Early weaning

[tasha41]

What do people mean by early weaning?

Like until what age is it considered early weaning?

 

[mommyof3co]

I guess early would be before the 4-6mo? I personally think you should try and get as close to 6mo as you can...but I don't think you should wean before 4mo...just my personal opinion

 

[tasha41]

I just see people say it so often I wasn't sure if they meant like before 6 months or before 4 months or what

 

[mommyof3co]

I would think before 4mo since that is the current recommendation 4-6mo...so technically 5mo isn't exactly early. But I really don't know for sure

 

[sparkswillfly]

To me anything before 5 months is early. Anything before 4 months is super early.

 

[nessajane]

I would say anything before 6 months is early but we weaned tyler at 4 months x

 

[redberry3]

We tried at 3.5 months and it was not very successful. Now we started again at 5 months and it is so much better. I found he was just TOO hungry and starting now was what was necessary to keep him happy. So to answer your question, I think it depends on the baby. You will know right from the start if you should stop.

 

[ryder]

I started with rice cereal at 3 months, which is considered early... Here in canada it is mostly the HV's that still go by the 6 month rule... Any doc or ped I spoke to, and any other of my friends have all said most docs recommend 4 months here.

Unless your family has alot of allergy's it is ok.

 

[xxxjacxxx]

when I had my 1st son 13 years ago the recommended age for weaning was 3 months. They swap and change this as and when somebody finds an excuse to do so. I personally have always had bigger babies who were also very hungry. Ive weaned all of mine around the 3 month mark apart from Leo who is 11 weeks and is being weaned at the mo as he suffers from reflux and is on special thickened formula. Although this is fantastic for his reflux, it doesnt satisfy him so Ive began giving him a small amount of rice cereal at tea time feed. I would say that this is considered early weaning! It really is upto the individual as they are the only one that knows their babies needs. x

 

[Pyrrhic]

Anything 3-6 months is early to me.

 

[LuluBee]

Everything I've read and heard suggests that early weaning is anything before 6 months, beings as the 6 months mark is when the World Health Organisation recommend weaning.

But that is an 'ideal' it depends really on each baby, they show quite clear signs when the time is right to wean them. Alex was reaching out and really crying for food at 4 months and that combnined with him being very hungry and having a reflux problem led us to wean him then.

Don't worry you'll know when the time is right for your baby xx

 

[brownhairedmom]

My doctor and all of my friends doctors have said that 6 months is far too long to go for babies without food, especially bigger babies. He told me to start at 4 months, and he said that there is talks within the WHO that they're going to change the reccomendation from staunchly 6 months to 4-6 months.

 

[elm]

I think that before 6 months is early weaning. Babies get hardly any nutrients from food when they first start eating and if they're eating food they're don't have all the milk they need which contains the important nutrition.

As it's been found that babies digestive systems aren't ready for food before 6 months I doubt very much that WHO will change their recommendations. It's more likely that the law in the uk will change so that baby food manufacturers can no longer say their products are suitable for 4+ months. That's just my opinion though x

 

[PeanutBean]

The recommendation is to wait until 6 months but it is strongly advised not to wean before 20 weeks, if I recall rightly that's because the swallowing reflex is not yet properly developed so presumably there is a much bigger risk of serious choking.

 

[ryder]

There are all sorts of "claims" and reasoning behind waiting until 6 months... personally I dont know of anyone who has... Or anyone who would want to (locally)... Everyone is free to do what they want wither their babies.

I could never deal with frequent night feeding when it could be fixed with weaning... thats just MO though!

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think it really depends on where you live as to the advice given locally. As a few have said WHO recommend 6 months as a guideline but Drs in North America definitely seem to go with sooner. Although I do think Drs in North America also are bigger on intervention generally with everything to do with babies. C-sections are very much the norm and women seem to have them at the drop of a hat where are you'd have to BEG for one here!!


For me early is before 4 months. I started at 4 with #1 as they advised then, and 5 and a bit this time

 

[redberry3]

I think it really depends on where you live as to the advice given locally. As a few have said WHO recommend 6 months as a guideline but Drs in North America definitely seem to go with sooner. Although I do think Drs in North America also are bigger on intervention generally with everything to do with babies. C-sections are very much the norm and women seem to have them at the drop of a hat where are you'd have to BEG for one here!!


For me early is before 4 months. I started at 4 with #1 as they advised then, and 5 and a bit this time

Not a chance here. Our doctors here will do whatever they need to in order to not have a csection and then when it is medically necessary they do it. Csections have saved many of my friends babies lives....and it wasn't given at the drop of a hat.

As for weaning, we barely have ANY intervention here because we see the HV once for a general check up and then not again until 9 months, so we are pretty well on our own. THat's why I am just going with the flow and feeding him what I want when I want.

 

[BlackBerry25]

It actually seems like the UK has way more intervention than we do. We can go to a health clinic for advice on weaning, but no one has ever told me what to do. All my doctor said was 6 months, but since Helena is pretty advanced, crawling at an early age, had good head control and was wanting to eat, he said to go ahead at 5 months.

It feels like people think that Canadians treat pregnancy as a sickness, and that we have a lot of doctors input into everything, but really we don't. I think you would be surprised.

I don't even know anyone personally who has had a c-section. Helena was sunny side up, and my doctor (who I only saw when I was starting to push) did everything he could, and didn't even mention a c-section to me.

Anyways, back on topic... I think before 6 months is early weaning, but sometimes I think early weaning is acceptable. It is an individual thing.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Thanks J & W - I think I must be getting a distorted view.
I have to say it's the US more than Canada that I've heard it from. I was starting to wonder if the Drs in the US were on a bonus system for c-sections!!

Wendino Heebs was sunny side up too!! I LOVE that expression!!

 

[BlackBerry25]

Thanks J & W - I think I must be getting a distorted view.
I have to say it's the US more than Canada that I've heard it from. I was starting to wonder if the Drs in the US were on a bonus system for c-sections!!

Wendino Heebs was sunny side up too!! I LOVE that expression!!

Probably is different in the US, and possibly in other parts of Canada. I actually wish I had a little more intervention. I pretty much just ask everything on here though. I have no contact with anyone in Alberta Health from 6 months to 1 year, which is a pretty big stretch as that's when weaning occurs!

I know, I didn't hear the term sunny side up until I was in labour, and I had no idea what he was talking about