Parenting Forums

Posted: 13 June 2005 at 11:44am | IP Logged

what age are you going to start weaning your lo?

I've been told at 12 weeks leo can have baby rusk, but not sure what to do the hv said 6months before i give him any kind of solids, If i did give him rusks do i just mix a quater with an oz of his milk and spoon it into his mouth, i'm very confussed advise would be great thanks.xx

Posted: 13 June 2005 at 11:57am | IP Logged

I have been invited to a weaning session by my health visitor next week so will know a bit more then.

When my girls were babies we used to wean at 12wks which is what Ollie is today.  I think the new guide lines say 4-6mnths unless you have a very large, hungary baby. 

At first you just give them maybe 2 teaspoonsful of what you choose to wean them on to once a day, and build it up over time.  Mornings are meant to be good because if lo has a reaction to the food then they should be better by the evening so still go to bed.  Plus if they have a reaction you want to see it not have them in bed.  Most seem to use baby rice or rusk and yes you just mix it with their milk or water.  Pured Pear is meant to be very good as it's a low alergen food and easily digested.

I think there is a lot of confusion and different opinions about weaning around at the moment and you have to decide what is best for you and your baby.

Posted: 13 June 2005 at 1:31pm | IP Logged

I've already started Fred he's been on solids for just over 2 weeks now, he's coming up for 9 weeks.  Hv wasn't happy, but the amount he was drinking, he was hungry, then he was crying because his tummy hurt, now I've got it down to a fine art!

Posted: 13 June 2005 at 2:09pm | IP Logged

Why do they say not to wean until 6 months????? I'm not going to do it til then though cause I want to keep her a baby for as long as possible...

Posted: 13 June 2005 at 4:28pm | IP Logged

I think there are a number of reasons they say not until 4-6mnths now. 

The increase in childhood allergies.

Babies loose the gag reflex at about 4-6mnths, you will know that reflex if you have tried to put a dummy in lo's mouth and they didn't want it.

Also I think that research into humans has just shown that babies don't need the extra food until a little older than previously thought.

With all of these things I try to think what they would do if there were no books or things to read and you would do what you felt best for your baby.  You know if your baby needs a little extra food.  There are little signals that show they want solids too.  They watch every mouthful of food you have and try and reach or grab for it.  They stop putting on weight.  They are hungry all the time.

Ollie seems fine at the moment but if he was demanding solids then I would consider it now.  My eldest daughter had solids at 10wks.  Fran my other daughter didn't bother until she was nearly 7 months old and even then wasn't that fussed about it.  They both eat healthily now.