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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 6 month old, just saw hv and am a smidge worried

19 replies

chibi · 12/12/2007 15:35

The hv has suggested that dd, 27 weeks may not be eating enough. She has 2 meals a day (lunch + tea) and I am going to start breakfasts this weekend.

Just to give an idea, lunch today was 2 penne pasta shapes with cheese sauce + a quarter of a pear. She ate most of it. I have been working on the basis of, whatever she can get through while we eat is probably enough but now I'm not sure. Help!

OP posts:

ChristmasSendsMePsycho · 12/12/2007 15:46

in what way did she imply that??

Is her weight a worry....and I do mean her weight,(ie, is she losing weight) and not where she is on her centiles, as they mean jack shite IMO! all he centiles do is scare parents in my experience, and give HV's ammo to make us feel like crap mummies (can you tell I am not amused with them)

anyhoo.....also....does you DD seem satisfied with what you are giving her?
is she waking at night demanding a feed/something to eat?
does she cry for food more often??

If she is satisfied, and weight is going up, then she is fine.
If however she is not, and she is waking during the night (well, when I say that, I mean more than what is normal for her IYSWIM), and she is hungry during the day, then may be she does need something more than what you are providing

Please at no point feel bad about how you are raising your DD....at what ever age they are we are all learning how to deal with that stage. I am thro the weaning now (thank goodness as it was at times pure hell), but am now entering the teens, which let me tell you, IS THE WORST STAGE YET....!!!!!!!!!!

NineUnlovelyTinselDecorations · 12/12/2007 15:49

Gordon bennett, your HV sounds like a moron. Your DD seems to be eating very well for one so young. Unless your DD is losing weight or has stopped putting weight on I don't think you have anything to worry about. I agree with CSMP, HV go on a special course on how to undermine the confidence of new mums. Ignore ignore ignore.

BeeWiseMen · 12/12/2007 15:50

did you tell the HV that you were doing BLW because that may have been the source of the HV's discomfort rather than anything being wrong with your DD's intake.

The amount you describe sounds fine for a baby that presumably hasn't been weaning for very long.

Original poster

chibi · 12/12/2007 15:56

Her weight is going up but she has slipped a bit on the centiles from 9th to just below over the last 5 weeks.

OP posts:

Lucyand2 · 12/12/2007 15:59

If your DD is happy, healthy looking , eating and gaining weight then I wouldn't worry at all.
My DD is small and we just don't bother weighing her anymore as I know she's fine. We've really enjoyed BLW although it has turned into a battle at the moment!

BeeWiseMen · 12/12/2007 16:01

what centile is she on for height? I am starting to get more and more irritated by these centile charts. Or at least by the way they are sometimes used as a weapon. Who needs a rod for your own back when they are beating you with the buggering red book?

Are you worried about your DD or are you worried that the HV is worried iyswim?

Piffle · 12/12/2007 16:03

my ds2 has dropped from between 50th and 75th centile to just below 25th after 26 wks and weaning started
He eats now he is 9 mths

half a weetabix and fruit and milk

yoghurt for lunch plus some bread/snack thing

he also eats bits of banana/pear/grated apple

dinner is meat/veg/fish or what we're having plus whatever of a fruit jar he can manage.

Plus we are still on 6 bf's in 24 hrs.

I am not worried and hv's have never once commented on his drop, just said very common in breasfed babies at 6 mths, they gain very quickly then slow down after 6 mths quite often.
So I'm not worried

ChristmasSendsMePsycho · 12/12/2007 16:05

chibi......panic not....you say her weight is going up then she IS FINE.

centiles, like I say, mean NOTHING except ammo for the HV.

carry on with the BLW and stick said centile up HV bum!!!!

you are doing fab

Original poster

chibi · 12/12/2007 16:13

thanks all, I will try to chill. I had been feeling ok about it until I saw the hv.

OP posts:

DoesntChristmasDragOn · 12/12/2007 16:23

My HV wasn't even worried when BabyDragon lost weight during a particularly disastrous BLW period.

You can tell when they're hungry or need more at a meal... but it's not from the centile charts!!

jellybelly25 · 12/12/2007 22:42

Don't go anymore, it will only worry you. Show me a baby that grew perfectly matched to a bl**dy centile curve and I'll eat my own foot. You know what you are doing, keep offering the food and let it take its course.

bunnyhunny · 12/12/2007 22:44

I stopped going to the hv cos they always made me feel like crap afterwards.
you don't have to see them

NorthernLurkerwithastarontop · 12/12/2007 22:45

if your baby seems unwell or lethargic or just worryingly different from usual then see your GP or HV - if not I would steer clear

Tommy · 12/12/2007 22:52

if your DD is only 27 weeks, then she should have only been eating food for a week - how can she not be eating enough?

I was asked (by consultant paed) when DS3 was 6.5 months whether he was off his food... - do any of these people know anything about weaning?!

PrisonerCellBlockAitch · 12/12/2007 22:52

poor you, that must've made you feel awful. i tend to go along with the veterinary approach to HCP involvement, in that if dd has a healthy coat, shiny eyes and a wet nose (or baby equivalent) then i don't bother. if an HV is looking at the charts more than the baby... well, that's not impressive imo.

PrisonerCellBlockAitch · 12/12/2007 22:53

very true, tommy... tbh it took me aaaages to get to three meals a day with dd, i couldn't get myself suitably organised.

Original poster

chibi · 13/12/2007 07:54

thanks all. I guess I have always felt a bit insecure as she is such a skinny minnie, but she seems happy + healthy.

OP posts:

nowwearefour · 20/12/2007 22:09

chibi can i just share that your mn name is the name my dd1 gives to father christmas. so it is rather a nice festive name even if you didnt intend it to be so ! i am glad you have been reassured by all the postings. it is amazing how many of us get stressed by hvs and thoughtless things they say. unbelievable really. thank goodness for mn and the wise things we can all say to each other i reckon!

halogen · 26/12/2007 19:42

Mine is a skinny minnie, too, and I stopped going to see the HVs at about 8 months precisely because they kept on and on at me about her weight. She's now 15 months, walked early, talks quite a lot, eats plenty (probably ate more of our Christmas dinner than I did yesterday!) and yes, still skinny because that's just how she is. She's perfectly well and healthy - she's just slim. If your child is gaining rather than losing weight, happy, healthy, alert, doing all the requisite wees and poos, interested in the world etc, I can't believe that there can really be anything seriously wrong. NB, am not a doctor, just a mum, but really think that you are the person most likely to know if your child is unwell in some way.

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