Talk to me about EBF a big baby and early weaning

[StepfordWeeble]

I am exclusively BF my 12 week old DS and have been very fortunate not to have had any difficulty feeding him. In fact, it has been lovely .

DS was 8lb 1oz when he was born but soon became a 95th percentile whopper and at 12 weeks is 16lb 5oz. A friend who is a GP has suggested that I might think about weaning him early because she thinks he will get hungry. I responded that I don't feel like he's hungry or that he's not getting enough, but I've since realised that his feeding interval isn't really getting bigger - in fact, he might not be going as long between feeds as he was a few weeks ago.

I've been putting this down to all sorts of things: about a month ago he had a terrible cold, so I thought that explained a period of hungriness. Then he had his 8 week jab, various trips away from home which I thought might unsettle his "routine" (not that we really have one), then his eczema has been playing up - particularly at night, so I've fed to comfort him, then 12 week jabs and, now, theoretically, the 3 month growth spurt. But what if he is just hungry?

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy to carry on feeding on demand for the moment, but wondered what the experience is of those who have had big, hungry babies? Do they eat more and more often, or is that just a habit my DS has developed? If you decided to wean early, how did you make the decision and how did it go?

Hilariously, he did try to steal my creme egg the other day...

GP friend is talking bollocks,

if your baby is hungry and less than 26 weeks or so, regardless of size/weight, the safest, most filling and nutritious food you can give is milk

the NHS is very clear on no solids before 17 weeks at leat, but encourages introducing solids around 26 weeks

if your baby can sit unaided, hsa good head control, could pick up, chew and swallow a piece of food and has lost the tongue thrust reflex, then their gut is probably mature enough to handle something other than milk

big hungry babies need milk and more milk

a bit of puree is not more filling or satisfying than a full milk feed

babies do have frequent growth spurts and the best way to address them is milk

DD is big (although not that big) and feeding has always been fine. Feeding intervals vary - I sometimes think on the days she feeds more during the day I get a better night iyswim.
I am thinking about weaning a little early but it's not to do with hunger as such. She is showing an interest in food, refusing a bf while I eat, sitting, grabbing etc. Iirc if they are hungry it's much easier to just bf more!

Lulu, (it;'s SPB BTW) I started a thread the other day I was hoping you'd be on - thinking about letting DD grab and chew my food when she'll be 24 weeks. She can pick it up but I have no idea if she can chew and swallow it - she can certainly chew other things but I won't know until I try! Is it important to avoid anything other than fruit and vegetables until 26 weeks?

Weaning age has nothing to do with weight in a normal, healthy baby. And if you have a big, hungry baby who needs lots of calories, milk is what will provide this. It is the ideal food for all babies for the first 6 months or so and in terms of calories, nutrients, digestibility etc, it is in no way comparable to a couple of teaspoons of mush.

Babies sleeping/feeding patterns change all the time and the absolute best thing you can do is follow their lead and feed on demand. Once they are sitting unaided, able to pick up food, chew and swallow and have lost the tongue thrust reflex, then they are ready for more. This usually happens around the middle of the first year.

He didn't want your creme egg because he thought it was food, he wanted it because you were holding it and he wasn't. Keep the creme eggs all for yourself!

DD was born on the 50th centile and was just off the top of the charts for length and weight by 10 weeks so a little bigger than your baby actually. She was ebf for 7 months (wasn't ready for solids before then at all) and got to a whopping weight of 25lbs on milk alone.

If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it.

I let DS touch and play with and explore food from about 5 months - but not because I thought he was hungry, because he was getting so so frustrated at not being allowed to have it, when he explored everything else.

There is a school of thought that if you go with BLW that their development level of being able to pick up and chew food etc is related to the development level inside, as it seems a sensible way for evolution to have gone, but there is no evidence for this so I suggest it very tentatively.

It is best to avoid anything other than fruit and veg until 26 weeks, mainly because there is no harm in waiting, but there might be harm in giving other foods earlier, if that makes sense.

SPB, I know I'm not lulu but apart from the usual nuts, honey stuff that I'm sure you know about, everything else should be fine. I remember a friend looking into it when her ds was 23 weeks and sitting, picking up food etc. She wondered if the wheat/dairy thing applied for example but she found out from quite a lot of reading (and a paed next door neighbour) that if he was showing the signs of being able then he was just ready a couple of weeks earlier than the average and not to avoid anything bar the honey/nuts stuff.

