3 HVs advised me to wean at 21 weeks - looking for support or otherwise

[Bethbe]

Have always planned to wean DS1 at 6 months (a week late actually to have a bf camping trip), but my DS1 has changed his feeding behaviour and now on three seperate occassions a HV has suggested that it could be time for something else.

LO has always been a hungry baby, - has been drinking between 11-13oz EBM for evening feed since I first began expressing when he was 4 weeks old. He has always loved his food and has always fed on the breast aggressively and focussed, not playing or using me as a dummy.

He is also very physically developed. I've never had to hold his head, and he has been able to stand supported since birth. He's not particularly fat, but he is a bit of a bruiser.

Over the past couple of weeks he has began to get very fussy on the breast. He's been wanting to feed all the time, but when I put him on he keeps pulling off (dragging my nipple) and crying and then does a quick scream and re-latches for a couple of sucks and then pulls off again.

The above is all that I have told the HVs, but in addition:

He is also a human canabal, munching on any part of my (or my DHs) body that he can get his mouth near.

I know he can swallow, because he munches and swallows both his regurgetated milk that comes back up, and flem from his recent colds.

He makes swipes at my food (but I think this is probably more out of interest than to feed).

I've been following many of the weaning threads to guide me and many suggest that there is no harm in waiting, but if it is true that he needs more than what I am giving and the battle and misery that it would take to wait, then surely it would be more harmful to wait.

One of my worries though, is that the reason for our frustrated and unhappy feeding is being overlooked if indeed weaning is not the answer.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks!

i am NOT to blame for you thinking about candyfloss...

Oh oh oh .... you mentioned it!

Yeah wierd......She did ask me loads of questions though....and she did tell me to try to wean as slowly as possible to get as close to 6 months as I could for the 'harder' stuff.

I expect she's talking about alcohol

beth have you thought that he may be latching on for pain releif.??? maybe first teath showing. i breast fed for 2 uears and she went to breast when unwell during jabs or when teathing its a comfort for them. they say weaning should be at 6 months i did that but know lotsa mums start earlier successfully. go with your instinct though always. if its sore suggests he is not latching cause hungry but using you as human dummy so it may be pain comfort.

you also gotta consider that baby intestinal tract and stomach not fully mature to deal with solids till 6 months. h.v. prob suggesting weaning cause they think he is hungry but only you can know how he is on your breast is he actually feeeding or playing or getttin comfort or just chewing

dumb question i know but you have tried gum gel, havne't you?

If it is any consolation I weaned DS2 at 20 weeks - mainly due to lack of confidence I have to say.

Your choices are to start weaning now and you can use baby rice oif you want OR

ride it out till 26 weeks feeding on demand. I did that with DD(baby no.4) and she settled around about 24 weeks. Up to you. Good luck with whatever choice you make.

HV suggested that he wasn't that hungry any more and messing around was partly due to me 'thinking' he was hungry because he always used to be causing him to play around.

He's also refusing his bottle of ebm, after he's drunk just over half of what he used to!

He IS teething a little, but I really don't think it's giving him much of a problem and I can't feel anything with my finger. He eats the bonjella off of my finger so I don't bother with that any more.

He doesn't wake in the night either, - in fact he only began sleeping through two weeks ago!

I'll probably give the wallpaper paste a go tomorrow (if I have time to buy some) and see how that goes!

if you've got a boots near you, their gum gel is stronger and cheaper. i used to put it on a dummy for dd as it was the only way to get it onto her gums. you can also buy weirdy gum things for them to chew that you put the gel onto, but i don't know how successful they are.

anbesol liquid is better - more potent and not chewable as it's as thin as water

if you really feel need to wean try baby rice first with your breast milk mixed in. Also comort factor if teathing - they get pain killers from breast milk and endorphins oxcitocin and others which just make then feel good. just go with your instinct- trust your feelings you know best whatever you choose to do it will be right for you and baby - we all got inbuilt barometer for doing right thing at right time you cant go wrong.

I tried those gum things but DS is not really a dummy LO. He opens his mouth so wide when I try to put my finger on his gums it feels really mean that I'm not feeding him!

opening mouth and chomping does not always indicate hunger, as mears has already indicated

teething rings kept in fridge helped my wee one a lot or cold carrot sticks or celery for theathing once she had been weaned but im one too talk i breast fed till she was 2 + 1 week and often had sore breasts from being used as dummmy. plus down side was takin her off breast whata nightmare she was practically tearing her hair out doin somersaults banging her head against cot wall teddy you name it screaming whhhhhyyyyyyy!!!!!!!! she hated me when i refused her consistently was so hard not to give in. but got there.

We'll see! I'll probably give it a go tomorrow although I'm very nervous. I really do freak out when LO splutters breastmilk on me. THANK GOD I never had leaky boobs!!!!!

hey advice when you satrt weaning overalls and do it at home at first cause i got food everywhere found it in my hair down my clothes you name it seems such easy thing why do they spit like that who knows how can they get it on your back when eating from front in their nappy. it goes everywhere suprised they actually eat any.

oh ! Can you mix baby rice with water?

yes but if you put your milk in it first couple of times it helps transition he recognises the taste.

ps not all that bad weaning its fun when they tip food over their head advise though try shedule feed just before bath time and if warm house allows it keep in nappy or vest and nappy less washing after. its really great though their face the first time they eat solids they make so many silly funny faces like when the spit out its kinda like stuff rolling outta mouth hillarious.

Hmmm, Maybe I'll get DH to do the feeds while it's breast milk going in!!!! I'll do the savouries!

good luck and have fun anyway it only happens once. the actual first face suprise look n all

Hehe, Lonewolf you're right!

Gave LO some baby rice mixed w bm, - his little face was a picture and the he smiled!

Overall the feeding was a success - he managed to keep most of it in his mouth and swallow, but the tricky part was getting it to his mouth via the obsticle-course of hands etc. I eventually thickened the paste to mash consistency so it actually stayed on the spoon. This worked better, but am now worried about ODing on the rice as he threw such a tantrum when the first 'bottle-lid' was finished that I made him a second.

Is there no end to a mothers worry?

obstacle course of hands, eh? sounds like a blwe to me... glad it went well, bethbe.

Don't they normally make a grab for the incoming food then?

I've just realised that I've entered a whole new world with a whole new set of questions: I.e, Does following the guidelines that say spoon and pot should be sterile, mean that you can never again go out? - or are there solutions that I've not yet thought of? (how do you keep the spoon sterile?

Perhaps I'll have trawl through the weaning threads!

forget about sterile, was he not eating soil the other day..? sterile is over for you now. [benediction]

Oh thank god! I need no other confirmation/reassuance. On this you can be the gospel!

amen.