Ready to wean?

[SourSweets]

My baby will be 5 months at the start of January. I know it's a bit early but I think he might be ready for weaning. What do you think?

He's big, if that makes any difference, on the 98th centile and weighing about 19lbs.

Holds his head up.

Sits with just a little bit of support.

Is very strong and quite active even though he can't crawl yet. Very kicky,

Puts everything in his mouth, sometimes to chew but he's recently started putting things in his mouth, biting down once and taking it out again, he does this repetitively and it really looks like an eating sort of action.

Has been teething for ages but no actual teeth yet.

Grabs at our plates and cups.

Breastfeeds every 2-3 hours. Sometimes more frequently, every hour or so. Longest he'll go between feeds is 4 hours. (We've occasionally had 5,6 and 7 hours when he's really exhausted but it's not a regular occurrence)

He does seem satisfied after breastfeeding though.

I might wait until he's 5 months and then start. We're planning on doing BLW. I'd love to hear opinions and advice, he's my first baby.

Thank you!

[JingleJohnsJulie]

Being big or small makes no difference. If he's big, he's big because of your BM and that shows its enough for him

Holding his head up and sitting are both good but can he do this for the 20-30 minutes a meal will take?

All babies put things in their mouths, it's just what they do

If he grabs at your plates, could you give him something to play with, like a spoon?

Bfing every 2 to 3 hours is normal and not a sign of readiness to wean.

If you do wait it will be far easier for you. All he can have before 6 months is fruit and veg, so the same food you have if you are trying to loose weight. At the moment he needs all the calories he can get, and he's already getting those from you

Have you read the Mn weaning info? Think it explains it better than I ever could

[SourSweets]

Thank you.

Yes he can sit for upwards of 30 minutes at a time.

No, where do I find the weaning info?

[JingleJohnsJulie]

If you look at the top of the thread, there is a picture of a messy baby. Just click on the link next to it. Google nhs starting solids too

[SourSweets]

Ah thank you!

I've done lots of googling but I still don't know how to know for sure. I don't want to start early because BF is so easy, but I don't want him to be hungry if I start too late.

I'll take a look at the mumsnet help now.

[JingleJohnsJulie]

If you are googling, try to keep to well known, evidence based sites like kellymom, nhs, ask moxie and la Leche league.

As for him being hungry, didn't you say he's on the 98th centile? Hardly wasting away is he

[SourSweets]

Haha no he's definitely not wasting away!

That's great, thanks for the links.

[Splatt34]

Have you read Gill Rapley's baby led weaning book?
DD2 is 7 months old today. In an exact copy of her sister at 5months & 10 days she grabbed my cheese on toast from me and ate some, so I started weaning, having planned to wait to 6 months.

She is already on 3 meals a day, mainly because she has a fit if she sees us eating and she isn't. BLW is all about letting baby lead. Sit him on your knee while your eating and see what he does

[SourSweets]

No I havent. I'll look into it on Amazon though, thanks for the tip.

He stares at us when we eat and grabs at our plates but we don't often eat grab-able food. If I make some boiled carrot batons and just leave them on the side of the plate when we eat to see what he does, would that be a good test do you think?

[Splatt34]

You'd be surprised by what becomes "grabale". DD2 was forcing DHs fork loaded with bolognaise into her mouth last night.

[FredFredGeorge]

DD could eat bolognaise type food by scooping it up with her hands from 6months too. grab-able is just what they learn to get from the plate to their mouths, just chuck it front of them and wish them luck!

[MigGril]

I think a lot of people think weaning is about getting calories into them. When it's actually about getting them used to different textures and tastes. Milk should still be the main partof there diet until at least one.

if you do BLW you will find they don't seem to actually be able to digest food well to start with, it often comes out in bits the same colour it goes in. I guess it must be the same with pureed food, just as it goes in mashed it'll come out like that to. means they get a huge amount of benefit out of it. Which is why milk is so important still. It's also a messy process weaning.

looking at and wanting tip grab your food is not a sign of readiness. sitting up, being able to put foods in their mouth, gum and swallow food is. if he just spits out back out then he's not ready.

The NHS talks about the banana test, give them a soft banana. If he can eat it then he's ready, if he just squishs it everywhere then no he's not and wait a bit longer. The theory being the gut develops at the same time that they develop the ability to eat themselves.

[MigGril]

don't get a huge benefit.

[SourSweets]

He's not 4 months, he's 5. Another thing I started noticing is that he sort of gets distracted really easily during feeds and is looking around.

Anyway I put some sticks of boiled carrot in front if him last night and he grabbed them and out them straight in his mouth. Most of it got flung across the room so I thought he hasn't swallowed any but this afternoon..... HUGE poo, with a fair few bits of carrot in it. Not digested, but from everything I've read that's normal.

That's got to mean I did the right thing starting him a few weeks early, right? He went straight for them and swallowed on the first attempt.

[MigGril]

sounds like he's ready then. Just remember to offer milk before food. And stick to pain fruit and veg before six months.

Have fun.

[Splatt34]

Sounds like a good start to me. Have fun