Please dont think I am criticising, all good mums do what's best for their children. It does trouble me when i read a lot of parenting forums etc, that people are adament that ALL children need to wait until 6 months, when the who research states that they are ready between 3-6 months. The signs of readiness included in the who report are the same as the traditional signs of readiness. I weaned my daughter under the advice of a peaditrician, so had full backing.
i just think that people worry too much about the 'advice' when the 'advice' is based on a broad range of children, and not your own child. each child and each parent is an individual, and i strongly beleive that mum knows best in the majority of cases.
growth charts, development milestones all of these things seem to induce anxiety and confusion in parents. - Not to mention despite all our good intentions, new guidance will soon come out that will make us all feel that we have done some wrong. The pressure put on new mothers to breastfeed is terrible, as there is no realistic information or help available....this is not the fault of the mother, but she's the one who feels like she has failed her child.
Plus a lot of the new findings have little evidence to support them, so in a way i'd rather parent in a way that has been tried and tested.
Id rather trust my instinct (and my daughter's), than a HV or midwife.