To consider weaning before 17 weeks?

[ThoughtsPlease]

Background, my 3rd child is currently 14 weeks, he is exclusively breastfed.
He weighed 7lb 9oz at birth, 5 days overdue.
At 5 days he weighed 7lb 11oz, at 2 weeks 8lb 3oz, at 8 weeks 10lb 11oz.
So in the first 8 weeks his weight gain averaged 6.25oz.
At 14 weeks he now weighs 12lb, average weight gain for last 6 weeks 3.5oz. He has dropped from 50th centile at birth to 9th at 14 weeks.
He has slept 11/12 hours at night without waking to feed since 7 weeks.
In the day he feeds a lot, and certainly lets me know when he is hungry!
The HV wants me to go back next week to have him weighed again.

Now my 2 DDs followed exactly the same pattern, they were both EBF and at 14 weeks weight gain had slowed down, and both had lost weight by 16 weeks. DD1 the doctor told me to give her 1 bottle of formula a day which I did, but then weaned her about 2 weeks later, she put weight on again very quickly. When I saw the same doctor with DD2 he told me to wean her, as clearly my children did this. She also put on weight again very quickly.

I will go back next week and get him weighed again. But if he hasn't put any weight on, or very little, or lost weight i am against giving him formula for a few weeks when actually with DD2 from just weaning her at 16 weeks she put on 18oz in 2 weeks, went back up to the next centile line and has stayed there ever since.

Ironically when I took him to be weighed this week and the HV said do you have any concerns, I told her about my DDs while I was undressing him and she said oh he looks very healthy, he is very alert etc etc, let's just wait and see when I weigh him, I am sure he is fine. (As if I was being overly concerned or something). Then once she weighed him she wanted me back next week!

California - he already feeds on average 2 hourly through the day, if I feed him anymore it just comes straight out as milk!

And in my experience weaning will help the weight gain, it did with both DDs.

My question is more about if you thought you knew quite strongly that to prevent weight loss you could wean early would you? Not really about milk having more calories or feed more often, this is the 3rd child follwing this pattern.

Tbh, it sounds like you've already decided to do it. Which is entirely your decision, but don't post asking for 'advice' when you want patting on the head and told you're doing the right thing. The two are nit the same.

Weaning won't make any difference to weight gain at this point as the body is not prepared to absorb or digest the food.

Surely the fact your DDs both leveled out with weight gain - which is what he's doing, he's not loosing weight - suggests a pattern in the way their bodies are designed to be?

So from that measure... YABU.

"Things change all the time " no they don't.

No I haven't decided - yes I am considering it, but as I said

'My question is more about if you thought you knew quite strongly that to prevent weight loss you could wean early would you?'

rather than weaning won't help him gain weight milk has more calories, as my experience of 2 DDs was that weaning did mean they gained weight.

I guess the question is:

Do you wait 3 weeks and DS may well lose weight, or does the benefit of him not losing weight outweigh the (potential?) concerns of weaning before 17 weeks? He would probably be 15 weeks if I waited to see what he weighed next week.

And as someone has already pointed out, there are many more calories in breast milk than there are in any vegetable mush or baby rice. Also a much higher fat content.

He's not loosing weight though, he's still gaining, its just slowed down.

Yes Sir you are right, but having had 2 DDs whose weight gain slowed just like this by 14 weeks and had then lost weight by 16 weeks, do I just wait and see if he does that, and then wean at 16 weeks? Maybe that is the answer if he does lose weight in the next few weeks? Or is it better to prevent the weight loss?

But as I have said once DDs were weaned they both then gained weight again very quickly, and by DD2 the Doctor agreed straightaway to wean to put weight on again.

With both mine, health visitor advised weaning at 3 months. Tbh, I was shocked the first time, as I'd read the guidance and 'knew' you shouldnt wean until at least 4 months.... Both mine were big and grew fast which I think was the reason.
Fashions change in weaning as in everything else. In my mum's day babies started solids at 3 months and that was the norm.
I'd resist introducing bottles - if hv thinks you should perhaps you could engage in a discussion to get a better idea of what the reasons are - also to assess if hv is a sensible person whose advice you want to follow or someone who is just going by the book.

I would up his milk feeds. It sounds like he's not waking up in the night when he might actually benefit from the extra feeds (it's hard to fit enough feeds in during the day for babies of that age). I wouldn't wean before 17 weeks (except on medical advice). It's the bare minimum not the figure to aim for.

