guidelines will always change. That doesn't mean that they will always be wrong; it means we know more. Every decision is a more informed decision.

Current research suggests that you will do your child no harm waiting until six months to wean. The science it is based on states that a child's gut matures - gets ready to start digesting solids - sometime after 17wks. Realistically, you are never going to know quite when this is as it's different for every baby but logically, the longer you wait, the more chance of baby being ready. Waiting is not going to hurt your child.

So what's the risk of going below 17wks? An increased risk of allergy, mainly, along with constipation, digestive discomfort and obesity. The allergy risk is particularly important. Like giving formula, it does not suddenly give a baby an allergy but for babies who are already prone, makes it far more likely. Again, it's all about minimising risk.

What happens if you have a big baby, or a hungry baby who needs more than milk, then? Unless you are going to feed your baby lard, no foodstuff has more calories than milk - so a bigger or hungrier child needs more milk rather than early solids. Sometimes solids will seem to calm the baby and help them to sleep. They work a little like formula in that because they are harder to digest, baby stays 'full' for longer. Baby might really seem to enjoy the solids, but it doesn't mean it's good for them at this age; a little like I'd like to eat donuts all day, but that isn't good for me either It may seem ridiculous to have to feed a hungry baby every hour, but a breastfed baby would often be fed every hour (or more!) at this point in life. It's a time of significant growth and it's very normal.

We were all weaned earlier than 17wks - we're ok though, aren't we? Hmm, not exactly. For every child who is fine, there are children with weight problems, allergies (cow's milk allergy/intolerance is becoming very common), intolerances, digestive discomfort, bad eating habits. Of course, later weaning does not guarantee that your child won't suffer from these things, but it is about minimising that risk. If you've had no problems, it's good to hear - but the plural of anecdote is not evidence.

Are there any exceptions to the weaning guidelines? Babies with reflux are sometimes weaned early as they find it easier to keep solids down.

Why don't all the baby food jars say six months? The six month age limit is a guideline rather than a law. Use your common sense and check the labels - many will contain hidden sugars, wheat and milk products.

Medical opinion differs greatly on weaning, but on the whole, the advice seems to be:

- Keep an eye out for weaning signs (loss of tongue thrust reflex, sitting up unaided, great deal of interest in food, teeth) from around four months. Look for biological/physical signs such as sitting and the appearance of teeth rather than anecdotal signs like chewing. Babies chew all sorts of things for comfort from a young age, and while they will watch you eat, remember - they watch you do most things!
- Before six months, stay away from dairy products, meat and gluten (ie give only fruit, veg and baby rice) - foods most likely to cause upset.
- Don't worry about introducing three meals too soon and don't worry if baby doesn't eat much; food is only a supplement to milk until baby is one year old.

In case anyone was wondering; I have several friends in the medical profession and we discussed this at length after my daughter was born. It was really interesting to hear several opinions.

We weaned at 22 weeks.