Have I hurt DD by starting weaning too early?

[MumToAPiglet]

DD is 5 months. Up until now she has been entirely breastfed. Last week I decided to start solids. I know the advice is not to wean until 6 months BUT I did have my reasons: DD is big for her age, she was hungry all the time, she was waking more at nights and I was exhausted, she was obsessed with me eating, she will not take a bottle or beaker and I was desperate for a way of feeding her that would enable me to leave her with her dad for a few hours. I might sound like a bad mum but I thought these reasons were good. HOWEVER maybe I was wrong.

At first DD loved what I gave her - pureed parsnip and sweet potato mixed with a little baby rice. I was just giving her one meal a day and she was grabbing the spoon and shoving it in. But then after 8 days of just dinner I gave her pureed fruit for breakfast yesterday. By 4pm yesterday my normally happy, smiley baby was writhing in pain with farts. Since then she seems incapable of bf-ing without getting upset and seems to have wind that I cannot get up. All day today she will not be put down and gets moments where she goes dark red and cries. She is not consitpated (she has pooed 3 times since the fruit). Do you think I have hurt her with the fruit? Should I stop solids altogether for another month even though she loved the veg and was sleeping better? Or should I continue with veg only?

[justJAM]

I'm sure you haven't hurt her...don't be telling yourself that!! some people wean at 16 weeks!!
My DD is only 4.5 months so not weaning yet, but someone with more experience will come and post asying the same as me...You have not hurt your baby...

[saltireneepsandtatties]

You haven't hurt her. After all only a few years ago, it was advised to start weaning at 4 months.
However, it's 7 years since my 2 were babies, so i am sure that someone with a LO the same age will come along and help. However, i will say again, you ahven't hurt your baby

[Orlando]

When my first dd was born (she's 12 next month) the advice was to wean at 12 weeks. I can pretty much categorically reassure you that you haven't harmed her, but that it does take a while to find foods that suit. Maybe just thicken a bit of breastmilk with baby rice for a while at first?

[Chandra]

Well, if you had weaned her 2 years ago you would have been following the guidelines so don't think you have hurted it.

What fruit you gave her? there are fruits that are perfect laxatives if used in the right quantity.

[BuffysMum]

what fruit did you give her, they usually recommend pear or apple rather than citrus or soft fruits?

[nearlythree]

I weaned dd1 at 17 wks - it was normal then. She was and is fine. What fruit did you give? Some can be pretty dramatic esp. if not quite ripe. I'm weaning ds at 7 mo - it's just the way he is, a big fat boy who loves his milk and who has only just got interested - and I only give him pear or a little apple, but he loves his veggies and baby porridge. I would give it a rest for a day or two then statr again. And avoid baby rice - if your baby gets wind IME it just makes them worse.

[tortoiseSHELL]

You definitely won't have hurt her. I was weaned at 9 weeks. When ds1 was a baby, guidelines were 16 weeks. Dd was 4-6 months, ds2 6 months. Call me thick, but I don't think babies' digestions have altered in 5 years.

When weaning one thing they suggest is to introduce one new food at a time, so that if they react adversely then you have some idea of what it has caused it, and can lay off it for a little bit. I'm sure she'll get over it! Please don't worry!

[MumToAPiglet]

I gave her pear and apple mixed together - she really liked it so I let her have about 6 mouthfulls. Maybe too much for a first taste. it just seems like it is effecting her even after 24 hours.

[hippmummy]

I agree you haven't hurt her.

As other posters have said 6 month weaning is only very recent advice. My first baby was a 4 month weaner and second was a 6 month weaner.

Try mixing the fruit with rice and milk so that it's not so concentrated. And stick to milder fruits such as pear and apple.

[hippmummy]

x posts - great minds about the pear and apple though!

[BuffysMum]

could also be coincedence, perhaps she is teething too. Leave it for a few days then just try a little bit of one of them and see what happens. Hth.

