HV told me to increase food

[myotherbagisgucci]

Hi

My DD is 28 weeks and has reflux, so we were advised to start weaning around 22/23 weeks.

I've been slowly introducing purée's etc. but still giving her bottles on demand (usually having 5 bottles) and she'd usually have some puréed fruit or a fromage frais in the morning, some finger foods during the day (usually bits of whatever I was eating) and something textured for tea (which she never usually eats and just plays with).

But today I took her to get weighted (perfect weight on the 25 percentile) but I was told she should be having 3 meals a day now and no more than 3 bottles a day.

This is what HV told me to give her;

Breakfast: Bottle followed by soft foods.

Wait 4 hours and offer her finger foods for lunch.

Tea: textured food along side finger foods, followed by a bottle.

Bedtime: A bottle

The problem is, she doesn't really eat much of what I give her at the moment, and thinks most food especially finger food is just fun and prefers to suck it, rip it and feel it, but not actually eat it!

I also don't feel my DD is ready to go down to such few bottles as well. My DH completely agrees and feels we should continue to slowly introduce foods with a aim of being on 3 meals by the time she's 8 months.

I'm a FTM with no experience in this, are we doing it right or should I do what my HV advices?

Sorry for long post!

I don't know anything about FF but that sounds like crazy advice for such a young baby! Early weaning foods tend to have such low calories and they don't consume a lot so you need the milk at that age. If you are concerned about her weight (I wouldn't be if she's consistently around the 25th) then offer high calorie foods like avocado, toast and humus, cheese, yogurt etc. Watch the salt content though.

And I'd check her advice with another HV.

Thanks @teaandbiscuitsforme I have no concerns about her weight. HV seems to have based this advice purely because my DD is 6 months old now.

Well I didn’t start weaning until 6 months and it took until about 10 months before they were having 3 meals a day, I thought that was pretty normal! They’re both great eaters now.
If you’re happy with your approach and your baby is continuing to gain weight then i would stick with what you’re doing.

I think keep doing what you're doing, trust your instincts. HVs are not nutritionists - she shouldn't be giving you advice unless you ask really.

6 months is not a deadline for 3 meals and I'm not sure why some people seem to think it is (e.g. this is often used as an argument to start solids at 4 months). AFAIK it's still current advice to keep milk levels the same from starting weaning and slowly add more food at the child's pace until around 9 months when milk will start to reduce in line with food increasing, and by around 12 months food is the main source of nutrition with milk feeds either being phased out or much reduced e.g. down to morning and night (and possibly naps too).

God you cant just change their routine like that. Many babies at this point are just playing with food more than they eat the food.

If you rush it and it causes pain you will end up getting less down her.

Carry on as you are she needs more than 2 bottles.

Here is the official NHS weaning advice (I think there is a load of unnecessary stuff in there too TBH) - however you'll note it says nothing about reducing milk feeds down to 3x per day by 6 months, it even says from 7 months you should continue to offer "their normal milk feeds".

www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/first-foods

Fwiw dd2 didn't do actual meals til 8/9 months old.

What nonsense. Ignore OP. I let DS lead the way when it came to solids and at 13 months he is now happily on 3 meals a day plus snacks but it's taken us a good long while to get here. At 6 months he would eat 1 meal a day and at around 9 months he would eat 3 but very hit and miss (it has taken us a long time to get used to breakfast; he'd rather breastfeed). Fwiw my DS is a total chunk too - 98th centile last time he was weighed. Sounds like you're doing fine and if your baby is happy then keep it up!

Agree with all PP. Go with your instinct and just keep going until you feel she is ready to reduce any milk (which may not be for a few months). We are a week or so behind you age wise and have been weaning about 2 weeks and we aren’t even on one regular ‘meal’, just taking our time to introduce flavours/textures without forcing it so DS enjoys the experience at his own pace.

I have no further advice than PPs but be careful about frontage frais, lots of sugar. It's fine as the occasion treat but not great as an everyday food. Greek yogurt with fruit puree is just as sweet but much better for them.

I never listened to the HV. Everything they tell you is from books well neither of my babies seemed to read this book!

You do what’s best for your child and let her go at her own pace. Providing she is healthy and well - which she sounds like she is. Carry on as you are. Go with the flow you will soon get into the swing of it. All babies are different. My first dd ate and still eats like a pig if I let her. My second dd is more of a grazer she doesn’t like big meals and never has. She never finished a bottle but she fed more frequently so she had little and often. She’s 2.5 and a healthy weight etc but still the same she likes little and often rather than 3 big meals a day

If your DD is following the 25th centile line then she's growing as expected. A friend was told their DS was too small because he was on the 9th from birth, and that he really should be 50 or above which spectacularly missies the point of centiles but I digress.

Milk generally has more calories than the foods you would be introducing your DD to, so logically if you were worried about her weight gain you would increase the milk ratio not reduce it.

Babies take time to change and may not be digesting all the new solids so in summary, carry on with what you were doing. Sounds like the HV has be told something and is repeating it to you without fully understanding!

I would not decrease bottles in this hot weather.
Solids have less calories than milk so eating more toast and less milk isn't going to contribute to weight gain.

Your DD's behaviour with food sounds very normal so don't worry about that. I would keep up with what you're doing until it cools down. Most adults aren't going 4 hours between drinks right now.

Thanks everyone for your comments, I don't see any need to rush her into 3 meals a day.

I should of also clarified that the HV said she can drink water throughout the day and have a cup of water with meals.

I already give her water but I'm going to continue to bottle feed on demand and slowly introduce foods.

Keep doing what you're doing. When baby is ready she'll start eating more. She's still very young. The usual saying is 'food before one is just for fun'
HV sounds bonkers. I've never actually met a decent HV though

Is she moving much? Sounds completely random but with both of my DS’s they were not interested in food until they really started crawling after 8 months.

They’re getting used to food at 6 Months, my second wasn’t interested in eating until 27/28 weeks & now he eats everything with 3 meals a day.

Do what you feel is best as it looks good, they’ll let you know when they’re hungry.

I would say trust your instincts.
Also note that the naming of the process has been changed by healthcare professionals from weaning to introducing solids.
This happen to effect the fact that milk is not being withdrawn initially, but additional foods introduced!
Good luck 💚

The NHS advice is that babies are only starting solids at 6 months. Not already on 3 meals!

Mine wasn't eating in any kind of significant way until 9 months.