Meg - that's a good idea about talking to HV a bit more, see what she's got to say. She said to me to make sure I am resting enough, eating enough etc etc, as mothers with other children also can be very busy, and I pointed out again that my other children's weight slowed and dropped too, even the 1st when I just sat on the sofa eating all day! I think she was very textbook, she didn't seem to have listened to what I said.

As long as he is thriving, healthy and happy and seemingly well hydrated, I can't get my head around why slowing weight gain or even a small loss is that big a deal. I never had DS weighed, I wouldn't have had a fucking clue if he had a minor weight dip at 16 weeks, he was quite clearly fine and dandy. Weekly weigh in clinics cause mire problems than they solve IMO. I mean, he's not still going to be 12pm when he's five, is he? Also, what's the hv going to do if you don't turn up to have him weighed/wean before she says you can? Stop your pocket money?

I'm all for holding out til six months and annoyed my HV back in the days when guidelines were to start weaning at four months by delaying weaning. I breastfed, baby wore, co-slept etc BUT, in the circumstances you describe, I'd probably do what you did previously with your daughters and endeavour to pre-empt weight loss by adding solids, before 17 weeks if necessary.

Is there any way you can get him weighed during holiday, to give an indication of whether he is losing weight or not?

Welsh - that is another question, does it matter if his weight drops a little? Although with DD1 who dropped from 13lb 8 to 12lb 4 from 14-19 weeks when I didn't have her weighed in that time, is that an insignificant weight loss or not? She wasn't ill or anything, she seemed to feed and sleep the same.

lol @ stop my pocket money!

Another pertinent question is whether your dd's would gave followed the same pattern even if you hadn't introduced solids.

Absolutely, we did leave DD1 to see what happened and she had lost a fair bit by 19 weeks, so pre-empted this with DD2 by weaning as soon as she started losing weight.

However even when they both gained weight again they both settled along a lower centile line then they had been on, they are slim children and their school weight/height check in Reception showed that their birth weights and weights until around 3 months would have indicated that they would weigh much more now and be on a higher centile.

So yes perhaps at 3/4 months they just settle where they are going to be.

Yabu and so are the people advising baby rice.
As someone with a child who has digestive problems because of food she couldn't tolerate (couldn't have been known, but its the same principle as early weaning) the risks are not worth it except in extreme circumstances.

Breastfed babies are supposed to put weight on slower than formula fed babies. Unless he is losing weight there is nothing to worry about.

Maybe your placenta was extra healthy and made a bigger baby? And now he's on milk only his growth has slowed to his actual genetic potential (as your others growth slowed?) I would keep sticking with BF, as long as he's having lots of wet nappies, regular poos, is alert and reaching milestones, also does he have little fat rolls around his thighs? They are all good signs a baby is thriving.

Maybe a visit to a coffee morning at the ABM may give you an alternate perspective?

Remember though, no one here can actually see your baby, only read what you have written, and offer advice on how they interpret what you write, so always listen to your instinct.

Well if your hv knows so little that she thinks your food or drink consumption affect your supply I would be suspicious of her advice on feeding and weaning generally.

It's normal for babies to have their weight gain slow, normal for them to cross a few centiles. The front of your red book would tell you that you are right and there is no clear reason for your normal baby to be weighed again so soon.

There is no emergency here I can't see what sense weaning before guidelines would make.

As anyone who has been on a diet/gone mad eating chips on holidays knows, weight gain and weight loss is not linear

Same with babies.

If the baby is happy and pooing weeing alert etc then fine, surely?

Milk is far more calorific than baby rice. I would up the milk. The guidelines are there for a reason. Plenty babies plod along the low centile, it's more wet nappies and gun being alert I would go by.

Typos galore in there!!

Sorry op just read your other post,

If I were you I would phone HV and discuss with her your concerns and then I would hold off and offer more boob.

someone once said to me breast milk is like melted ice-cream plus isotonic sport drink with vitamins, and immune protecting stuff.

Purred veg, rice, etc = what you eat on a diet.

If baby is slow to gain, more breast milk is fastest way of getting calories and nutrition into them. Not steamed veg.

I have another question.
Has he started to move himself about more, you know rolling wriggling like crazy and generally exerting himself? I have known some babies who lost and slimmed out when they became aware and able to move more.