Shocked by doctor re: weaning

[vaniilla]

im still not bored of these threads!

at the end of the day, the guidelines are 6 months and I believe they are there for a reason, so I tried to wait until then but poppy was 100% ready at 5.5 months, to the point of stealing food off our plates, chewing and swallowing so I just went with it! I would never ever wean a baby earlier than that though, until the guidelines change, unless for medical reasons

I love these threads too

Now I can join in

LO is just 4 months and I can definitely say that he is NOT ready to be weaned even though he has been waking up every two hours at night and draining BOTH boobs!!!

How do I know he doesn't need food? He is obviously after nourishment and there is far more calories and "good stuff" in milk so why would I want to give him anything less? He can hold his head but not sit up without support. He is interested in my food and if I gave it to him he would put it in his mouth - but EVERYTHING that goes in his hand goes in his mouth! He also isnt quite accurate enough from hand to mouth. He also still has a strong tongue reflex. For me, I'm waiting, not because I want to wait longer, but because LOs body is telling me he isn't ready.


Oooooh I'm loving these threads lol!

exactly my view too. Ava-Mae watches me eat, but she watches everything i do. Her coordination isn't there yet and she still needs a lot me support. All there milestones usually coinside with being ready to be weaned.

I will wait till 6 months or as close as i can get to wean and will follow Ava-Mae's lead.

Sometimes i think it's sad that some parents are in a rush to wean as it's an exciting milestone. Personally i think my little girl is growing up too quickly already!

On another note, natsku have you seen how long this thread is? This is too long for a loser so not sure you belong in the loser club anymore! Haha! X

I've never had a thread last this long! I just wanted to rant about my doctor

Question to anyone who knows - the doctor also said that if her weight gain slows down again I should wean. I thought milk was the best for weight gain at this age, not solids. Am I wrong?

this is how I know it as well that formula is used for calories and food is just for them to get used to different tastes/textures which really, is the definition of weaning

 

[Natsku]

Cheers, thats what I thought. Good to know I'm not getting things mixed up!

 

[peanut56]

Where I live, the guideline is 6 months for ALL babies, BF or FF.

 

[bumpy_j]

i'm on this facebook baby page and someone was talking about weaning their 13 week old baby on rusks, some of the replies go like this:

i started my daughter on rusks at 6 weeks, she was goin every 2 hours with a 7oz bottle of hungry baby food, she loved the rusk and she's perfectly fine, I wouldn't listen to ya midwife I'd just go with what u think is right

Dont listen to the midwifes its your child you know best my girl was on hungry baby food at 3 weeks and goes every 4 hour and i put baby rice in her bottles just try the different flavours of it my girl is 10week and about 3 or 4 weeks ago i made the rice up in a bowl with her milk and fed her off the spoon just do what you think is best its your child hun x

i mean 6 weeks, seriously...?

this is one of those situations when i feel like i have to bite my tongue and repeat 'they know whats best for their kid' but my god, sorry i had to post it here or i'd post something there instead, just so i know im not the only one freaking out about the advice a bit. i really, really want to say something though. i. must. not. criticize. other. parents. paaah

 

[peanut56]

i'm on this facebook baby page and someone was talking about weaning their 13 week old baby on rusks, some of the replies go like this:

i started my daughter on rusks at 6 weeks, she was goin every 2 hours with a 7oz bottle of hungry baby food, she loved the rusk and she's perfectly fine, I wouldn't listen to ya midwife I'd just go with what u think is right

Dont listen to the midwifes its your child you know best my girl was on hungry baby food at 3 weeks and goes every 4 hour and i put baby rice in her bottles just try the different flavours of it my girl is 10week and about 3 or 4 weeks ago i made the rice up in a bowl with her milk and fed her off the spoon just do what you think is best its your child hun x

i mean 6 weeks, seriously...?

this is one of those situations when i feel like i have to bite my tongue and repeat 'they know whats best for their kid' but my god, sorry i had to post it here or i'd post something there instead, just so i know im not the only one freaking out about the advice a bit. i really, really want to say something though. i. must. not. criticize. other. parents. paaah

Wow. That's terrible!!!!

 

[bumpy_j]

i replied (had to, haaad to) with:

it's not recommended because it can be a choking hazard and babies find it hard to digest food so young - it's best to wean when they can sit up, use their mouth for food properly (instead of pushing out with their tongue) - those are the signs that they are ready for more than just milk. but he is your baby and if he seems happier on rusks than exclusively formula use your instinct - so hard to tread carefully cos i don't wanna offend all the other mums who it's a bit too late for

 

[PepsiChic]

I've never had a thread last this long! I just wanted to rant about my doctor

Question to anyone who knows - the doctor also said that if her weight gain slows down again I should wean. I thought milk was the best for weight gain at this age, not solids. Am I wrong?

NOPE! your not wrong! milk, be it BM or Formula, it is designed to contain lots of calories and important nutrients. the MOST calories your baby will get is from formula or breastmilk.

infact by weaning you may be filling your LO's tummy up with not so many calories and so she ends up drinking LESS milk and therefore takes in less calories and other goodness she needs. and no calories = no weight gain!

 

[Natsku]

I've never had a thread last this long! I just wanted to rant about my doctor

Question to anyone who knows - the doctor also said that if her weight gain slows down again I should wean. I thought milk was the best for weight gain at this age, not solids. Am I wrong?

NOPE! your not wrong! milk, be it BM or Formula, it is designed to contain lots of calories and important nutrients. the MOST calories your baby will get is from formula or breastmilk.

infact by weaning you may be filling your LO's tummy up with not so many calories and so she ends up drinking LESS milk and therefore takes in less calories and other goodness she needs. and no calories = no weight gain!

