The whole weaning thing is soooo complicated and it really gets my goat that no one is told the whole picture, because HCPs just don't have time to go into all the details so they just say '4months' or '6 months' or whatever.
Basicallyto start with an exclusively breastfed baby in the developed world that is thriving has ALL (100%) of it's nutritional and energy needs met until 'around' 6 months.
around 6 months the composition of breastmilk slightly changes and becomes the 'mature milk' . generally from this point on the mother should give food AS WELL as still keep the same amount of breastfeeding. for the first year the MILK is the MAIN source of EVERYTHING. Food gives the rest of the nutrients that the milk is lacking after 6 months but that is hardly any anyway!
Breastmilk contains 1/2 of all nutrients and energy a baby needs until around 1.5 years and then 1/3 of all nutrients until 2 years.
After 2 years the benefits are really just antibodies etc etc it does not really do anything for nutrition.
Formula also has all the energy and nutrition a baby needs for at least 6 months.
The actual line on the matter is 'between 4-6months but no earlier than 4 months' obviously there are exceptions to the rule but this is the general guidlines.
Before 4 months, the babies digestive system is NOT ready for actual food. HOWEVER in some cases it the benefits outweigh any risks for early weaning, such as not taking milk, sick baby etc etc.
SOMETIME between 4-6 months the babies digestive system 'matures'. It becomes ready to handle real food. The problem here is that every single baby is different. Some babies digestive system will mature around 4 months, some around 6, most sometime inbetween. There is NO WAY to tell whether your baby is 'ready' for food other than just waiting as long as you can. Most 'signs they are ready' have now been discredited by HCPs and is known as normal part of babys development - sucking fists etc.
By the time baby is 6 months they need more iron. They have a supply that starts getting low by then. The main reason they wanted to change the guidlines from 4months to 6months is because of so many iron deficiancies. So many women start their baby on foods low in iron, and build up to iron rich food such as meat... so by that time the baby has become low on iron. They wanted to change it to four months so that by the time the baby starts having less iron the mother will be introducing iron rich foods to the diet.........
BTW this is no offence to anyone and I don't judge anyone for whenever they decide to wean, just some people don't realise why the guidlines are put in place and we all like to make informed choices don't we! I know a couple of you have babies that have had problems with milk etc and I think weaning early (but not necessarily before 4 months) can be beneficial.
Just remember don't feel pressured by anyone, do what you think is best
ALSO many people who defend early weaning say their babies have no problems, and
1. they may not ever have problems, as i said the gut matures between 4-6months and their babies may have matured earlier than some.... but they lucky it wasn't the other way round and their digestive system matured later!
2. Most of the problems show up MUCH later in life, food intolerences, allergies, problems with wheat, IBS......... there's a whole host of them and a lot of them could be down to weaning before the digestive system is ready for food
Good luck everyone and sorry if my rambling post makes no sense, I find it hard to articulate myself sometimes lol
. I dread the thoughts of moving him to his own room. I remember Ed asking me how long I expected him to be in our room for when he was only a few days old and I said' Ohhh he'll be well in his own room by six months!' and I meant every word of it! Now I'm having palpitations imagining leaving him alone in a big (little) room all by himself! 
I'm a sap but...he's just so ickle!!!! 
