Are there circumstances to wean before 6months?

[Emmajaine]

There is a suggestion that before 6 months babies guts are more permeable and their digestive system is not mature enough to deal with any other food types. There is also some talk that food too early can unbalance intestinal flora and lead to stomach issues in later life.

If you Google open gut you will find loads of stuff about those, then you can make you own mind up

X

 

[Holi]

I weaned at 21weeks so just before 5months. My lg was falling on the charts and didn't seem the least bit intrested on milk. When we started I wouldn't say she was wolfing it down. But she did enjoy it and she kept her milk intake up so her weight gain increased! So for us it was the right move x

 

[Sprout]

It's all about risk. Before 6 months, there is a risk that food will harm your baby's gut and cause problems in later life. It may or may not happen. After 6 months, there is no risk of this happening. Personally, I am not willing to take that risk on my baby's health - especially when there's no need for them to have anything other than milk before then anyway.

 

[tinselcat]

Here's a link to the study I was referencing, where they are now concerned that the way to prevent food allergies is to introduce food early: http://www.eatstudy.co.uk/background/

It's being conducted by Kings College Hospital London, in conjunction with Guys & St Thomas's, so some of the top hospitals in the country.

 

[Lilmisshopeful]

It's always changing what they reccomemd. With my daughter baby food came with a 3 month label and I gave it to her at 3 months like they said. She didn't really take to it well till later but had a spoon here and there. She is now a beautiful and healthy soon to be 21 year old oh how times change I always feel like I'm doing something wrong now lol and shoot me now I slept oliver on his side xxx

 

[Karenb]

I've started weaning my 4 and half month old because she was completely ready for it and she loves it! I'm keeping an eye on nappies and making sure she's still poo'ing and taking it slowly. As people have said, guidelines change all the time so I've gone by my little girl, not a calendar xx

 

[Orion]

J is 23 weeks and we've started the first tastes bit of weaning so he can practice swallowing before I start weaning properly.

I did this because he can sit up, has hand eye coordination and didn't push the food out the first time I tried it. He was also trying to taste anything I was eating.

It's going great so far but I'm going to wait til 6 months before introducing more than mashed fruit or veg. His nappy contents look no different so I'm assuming he's digesting what he's eating fine.

 

[littlemonkey]

Just while people mentioned the damage to babies gut and naturally occurring flora in their gut. Most of what I've read on the matter indicates that it is the introduction of anything other than breastmilk which can cause this issue. So essentially formula feeding also carries the same risk.

 

[Jojo84]

We weaned at 4 months and formula feed and my son is perfectly fine. I won't hesitate to wean sges in at 4 months if I feel he/she is ready.

 

[Starlight1986]

I think of course there are some health related reasons to wean early however I'm a true BLW. There are so many more reasons to wait until the 6 months and wean without puree than there is to wean early. Its not just about allergies.
One of the main reasons to feed on demand until 6 months then BLW is that then babies control what's going into their mouth and how much food they actually need, which has proven to reduce the risk of obesity. They have linked adulthood obesity to for example the rusk in the bottle at an early age, spoon feeding etc.
Another reason to wait is that babies cannot determine any one flavour in Pureed food, for example if you puree a chicken pie then they will not be able to say that's chicken and that's a carrot etc etc which can lead to fussiness. And then of course trying to get them to move from puree to lumps can be difficult.

However I understand its not the end of the world lol and if people choose to wean early then that's there choice and doesn't affect me, I think that its just I don't understand why they would x

 

[tinselcat]

Re allergies - one thing the study is researching is whether introducing baby to allergenic food early (i.e. from 4 months) actually reduces their risk of later developing allergies. So it will be interesting to see if that's the case, especially if you come from a family like mine, with lots of eczema, asthma and actual food allergies.

I think the overall problem is that the subject of food for babies is still not entirely understood and advice changes every few years.

Which is probably why it's best to go with your instinct as a parent and wean the baby when you determine they seem ready.

x

 

[Belfa]

Thank you all so much for your replies, definitely good for thought.

Dropping his dream feed has helped to up his overall mill intake but his feeds during the day are erratic and difficult to predict.

We decided to give the weaning a shot today and gave him puréed sweet potato which he demolished! I let him touch the food in his bowl and he took the food well and knew to swallow straight away so to me that indicates that he must be ready otherwise he wouldn't swallow if he couldn't.

