Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

betterlife

hi everyone, this is more of a question out of interest than anything as i am experienced mum, but as like everything things change over the years. i have 4 children, with my first the recommended age was 4mths, as my baby was a hungry baby the health visitor recommended it from 12wks. my 4th baby is 11wks but now the recommended age is 6mths. i realise these are guide lines only but it does drive me mad how they change things so much. my second child i weaned at 14wks my 3rd was a girl and showed no interest til she was about 5mths. i will wean my 4th when i feel he needs more than milk to satisfy his hunger and if its before 6mths then so be it , it never did my other 3 any harm. my mother in law said they use to wean as early as 8wks back then. do you think the government up the age to cover ther back, they have never uped the age of baby food available in the supermarkets thats still suitable from 4mths, what do you think. thanks betterlife.x

miss*whisper

You are the best judge

My baby (5'4" and 12 going on 18 lol) I started weaning at 16 weeks but she didn't want to know Tried again when she was 5 months and she was ready. Every baby is different

HTH. But after 4 babies, you are the best judge of how your baby is

pretz_2

i had to wean my dd at 8 wks although this was advised as she suffered from reflux and it was the only way her milk would stay down, although she is not eating now she was very healthy and happy but food is an issue atm, anyway its up to you as my friends little girl is 14mths and still not weaning although my friend has tried her dd just gags on everything you put in her mouth so go with what you think you know best-

Barneysmom

My son was only 4 weeks old when I had to give him a bit of rusk in baby milk.
But he was 9lb 13oz when he was born. A big 'un.;)

judy2357

My 2 boys started eating some solids around 2mths I know this sounds early, but they were hungry babies and needed more than milk, so I added a little farleys rusk just to satisfy them. This doesnt mean I think that all babies need weaning so early as my daughter didnt need weaning until around 4 months. They boys drank bottles containing 9 ounces at one point where my daughter only ever got to 6 ounces. It all depends on satisfying your baby.

dee72_2

the recomended age when my 2 were born was three months.

dd1 was 10 weeks old (i fed her myself till 4 weeks but could never fill her, so she was on 5 oz sma gold, at 6 week she was still complaining after 9 oz bottle so figured only want a mouthful and only had 9 oz bottles made she ended up in total 15oz and was sick so next feed was sma white 5 oz. by 8 weeks was on 9 oz sma white so was only option left:eek:)

dd2 wasnt till 4 1/2 months as wasnt ready before then she was the total oposite of her sister.

i agree with above each baby is different and you know your own baby best.

loveday

hi, i agree it's confusing. the guidelines changed between my 1st and 2nd children. I can honestly say though, that waiting till 6 months was absolutely fine. I thought it would be hard to wait the extra 2 months but in fact my son (also a big and hungry baby) was fine, in the 91st centile all along, and much readier by 6 months than he would have been by 4 months -- sitting up, able to have all the different foods instead of just fruit and veg purees.

I've now got 4 children, and waited until 6 months with the younger 3. No problems at all.

Incidentally, the change in policy was based on a large amount of research into babies' digestion. I found this on netmums which I'm pasting in case you want more info.

"The guidelines for weaning changed to 6 months several years ago (not recently, last year etc as some people have been stating). As with all these guidelines there is a lot of research and science etc behind them yet all the accompanying research etc and so reasoning behind it isn't given out to everyone automatically. - but it is available, and it is given to the medical professionals as a matter of course (some don't read it, don't take notice of it etc but it is given to them). The actual results of the research and so the reasoning behind the recomendations have always said babies will be ready for weaning between 4 and 6 months BUT (huge but . . .) there is an actual physical change in their digestive system which makes it capable of digesting solid foods. Before this change has taken place solid foods can not easily or safely be digested and so if solids are given before it happens then the baby is open to problems (many of which appear only much later in life not in baby hood). This physical change occurs at some point after 4 months but before 6 months - and there is no way of telling when it happens in any baby. So because we can not look inside our babies and see if it has occurred yet, but it is known that it will have occurred by 6 months old and that all a baby actually needs nutrionally for the first 6 months is milk, the line was drawn at 6 months and the advice put out as do not wean before 6 months without medical advice and guidance as if weaning is done before 6 months old there is a real risk that this physical change has not yet occurred.

Many of the long held signs of readiness for weaning are now known not to be true indicators of a need to wean at all as well, there are more important indicators than showing an interest in food, seemingly being hungry (food actually provides less calorific content and nutrional value than milk), etc.."

gravitytolls

Go with your instinct ~ you can't beat it.

If you think your baby needs more than you can give i.e if babe is waking when used to sleep through, or is demanding more feeds over a period of more than a few days (to rule out readiness of a growth spurt) try a little baby rice. If your baby seems willing, seems more settled, and doesn't get constipated, then I would think it's pretty safe top continue. After all you're not suggesting a 3 course meal, just a little something to help sate your baby's appetite.

jannyannie

Hi all

Our son was a hungry boy. I was breast-feeding every 2 hours, sometimes more than that. I weaned him at 12 weeks, with some baby rice and fed him all the things we have without the salt in it. He's now 7 and 4'3", skinny and eats almost anything. My health visitor wasn't that happy about it but I felt I was the best judge. I knew I couln't breastfeed like that until he was 4 months old and be sane, as he wouldn't have a bottle.

Jan :A xxxx

FunkyFairy

I agree with what others have said you know your baby.

My daughter was over a year she would not eat solids at all it was a nightmare.

My son was 10 weeks he was a whole diffrent story.