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!

YABU no point in guessing that he'll lose weight. either weigh him next week or don't, but offering more milk first if you can sounds more sensible.

i would also agree however that we can't see him and how healthy he seems.

however much you eat, drink or move will not affect your milk, only how much he feeds affects supply.

if i didn't turn up for weighing my HV would most likely assume I'd forgotten.

Stop having him weighed. Problem solved.

My friends DD did not start weaning until she was 7 months, and then reluctantly. The HV kept naggin at her to take her to be weighed but my friend would not. Her DD is now nearly 7 and perfectly healthy, if dainty, but that is how she is meant to be.

What is the worst that can happen if his weight gain slows a little anyway? Is it really enough of a concern? I don't mean to be blasé or belittle your concerns, but as a pp said, maybe this is just a natural development - correlation doesn't mean causation etc etc.

I would up milk feeds for another few weeks. Milk is more calorific than fruit & veg.

And just don't go back to HV for til after your holiday. Easy! They can't force you!

can you look into bm improving diet, supply increasing eg additional pumping and adding extra feeds in? Also is he draining each breast as the fattier milk comes at the end of the feed - well it gradually increases fat content throughout the feed?

If he's alert, sleeping through and otherwise happy I fail to see why you'd want to wean.. Surely you wean if they seem really hungry or unsettled or start waking in the night again after previously sleeping through?

I don't weight my 9 week old ds at all (bar from the early hv visits for the first week or so). What's the point? I can tell whether he's happy and healthy just by looking at him.

breastfed babies are expected to gain 2-4oz a week. if you were doing better than that you're ahead of the game. breastfeeding isn't a fast-weight-gain activity - its slower gain, for health. if his skin tone is good (gentle prod with finger, does his skin indent then spring back) and if he looks healthy and is alert, and is gaining at the 2-4oz level, he's fine. he's read the book. well done, baby.

what would you wean him for? there's no better food for him than your milk, and when he wants something more, he'll take it.

i would be concerned about 12 hour sleeps, though. nice for you, but breast milk is digested in two hours so his little body currently isn't getted refueled overnight. feed him in his sleep, he won't mind.

Fashions in weaning do not change "all the time"

I certainly would be about trying to spoon feed a baby who can't yet support their own head in order to eat the food. My DC2 is 14 weeks and hasn't got full head control yet.

I would say follow your instincts to a certain extent, but remember that every baby is different, and maybe do some research into the reason weaning is not recommended too early (knowledge is power!).

I really would advise introducing a night dreamfeed or two and see if that makes a difference. You will not know unless you try. I know it's a pain but he sounds like a good sleeper and will just go back to sleep when you're done. X

Early weaning is dangerous and pointless.

Actually am inclined to agree with a post who said above stop having him weighed; if the HV was going on about how happy and healthy he looked, you probably had no concerns either. You don't have to attend HV appointments, and you don't have to have him weighed.

There is nothing wrong with supplementing bf with off at his age. You aren't talking about giving him pureed steak and chips fgs. It will do no harm at all to give a couple of bottles a day as well as bf. Stressing over his weight won't help your milk supply either.
Fwiw I was unable to bf so mine were exclusively ff. I have two amazing adult DC who are healthy, happy,successful and loving.
Do what feels right to you.

Not off ff !

I gave DS a few tastes before 17 weeks, but not full on weaning. Your baby is probably growing length ways. If he's happy and alert then you shouldn't be worried.

YABU

Does your baby seem healthy to you? If so, why on earth are you having him weighed so much. Once babies have regained birthweight then they are only meant to be weighed something like twice more until they are 6 months.

If he is growing (longer) and sleeping well and feeding regularly, and happy and alert then just stay away from the scales.

Bonkers.

It is no relevance at all if a HV writes in your book 'come back in a weeks time'. Only a weeks difference is ridiculous. The recent advice now is not to have them weighed more than once a month as there will always be natural dips and fluctuations in the rate of growth. They can't tell you off or punish you. It's hardly neglect as the baby is being well fed and is fine. And if you choose to wean then it's up to you. I have never been to the clinic with dd2, and I know from holding her on scales at home occasionally that she is fairly small against the 'average' charts. She is thriving and healthy at 20 weeks, and just starting on baby rice mixed with breast milk. Go with your instincts.

I wouldn't wean until he had at least doubled his body weight. You are putting him at risk of developing food allergies. I should know.. Weaned my 1st too early and he had several allergies. Left the other 2 much longer and they are fine.

I never understand the people who say "how can it have been the advice before but wrong now" (not necessarily the OP in this case, but others).

100 years ago people didn't know that washing your hands stops the spread of diseases. They do now because more research has been done. There are plenty of similar examples if you think about it.

It's my understanding that 17 weeks is the earliest that a baby's organs can cope with solids. Is it honestly so difficult to understand that we know more about this today than 40 years ago??

apparently :)

I only know two people who've publically said they weaned before 17weeks and both babies developed allergies etc. They were temporary, but still not fun and required many A&E visits. Maybe they were just really unlucky, maybe everyone else I knew weaned early but just didn't mention it and their babies were fine.

It's only 3 weeks, I would really just wait. Even if he does lose weight it won't be very much.

Incidently, when I was weaned 25years ago outside the UK the advice was as close to 6 months as possible, I know because I have my red book equivalent. So I don't know why it's only been relatively recently that UK advice has changed too.

I have a baby a few days younger than yours OP and can't imagine what circumstances would make me give him solid food.
I think the sleeping so long at nightime without feeding might be the issues - isn't that quite unusual? (Or am I just unlucky?!). On the other hand, would a small weight loss mean he was wasting away?

Yabu.
Bm is the best thing for him if he is losing weight. Why would low calorie food replacing it make him gain weight?

12 hrs is a long time to go without milk for a baby so young.
I would feed again in evening before you sleep

greylady, introducing bottle feeds will affect the OP's milk supply, so there kind of is harm in, really. Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand feedback loop. Filling baby up with formula will negatively impact on that.