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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

BLW a preemie?

16 replies

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 27/08/2010 10:28

Hello, ds is 5mo so looking forward to weaning in a months time. He was 6weeks early though so his corrected age is 3 1/2 months.
So far he shows no signs at all of being interested in picking anything up and has never put anything but his fist in his mouth. I know this could all come in the next month but I'm not confident that it will as he's really not interested. Had planned to do blw but was told on another thread it's not recommended for preemies? He wasn't that early so I'm not sure. Does anyone know whether I can do it or not?
Really confused!

OP posts:

MummyBerryJuice · 27/08/2010 19:09

Bump for you DarkandStormy

Original poster

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 28/08/2010 19:23

Thanks BMJ hope somebody can tell me something!

OP posts:

chibi · 28/08/2010 19:31

my ds was born at 34+6

i weaned on to purees when he was about 24 weeks, because it was the right thing for us in our situation (boring + complicated to go into why!)

i did introduce finger food sharpish, and he has a mix of spoon fed and finger foods ever since, and is learning to feed himself with a spoon

you can always give it a whirl, i don't think there is any reason why not, iyswim

good luck, happy weaning!

Original poster

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 28/08/2010 20:12

Cheers, I think we'll go down that route too then unless he changes his mind!

OP posts:

mrspear · 28/08/2010 20:21

My ds was born at 30 + 0 weeks

And i went down the same route as chibi - he now is 10 months (actual) and loves his food. Anything near him and he grabs it himself!

Good luck - it's fun once you get pass the bloody purees

hildathebuilder · 30/08/2010 17:53

My DS was born at 29+3 and is now 25 weeks. He suddenly started showing signs about 2 weeks ago and have been weaning him for a week now on the advice of his dietician. I was advised to go with purees etc until he was closer to 6 months corrected because of the risk of choking. A week in I suspect we will be past that within the two and a half months we have in hand as he decided to put the puree in his mouth with his hands yesterday and the purees are already thicker than we started with, but we'll see. I'm speaking to his dietician regularly to keep an eye on things though!

Original poster

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 30/08/2010 19:08

Thanks, looked on the bliss site and browsed the web, a lot of the advice is contradictory! Will just take my cues from him and try the purees to start.

OP posts:

ArseHolio · 30/08/2010 19:18

I never managed BLW with either of mine and they were both weaned on to purees at about 25 weeks. Ds was only 6lb when we started so completly unable to feed himself.. i'd have been waiting for ever if i waited for him to steal a chip broccoli floret off my plate or whatever is touted as the right way to do things nowerdays.

Despite being weaned the old fashioned way they are 20mo and 5.9 and eat everthing they are offered in enormous quantities.

I don't think BLW is really suitable for many prems as they can't manage enough calories they need to sustain decent catch up growth and also would struggle with the actual mechanics of eating.

Mine were 32 & 27 weekers though so a bit earlier a 34 weeker would probably be much better at it :)

Have a go and see how you get on :)

Habbibu · 30/08/2010 19:24

Aitch's 33 weeker did BLW - she'll prob see this thread! ArseH, I don't think anyone has said that weaning with purees does any harm at all, just that there are different ways that suit different babies and parents (despite what the Annabel Karmel marketing machine would have us believe).

ArseHolio · 30/08/2010 19:32

Hey i'm not putting BLW down at all!

It is hailed to be the 'new parenting must do' though and the reality of it is that it makes absolutly zero differece in the long term.

Habbibu · 30/08/2010 19:35

Well, I suspect it makes a difference to individual babies and parents - mine, for example, were both hardcore spoon-refusers, and had I had my mind bent by AK, I think it would have all been very stressful. I'm not sure it's really a must-do, tbh - the shelves of bookshops are still awash with 23 ways to blitz a parsnip, and most people don't do BLW.

ArseHolio · 30/08/2010 19:42

It's certainly a must do in my social circle and I was positivly sneered at for using AK type purees noth times even though I couldnt have BLW if I had wanted to (and I did!).

The point I was trying, maybe clumsily, to make was that it doesn't matter if the OP's baby can't quite manage BLW.. it really does not make any difference but it's easy to build it up to be more important than it really is.

MrsJamin · 30/08/2010 19:50

I BLWed my (on-time) DS1 successfully at 6 months onwards. DS2 arrived at 35+6 and is just over 6 months now, so just over 5 months corrected. I am doing BLW with DS2 but he's definitely not as ready as DS1 was. He's just about sitting up unaided, and once you've put the food in his hand, he can eat it, but he's not very good at picking things up. I'm not aware of any special dietary need to make sure he's having 3 square meals a day and as he didn't need anything special after the birth no-one ever told me that he should be weaned early or in a special way. I don't think DS2 would pass the 'banana test' as he is crap at picking things up but he's definitely eating things now (as his nappies show!) so I just need to keep sitting him up at the table and provide opportunities to learn eating skills, as I think that's what's happening initially.

So... I reckon you see where you're up to at the time of 6 months, is he sitting up straight without too much assistance, is he able to chew on something in his fist, etc? Don't worry too much about what he might be doing in a months' time as they learn so much at this age. Don't discount BLW just because of his arrival date, in my mind that's why I love BLW as they do it when they're ready, regardless of when they were due or arrived.

Habbibu · 30/08/2010 19:54

Really, AH? Well, that's bloody rude of your social circle. Not all BLWers have no manners!

Original poster

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 30/08/2010 20:04

I appreciate it, had my heart set on blw. Read continuum concept when pregnant, doing AP and all that, don't think ds will be too bothered though

OP posts:

WillbeanChariot · 30/08/2010 20:08

My little man was born at 27 weeks, only newborn sized when we started to wean on the advice of his docs and aged one (9m corrected) has only been eating any finger food for about a month. Before that he would pick things up but they never went near his mouth. I think you just have to be guided by your baby- I would have liked to try blw but DS couldn't manage and he needs the calories, he's still very small.

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