BLW / low weight / HV confusing advice

[MulderitsmeX]

Hi all
I've been reading lots about BLW and think it seems amazing and really want to do it with 25+1 week old DS.

He has been in the 2nd percentile for a few months and today at baby clinic dripped below the line. The HV (or nursery nurse?) Said he needed to eat as he was chewing his toes. I mentioned BLW and she said that he needs calories so I should give puree too.

Now I though chewing things was just a developmental thing and that purees would
Be less calories than breast milk. Tbh I got the impression that she might make a note of me to my named HV and I feel so confused now.

I really really want to do pure BLW, I was going to leave it a couple of weeks so that DS' back is totally strong and ready but will start today but am worried about the weight loss and being seen to be adding to the problem :(

I'm going to try him with some finger foods today so at least he will be on the road to eating but feel so deflated

[dementedpixie]

Would he take any more breast feeds? I did a mix of puree and finger foods

[Witchofgoss]

Does it really matter whether you do pure BLW or go down the traditional weaning route? I was set on BLW but it just didn't suit my dd, she was much happier being spoon fed with some finger food.

When babies are first being weaned they don't tend to swallow that much food - especially BLW babies. Plus as you say pureed veg/fruit aren't particularly calorific. If you want to up the calories avocado, scrambled eggs, toast with butter will have more calories than steamed carrotts/pureed carrots etc. Milk is more so.

Can your ds sit up independently yet? (it's not clear from your OP). If not, BLW isn't suitable yet.

[Cheesenacho123]

At the beginning blw or purées aren’t about how many calories they have, it’s about fun and learning how to try different tastes and texture. Babies at that stage should still be getting all there main goodness like vitamins and calories from either formula or breast milk. I wouldn’t say chewing toes is a sign for weaning though, maybe a sign of feeding as in your breast milk. If your baby can hold there head up well and sit up correctly in a high chair and are grabbing at or crying for your food then they are ready for weaning.

[MulderitsmeX]

Thanks all.

I can do mix feeding but was thinking it would be less confusing for DS to just keep to one technique.

@witch he can sit up right ish when held but not on his own. He has a 5 point type high chair strap so is quite up right.

I can do extra feeds so I might try that as well as some finger foods and a little puree too as I do want him to be a healthy weight

@nacho I didn't think chewing toes was a sign either even though the HV seemed to be certain

I think I might give a little puree so if he doesn't put on weight at least I've tried but also try blw alongside it.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Please don’t feel deflated OP. I’m not really sure why the HV think that chewing toes is a sign of hunger, even the NHS say that chewing fists is not a sign of readiness. The actual signs of readiness are


Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

I’m not saying don’t do it, I’m just confused about the advice you have been given. Like others have said, my first thought would have been to offer more BFs during the day.

If you are introducing solids, it’s fine to offer finger foods alongside purees or just offer baby foods that they can feed themselves. Neither is wrong, it’s just different ways of doing it.

It might be worth going to a BFing Support Group. They might help you to determine if baby does have a problem with weight or not. You say he dipped below the 2nd centile and he’d been there for a while. Which centile did he start off on? Is he bright and alert at times? Is he meeting his milestones?

There’s a good article on Kellymom which you might find useful

[ragged]

purees can have fat in them so be high calorie.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Agree with ragged. If you are keen to get calories into him, you can easily add these to food. Make porridge or porridge fingers and add cream. Add mascarpone to pasta, olive oil to mashed vegetables. Banana-Cado is calorie dense. Cheese and meat will help too

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Sorry, forgot oily fish. Boys can have oily fish upto 3 times a week so it’s an excellent way to get calories into him

[mindutopia]

You can make whatever foods you feed as calorific as you want, but either way you can’t force feed them. So I don’t see any advantage to purée in this situation. If anything feeling full on loads of puréed carrot might mean he drops milk feeds, which is definitely the opposite of what you want.

If you want to do blw, then I’d stick with that plan and focus on the reason he’s losing weight, which might mean upping your supply or increasing milk feeds.

[AssignedNorthernAtBirth]

Nothing to prevent you giving high calorie purees, alongside finger foods if you like.