12 weeks

[ellie27]

Well I spoke to the Nurse about weaning and she said weaning max would be better for him than giving him ungry baby milk x

You have been advised to wean your LO at 14 weeks old, and in the UK too? I am gobsmacked!!!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

The difference between hungry baby and stage 1 is tiny, I have looked into it. I personally think it is a gimmick really. I gave it to my first daughter who was ff but I honestly can't remember why. So if you want to try something I would try that before doing mega early solids.

 

[mummy2be1987]

Unfortunately Max isn't allowed Hungry Baby milk. the slight difference between that and stage 1 is partly the reason why. He has surgery at 10 days old the Nurse has suggested trying him on foods as the hungry baby food would do him more damage than it would help him.

He has anoplasty carried out. I am only going off both the nurse and the health visitors advice to not give him the hungry baby milk.. I have tried increasing his feeds with normal milk and that hasn't helped at all with his feeds.

I have tried him on solids and it hasn't made him constipated and we have been able to stop his laxatives that he was on daily.

I came for advice on weaning him at 12 weeks, and not to be told to go against the proffesionals advice.

 

[MommaBarry]

The guidelines for when to start weaning and when to start solids are just that, GUIDELINES.

Your situation is not the typical one of other moms on this board or this thread. I can tell you my daughter did not have a very complex and delicate surgery at such a young age, but if she did I would follow what the healthcare professionals told me over anyone elses opinions. They know best and so do you!

I wish you and your little man all the best of luck with weaning!

 

[NicholaP]

My 13 week old has been taking half a rusk (sugar free obv) from a spoon then has a 6oz bottle for the past week and is sleeping 10 hours right through. She's a brilliant sleeper.

EVERY baby is different. You know your baby and you know what's best! Don't let anyone tell you when you should be weaning. When you and your baby are ready I say go for it!

Within 9 years it went from '12lbs or 12 weeks - whichever comes first', '6 months' and now '4 months' for weaning.

Ill probably be slaughtered for this, but Iona LOVES the rusk and baby rice and is thriving! So as long as she is happy, I'm a happy mummy! Xx

 

[summer rain]

The weaning age hasn't been 12 weeks since 1996 and it hasn't gone back to 4 months either. If you're going to be unwise enough to give solids this early please do not give rusks they contain gluten and research is unanimous on the fact that offering gluten before 4 months does greatly increase the risk of developing coeliac disease later on. It has been advised to avoid gluten before six months since the late 1980s because the evidence is so strong Xx

 

[NicholaP]

If weaning isn't 4 months then why does ALL stage 1 baby food say from 4 months? And pretty much all people I know were fed rusk and we all turned out absolutely fine. I know what's best for my baby, she takes if from the spoon with no problems, she isn't substituting a feed as she takes a full bottle afterwards.

 

[Twister]

Because that's the earliest the baby food companies are allowed to advertise it from, they don't give a hoot what the actual guidelines are (which are 6 months*)as long as they make money, they would advertise from birth if they could get away with it

Just because the people you know turned out fine doesn't mean everyone was. Fact is introducing gluten before 6 months can INCREASE the risk of coeliac disease and other digestive issues, that doesn't mean that everyone fed gluten before 6 months will definitely have issues in later life, just that the risk is increased. For me personally its not worth the risk, regardless of whether my baby would 'love it' or not.

*https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx

 

[Noodlebear]

Healthcare professionals say NOT to wean before 16/17 weeks (unless specifically advised otherwise) because little tummies aren't ready for it and that most babies have developed enough to have solids at 6 months.if you make baby food of course you're going to do your best to utilise that time so they put down the absolute minimum age. If you go on their websites 9 times out of 10 they'll have written something about waiting til 6 months on the site though as it's the best thing for them.

 

[summer rain]

^WTS. When my eldest was small Hipp and other companies had some of their baby juices, flavoured waters (yes flavoured water foe babies) and teas say from 4weeks/1 month on the packaging even though this could be really harmful. The government clamped down on it and they stopped, this was only 9 years ago now when the weaning age was 6 months. In other countries with less strict laws baby food companies who sell products here in the UK label their products as suitable from birth or 4-6 weeks, nestle who now own SMA are one such company, Hipp are another notorious culprit. Just goes to show 'organic' doesn't mean ethical.

Labelling laws can be quite difficult to change and the baby food companies are very wealthy and powerful so will fight the government in the courts, it doesn't mean that what they are saying on their packaging is safe advice that is up-to-date and/or correct. If you look at the small print on the rusks it did say last time I checked that gluten is unsuitable for under 6 months but knowing these companies they may have removed that advice now if they can get away with this. All they care about is their sales. There is a very small amount of research that suggests giving gluten between 4-6 months is safe, however this research has found massively increased risks where gluten is given before 17 weeks and the majority of research suggests that waiting until 6 months is safest. This is why most allergy charities including those who deal particularly with coeliac disease strongly advise waiting until 6 months before introducing solids but if you must start earlier at least avoid gluten until then xx

 

[NicholaP]

Well I'm continuing to give her supper before bedtime along with a bottle, I hope any other women who feel too scared to come on and say the same for fear of a total backlash from other people, does the same!

 

[Twister]

It's not backlash, it's giving out correct information to ensure mums make an informed choice. If its working for you then fine but its not right to encourage other mums to do the same when the risks are proven.

 

[Noodlebear]

Not backlash. It's well known health and safety information, as your LO's mum it's up to you if you want to ignore it.

 

[mummy2be1987]

Since posting this thread the nurse has advised me to start weaning
5 days ago the HV rang me and has said they would like to come out and discuss early weaning..

Both NHS professionals that don't work together are not paid/funded by the same people completely independent of each other...

This again is before 17 weeks.

Like someone has said every baby I is different if milk isn't filling them.. What are you supposed to do continue to feed them every hour?? That is not healthy for anyone.

My main reason. For posting was cause max was having 7 7oz bottles a day. Waking every 3 hours sometimes less sometimes every 2. That's not healthy for anyone.

For some babies milk is not enough. Every baby is different. Max has gone from the 0.4th centile line to the 50th centile line. But they aren't concerned as for everything else he's on the 98th centile line. Maybe this is why both nHS professionals what to discuss early weaning. In one week he put on nearly a lb.

So apart from being a bad mum for starting early weaning which is how you are making is feel you will probably think I am over feeding him next.

I know it's better to introduce veg into his diet than it is to let him go hungry and and be unhappy all the time. You baby may be happy enough on just milk but my baby isn't and its hard enough for me to be giving him his dilatation 3 times a day without the added slaughtering from you people for choosing to wean early on the advice from professionals and from mothers instinct.

 

[Twister]

Your situation is different as you've been advised by medical professionals to wean early for medical reasons and you're obviously going to be given advice on the best foods to start with (i.e no gluten or refined sugar). No one don't thinks you're a bad mum Sorry that your thread has been sidetracked.

 

[Tor]

My DS2 is 11 weeks and constantly feeding at the moment over a period of 4 hours he drinks about 12oz but not in one go its just constant all day! It is difficult especially with a toddler to look after as well but I still wouldn't wean before 17 weeks and will be trying to wait until as close to 6 months as possible.

Your son obviously has different health needs though and if health professionals are advising you wean early then obviously you are going to take that advice over a bunch of people on the internet and so you should, no one else knows your son like you and they do.

 

[Noodlebear]

I stated in a previous post that if you're advised to by a doctor etc it's totally different than deciding to do it for no reason so no, no one here thinks you're a bad mum, I also weaned slightly early x

 

[Bellybump89]

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