In recent years the Dept of Health guidelines on weaning babies have changed from 4 months to 6 months. Yet mums are still weaning their babies earlier than recommended. There is a huge pressure on mums to move their baby onto the next stage as quickly as possible. With the mother in law, friends and even some health professionals pushing for early weaning it can be really hard for mums to hold back and wait yet evidence shows that babies that wait to around 6 months to wean are better able to cope with solid foods and progress quicker. Weaning can be an exciting time as baby explores taste and textures for the first time and mum takes many a photo of yogurt covered, orange stained faces for future embarrassment. But only if baby is ready.
Unlike formula fed babies, breastfed babies experience a wide range of tastes as their mothers milk changes its compostition and flavour with every feed. There is no window of opportunity in which the breastfed baby needs to experience flavour because they are already used to changing tastes. Mum can therefore wait until baby shows the signs of been ready to wean rather than basing their need to wean on the calender alone.
Is my baby ready to wean?
Signs of readiness to wean include sitting up unaided (or with a little support), increased breastfeeding for more than 5 days at 6 months (its normal for breastfed babies to have growth spurts at 4 and 5 months and to begin feeding more frequently during the night at around 4 months but this is linked to developmental changes rather than hunger). Crying whenever you eat and reaching out to grab other peoples food are also indicators. Baby may become increasingly unsettled, and despite lots of breastfeeds seems to be all milked out. At around 6 months a baby's tongue thrusting reflex begins to fade as well so a good test to use is to put a tiny amount of mashed up banana on baby's tongue; if they are not ready to wean they push their tongue out, if they are ready they pull their tongue in. If baby is showing several of these signs then they are ready to wean.
Advantages of waiting to wean at 26 weeks.
There are many advantages to waiting until baby is ready to wean. Obviously as a mum you get 2 more months of baby needing nothing but breastmilk so you get a little longer to enjoy your tiny baby and save on carrying endless amounts of food, bibs, and cups around with you. Plus you get extra time to find your pre-baby brain and get geared up for the task of thinking what to feed baby.
On a more scientific level...there is a decreased risk of allergies because babies start producing the antibodies that prevent the intestines absorbing allegens around (you guessed it) 6 months. They also have an increased ability to digest food; before 6 months babies digest food poorly which can cause unpleasant reactions. Waiting to wean also assures mums milk supply stays high. When baby takes solids they reduce their milk intake and mum's supply decreases. Giving solids early increases the chance of mum weaning from the breast earlier too. Then there's the problem of contaminated foods; in areas of the world with unclean water early weaning has been seen to lead to more babies dying of infections and diarrheal diseases. Although some women's experience proves otherwise, late weaning can help with child-spacing. During exclusive breastfeeding a woman's fertility is lower than once baby starts other foods.
Weaning Myths.
1. Baby will sleep better if I wean. Sadly this view although widely promoted is not based on fact. Babies who are given solids early are no more likely to sleep longer than babies given breastmilk alone. In fact early weaning can make baby sleep worse because when they fill up on solids during the day they have to take more milk during the night to make up for missed feeds during the day. Plus early weaning can give babies tummy ache and wind which certainly does not induce sleep.
2. There is a window of opportunity for weaning. Again this is false. Not all babies are ready to wean at the same age. Watching baby rather than a calander will tell mum when baby is ready. Some babies who are prone to allegies are not interested in food until 8 or 9 months or even later. If baby is still gaining weight, seems healthy to mum and is breastfeeding on demand then weaning can wait. (Offering food every few days until babybegins to show interest is important and if mum become concerned about baby a doctors opinion should be sought.) There is no window of time in which babies who miss it will somehow never be able to learn to chew, have you ever met an adult who can't eat!
3. There's not enough iron in breastmilk after 6 months. Healthy full term babies have an iron store which lasts at least 6 months, and although the amount of iron in breastmilk is small it is better absorbed than the iron in formula or cow's milk. Anemia (iron defficiency) is uncommon in breastfed babies but if a mother is concerned a simple blood test can put her mind at rest.
