To wean or not to wean

Well, Bumble is 4 months old and Bumble's Dad and I are looking at weaning.  This seems to be yet another topic where the NHS, NCT etc are absolutely militant about babies needing to be 6 months before they start on solid foods.  This is discussed under the heading of "it's harmful to your baby not to wait until 6 months".  Having a background in stats, and a natural desire to be an "evidence based parent" (and seeing scant evidence in any NHS publication) I decided to have a look at the research that is out there.  (If you are interested I'd recommend looking at the Cochrane library) It seems that the amount of high quality research into this topic is limited.  The key conclusion of the decent research is that weaning before 12 weeks is linked to a higher risk of diabetes, obesity and related health problems in later life.  However, from four months there is no associated increase in risk and it seems from some small studies that waiting until 6 months could itself be detrimental.  

The NHS publications reference WHO guidelines which do recommend waiting until "the middle of a baby's first year" (interpretation of that could be interesting in itself) but any awareness that the WHO guidelines have to give the safest option for all babies (some of whom are growing up in unsanitary conditions in the third world where access to clean water etc is very limited) is sorely lacking.  The WHO also recommend breastfeeding for 2 years - again, having looked at the research, the major factor behind this recommendation seems to be that breast milk is the safest drink in some areas of the world.  

As the evidence based parenting guide "Bumpology" says - the current NHS advice is to wait until 6 months but there is no evidence to suggest that weaning between 4 and 6 months is harmful to your baby.  So, now we are beyond 4 months if Bumble's dad and I decide to offer him (suitable) solids at least I feel confident that we won't be setting him up for long term health issues based on current research!

One anecdotal aside - I am yet to meet a single parent who did wait until 6 months to start weaning...

The first four months

So, Bumble is 16 weeks old - 16 of the longest & fastest weeks of my life.  I can't believe that we've got this far already.  I guess what I want to do is reflect on the best bits, the worst bits, the things I wish I worried about less and those I should have worried about more and look forward to the next 16 weeks!

The best bits - in no specific order - the first smile; the first laugh; seeing my husband being the amazing father I knew he would be; the endless wonder of a baby experiencing the world; so many firsts (swim, walk in the park, wedding, night away etc etc etc) and growing in confidence in my "mummy skills".

The worst bits - the sleep deprivation; the physical recovery; the endless fear that something will happen to him; his first illness; jabs and the breastfeeding failure.

I do wish I'd worried less about my ability to keep Bumble happy and listened to my husband when he told me just getting through each day is enough at the beginning. 

I wish I'd realised earlier that I am enough for Bumble and that Bumble's dad will fill in any gaps - parenting is most definitely a team sport! 

I wish I'd been able to worry less about things beyond my control and possibly worried more about making sure that I got as much rest/food/help as I needed.  

I still wish I could feel less guilty about leaving when I go out for a run or shopping or with friends but I guess that's something that I'll either get used to or will get less as Bumble ages.  

But, it has been an amazing journey and I can't wait to experience the highs (and lows) of the next 16 weeks.  As hard as it is to believe, in 16 weeks my maternity leave will almost be over and we'll be facing a whole new set of challenges but in the meantime we've got weaning, sitting up, rolling over and probably even crawling to look forward to, not to mention many, many more smiles!