Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

eml_3

I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to start babies on solid food - it is much easier just to have them on milk when you are out and about. Also, they start to do more grown up foul smelling poos as well!

I always found Annabel Karmel's books on feeding babies really helpful with lots of things to try. My kids did like strange combinations - apple and spinach or butternut squash and pear went down a treat, as did courgette and banana (bleeurrgh!). Remember that banana stains clothes brown and things like butternut squash and carrot can be hard to shift. Maybe now is the time to buy your child lots of orange clothes.

If your baby doesn't like a spoon, it could be that they still have the tongue thrust reflex, where they automatically push foreign bodies out of their mouths. Some advice says this means they are not ready for solids. However, the advice seems to change so often it is difficult to know what you are meant to do. My son wasn't keen on a spoon when we first started solids, so I tried giving him the food off my finger, which he loved. You could try that as it gets them used to the tastes and textures although it is quite messy.

Other than that, freezing portions in ice cube trays is a fantastic idea. And get large bibs, preferably with sleeves! Or feed your children while you are all naked as skin is easier to wash!

Have fun.

kidtechnical

The advice is wait till 6 months, this is what WHO. UNICEF & Dept of health recommend & for very good reasons. Solids are supposed to 'complement' milk NOT replace it - remember milk is the most important food for the first 12 months, if you replace it with solids too soon you are denying your child vitamins, minerals, nutrients & most importantly FAT found in milk (for example, an ice cube of apple doesn't contain a fraction of what an ice cube of milk does).

I know this view isn't going to be popular amongst those posters who will swear blind they simply had to introduce solids cos little whatsisname was such a hungry baby blah blah, but the current advice is there for a reason & has been researched to exhaustion. Anyone out there who has information to the contrary really should get in touch with WHO & Co to fill them in on their mistake.

Your mums probably will tell you differently (my own did), but they didn't have the knowledge on the subject we have today, so there really is no excuse to put babies on solids early. I'd go so far as to say it's irresponsible to ignore the advice.

Very young babies don't have the enzymes in their tummies to digest half of the foods they would be offered, so you may as well be filling their tummies with marbles, cos it's just going to lie in there & pass straight right out the other end undigested. It can also over load their little systems & in extreme cases damage their livers.

Something most people also overlook when considering weaning is that around 4 months babies have a growth spurt & may become restless at night & look for more milk. My reaction would be to give more milk rather than take it as an indication that they are ready for solids and give them something of little nutritional value.

And the reason that follow on milk is intended for 6 months plus is because it has added iron (as well as other vitamins) and giving too much iron to an infant can poison them.

Personally I found Annabel Karmels book helpful for recipes & info on infant nutrition in general...a lot of the recipes are suitable for all the family & left overs can be mashed up & frozen for the little one.

HTH

bylromarha

That is true Kid, it is all recommended by the high up bods.

However, my friend (who incidentally is a doctor) pointed out that WHO, UNICEF etc etc etc are worldwide organisations and the advice about 6 month solids is "more true" for those in the developing world...milk gives babies a much more rounded diet in these countries than the solids they can access can at 4 months of age...we can get gluten free etc here in a way developing countries can't.(if that makes sense?!)

Dept of health wouldn't be doing their job if they disagreed with WHO.

Not knowing much about baby development, they may well have a growth spurt at 4 months. I just know that feeding every 1.5 hours (before introducing solids) wasn't normal for my boy. At 3 months it was 4 hours between feeds. This gap lessened slowly over the next month until it was 1.5 hours between feeds at 4 months. Thats some growth spurt!!!!! So on his 4 month birthday out came the baby rice and consequently away went my udders for the majority of the day.

Which is why I stick to my advice that watching your baby is the best sign as for when to start...i just knew my boy was ready for more than milk.

kirsty1_2

Is your baby wanting extra feeds;feeding more frequently; waking more often during the night; watches you eat then yes t is time to start weaning. Only start with a spoon or two of baby rice and gradually increase and try other flavours once weaning is established.

kidtechnical

bylromarha wrote:

However, my friend (who incidentally is a doctor) pointed out that WHO, UNICEF etc etc etc are worldwide organisations and the advice about 6 month solids is "more true" for those in the developing world...milk gives babies a much more rounded diet in these countries than the solids they can access can at 4 months of age...we can get gluten free etc here in a way developing countries can't.(if that makes sense?!)

The notion that the 6 month rule applies only to developing countries is a popular misconception, frequently perpetuated by doctors, unfortunately. The need for a high fat food to enable a babies body to grow & develop is the same regardless of geographical location. Babies in the developed world don't need less calories to grow and whilst we may have access to more diverse & specialist foods to start babies on, nothing can replace the calories, vitamins & nutrients that milk provides. Its for this reason that milk is the main food till 12 months & continues to be important 12months onwards. At 4 months solids may well fill a babies tummy & help space feeds and if they are capable of digesting it they will of course absorb some vitamins etc but it'll be at the expense of a more suitable milk feed that would provide so much more nutritionally.