Thanks for the words of wisdom - it is not unheard of for my GP friend to talk rubbish!

I'm very happy to carry on like this. It's so easy for me and frankly I'm dreading the complications and dilemmas that weaning will bring - for example, should I or should I not puree the creme egg for him?

Is it likely though that he will eat more often than other babies of his age? Just wondering, I don't mind.

Thanks BB and SoH. I'm torn...on one hand I think what's the harm in waiting. But OTOH the sort of stuff I'd be giving her from my plate would be bread and pasta. Think I am maybe over thinking this Will maybe just do her something special to play with (bit of carrot or whatever) and then put it on my plate

SW don't puree the creme egg - mash it!

Totally agree with all these comments. Milk is the most nutritious and energy-dense food for a baby, especially breastmilk which is digested more efficiently than any other food. Hence replacing milk with solids would be a backwards step, especially if you say you have a big and hungry baby.

From 6 months you start to introduce solids on top of the milk (v important - don't reduce the milk), but it takes a long time before the baby's digestive system is developed enough to get all the calories he needs from non-milk foods.

Your friend's advice is based on an old-fashioned misunderstanding which, thankfully, is starting to die out as the health professionals become better educated about infant nutrition.

You know how a while ago the advice was from 4 months? ANd yet people seem to believe before that it was even lower - 10 or 12 weeks, even though people like tiktok say it's never been that low? Well I wonder if the advice ever incorporated the "doubling the birthweight" thing, and people just remember weaning at 12 weeks and it being the guidance they were given. iyswim.

i thikn that would be fine, BLW lmeans the baby leads, so they can start at 23 weeks or 29 weeks, depending on when they are ready

i would avoid gluten until 6 months , and the other things youd mentioned, but other than that, give it a whirl.

I am no expert but DS was 10ln 5oz born and is now off the top of the charts (he is 10 weeks old and is around 18lb). I ebf and he feeds, on average, 2 hourly day and night. I think that, even though is huge, his stomach is still relatively small and he needs more frequent feeds to keep him full. DD was similar (but not quite so big).

It is hard work though but I'm pretty sure its normal. The longer you can go without having the share your creme eggs, the better frankly

thanks

I went through this with dd2 (8.5mths) who is a 99centiler (although only average at birth she shot up like yours). Don't wean early (by which I would think pre 5+ months depending on development as above), if she's hungry then more milk is the best way of satisfying that. But just because she's big doesn't mean she will be hungrier than the average, they're all different.

If she is hungry though, you have my sympathies. Dd2 slept well until 3 months, then just got hungrier and hungrier with more night wakings from then. But that could just be her, curse bless her.

Mine was a big 'un and we BF exclusively until 6 months at which point he very gradually started trying some food in a BLW-type way.

Milk is so much more nourishing than pureed carrots or baby rice, so it makes no sense to feed a "hungry" baby something less calorific than milk. My best advice is to keep on feeding - as you say, you don't feel like he's hungry, so he probably isn't.

PS I am sure your friend is lovely but healthcare professionals are notoriously clueless about breastfeeding and infant nutrition in general ...!

BabyG was 10 9 at birth and has stayed about 1cm above top centile line ever since#

i didnt wean him early

Re bigger babies feeding more often - they are probably more able to take more milk at each feed, so you probably have a mega-bountiful supply. I don't imagine he's feeding that much more frequently than the average - DS fed every 2-3 hours most of the time until 7 months.

I know that is the principle of BLW FD but it's conjecture rather than proven. I have no problem with doing it after 26 weeks, or slightly before with vegetables, just wondering if it'd be better to avoid doing it before 26 weeks with, say, pasta? After all the baby may developmentally put things in mouth, chew and swallow, but won't differentiate between carrot and creme egg iyswim.

hmmmmmmmmm
thanks

I exclusively BF my baby for the first 6 months and didn't see the point in checking how often DS demands milk. After all, if you feed on demand, it's on demand! There's no set time, standard intervals etc.

I stopped recording how often I BF and stopped worrying about it! My DS is almost 8 months old and is eating purees, mostly 3 times a day. I still BF on demand and he demands a lot of mummy's milk ))

I wouldn't listen to your friend if I were you. Listen to your baby. He'll make sure you know when he's hungry