Weaning
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6 months. They changed the guidance from 4 months to 6 months about 20 years ago. I was surprised about this and quite shocked a lot of people don’t follow it yet are very strict about not co sleeping, will give sugar to under 2s etc but ignore this advice. I initially thought waiting was new advice! I read that it can increase risk of allergies but also other digestive issues like constipation and fussiness as you can only give purées before 6 months and these are filled with sugar or if sugar isn’t “added” it’s basically still full of it because they need to treat the food at a high temperature to preserve its shelf life so it’s like an adult drinking orange juice from concentrate rather than eat an actual orange. I waited till 6 months and did BLW. Baby is doing great xx
Started at 4 months x
It’s best to wait until 6 months, new research shows that their digestive system is not quite ready earlier so early weaning can cause lifelong digestive issues which will not be immediately obvious. There is no benefit to starting early (except in some specific medical situations) so we decided it wasn’t worth the risks.
I know you haven’t indicated you are going to start earlier but just in case … Unless recommended to start earlier from a healthcare professional I wouldn’t, it can cause them issues 20/30 years down the line. Is it really worth the risk to start a month or two earlier? 🤷♀️ Personally we started my LB on solids at 6 months, we have done BLW and started with 3 meals a day immediately. We haven’t done any purée’s, you basically just skip this step with BLW. If you are interested in it have a look at the app Solid Starts, it gives advice on how to serve food safety 😊
6 months, we started with porridge
Waiting until 6 months is usually best because it gives the baby’s digestive system time to mature and won’t cause any long time damage. It’s true every baby’s body’s grow at different times but there is a 100% guarantee their digestive system will be matured at 6 months.
@Lucy You don’t see the damage early y can do until later in life
@Lucy You’d be better taking advice from someone trained in nutrition and weaning than a GP
@Lucy And I say this as someone who has done the training and am qualified 🤷🏻♀️
I waited until 6 months. We gave him regular food we ate to try, and then lots of puréed fruits, veggies, chicken, and ground beef.