Early weaning, thoughts?

Hello.Again.Kitty

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 15:44

I think I kind of went with a veggie "main meal" and a fruit "pudding" - lots of apple, banana, porridge (ok, not fruit or veg!), carrot, peas, sweet potato, parsnip...

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kiwispiers15400

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 14:50

So many people say vegies first, but there is no basis for this, breastmilk is actually very sweet anyway so they already have their "sweet tooth" and simple carbs (sugars) are more easy for them to digest at this stage vs starchy foods like carrots which can be constipating. Studies have shown that babies are more accepting of a new taste when it is initially paired with something sweet so bring on the peach. I started with peach and pear and moved on to meat etc pretty fast and have a great eater, although DS was older so not sure if you have to restrict things more when starting so young.

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moonbean37719

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 13:34

Thank you all very much! I will look into baby led weaning, but I don't think I can hold her off till 6 months, by doing that I can not eat or drink in front of her ;). Yes she can sit unaided on the floor, but not always for long periods, esp if she is tired. When in laying down on her back she does try to pull herself up. She supports herself really well. Now if I'm doing a quick shop she sits in the trolley(makes my life so much easier) I still have not given her a 'meal' yet, might give it a go tonight(hear me kicking and screaming against this) But as you say weaning is baby led and I should follow her ques. I've done some apple, peach and as soon as I have more containers for freezing I will do some carrots and other veggies. With DS I gave him jarred stuff(Not proud of it) and started cooking for him when he was about 7 months. Is it better to start with fruit or veggies? It's just I tasted the pureed peach and apple and it was really sweet.

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kiwispiers15400

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 10:08

I agree even purees should be given in a baby-led way, thats what I ended up doing as my guy didn't want to feed himself so I tended to either hold the spoon or the whole fruit/piece of fruit and let him take bites. (and often still do even now) If LO can actually get herself into sitting position and sit on the ground without any support (very early to do so so I'd say you have an early crawler on your hands for sure) then she might have to motor skills to handle self feeding. Basically they need to be able to lean forward to take a bite when they eat, as a reclined position means gravity rolls food back into their mouth so they can't spit it/cough it out. Although I didn't officially start solids until 6.5 months, I did let DS gum the odd apple/apricot etc from around 5 months and he was def interested from around 4.

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KellsBells

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 09:58

Have you heard of baby led weaning (BLW)? There's is loads on info on the net and some groups of FB. Read up on it and see what you think. Just thought I'd throw it into the mix. I've followed it with my second and I've found it fantastic. yup, but BLW really isn't suitable for early weaners - they haven't got the physical control. I did do a kind of free-form version of BLW, but my two only got to that stage at around the 6 month mark (DD started solids at 4 months, DS at 5.5), where they actually demanded chunky bits and refused purées. Even I would say to wait until 6 months if you want to do full-on BLW (but imo, the term "BLW" is too prescriptive... any weaning should be baby led, and being baby-led, it doesn't have to only involve chunky finger-food. You look at nature and so many animal mothers pre-process their babies' food to make it more digestible) Given that the OP's bub is sitting unaided and rolling around, I think it would be worth a whirl. I did a bit of both (and still do) with DS. He eats much more when he's feeding himself and in control, so it's worked for us from day one at 5 months.

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Hello.Again.Kitty

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Latest post on 28 September 2011 - 08:46

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KellsBells

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Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 22:39

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BFC34903

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Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 21:24

Here's an article you might find helpful, on the developmental signs of readiness and how to tell if your child is ready. It also discusses strategies for involving a younger baby who seems keen to join in at mealtimes but doesn't yet show all the signs. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

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kiwispiers15400

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Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 18:49

well can't comment on the early weaning, current advice is to wait til around the 6 month mark but obviously some babies might be ready sooner, you could let her play with food (rather than eat it) for a couple more weeks if you wanted to be on the safe side, even if she is ready now, it obviously won't hurt to wait but up to you. As far as the slow in weight gain though, that is pretty normal, if you look at the WHO charts for BF babies (don't use the CDC ones) they slow more than FF at around this point, if you are worried about weight gain you wouldn't want to replace high calorie BM with solids anyway so would be better to look at upping supply. If you do start early, personally I would stay away from starchy foods, baby rice etc and go for more digestible things like fruit as digestive enzymes for complex carbs don't come until later, from 6 months and not fully until 2 years. BF at the same time as solids will help with this though.

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Hello.Again.Kitty

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Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 17:42

well, apparently the bottom limit is 18 weeks (so the end of 4 months?)... anyhow, I kind of wasn't aware of that at the time and started DD on solids just short of that! She was a big baby too, showing all the signs of needing more and the final straw was going from a peaceful night to feeding every 30 minutes between 19h and 22h30 and then waking every 2 hours! Anyhow, so the first time she had solids, I tried baby rice as per packet and after the suggested 2 teaspoonfuls, she looked at me with a decidedly non-plussed look, so I made some more and she proceeded to eat a whole bowlful! But, with early weaning, it's important to go slowly and to try to get the healthiest stuff possible. My health visitor at the time told me that the studies linking early=weaning to obesity et al in later life were based on very early weaning (like 12 weeks) and children fed exclusively on jars of processed baby food, which is often laden with salt, sugar and additives. Don't feel guilty - I'm a firm advocate of the fact that the mums know their children best, but at the same time,. read up, inform yourself and make the best decisions you can.

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moonbean37719

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Latest post on 27 September 2011 - 17:12

My DD is 4 months now, and I know 'they' say you can wean from 4 months, I'm jsut not sure, or should I say I'm just not ready for this phase just yet! DD can sit by herself unaided already, she can roll from back to front and visa versa. She can move around if she really wants to. She can't crawl but will shuffle around on her tummy. Anyway recently she has been watching me really closely when eating,(to the point where I feel really guilty!!!) a few times she has grabbed my hands(with food) and tried to eat it. She is grabbling at my glass when I drink water, yesterday I put the glass in her mouth and tried to drink it. I have not actually given her any food as I really wanted to wait till she was 6 months. My DS was 5months and 3 weeks when he first had 'solids' and I was ok with that. But I just cant get my head around that at 4 months DD wants to eat already. SO do I give it a go? wait? I was thinking if I did go for it, I would start with the usual, fruits, veggies? Oh and her weight gain has really slowed down dispite me breastfeeding frequently. She is 8.7kgs now and in the last 3 weeks has gained 100grams so not a lot, is this linked to the fact that she is ready for solids? Please help a mom who is in denial about her baby growing up way too fast!!!;);)

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