Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Introduced baby rice to a BF baby ( 20 weeks) - do I need to offer water?

118 replies

undomesticatedgoddess · 01/08/2009 17:13

OK - I know I shouldn't be weaning him yet but he's been showing an interest in food for a while and to be honest I haven't got the guts to go down the BLW route (yet).

He is only having a small amount mixed with about 60-70ml of EBM once a day.

Do I need to give him water or will BF suffice? He is fed on cue and has unrestricted access to breast feeding.

OP posts:
FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 01/08/2009 17:15

BF should be OK. wallpaperpaste baby rice isn't a meal, it's just to introduce a new texture into your baby's mouth so carry on BF.

LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 17:17

is there any reason you are giving rice, apart from showing an interest in food? TBH, if having urestricted acccess to the breast and is fed on cue, why are you giving anything other than breast milk?

anyway, the answer is no, you don;t need to give water

MrsBadger · 01/08/2009 17:21

if he's really showing an interest in food then it's exactly the right time to start BLW

that's what the 'BL' stands for, no?

LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 17:22

if he can sit unaided, with good head control, loss of the tongue thrust reflex, could pick up some food and get it to his mouth and chew it, then he is physically ready for something other than milk

kellymom.com has good weaning info

watching you eat and wanting more milk are absolutely not signs of readiness for weaning

Original poster
undomesticatedgoddess · 01/08/2009 17:26

I just thought that 20 weeks was too early to start BLW.

If any of you have done it sooner I'd be interested to hear how you got on.

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 01/08/2009 17:33

if he has all the signs Lulu lists then go for it

if he doesn;t then he's not ready for food at all, even baby rice

dd was 24wks when we she started swiping food off plates but it took ages for anything to actually go in, even longer for it to go through, iyswim, and she was a year before you could say she was actually eating.

pigletmania · 01/08/2009 17:35

My dd was still doing the tounge thrusting thing until she was about 15 months old, and she still does it to eject food out that i have put into her mouth and she is 2.5 years lol

MrsBadger · 01/08/2009 17:36

but when they're older it stops being a reflexive action and is a choice instead, iyswim

K999 · 01/08/2009 17:37

I started BLW with dd2 at around this age (5 months ish) and she took to it right away. I wouldnt say that she was 'eating' much but was sucking a lot! Its also a great way of keeping them entertained in their high chairs if they have stuff to pick up and play with!

LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 17:37

okaaaaaaaaaaaay..some children take longer to lose the reflex than others

thing is, the whole point of BLW is when the baby is pyhsically ready to digest something other than milk, their internal gut development is mirrored by the changes you can see.. the ones i listed

if your baby swiped some food off your plate or out of your hand and got it to his mouth, then that is a sign he is ready for food

BLW does not only start at 26 weeks, it can be earlier IF the baby does it earlier. you can't make them do it earlier.

LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 17:39

if you want to do 'pure' BLW then babyrice is not part of the equation, nor is spoon feeding puree

if your baby is showing the signs of readiness, put him in teh highchair or on your lap with some food in front of him and see what happens..bearing in mind no gluten and protein at this age.. fruit and veg only

seeker · 01/08/2009 17:50

She's probably starting to show an interest in the steering wheel of the car too, that doesn't mean she' old enough to learn to drive!

Honestly, if you know you shouldn't be weaning him yet, why are you?

JetLi · 01/08/2009 18:04

Out of curiosity, what is the tongue thrust reflex please?

Original poster
undomesticatedgoddess · 01/08/2009 18:25

My question was really about whether he needed any water or not. I didn't really want to get in to the whole thing about BLW ( perhaps shouldn't have mentioned it in my OP)

I have the Gill Rapley book, but as with all 'methods' I will probably be taking the bits I want and ignoring the bits I don't. As we all do to fit our parenting style .

seeker I am weaning him because I was at the end of my tether with his lack of sleep. It was something I wanted to try to see if it helped and it has a little bit. I also think as parents we all do things we perhaps know we shouldn't - just some of us admit to it !

OP posts:
LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 18:30

weaning is unlikely to help with sleep and no you dn;t need water HTH !

peppapighastakenovermylife · 01/08/2009 18:43

I weaned DS at about 18/19 weeks (cant remember now lol). However he could sit unsupported at this age, could self feed, had lost the tongue reflex - developmentally he was ready. He took to it very quickly and I have photos at about 22 ish weeks of him chomping quite happily on brocolli and bread.

DD I waited until 26 weeks though as she was not developmentally ready.

peppapighastakenovermylife · 01/08/2009 18:44

Sorry, I should have said I followed BLW.

Oh and it didnt solve his sleep no but he did stop breastfeeding every hour around the clock which he had done for 3 weeks prior...he started feeding every 2 hours around the clock instead

Original poster
undomesticatedgoddess · 01/08/2009 19:09

Lulumaman Thanks. It does help.

He has been sleeping better but we also started the no cry sleep solution at the same time.

OP posts:
LuluMaman · 01/08/2009 19:11
Smile
FrameyMcFrame · 01/08/2009 19:30

my DS is 17 weeks and has grabbed toast an green beans off my plate and shoved them in his mouth. (I took them off him as I thought he is too young) but,
He can sit up, in fact when you put him in the reclining chair he pulls himself up in to a sitting position He is also moving around the room commando crawl style.
Do you think he is ready for BLW?

FrameyMcFrame · 01/08/2009 19:31

sorry to hijack

Original poster
undomesticatedgoddess · 01/08/2009 20:48

No need to be sorry Framey

'tis an interesting question and I'm interested to know peoples experiences.

OP posts:
jimbobsmummy · 01/08/2009 22:33

The guidelines are changing soon/have recently changed anyway and will say you can start weaning anytime between 17-26 weeks.

I always thought that the wait till 26 weeks thing was rather optimistic for most babies!

greensnail · 01/08/2009 22:39

wow Framey, 17 weeks does seem young but if he's doing all those things then maybe he is ready to try. He probably wouldn't actually swallow much for a while.

My DD started BLW at about 22 weeks, but she was born a little early (at 36 weeks) so I suppose not really that much older than your DS when you take account of that. She took to it quite quickly and by 26 weeks was eating good amounts of food.

peppapighastakenovermylife · 01/08/2009 22:40

jimbobsmummy can you confirm where you got this information please? I havent heard it.