[elijen]

I am sorry to hear this but please don't think you have hurt your DD - it takes time for weaning and fruit can have this reaction. I weaned my first DD at 18 weeks and she took solids immediately but my second DD at 6months is still on lunch time solids despite been weaned for 5 weeks!
All I can suggest is cooking the fruit/veg with some formula milk and pureeing(!!) the food with the milk. It does tend to make the food a little less harsh. It is also prudent to think of other things that maybe causing your DD discomfort such as teething or even a cold.
Hope this helps and your little one feels better soon.

[nearlythree]

Apple can be a bit tricky, I only give ds a tiny bit mixed with veg. Don't know why apple can be funny, I know I avoided it for ages with dd1. Pear is supposed to be v.v. safe though.

You def. haven't done her any harm. I have a friend who gave her dd unripe peach at 20 wks - the poor mite got the most awful stomach upset but she is fine. Even at 7 mo I can see my boy's tummy gets a bit surprisd by what's going in. Don't worry!

[taffy101]

I weaned dd at 5 months (guidelines at that time were 4-6 month). I am sure it is just a coincidence. My MIL weaned my BIL at 2 weeks!!!!

[MumToAPiglet]

Two weeks!!!! How is your BiL now?

Thanks for all the reassurance. I guess I cannot have harmed her given that a few years ago all babies were weaned earlier. I will give it a break until she seems better and then I will return to veg only and maybe go easy on the rice (even though I think it was the rice that was getting her to sleep longer).

What is good for breakfast that is very easy on the tum?

[liquidclocks]

DS1 LOVED baby porridge made with his normal formula - you could use expressed milk. It's naturally sweet so I'm sure that's why it went down well!

He also had a v sensitive tummy so I 'diluted' a lot of veg (peppers, toms, carrots etc) with potato which I knew was ok for him. I also did the same for fruit with baby rice and that seemed to help.

I also found weaning a good time to invest in a good napy cream like metanium as there were plenty of instances where the irritation was on the outside as well as inside!

Good luck - hope your sleep improves!

[nearlythree]

It is only the processed baby rice which is hard to digest. You can make your own by boiling white rice until v. soft and then either mashing it or putting it through a mouli if your dd isn't having lumps (which at 5 mo she won't be!) My dd1 adored this and later you can make it as 'risotto' with veg and cheese or 'rice pudding' with fruit and fromage frais.

I second baby porridge with oats rather than baby rice.

[fluffyanimal]

Nearlythree, why should baby rice be hard to digest? It's only rice! Whether milled to a powder or 'home made', there is no difference, and the whole reason why baby rice is used as a first food is because it is normally easy to digest.

[LIZS]

baby rice is fortified with various minerals etc

[nearlythree]

My dd1 got tortured by baby rice. It was horrible seeing her writhing in agony. She was v. windy and sensitive anyway but my (very good) hv said that baby rice is very often a problem.

The home-made stuff is yummy and can be given at all weaing stages. It's cheap. In a balanced diet the fortified stuff isn't necessary (and I have a dd2 who does need iron-fortified food so I'm not being preachy). Most breakfast cereals are fortified anyway.

[fluffyanimal]

It must depend on the brand, because what I have bought in the past has only thiamin added.

[MumToAPiglet]

Just to let you all know DD seemed a bit better today so I guess the apple is out of her system.

Can I ask another question though? As several of you suggested porridge rather than rice I went on a porridge hunt today. But all the baby porridge I could find had gluten in it and I have read that it is unwise to give gluten early and certainly not before 6 months. Given my MiL has coeliacs (sp?) I do not want to risk gluten too early. Do you know of any brands of baby porridge without gluten?

[Tiddler]

Hi have you tried holland and barratt?? or any other health shop? Tesco do quite a lot of gluten wheat free products.

try this link in your address bar... hope it helps.


www.natureschild.com.au/products/organic_instant_millet_baby_porridge/1724/1

[tibsy]

I'm in the same boat with dd, 5 months too and when she hadn't had a poo for 2 days, thought i'd contributed to her constipation by introducing baby rice!! ah the guilt!! turns out she didnt actually have a problem, i was just used to her filling every nappy when solely bfing. Am sure i'll chill out a bit soon, til the next stage!

[fizzbuzz]

Quaker Organic oat has no gluten in it. It says on pack 100% oats.

Can't you just make that and puree it and then freeze it? Dd has this with apricot and pear puree and loves it!