haha god i have taken over the forum now over anxious mummy

so, how do you know your baby is ready to wean? can you leave it longer than 6 months? i guess that isn't good for them nutritionally...

elijah is coming up to 5 months and seems happy with milk (bf) and is fascinated by watching people eat, he will reach at food and smell it (he really really didn't like the smell of curry he scrumpled his face up and pushed himself backwards) but doesn't seem unsatisfied with just milk. he is sleeping well and going a good 4 hours between feeds...will this change when he is ready???

how can i tell it apart from a growth spurt - or do i just take an educated guess judging by his age? im pretty sure if we gave him some baby rice now he would eat it or at least try, but i want to leave it as long as i can - but how do i do that without dragging it out too long for him??!

help help!

I weaned ava at 21 weeks but she was physically leaning over the table and pinching my food, I knew the milk had stopped satisfying her because she started waking a lot more in the night and feeding a lot more in the daytime. (she had a 3 hour cycle and started every 1.5 hrs again)

Some babies won't need it until they hit 6 months so just follow his lead.

I think they recommend that you start at 6 months because they start to need more nutrition than there is in just milk. If he's quite happy at the moment then stop worrying! I knew Stephen was ready because he was guzzling down 9 oz bottles and after sleeping through for ages had started waking for another feed in the night (they do that sometimes in a growth spurt though). He was also putting everything in his mouth and trying to take the food off our plates (we still have to be quick or he'd finish my dinner first ). As long as he can sit up enough to eat and has that coordination to put things into his mouth at 6 months then he will be ready. I got told not to leave it too long or you might find it more difficult to wean later on xxx

hmm eli definitely doesn't have the hand to mouth coordination i don't think (although everything he manages to get hold of does inevitably end up in his mouth at some point ). i would like him to be able to sit up better too, he is a wobbly little boy! he does show interest but hasn't been feeding noticeably more recently so i will just bide my time...

Actually babies can do fine on milk til something like 1 year old

However 6 months is the ideal time for introducing new tastes and textures - leaving it much later wouldn't necessarily do him any harm nutritionally, but you may find he wouldn't be so keen to try new things later on!

I weaned Izzy early, because she was drinking milk constantly and still asking for more but didn't really want more milk - we started her on purees and she never looked back!

Just remember if you do start early to always give over and above the milk they are having until 6 months at least - never give food instead of milk before that.

oh i dont think we will start early - i am just a stressologist haha i have to get it absolutely clear in my mind beforehand and then once i start i wont worry about it and will feel nicely confident thank god for banda though - otherwise poor elijah would grow up in a library (could be worse!)

i started alfie at 16 weeks because he was drinking 9oz bottles every 2 hrs and started waking during the night. he ws also very interested in food and just seemed very unsettled in general.

i wud maybe just try little different textures and flavours from 6 months and introduce it gradually.

x