4 months. Weaning?

Oh i do love a weaning debate every now and again... when i'm not involved that is.

So does 4 months ring the weaning bells for you? When I had Harvey the sensus was 6 months. I weaned "early" with him because I felt he was ready. I wanted to do BLW (baby led weaning) with Oliver, which i hadn't heard about when i had Harvey. Unfortunately we were advised to wean at 4 months with him as he had terrible tummy problems. (He was already sleeping through the night so this wasn't an issue!!)

Now, Elsie has reflux. Which apparently means "early weaning". The health visitor and doctor have advised i wean early to line her stomach a bit better and it may stop her being sick and so uncomfortable. The past few weeks she has been on gaviscon and has seemed MUCH better. So i'm thinking... do i REALLY need to wean early? Me thinks not.

Some info.

Baby-led weaning -

Baby-led weaning allows babies to learn appetite control naturally, so they eat when hungry and stop when full. It is thought that this may help reduce the chance of obesity later in life.
BLW involves offering babies a range of foods and allowing them to explore and select their foods and eventually self-feed. Your baby will naturally put foods of a suitable size into his or her mouth, and if they accidentally take in too much, it will simply be spat out again.

Cons:

• Possible worries about gagging
• Other people may stare when eating in public (is this a joke?)
• If your own diet is unhealthy, you may find it difficult to offer the right foods
• It’s messy! (i don't really see this as a con)

Pros:

• No pureeing, blending, freezing or defrosting
• Your baby can explore textures naturally in their own time
• As you must watch your baby really closely this promotes good table interaction and you can also eat with your baby more easily, and eat some of the same foods, leading by example
• The nutritional value of fresh foods is greater than those frozen and defrosted

So whats the fuss about??

It is suitable from 6 months so maybe that is where people turn away? Do most people wean early for the sake of sleeping through and them "needing" it?? Obviously some babies NEED to be weaned early and i fully appreciate that!

Thought of the day - To wean or not to wean.