pfb moment! please help me wean i'm sooo confused and worried!

[Kerri28]

hi all, my pfb dd is 21 weeks and due to many reasons, the biggest being hungry baby who is drinking loads and losing weight, my hv has asked me to try weaning, which i'm more than happy to attempt.

so for a week i have tried all manner of pureed food. at first i cooked it myself, but due to look of revulsion on face i decided to sod it and buy ready made organic fresh stuff from local organic baby shop. So DD loves the taste, but hates the spoon. if i put it in an adult glass she will open wide and drink it all up (a favourite trick of hers ).

i try regularly throughout the day to get her to eat, and whilst she loves the taste she refuses to open up, and consequently no longer trusts me when i come to give her the bottle she goes all tiny mouthed and tight lipped in case it's a spoon. so her milk quota is dropping too. My HV will be annoyed with me

however she LOVES grabbing at my food and today i gave her a rice cake. she devoured it (not much swallowed, but its a start!) and always reaches for what i'm having, today she sucked some celery for a while too.

so my question is, can i do BLW now or do i need to wait until she's 6 months and if so, why? and can i just let her eat her way through anything she wants (within healthy reason of course )? and will she actually eat it or just chew it and spit it out?

and why am i finding this so stressful when i find nothing else as jaw clenchingly worrying?!

It can take some babies a while to get used to solids so please don't panic. Try and relax and make eating a fun experience. I would concentrate on trying to offer milk and let her grab bits of food if thats want she wants to do. The amount of solids a 21 week old will eat is unlikely to have any impact on your childs weight. Do you know why your dd has lost weight? Has she been ill lately?

Please try to relax. I know its easier said than done but its really important that your dd doesn't pick up on your stress. At your dd's age she is just experimenting with food.

hi mumtoone, thanks for your advice, she has a milk protein allergy and is on "special" formula but very refluxy, and on meds for that too. no reason why she's losing weight, she drinks around 35oz per day, but starting to wake in the night too. HV said might as well try weaning as no real reason why she's losing weight so it might help, and especially as dd is interested in my food, trying to grab it etc. i really want to be relaxed, and would be if i did BLW, because the whole trying to shovel food into an unwilling mouth is quite upsetting, especially as she wants it but doesnt want it IYKWIM! just worried that perhaps i shouldnt do BLW yet cos all guidelines say 6 months - do you know why?

Kerri28 - guidlines state 26 weeks as basically some babies digestive systems are not mature enough to handle solids til they are 26 weeks old. Some are able to handle solids much sooner. Since we cant look inside our bubs tummies, the advice to be on the safe side is 26 weeks.

My DS is 20 weeks and after chatting to GP, I am starting to wean DS - started this week with babyrice (which he loves)

From my understanding tho, weaning at this age shouldnt result in extra weight gain from food as their main calories should still be coming from milk - it is just to start getting them used to foods and textures. Milk still contains more calories and nutrients for our bubs

If you do a search, especially on the breast and bottle feeding thread, there was a long discussion about this recently.

thanks dal, will go and have a look.

I dont think you should be shovelling food in or offering 'solids' however runny in a glass, i believe the reason putting cereals in bottles in disaproved of here is because of chocking risks.

With regards to blw, the guidelines say 6 months regardless of the way in which you wean, due to allergies etc. I would be especially wary of early weaning as your dd already has a known allergy, it may be better not to expose her to more allergens while her gut may not be fully developed.

Who prescribed the meds and formula? They may be the best person for you to discuss this with, as the will be better informed of your dd's allergy.

Could your dd be teething, mine was grouchy for along while before teeth suddenly appeared and this could possibly be a reason for weight loss, or has she recently become more mobile another common reason for small amounts of weight loss at this age.

When you are ready, i do recommend blw! I have a great little eater, who now peels her own clementines (she is 20 months though ) and loves trying new foods. Maybe use this time to prepare yourself with recipes with no milk in.

i agree with everyhting littleducks says. the 6 months thing is across the board, not just for BLW. but if you're going to get moving earlier (and assuming she's capable of self-feeding, which it soulds like she is to at least some degree) you should be extra-extra careful about gluten and other allergenic foods. good luck,whatever you do, i think you're instinct not to have a battle over it is a good one.

aaak. your instinct.