HV advised to ween??!

[nibsy]

My 17 week EBF DS has gradually dropped centiles from between the 75th and 91st at birth to the 25th centile line at his weight check today. I was told I should introduce baby rice to get his weight up. Now, I'm pretty sure this is bad advice but would be gratful for opinions from others. My son is content, fed on demand and sleeps well at night (goes to sleep around 8.30pm and wakes for one feed around 4am before sleeping on til 7ish). I could probably add a dream feed to get some extra calories going in and keep offering in the day. Wouldn't that be preferable to baby rice?
Grateful for advice from those more knowledgable. My first son was formula fed by this point and I'm now having a crisis in my BF confidence....

I would go with the dream feed like you said. Milk had more calories than puree and stuff. The 25th centile is still within the limits and really nothing to worry about!

my ebf son did this last year but i don't think he dropped as much. he still put on weight at each weigh in which was the main thing for me. i asked the hv to explain exactly why a tiny bit of rice and fruit/veg (which is mainly water) was going to help him put on weight and i wasn't convinced. i can't remember exactly what they said - something about how baby would be growing but might not have enough nutrients in their body to sustain the growth and that was why he was dropping down the growth chart. obviously i didn't want to be depriving my son if he really needed it so i got him weighed every couple of weeks to check his weight. she also said 'i think you'll find once you start he'll progress really quickly through weaning and be on 3 meals a day very soon'. when it came to it i weaned at 5 1/2months and he wouldn't let a spoon of anything near his mouth, which was fine by me as i'd planned blw!

having gone through a massive growth spurt at 17weeks i just carried on feeding on demand, trying to get as much milk into him as possible and his weight was fine at the next weigh in. they never 'checked' i had started weaning, they were happy with his weight. ds3 has jut gone through a similar phase and a big growth spurt but is content and sleeping well so i'm sticking with milk, milk and more milk.

rice & ebm is almost twice as calorific as BM alone (obviously, rice is 85% carbs). however weaning may after all do bugger all.

I think it's fair enough to suggest your ds be offered more calories - chances are of course he is fine and he is how he is 'cos that's the way he is meant to be, but offering solids at this age is not really the healthier option.

He can have more breastfeeds - this puts him in 'control' of his intake and reduces the risk of giving him something he is not ready for and which may actually replace breastmilk. The dream feed and extra offers in the day sounds a sensible and healthy way to go, and why the HV did not suggest this, I have no idea. Perhaps ask her?

Thanks for your rapid replies! I should have discussed with the HV in more detail but was a bit stunned by her suggestion and didnt think to query it at the time. I'll up the feeding as much as he allows me to and will see how that works in the next couple of weeks. Many thanks.

Just a bit of reassurance for you hopefully - my DD was exactly the same as your LO - started off on 75th centile and dropped down to 25th by the time she was 4 months (EBF). Some HVs were telling me to get her weighed every week, whereas others said it was quite normal for BF babies to stop putting weight on as quickly as they do at birth after a few months. In the end, I just went with my instinct - BFing her on demand. Also, at around 16 weeks she started waking in the night for more feeds too. She is now 13 months, still on the 25th centile (though chubby, so looks bigger!) and we are still BF a couple of times a day. I'm a big believer that if your LO is alert and content when awake, doing lots of wees and regular poos, you are doing it right :) As long as my DD was gaining weight (even if quite a small amount on each weighing) and not losing it, she was doing well. This link is also useful

Baby rice + EBM does have more calories than bm alone, but it's also more filling, so may mean they take in less BM and so less calories overall.

More feeds during the day and a dreamfeed are great ideas. Breast compressions and feeding more often in a quiet place may also help you to get more milk into your LO at each feed.

I'd also get someone good ( not this HV) to look at your latch. BFing is a constantly changing skill IMO and there may be more room for improvement now your LO is bigger, older and possibly more distractible.