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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

Baby is nearly 6 months old, I want to do BLW but......

16 replies

electra · 28/09/2009 11:34

she is very small and probably a bit behind developmentally - she's nowhere near able to sit yet and can hold things but not really well. If she has something in her hand she will almost always put it in her mouth though. At the end of feeds she is seeming a bit grumpy, and sometimes when she has had an 8 ounce bottle I have to go and make her another 4 when she's drained it.

What would you recommend? I don't really want to bother with purees, baby rice etc as I think it is a bit of a waste of time having done that twice before! So I think BLW is the way to go, but do I need to wait until she can sit better?

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Original poster

electra · 28/09/2009 11:41

bump

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babyOcho · 28/09/2009 13:50

Can she sit well aided, with support?

If you dont feel that she is ready developmentally then hold off.

And if you do BLW, she probably wont eat too much to begin with anyway, so it wont be the magic solution to the milk intake.

Original poster

electra · 28/09/2009 14:58

No, she can't sit at all yet even with support...my feeling is that it would be better to leave it for a bit longer and just give her more milk until she can sit better. My mum is pressuring me to start though - she keeps saying 'she's ready, she's ready etc....' This morning I gave her 9 ounces instead of 8 and she seemed less whiny afterwards so perhaps that's the best thing for now?

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babyOcho · 28/09/2009 19:57

You should go with what you think. It seems that you dont think that she is ready, so then dont start.

When she can sit aided, then try it. How far off 6 months is she?

Original poster

electra · 28/09/2009 21:16

She'll be 6 months in about 2 weeks...

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Original poster

electra · 29/09/2009 09:44

bump...

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MadameOvary · 29/09/2009 09:48

electra, don't be pressured. If she's not sitting, it is not recommended.
Just being open to BLW is good tho, its a fun and exciting time.
Your Mum will just have to wait. Your DD will be ready soon enough.

Original poster

electra · 29/09/2009 10:55

Thanks MadameOvary - do you have any advice about how to keep her satisfied in the meantime? She used to sleep 7-7 but now needs a bottle at 9 and wakes at 5.30...?

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MadameOvary · 29/09/2009 11:23

electra, sorry no! However if I tell you that my DD has always been an absolutely awful sleeper and wakes on average 3-4 times a night that may make you feel better

babyOcho · 29/09/2009 11:38

Even when they start eating solid food they dont take lots in so it's not necessarily going to make them fuller and wake less.

Babies wake for other reasons as well as hunger - hitting a developmental milestone (eg. learning to sit up, walking).

Go with the milk for now, and when she can sit better then try her with some bits.

Original poster

electra · 29/09/2009 14:23

Thanks for replies. I think the problem is that we are brainwashed conditioned to believe that if baby starts waking earlier they need to be weaned. I have read quite a lot about it today and came to the conclusion that if she needs more calories, the only way to do that effectively at this stage is to give her more milk...

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cara2244 · 29/09/2009 20:44

I found my BB didn't sleep any better from weaning.

cara2244 · 29/09/2009 20:51

I found my BB didn't sleep any better from weaning.

mrsfossil · 29/09/2009 22:05

Hi have youe tried the formula for hungrier babies? I've not used it myself but i have friends who have. I'm not entily sure what it does but might be worth a try.

Dalrymps · 29/09/2009 22:16

I would wait until she can sit better, especially if you're wanting to do BLW. Apparently their ability to sit is directly related to their mucsle tone in their face and this ability to chew etc. I wouls say therefore she may not be ready physically for BLW.

My ds didn't sit unaided well until about 10/11 months. We started weaning at 5.5 months but on puree and progress was very slow, he is still reallt fussy/difficult to feed. If I could go back in time I would have waited. HTH

Original poster

electra · 30/09/2009 13:30

Thanks for replies. mrsfossil - I have thought about that but the hungry baby formula doesn't have any more calories and I'm not sure how I feel about giving her something that fills her up but isn't really giving her anything extra iyswim.....I don't really know anything about stage 2 formulas and formula feeding is new to me anyway...I was thinking that maybe I should just try to give her more milk? I did this yesterday and she has been more settled. I think she is having a bit of a grow at the moment anyway.

Dairymps - thanks for that info. I think I am going to hold off for as long as possible and definitely until she can sit with support and she's quite a way off that yet.....

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