15 weeks but prem when & what to wean?

[GetInTheBackOfTheVan]

Hi all

Any advice on this would be really welcome!

My LO is 15 weeks and 5 days old, and showing all the signs of being ready for solids!? Is it too soon? Read in M&B mag this month should wait until at least 17 weeks?!
Evie was 4 weeks prem at 4lb 6 and now weighs 11lb dont know if this makes a difference to weaning?
HV was very non commital about when to start!
Also how much baby rice should be given when starting to wean?
Cheers all

The current advice from WHO and the govement is to wait 6 months (no idea about adjuested dates - sorry!)...don't panic about the "signs" - that is just development. There little gut is not ready.

To be honest I personally wouldnt wean yet as she is still very young. I weaned DS at 12wks and he was 2wks late and now regret it even though at time I thought he was showing signs of needing it and HV recommended it. DD I waited until she was 5 n half months and she was soooo much easier to wean as she was at stage of shoving her own food in.

OPPs their not there ! SORRY I hate grammer

I think your dd being prem would make it especially important to wait the six months. We started weaning ds (born at 38 weeks, so a 'term' baby) at 6 1/2 months.

If you wait until then, you can skip the baby rice and do baby led weaning (search MN for a better description/tips than I can give). kellymom.com is also very, very good on weaning.

HTH!

keep her on the booby juice!!!!

Griffin is still up for being Evies GBF by the way - was strokeing silky knickers in M&S today - or does that make him a sexpest??? Maybe best they haven't met up yet!!

Loving your sinister namechange BTW.

The six month guideline is for full-term babies only. Current advice for prem babies is from 5 months - or earlier in certain circumstances. It's best to check with your health visitor or paediatrician. BLISS have published a really good booklet on weaning - it's available from their website.

Good luck!

IME and IMHO having had DS at 27 weeks is that HV know nothing about preemies

SO ask at the hospital where she was born or contact BLISS for advice from someone who knows what they are talking about

But DS is 11 years soooooo weaning was soooooooooo long ago and I can't remember apart from we had a corrected age for him

HVs should know more about prems - shocking yours is so hopeless.

Prem babies - espec the ones born very prem - are not in utero long enough to build up their full quota of iron stores. There may therefore be a case for giving solids a little bit sooner than the standard six months, and I note BLISS are saying 5 months...and I would certainly go with what they advise.

This is not really applicable to a baby born only 4 weeks early, though. No reason as far as I can see why you wouldn't wait until 6 months. She is small, and needs the calories (as well as the overall nutrition) in breastmilk - giving her solids would reduce her appetite for breastmilk and she would end up taking in fewer calories.

17 weeks would be too early - that's the very minimum age if people are desperate (for some reason) not to wait to 6 mths!

tiktok is right (as always)
I thought ds was ready for weaning at this age, i thought he was showing signs, had what seemed like the whole world telling me he was starving (turned out he has reflux).
He is now 24 weeks and we have just started weaning, he was showed the best sign of all, grabbed the banana ia was eating, and started sucking at it, we let him do it whenever he wants, now he taked bites , pushes is round his mouth a bit and swollows it.

We gave DS a perscribed dose of iron and vitamin drops in his milk every day cos he was anaemic although he had had loads of blood transfusions, BUT that is what we were told 11 YEARS ago

Was Evie is SCBU after she was born or did she come straight home?

Hi all
Cheers for all the info
RTKM: Evie was in tranisitional care and an incubator but only for 2 days!
Will continue to BF I think and maybe try some baby rice with BM in a few weeks!!

Oke doke