baby spitting out food...

[gettingabitnervousnow]

DS is 5.5 months and until recently has been excl. b/f but now has 3 b/f and 3 ff a day. He has always taken his milk really well although admitedly has started getting a bit nosey distracted recently!

I know it is a couple of weeks early but we decided to start weaning last week (after discussing with HV's) after DS's weight slipped from the 50th percentile to 25th and also because he seems to be fascinated by what we are eating.

So far all he has had is a little bit of baby rice in the morning and a bit of pureed carrot and potato (on seperate days).

I know I am probably neurotic worrying a bit prematurely but it's not going great - he has spat out most of what I have tried him on so far!

I know its only early days but is it normal that he is still spitting it out after a week? I appreciate it is a big change for him - do I just need to give him time?

Also I was planning to feed him a mixture of purees and BLW - is it possible he might just prefer BLW and is there any problem with doing both?

Any advice would be greatly received as I really am clueless at this bit!

Sorry that should read 3 breast feeds and 2 formula feeds a day, not 3 of each!

Yes, just give him time. At this stage he's just learning how to use his mouth to eat. Don't worry, take it slow and he'll get there.
Don't know about BLW, soz!

no problem with baby led weaning.
if he is spitting it all out then tbh i just wouldn't bother.
he'll eat when he is ready, and this is the joy of BLW. you can offer food and if he wants it and is ready to eat then he will eat it. if not then leave it a couple of weeks and then try again.

oh and weight-wise. milk has a lot more calories than baby rice of fruit/veg. so if you're concerned about that then more milk is the way to go.

it is worth noting though that breastfed babies tend to gain weight fairly quickly to start with and then plateau.
so, on the current charts which are based on a formula fed baby it can look as though they are dropping/staying static when in fact they're doing just fine!

He may still have the tongue thrust reflex - does he kind of poke the food out with his tongue?

TBH if his weight is a concern, then small amounts of baby rice and carrot will not help as they are low calorie foods and the quantities will be tiny. Can an extra milk feed not be fitted in somehow as that will boost his calorie intake far better? Then you could try weaning (whether BLW or the puree route) again in a couple weeks when he might be a bit more receptive to it!

sorry my first post should have siad no problem combining BLW and puree

Thank you all so much. I guess I need to stop getting so anxious about this and let him go at his own time.

That is interesting about the charts thisisyesterday - he did put on weight very well to start with so you may have something there.

AnarchyAunt - yes that is exactly what he does. He pulls a face when I put it in and then pokes it out with his tongue.

I think I might just persevere with the purees for a couple of weeks incase it is just the reflex thing - and then when he is 6 months try some BLW from then onwards - does that sound okay?

I will also try to fit in another milk feed in the meantime as that is a good point about the calorie intake. It is only quite recently that he has gone 4 hours between feeds so maybe I need to go back to 3 hourly until he is eating a bit more.

Thank you all so much again x

I wouldn't even bother with the purees myself. The tongue thrust reflex is there for a reason - to protect babies from swallowing things before they are ready - and will disappear when he is truly ready to eat solid food.

If you just leave it for 2 weeks and introduce another milk feed in the meantime, then try again, you'll probably find it's disappeared and the food goes down fine. The extra milk is far more likely to help his weight gain at this stage

Thanks AnarchyAunt - can't believe I didn't even know about the tongue thrust reflex, my god I really don't have a clue do I!

Don't worry. I didn't know about it either. Kept on trying to get my 20 week old to eat at the advice of a HV who told me it would help him sleep at night. Didn't of course, he's still waking at 13mo!
Anyway, hurrah for mumsnet, wish I'd had it at the time