However, you are right that we should watch our babies and not crack open the baby rice at bang on 6 months. Some babies will be ready a bit before or not ready till a bit after. I'm just really tired of seeing babies who aren't even capable of holding their own head up having baby rice spooned into their mouths and just wonder what kind of advice they received from their HVs.

I also heard ages ago that the research that found babies didn't need solids till 6 months was primarily funded by baby food manufacturers. I don't know if this is truth or myth, but if it's true they didn't half shoot themselves in the foot!

jo_b_2

My health visitor was really supportive and offered really useful advice when I started weaning (at four months). Basically you need to introduce food items one at a time, so that you can monitor if your baby has any allergic reactions. Baby rice is usually recommended as a starting point because you can make it very runny, just like thick milk. It is also very unlikely to produce any allergic reactions.

Enjoy this stage. It isn't long before they are shouting for chocolate every five minutes! And I swore I'd never give my kids sweets and rubbish!

Woby_Tide

kidtechnical wrote:

The advice is wait till 6 months, this is what WHO. UNICEF & Dept of health recommend & for very good reasons. Solids are supposed to 'complement' milk NOT replace it - remember milk is the most important food for the first 12 months, if you replace it with solids too soon you are denying your child vitamins, minerals, nutrients & most importantly FAT found in milk (for example, an ice cube of apple doesn't contain a fraction of what an ice cube of milk does).

This was part of my point though, regardless of what WHO/UNICEF/DOH say, every child is different and I find it harder/stupid to follow guidelines implicitly rather than using judgement as each child is different. Also the fact that this advice only changed to 6 months some time in the last couple of years(going by someone elses comments on here and also speaking to other new mums over last couple of years the advice they were given at the time was 4 months too) Also whether it's confusion over the title but I'm not intending(nor are others I guess) to replace milk and I've never seen any advice to suggest giving up milk for a long time to come for them. Thanks for all other points though

kidtechnical

Woby_Tide wrote:

this advice only changed to 6 months some time in the last couple of years(going by someone elses comments on here and also speaking to other new mums over last couple of years the advice they were given at the time was 4 months too)

The 6 month thing has been the official line for quite some time but a couple of years ago DOH used breastfeeding awarness week to highlight that 6 months is the recommended age for introducing solids. This was to make sure that this was the advice all HV were giving out, as some were still saying 4 months (I believe it's a HV duty to update her info, this clearly wasn't happening so Gov stepped in to clarify). Unfortunately 2 things have happened, first, some HVs have continued to advise 4 months cos they think they know better and second, people have gotten the idea that it applys to breastfed babies only, when in fact the advice is for all babies regardless of how fed.

At the end of the day (I know not really cool to use that phrase anymore!) it's a parents responsibility to keep abreast of information, advice & research & make a desision for their children based upon it...simple risk assessments at each step of the way. Does the benefits of having jr skidding about in a walker outway the risk of him injuring himself, does the benefit of putting him on solids at 3 or 4 months outway the risks associated with doing so? Only us parents can make those desisions, cos only us & child have to live with the consequences of those desisions...No doubt our little ones will be correcting some of my parenting practices we all made cos info is out of date again and I really hope I can bit my tongue & resist the urge to use phrases like "in my day', 'oh it's all changed since you were small', however I digress and as someone else said, before we know it they're scoffing chocolate and all our good work & intentions go out the window

plumpmouse

I weaned at 4 months as little boy was very hungary. he was a big baby and needed more than milk. Don't care what anyone on here says I know my son far better than them and know what he needs. The advice given by my hv was 4 months at the earliest and no later than 6 months. My little boy has just turned 17 months old so the 6 month thing has just come in. When I have another I will wean at 4 months again if I feel it is right.


Listen to peoples comments on here but at the end of the day they have no idea about your baby so do what you feel is right.

Spendless

kidtechnical wrote:

The 6 month thing has been the official line for quite some time but a couple of years ago DOH used breastfeeding awarness week to highlight that 6 months is the recommended age for introducing solids. This was to make sure that this was the advice all HV were giving out, as some were still saying 4 months (I believe it's a HV duty to update her info, this clearly wasn't happening so Gov stepped in to clarify). Unfortunately 2 things have happened, first, some HVs have continued to advise 4 months cos they think they know better and second, people have gotten the idea that it applys to breastfed babies only, when in fact the advice is for all babies regardless of how fed.

Actually i don't agree. My youngest was born on 31March 2003, and therefore not ready for solids before 31 July 2003. It wasn't just advice from the HV, but on leaflets and jars of baby food were labelled 4 months + also.This advice has changed since that date (19 months ago).

You will know from your own child Woby Tide when your baby is ready as the others have said.

Best wishes