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Premature birth

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Original poster

Weaning Premature Babies

15 replies

lollipop78 · 04/07/2008 17:45

Hi everyone, think i just posted my msg in wrong thread, im new to this , i just wanted a bit of avice please, my ds is 6.1 month old and ive just started weaning her, but she really doesnt seem interested, she wont open her mouth and when i manage to get food in she spits it all back out, ive tried for 4 days in a row now to no avail. Im just wondering whether to keep trying or leave it a week or so and try again. Not sure if shes just not ready or needs a bit of a push. Any advice appreciated thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
lollipop78 · 04/07/2008 17:47

sorry i forgot to say she was 8 weeks early, do you think this can affect the weaning process, should I have started a bit later? Thanks

OP posts:
babyjamas · 04/07/2008 19:30

we were told to wean at actual age (ie 6 months) rather than corrected. so although dd2 was only 3 months corrected (27 weeker) she was weaned at 6 months. think it's because they've been having food since the beginning so their gut is the same as a 6 month old. having said that if your dd is just not interested i don't think there's any harm in giving it a rest for a week or 2 and coming back to it. dd2 is now 2 and a real chubster who loves her food!

Callieco · 04/07/2008 20:44

Hi Lollipop

I think if your DD is spitting it out, she's just not ready for it. I really wouldn't worry too much about it and advise the same as babyjamas - leave it for a bit, and try again later. If her weight is fine and she bf or ff's ok, then she probably just doesn't need it yet. There are a lot of countries around the world where babies aren't weaned until 12 months. My DS was eight and a half weeks early too. However, he went from being a little premmie to a big baby very quickly, and was a hungry one, so he was more than happy to start on food, but that's not surprising as he's always been between 75th and 90th percentile and is on course to be a very tall lad indeed. They're all different.

Just out of curiosity, what have you been giving her? I started DS on baby rice with formula (he was ff by that stage) so it wasn't much of a transition from milk, before I gave him anything with a different taste. What are her reactions like when you yourself are eating? For a while before I started weaning, he would watch me intently as I ate, following the track of the food from plate or hand to my mouth - bit a clue that he wanted some! Good luck with it.

Original poster
lollipop78 · 04/07/2008 22:42

hi babyjamas and callieco, thanks for your response and advice, will probably leave it a week or so and try again then. Callieco ive tried her with baby rice, natural baby fruits (in a jar) bit of rusk mixed with milk, and differed cow and gate baby jars, nothing seems to appetise her. Shes quite happy with her milk but seems to be hungry all the time so I thought she was ready for food....obviously she thinks different, bless. I will leave it for now then if she doesnt actually need the food just yet. Thanks for your helpful and reassuring advice x

OP posts:
rascal1979 · 05/07/2008 08:30

lollipop - I too am in a similar position to you. My DD was 9 weeks early and is coming up to 7mth actual age. I haven't started weaning her yet mainly because she isn't completely ready yet - although is getting there, sittin gup, watching us eat, putting things into her mouth etc but also because I have received such mixed advice about when to start.

I plan to do baby lead weaning and will be completely skipping the baby rice and purees. Not sure if this is advisable if you FF as all evidence I believe is based on BF babies (something to do with BF babies havng more developed muscles in their mouth from the BF). However if you are BF'ing it may be an idea to try BLW. Give her a steamed carrot or sweetpotato to 'play with' and see what she does.

The first part of weaning is not really about your baby getting any nutrition just tasting and exploring new food.

Original poster
lollipop78 · 05/07/2008 16:14

thanks rascal, decided to leave it a week or so and try again, not sure which method I will try next time though, will have a think!

OP posts:
rascal1979 · 05/07/2008 17:33

let us know how you get on! I'm planning to go with the flow but DD is probably not too far off starting. We go onb holiday next week so plan to try her when we get back probably.

Original poster
lollipop78 · 05/07/2008 18:53

ok well good luck with urs and i'll let u know how its goin (wen i try again).

Have a lovely holiday, anywhere nice?

OP posts:
TinkerBellesMum · 11/07/2008 20:04

I highly recommend BLW for prem babies as it gives them chance to find their own time.

Some premature babies do really well and will follow their birth age, some follow their CGA and some don't follow any pattern. By doing BLW you can be sure that you are only doing it when the baby is ready.

No problem with doing BLW with FF, Rascal, Aitch did it and I know another mum who was prem, FF and BLWed successfully. It fits all babies, just not all parents IYSWIM

RegenerAitch · 11/07/2008 20:08

i agree with tinksmum, it's interesting but there actually doesn't seem to be a definitive answer on what to do with preemies. say, for example, the theory that their guts have advanced faster than all other babies'... makes no sense to me tbh. at least if you wait until they start self-feeding you're waiting until everything is in alignment (interest in food, spatial awareness, ability to grip and pick up etc).

RegenerAitch · 11/07/2008 20:10

oh, and it's NOTHING to do with ff babies not having developed mouths, whoever told you that is making it up. i have it on Gill Rapley's authority that the only reason it says 'check with HV if FF' is cos the research (which was Teensy, btw) was done on BF babes and they can't extrapolate. but she sees no reason whatsoever for their to be a problem.

RegenerAitch · 11/07/2008 20:11

there

TinkerBellesMum · 11/07/2008 23:02

I think it's because of the reason I said, the development of a premature baby varies so wildly that you can't choose one exact set of guidelines, which is why I think BLW works so well for them.

I think (been told at the hospital I'm probably right) that Tink did so well because I was a healthy pregnancy, there was no underlying reason (such as PreE) for her to come early. She was just a nice healthy rather large in a good way baby that happened to come early. She was ready at six months, I personally would have waited but as I had no support (only reading the blog through my mobile) my paediatrician was saying I needed to start so I did and she took straight to it.

Other babies that come from a bad start have to get better before they can start to develop and that slows them down as the energy is going into getting better. Some will take until their EDD to get well enough to concentrate on growing, some take longer or are never able to fully concentrate on developing so their development varies.

I hope that makes sense

RegenerAitch · 12/07/2008 11:51

yep, that does make sense to me. i wish that the HVs etc who advise women with preemies were prepared to be so open-minded... seems to me that they get a lot more stress to start weaning.

TinkerBellesMum · 14/07/2008 00:32

Yeah, they just need to pull together on getting proper guidelines in the fluffy way I've explained it and work to them. Everyone makes their own rules up I think.

I just read back what I said. I don't mean to say that they will never fully concentrate on development, just that it can take a lot longer. Have to reread more lol.

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