Looking for advice on weaning a big baby

[JugularPiggy]

Hi everyone

I am looking for some advice on starting to wean my DS. He is 22wks and a big boy in both weight and length!

At his recent weigh in he was 22lbs. I then got the usual lecture about his weight and yet again I was interrogated as to why I had not started to wean him yet - i thought it was still a bit soon to do so? Are there any indicators that demonstrate when a baby is ready to start?

Either way I will not be returning to the HV clinics as when i asked about starting him on solids she commented that i should'nt be giving him milk chocolate buttons as a snack. At this point i was as the comment was totally uncalled for, I could go on with what else was said but this would turn into a massive rant!

I therefore want to investigate the options with regard to weaning and gather some information that is relevant and helpful.

I have started reading through this board and I am looking into the BLW side of things as I am keen to avoid the situation we had with DD and the reliance on jar food. Incidentally she is a very fussy eater and avoids fruit and veg where possible so I wonder if this is a result of how we approached weaning with her?

So if anyone has any similar experience or can point me in the right direction it would be really appreciated.

oh and I don't know if it is relevant but DS is currently FF, has four 8oz bottles a day as and when he is hungry and has his last feed 7-8pm and sleeps right through the night.

There are signs that your DS is ready. Is he able to sit unaided? Can he move things to his mouth etc.

Your HV sounds rude.

I did BLW with DD (my third) and it was soooo much easier than with my DSs - I would recomend it. Will try to find a link to Aitch's site.

I would wait until 26 weeks myself though

if your DD can sit unaided, with good head control, could pick up food, get it to his mouth, chew and swallow, has lost the tongue thrust reflex , then he is more then likely ready for something more than milk

you could try sitting him in a highchair or on your lap and putting some finger food in front of him and see if he can eat it

if your baby is currently satisfied and clearly is growing well on milk alone, you can let thigns stay as they are for a few more weeks

why would your HV mention chocolate buttons? how odd.

anyway, if he is showing signs, you can giev it a whirl

and more night wakings and wanting more milk are not reliable indicators

and carry on offering milk before food, whether you BLW or wean with puree

"oh and I don't know if it is relevant but DS is currently FF, has four 8oz bottles a day as and when he is hungry and has his last feed 7-8pm and sleeps right through the night. "

I wouldn't change anything then. Wait until your baby starts mouthing and picking up things things.

thanks for the replies.

leonie I asked about weaning and his size due to the fact that the HV said that due to his size I should have started weaning and that I should only be giving him carrot/brocoli oh and no chocolate buttons!

His size and that blinking weight chart are all they want to talk about so I am 'sensitive' about it. They seem to overlook that he was just shy of 10lb when born and that he is so long - both DH and me are very tall and so is DD for her age.

Norma I was aiming for 26 weeks but each time I go to the HV clinic they are saying otherwise, I am just settling down to start reading through Aitch's site

lulumama he has great head control and picks up his toy/muslin to put in his mouth to chew on. Excuse my ignorance but what is the tongue thrust reflex? He tends to roll his tongue over and seems to chew on it! I had a number of issues with BF and it was mentioned at the time that he was doing something odd with his tongue but not sure what?

Forget what the health visitors think. In fact I suggest you stop going to the weighing clinic. I think that weighing babies causes more problems than it solves. It makes the mothers insecure and anxious. It sounds like your child is doing really well.

Weaning is a faff. The later you can leave it the better. I tried to wean my son at 19 weeks and it was complete and utter hell. My daughter started weaning at 24 weeks and it has been a different story. My son cried and used to turn his head away. My daughter thinks its a great laugh and excerise in finger painting.

Go on your gut instinct. You know your baby better than anyone else.

tongue thrust reflex is when they push things out of their mouth, i,e if you've given calpol on a spoon and it all gets pushed out to the front of the mouth and dribbles out

reallytired - you have hit the nail on the head with regard to the weigh in clinic as it is starting to make me question my ability as a mother. i have been churning their comments round and round my head for days wondering if I am in fact doing things wrong and should have started weaning him sooner.

Instinct wise I don't think he is quite ready yet. He is a happy content baby, sleeps well and is clear when he wants feeding. He is showing great interest when we are eating and does seem to open his mouth at times as if he wants to try it.

With DD we started earlier as she had reflux. She was a spoon fed puree baby I think in part down to the fear of gagging and increasing the likelihood of being sick. I do recall mealtimes turning into a battleground at times and I think this was a combination of her wanting to feed herself and our food looking far more interesting than mushed baby food!

I guess I am more relaxed second time around and DS has'nt had the same feeding problems so I am happy to wait and see how he develops and wishes to feed although I was starting to doubt myself after the clinic vists.

My next concern is how to aproach all of this when returning to work?! I have a couple of months before this happens so I guess I can wait and see how things progress with DS in the next few weeks...

My DS has always been on 98th centile for length and on 75th for weight and has been ebf. I waited for 6 months despite HV suggesting I might start early as didn't want to potentially do anything to his gut by starting early as we have some gut problems in our family. He is now on solids and still on those centiles for weight and height.