I wish I had corrected the doctor then. Its a pity, she's a good doctor otherwise but I don't like her misinforming me (and others I guess)

 

[LuvMyBoys]

I've never had a thread last this long! I just wanted to rant about my doctor

Question to anyone who knows - the doctor also said that if her weight gain slows down again I should wean. I thought milk was the best for weight gain at this age, not solids. Am I wrong?

NOPE! your not wrong! milk, be it BM or Formula, it is designed to contain lots of calories and important nutrients. the MOST calories your baby will get is from formula or breastmilk.

infact by weaning you may be filling your LO's tummy up with not so many calories and so she ends up drinking LESS milk and therefore takes in less calories and other goodness she needs. and no calories = no weight gain!

I wish I had corrected the doctor then. Its a pity, she's a good doctor otherwise but I don't like her misinforming me (and others I guess)

I think it's dangerous to assume a doctor is wrong or misinformed because of something you discussed on a forum with people from different countries with different guidelines and different opinions and levels of information about this topic. It's perhaps a better idea to DISCUSS the issue with your doctor and ask all the questions that you have to get clarification. Doctors don't just make things up - they base their advice on BEST PRACTICE and SCIENCE, which they read regularly.

People can gather a lot of misinformation from threads like this... that's all I'm saying.

 

[Natsku]

I've never had a thread last this long! I just wanted to rant about my doctor

Question to anyone who knows - the doctor also said that if her weight gain slows down again I should wean. I thought milk was the best for weight gain at this age, not solids. Am I wrong?

NOPE! your not wrong! milk, be it BM or Formula, it is designed to contain lots of calories and important nutrients. the MOST calories your baby will get is from formula or breastmilk.

infact by weaning you may be filling your LO's tummy up with not so many calories and so she ends up drinking LESS milk and therefore takes in less calories and other goodness she needs. and no calories = no weight gain!

I wish I had corrected the doctor then. Its a pity, she's a good doctor otherwise but I don't like her misinforming me (and others I guess)

I think it's dangerous to assume a doctor is wrong or misinformed because of something you discussed on a forum with people from different countries with different guidelines and different opinions and levels of information about this topic. It's perhaps a better idea to DISCUSS the issue with your doctor and ask all the questions that you have to get clarification. Doctors don't just make things up - they base their advice on BEST PRACTICE and SCIENCE, which they read regularly.

People can gather a lot of misinformation from threads like this... that's all I'm saying.

whether milk provides more calories than solids doesn't change from guideline to guideline or country to country though does it? Its either true or its not.

Doctors don't make things up but they don't always check things properly like the doctor who told me litalgin was ok while breastfeeding or the doctor who prescribed me NSAIDs when I told her I had a stomach ulcer. Sometimes doctors are too busy/stressed to think things through properly.

 

[lozzy21]

Natsuk babys weight gain is ment to slow down as they get older otherwise we would end up with 6 stone 2 year olds. It's common for babys weight gain to slow right down or even stay the same once you start weaning too

 

[Natsku]

I think the doctor meant if it slows down too much but I dunno. Are babies supposed to double their birth weight by 6 months?

 

[XfairyhopesX]

Ohhh i just thought.. sad i know at this time, what about shellfish / nut allergys, do they just appear or do they come from somewhere too?

 

[minties]

I think they are meant to by 4 months but mine didn't and he's perfectly healthy and normal.

 

[Gen79]

The fact is though that even experts aren't uninimous on this subject. This isn't like where all scientists agree that cigarette smoking is harmful. There are plenty of researchers who think that it's better for some children that they start being weaned earlier than 6 months. I don't understand how anyone could be so sure. Yes, make a decision for your child but don't act as if anyone who doesn't make the same one is being neglectful.

 

[iceylou]

once we all agree on tizzy hall - the "baby expert" been an idiot when it comes to her ideas of weaning, then the world will be fine!!

 

[purplepower]

Just to throw a spanner in the works. I was invited to take part in this study. www.eatstudy.co.uk which is looking at the introduction of key allergenic foods at three months in breastfed babies. So they are doing research all the time into these things. At the end of the day Mums will always do what they think is best, I personally prefer to be able to make a well informed choice.

 

[hb1]

Ohhh i just thought.. sad i know at this time, what about shellfish / nut allergys, do they just appear or do they come from somewhere too?

allergies are strange things, throughout your life your cells change every 7 yrs or so - you can become allergic to something at any time or stop being allergic.

Obviously some are more susceptible than others - whether genetically driven or environmentally....

 

[jstarr]

Insted of this 'I weaned at 3/4 months and my baby is fine' and the 6 month weaning police who will come and banish you to a place where they keep all the bad mothers who weaned early, more emphasis should be put on knowing the signs that a baby is ready for solids whether it's 4 months or 7 months..I think some of the time people misread signs and think babies are ready before they really are and some people do rush it just because they can't wait to experience it. If you know how to tell when they are ready then there would be no possibility of starting at the wrong time.

 

[lozzy21]

I think the doctor meant if it slows down too much but I dunno. Are babies supposed to double their birth weight by 6 months?

I think as a guide they say they should triple their birthweight by a year but it depends how big your baby was. If they were 5/6 lb then it's doable but if your baby was 9/10 lb it's not allways healthy for them to put weight on that fast. Niamh was 8lb15 born and at nearly 7 months shes only 15lb15. Aslong at they are happy and developing normally then weight alone isent a factor when you need to start