BLW - how long did your dc take to eat?

[blackteaplease]

I know this thread has probably been done many many times, but I'm looking for some reassurance.

DD is 28 weeks and we have been BLW for 4 weeks. I offer food when I have breakfast and lunch (if she's awake) and offer tea at 5pm.

She still isn't really interested in food, will put one or two mouthfuls in then purse her lips and start whining. She is still bf every 2-3 hours and I know that that is where she gets her main source of nutrition from.

Is it okay if she only eats tiny amounts or misses a meal altogether? I think it is but I'm starting to doubt myself as all my nct friends are puree feeding and their babies eat loads.

If she is bf every 2-3 hours then she is unlikely to be hungry when you offer her solids! Can you think about structuring her milk feeds so that there is a big enough gap between being offered milk and solids?

Personally, I see the merits of BLW but also at 28 weeks would prefer my baby to be eating a variety of foods, especially protein. Could/would you consider a more mixed feeding approach - maybe porridge+fruit and yoghurt for breakfast and a puree casserole type thing alongside BLW? This way, you can be more certain that she is getting important nutrients?

yes it's fine

dd didn't catch on till about 9m, then she went for it bigtime

Thanks for the reassurance.

I have tried to offer dd pureed food to get more in her but she'll only take a spoon or two of that before I get the same response.

I'm finding it very tricky to balance naps, breastfeeding and weaning in the day. She's bf on demand and has never had structured feed times, I'm not sure that I can manage to regulate that too on top of naps and weaning.

Disagree with addictedtofrazzles. My tiddler will breastfeed hourly and would still eat solids. I would just make sure there was about 30-40 mins gap after last breastfeed. She's only v. recently starting to consume more at about 32 weeks (and as such is spacing out BFs by herself).

There is no need to offer a mixed feeding approach and no need to start shoveling casserole down your LO's throat. Your LO is getting important nutrients from your breastmilk still.

oh god no, carry on bf on demand, she is still so young

you sound like you are doing fine

your NCT mates will get their comeuppance when they are still spooning in the slop at 12m and your dd leans over and helps herself to a sandwich...

Ds2 is 7months and still prefers bf (on demand too).

He isn't eating much and it is a rather haphazard approach as there aren't any set times.

Spoon-feeding not an option here unless he does it! - sometimes squash banana onto a small wooden spoon he quite likes eating like that. He doesn't like purees.

I am not stressing too much as have read stuff on here that this is all ok.

At 28 wks I won't expect them to eat hardly anything. My BLW toddler probably started "eating" at about 8 months. Your breastmilk should be their main source of nutrition till they are around one year.

Milk as lots of protein!

Milk does not have complete protein, nor does it contain sufficient iron. It is also considered important to have introduced gluten no later than 7 months to reduce the risk of ceoliacs (sp?). Have a look at ESPHGAN Complimentary feeding (Sorry - don't know how to link, but comes up if you google).

DS was given 'slop' initially (chicken/fish/lentils) and by 10 mo was happily feeding himself chopped up food because he was always offered finger foods alongside puree. If you don't offer finger food, I agree, they will probably still want puree! I am just suggesting that BLW is not the only way!

"Healthy, full-term infants who are breastfed exclusively for periods of 6-9 months have been shown to maintain normal hemoglobin values and normal iron stores. In one study (Pisacane, 1995), the researchers concluded that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 7 months (and were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals) had significantly higher hemoglobin levels at one year than breastfed babies who received solid foods earlier than seven months."

www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html
www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

beat me to it, jemjem

"Protein is a prime example of how human milk is unique nutrition for human babies. Human milk is low in protein, at least when compared with the milk of other species, especially cow's milk. This isn't a nutritional deficiency; there are good reasons for this."

www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t020800.asp

DD1 - started blw at 26 weeks, took her about 3 weeks to get the hang of it and til about 9 months to really be eating any quantity of food.

DD2 - started at 27 weeks and she got the hang of it right away! She's 13 months now and she'll still only eat 2 meals a day sometimes, especially if she's tired (or asleep!) at lunchtime.

With both I bf on demand and liked knowing that they were/are balancing their own food and milk intake.

Thanks Jemjabella and Mrs Badger.

Dd is getting gluten and iron from bread, meat and vegetables, just in very small amounts.

I'll just keep going as I am then and trust that she eats more when she's ready to.

Completely normal. Stick with it black tea. No need to worry about spacing feeds - your DD will do that herself as and when she's ready to eat more solids.

Hi blackteaplease

DS is 10 1/2 months and only in the last couple of weeks has he finally been eating 2-3 proper meals a day. So he's probably about 50% solids 50% milk now, in terms of where his nutrition comes from.

It's been a slow process, and it's been a bit stressful seeing friends' babies eating lots, first purees, then more 'proper' food. Also comments on here by BLW-ers whose babies took to it really quickly and were stuffing food down made me

Your baby may well take to it all much quicker than mine did - 28 weeks is still very early. But if they don't, I tend to believe what people on here say - that they can still get everything they need from milk at 6 months + and only gradually need more. Mine's certainly been absolutely fine in weight gain and general health, despite MIL's worries about his eating!

This is all really helpful, I think I was just having a wobble due to comparing dd to nct puree fed babies.