Do bigger babies really need weaning earlier!?!

[Munchkin30]

Hey all,

My beautiful 91st centile girl is just over 2 weeks old and I really want to leave weaning til 6 months and do baby led weaning.

My first dd was 9th centile so I don't really know what to do with a big baby!! A few people have already said she'll need food early but I'm not so sure!!

What are your experiences?

Thanks all xx

 

[AK89]

NO! The people who say crap like this are the same people who tell you your baby'll have a lot of hair if you've got heartburn when you're preggers It's not true at all. Babies shouldn't be weaned before 6 months because their digestive systems aren't adequately developed. Their size has nothing to do with it. Also the size of your baby at this age isn't necessarily indicative of what size she'll be later on.

You'll get told ALL sorts of crap over the next few months as to how you should be raising your baby, just make sure you give it a quick background check first!!

 

[redneckhippy]

Solids are not more filling than breastmilk or formula. Unless there is an actual medical issue and your DOCTOR (not MIL, mother, grandma, random lady on the bus) tells you to introduce solids early, there is no benefit to giving a baby solids before 6 months, regardless of how big your baby is.

 

[Kess]

What they said ^. My first son was 91st centile for ages, he was 9lbs 5oz at birth and just kept growing, and was exclusively breastfed until 6 months. Milk is more nutritious than early weaning foods anyway, so if they're hungry, give more milk! They do go through a growth spurt around 4 months, so don't let that fool you.

 

[redneckhippy]

My son is also in the 90th percentile and eats like it's going out of style but is growing just fine on breastmilk alone. Someone explained to me before that anything they eat other than breastmilk or formula is just taking away from the nutrition they could have got. It's like instead of having a complete meal, you have bananas. Sure bananas are healthy, but the complete meal is better.

 

[Ganton]

My DS2 was 9lb9oz at birth and stayed between 91st and 98th centile until well past 6 months. He was exclusively breastfed until 6 months and wasn't particularly interested in solid food until 10 months. He's just a chunky monkey that loves his milk

 

[Munchkin30]

Thanks ladies xxx I've also already had people telling me she'll need topping up with formula because I won't be able to keep up with demand cos she's a big baby. I do know that bit's rubbish!! I suppose I'm a bit nervous of her suddenly not sleeping at 5 months cos she's hungry but I know weaning can stop them sleeping too cos they get tummy ache.
Also my sister in law started weaning her big 4 month old baby because he was genuinely screaming and trying to grab at food every time anyone was eating. He was crawling at 5 months and walking at 10 so it seems he was just a bit 'earlier' than most baby's at stuff.

 

[StranjeGirl]

DD1 was over 21 lb at 4 months old (that is not a typo...she was off the charts for height and weight) I weaned her at 6 months exactly and she honestly wasn't all that interested in food until closer to a year old, but still wanted all of her bottles at that time. DD2 is 75th percentile at 4 months and also has no need at all to be weaned and we will be waiting til 6 months. I'm not sure what the deciding factor is, but for my children it certainly had nothing to do with weight!

 

[Literati_Love]

You definitely do not need to give solids early. I agree with everyone! However, bigger babies can run out of their iron stores more quickly according to my doctor, so ONCE you start solids at 6 months, you should be quick to introduce as many iron-rich foods as possible right from the get-go.

 

[Munchkin30]

Thanks literati. Hope you're doing ok

 

[staralfur]

My LO was on the 80th percentile for weight. We introduced solids at 6 months and she wanted none of it. She didn't swallow a thing until she was 8 months and was still on mostly breastmilk until she was 15 months. So in my experience, needing food early was the opposite of true!

 

[MindUtopia]

Absolutely not. People come up with crazy things some times don't they? If anything, being bigger, she'll have a higher caloric need, which means offering just milk for longer is better because it's much more calorie and nutrient dense.

 

[Munchkin30]

Is that true?? I'll need lots of ammunition when she gets to 5 months especcially if ages sleeping badly.

 

[Pearls18]

Nope my gorgeous 91st centile pudding flourished on breast milk until he was 6 months old, he was 20lb before any solids passed his mouth lol

My youngest was 25th centile, and I waited until 6 months for him too. Two very different babies with very different feeding habits and challenges but nothing swayed me from the current evidence that optimum time is at least 6 months.

(Both were awful sleepers too so I had a lot of pressure but I just ignored it)

 

[redneckhippy]

Is that true?? I'll need lots of ammunition when she gets to 5 months especcially if ages sleeping badly.

Both breastmilk and formula are made to meet all of babies needs. So in the milk you have your fat, protein, carbs, vitamins, everything and it's in the exact balance that baby needs. To get that from food you need a larger quanity and a good variety. Babies have small stomachs and may well be picky eaters, so you are going to have quite a challenge to meet all those nutrient requirments in a meal of solids. Most baby foods are not going to be that nutrient dense because they are generally fuits and veggies, which are nice healthy things to eat, but how full do you feel when you're on a diet and just eating a salad? As a PP said, if anything, bigger baby is giong to be better off on milk because he will need something as nutritionally dense as possible.