my baby born 05/25, can I start solids?

[babyjan]

I breastfeed and personally waited 6/7 months x

 

[dizzy65]

I tried my son on Pablem yesterday... and he did good

He was born 5/12

 

[ThunderPearls]

My boy was born 22/5 and I have started on some solids. Just fruit and veg purees and also some baby rice mixed with one of the purees just to see what baby rice was like (I will not be getting it again! Only had some as it was a free sample from Hipp organic!)

anyway

he has loved everythin and his tongue thrust reflex was gone before we started on solids and he can sit up straight and has good mouth movements. I want to do baby led weaning too but am sticking to purees for now, hes actually quite good with a spoon already! He usually ends up trying to eat the bit in his hand when he chews his toys but with a spoon he holds the handle and puts the spoon bit straight in his mouth

I am sticking to the 4m+ when it comes to weaning as they keep changeing guidelines back and forth and its just annoying me really as if starting solids at 4m was that awful then they wouldnt be allowed to label things 4m+ in the shops still. Also there is evidence to show that delaying weaning till 6/7m+ can also have negative effects with allergies and caeliac disease. The optimum time to wean os apparently somewhere between 4-6 months and it depends on the child.

Mostly I have done my own purees but have also used a couple of hipp organic fruit pots an also a hip organic vegetable pouch. And he likes th and has had no issues with any of it.

I am not replacing any milk feeds with food yet and he isnt having big 'meals' yet... Just 4-5 spoons of something once a day or so... He still feeds 2 hourly on top of that.

 

[pebbie1]

Here's the article that was in the news regarding the diabetes x
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...ths-times-likely-develop-type-1-diabetes.html

 

[Cinderella]

We weaned the 4yo at 4 months due to reflux and he's always been a great eater with no allergies etc. and it greatly helped his reflux.

We also had an appointment with the 3mo paediatrician two days ago who suggested that weaning at 4mo would be good for her as she also suffers from reflux, for us it's a good option, encouraged by the babies doctor - moral of my story? It didn't do us any harm previously and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Do what suits your circumstances!

 

[NoodleSnack]

If you feel anxious about starting, you can try it, if he can hold things now and sit up straight, fruit and veggie sticks are convenient and they won't get much in, just something to occupy them when you're eating.

 

[iwantabub]

The guidelines say 6 months.

Signs that they are ready for weaning are able to sit unaided, able to bring objects to their mouth and loss of tongue thrust reflex.

It is most likely a growth spurt in which case breastmilk will have more calories than solids and baby is trying to increase your supply.

At the end of the day though it's your baby and you can do what you like.

Thankyou for this it's great to know!

I also plan on waiting til 6 months ish... Breast milk has everything they need so I'm not in a rush

 

[maidelyn]

Do you want to tw or do blw? You have to wait longer for blw but I found it much easier and add others have said weaning is messy and a pain in the arse. I would wait until you can blw but each to their own!

 

[BecksBabyB]

Hi, don't have much advice but just wanted to say that my little boy was born n 27th May and he's not started weaning just yet and I'm kinda looking for him to tell me when he's ready which doesn't seem just yet. I agree with some of the others who have said, you'll know when your baby is ready. My friend has a little girl who is 7 weeks older than my son and she was weaned at 17 weeks and it wasn't because my friend was eager but because her daughter was ready! She's always been very advanced in her movements and accomplishments and was very eager for food and it has been very good for her to start solids and she's now on 3 puréed meals a day and a gorgeous baby! But my boy is almost 20 weeks and not ready.

I do feel a bit of pressure from some older relatives and friends to start weaning and they are questioning when I'm going start constantly but I just keep putting them off...anyone else had this? They weaned their babies at 3-4months but although I'm so excited to wean, I don't think Leo is eager to start solids so I'm going to wait!

x

 

[SparkleUK]

I've started my LO on a small amount of baby rice mixed with normal milk for supper. She us 20 weeks on Tuesday. I am not progressing onto anything else til 6 months though, as the rice is enough for now.
I have a friend who started her baby on fruity porridge at 18 weeks and it caused havoc with the poor thing. Bad diarrhoea etc...
Not sure if this helps?

 

[Noo]

So long as your baby is not losing weight then BF is doing it's job. He appears to be having a growth spurt and encouraging your supply to increase by feeding lots. Consider what you'd have thought to this behaviour if he wasn't so close to weaning age... The signs you're discussing is that he is showing interest in food and not that he needs to start eating it. There is a difference x

 

[ellie27]

I would say wait til LO is 6 months old, 25th November, to start solids.

Your milk is all he needs and you are doing so well!

Its so much easier to just breastfeed, rather than have to cook/puree or mash/worry about what they are eating/ is the right things?/what to do when the dont eat/are they having too many sweet foods?/ enough protein?.........arrgh!!

 

[JenX]

Here's the article that was in the news regarding the diabetes x
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...ths-times-likely-develop-type-1-diabetes.html

This study was done on children already genetically predisposed to diabetes, and may not equate to any extra risk for children not predisposed. It was also a study based on a very small sample size, and therefore needs confirmation.

That said, do whatever you feel is best for your child.

 

[PepsiChic]

The thing here is to be very careful, if hes increasing his milk intake its because hes having a growth spurt and needs that extra milk...if you fill him up on solids which dont provide anywhere near as much calories he may drop his milk intake (and lower your supply) and possibly loose weight or stunt his growth spurt.

I would at least weight till the growth spurt is out the way and hes feeding regularly again or try to weight to as close at 6 months as you can.

ETA: here is a list of calorie contents in foods vs breastmilk and formula.
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/babyfoodcalories/

 

[PepsiChic]

Here's the article that was in the news regarding the diabetes x
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...ths-times-likely-develop-type-1-diabetes.html

and ignore the above link and instead read this:

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-diabetes/

and this link explains the reasons why delaying solids till 6months+ can be a good idea
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/delay-solids/

 

[summer rain]

It's a huge myth that 'they' (I presume this means the government?) keep changing the age guidelines back and forth, they have been 6 months for ten years and despite new research coming out they have been kept as such because the overwhelming evidence is that for the majority of babies waiting until six months is best. The government in the UK review the guidelines bi-annually and they still stay the same. They were recently reviewed again this May...in light of new evidence. Guess what the recommended weaning age is now?

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

The baby food companies would love parents to believe that guidelines are confusing and keep changing because it sells them more products at the end of the day. Also if you're considering giving baby iron-containing cereal to a BF baby especially if prior to six months look into it carefully as there is a possibility this can deplete baby's own iron stores and 'overtake' the natural iron found in breast milk which has bacteria-binding properties whereas artificial iron does not. Xx

P.S. I have a 20 week old too and while he shows many signs of being physically ready for solids from the outside I have no idea if he is ready on the inside so I will wait as long as possible just to be safe.