Heinz - Tinytums

Knowing when to wean

That Just Put Even More Pressure on Me
Hannah, 28, says she did it by the book.

"I was really worried about knowing when to start weaning. I was looking forward to it a lot, getting excited about having all the little spoons and bowls and doing feeding time, but I was a bit nervous about doing it too early. When my son Daniel was born the official guidelines for when to start weaning were four months, I think they’ve gone up now, but people always say to you when you’re a Mum ‘Oh, you know your own child’ and ‘You’ll know when he’s ready’. That just put even more pressure on me because I thought ‘How will I know?’ and was worried that if I didn’t know it meant I didn’t know my son properly.

“So I decided to stick to the letter of the official guidelines, but in retrospect I can see what people mean now. Daniel was always a real guzzler when it came to milk. He could really down a bottle in no time at all and by the time I got to weaning him I think he was ready.He’d been complaining more and sleeping a bit more uneasy and looking back I think it was because just milk wasn’t satisfying him.

After You've Done it Once You 'Just Know' 

“Some of my friends who have children now are sticking by the latest advice which is not to wean until six months. When I first heard this from them I thought that sounded a really long time, but again I think they know their own kids. One friend just started weaning her daughter yesterday and I think she’s about five and a half months. She already has kids and I think after you’ve done it once you do ‘just know’ because you know what you’re looking for. I suppose if you’re in doubt you should just stick to the rules.”