Interestingly I consulted with my family abroad (USA and UAE) and they are advised 4months so I didn't feel as though I was doing something wrong.

I have made a stash of puréed sweet potato and of peas, how many days in a row do I feed each food? I have read online that 5days is ideal so 5 days sweet potato, 5 of peas, 5 of carrots etc, is that okay? x

 

[Phoenix85]

I've done both. Purees at 16 weeks with baby number 1, because everyone else was doing it (or so I thought) and I honestly didn't know anything behind the reasons to wait.

Second baby was exc. Breastfed and I didn't start weaning til 6.5 months. Mainly because we took a two week holiday when she was just approaching 6 months and it was easier to stick to breastmilk alone and wean when we got home than try to find baby-friendly food abroad.

Having done it both ways and having read the information Emmajaine and Sprout mentioned, I would leave it as late as possible.

I took the same opinion as Sprout, that if there is a risk that the baby's gut has not matured to handle solids, why risk it. I'd rather wait a few more weeks and lessen the risks.

I also did BLW with my second and skipped purees.

Oh and just to add, breastmilk and formula is actually higher in both fat and calories volume for volume, than most first foods, the exceptions being sweet potato (with no added water), avocado, and bananas.

So if you have a baby who is not gaining as much weight and is low on the percentiles or dropping percentiles, it makes more sense to feed more milk than to feed more solids or purees.
Oh and before 1 year, milk should still be the main part of a baby's diet, which is another reason why BLW is good, because it helps to keep milk as the main source of nutrition with foods 'complimenting' and boosting the diet, rather than food replacing milk (and incidentally, studies have found that babies weaned before 6 months tend to take less milk, so food often does replace milk when it really ought be be additional to the milk.)

 

[tinselcat]

Belfa, the weaning books I read advised a new taste a day (so at least 2 different foods every day), so baby gets a lot of variety.

I also went with a vegetable first approach.

Glad to hear baby likes sweet potato xx

 

[Colleen1988]

Belfa I got a really good 5 step plan in the post off cow and gate... They send you a book with a plan in it, recipes and it's 5 easy to follow steps! You also get coupons for different things like 50p off baby rice and 50p off baby porridge! My lo is only 3 month so I won't be weaning him yet but I will be from 17 weeks, ive done a lot of research around this and as they are currently in the process of maybe changing it back to 4 months I feel it's safe. Id do your own research and decide for yourself, it's nice to listen to others opinions whether they are pro or con weaning before 6 month but ultimately the decision is yours, do what's best for you and your baby not what others want to do with their baby, your always going to get difference of opinions no matter who you ask so it just takes you back to square one xxx

 

[Coletteypie]

In contradiction to some info above I've found that introducing some puréed fruit and veg has increased my babies appetite for her milk. She is now taking about 5oz a day more than before. I never intended that introducing solids would lead to a reduction in milk at this age (5 months). I wanted it to complement her diet not a substitution.

I certainly wouldn't rush into weaning but a mum knows their baby best and it sounds like little Alex was ready. Belfa - same as what others have said - would introduce a new flavour a day not the same flavour for 5 days as that apparently leads to fussiness xx

 

[Karenb]

I will obviously do research into it, but at the moment common sense is making me doubt that a few weeks of pureed food can lead to adult obesity?? There would be so many other factors that contribute more than that!! Surely??

 

[Orion]

You have to be careful of baby having a bad reaction to a food, so it's not ideal to introduce more than 1 new food a day.

 

[heybabya]

I'm so confused by all this weaning business! Worried about starting as you hear so many different things! Logan is starting to get really fussy with his milk but is this because he wants something more or because he has sore gums with teething?? Agh this is confusing!!

 

[Starlight1986]

I will obviously do research into it, but at the moment common sense is making me doubt that a few weeks of pureed food can lead to adult obesity?? There would be so many other factors that contribute more than that!! Surely??

Hi Karen, sorry I probably wasn't very clear. Its not exactly puree that can lead to it but the act of spoon feeding your child. They arnt able to regulate their intake of food when you are spoon-feeding. They have no control or choice essentially of what's going into their mouth.
As I said a puréed dinner means that a baby is never able to taste one flavour as its all mixed in together so fussiness can become a big factor also.

Of course there will be other factors like giving baby juice or sweets or jars of food but its all linked x