Weaning ... when?

loumadcow · Feb 16, 2010 6:55AM

Hiya there,

My LO is 18 weeks old (actual age, 12 weeks corrected) now and his def making chewing movements, I am going to try and hold off weaning till he is 6 months old. However corrected age he will still only be 18 weeks by that point. For those who have weaned a premmie what adive were you given about which age to go by? I am particularly cautious as his biggest problem having been prem has been a sore tummy from normal formula. This means his formula top ups are comfort milk which he goes through very quickly and does not really satisfy him, but even one ounce of normal formula in a bottle will have him screaming in agony with tummy ache, so I don;t want to upset a sensitive tummy but the Bliss leaflet says when they start chewing start thinking about weaning. Sorry for random ranting, just wondered what you did.

Thanks
xx

LaurenM · Feb 11, 2010 7:40AM

i was advised to start weaning at 6 months actual age. which made my daughter only 3 months corrected! she got on fine with the baby rice, baby porridge and fruit puree but would not eat pureed veg so after a while i had to cut out the fruit completely and mix sweet potato with veg for her to take it. after that she loved veg. wish i could get her to eat veggies now she is 3!

trying4babyM · Feb 11, 2010 5:16PM

I weaned the girls based on their actual age, not their corrected age and they were definitely ready. They love their food now and will eat pretty much anything xx

posy · Feb 11, 2010 5:45PM

We weaned based on actual age too. My DD was about 5 months (3.5 corrected), but we were guided through by a Special Care Support Officer as my DD had severe reflux, and would barely take 450mls milk a day due to the pain she was in : (
Weaning helped in part with the reflux, but we took it very slowly, and didn't move onto 3 full meals a day until she was 8 months actual age.

I think you will soon find it if your LO is ready or not when you first try. My DD took about 2 weeks before she really properly swallowed anything as her gag reflex was fairly strong to start with.

If you LO has a sensitive tummy then it would probably be best to start very slowly and only change to a different puree after you are sure he is happy on the current puree.

HTH

Iz & Skye x

MrsWB · Feb 13, 2010 7:12AM

I weaned my two on their actual age - they were about 4.5 months. BLISS recommend weaning premature babies on their actual age and this was also support by our Neonatal Consultant. All to do with vitamins etc.

Mrs WB xxx

mini-mum-maria · Feb 15, 2010 2:31PM

I have had four premmies and was told that it is better for an early baby to be introduced to solid food at 3 months old.
I went to see the paediatrician on friday who said i could start giving Isobelle a little bit of solid food. she is four months uncorrected. she suffers from severe reflux and I think this is one of the reasons, but i'm still not confident to start her on them yet. she also needs to have a regular weight gain as she has cardiac problems.
I would honestly say to go by your baby and if you feel they are ready then go for it.

m

[Modified by: mini-mum-maria on February 15, 2010 06:33 PM]

holzy2 · Feb 16, 2010 5:55AM

Hi Ladies,

George is now 11wks and I'm introducing him to diff tastes/textures like a bit of rusk in his milk and baby porridge. George was 4lb10oz and my 1st son was 9lb 3oz ...I started weaning them both early. George is still awake every 3 hrs throughout the night so I am going to start giving him a bit of rusk with his last evening feed to see if it makes any difference, xjx

Nikki_Ann · Feb 16, 2010 6:55AM

My LO was born at 28 weeks in January and I started weaning her in July when she was 26 wks uncorrected, 14 weeks corrected. We took it very slowly, and she ia now 13 months (uncorrected) and happy and healthy, she loves her food and eats a wide variety. Th recommended age has changed again from 6 months back to 17 weeks (4 months) as far as I know.
Also have you been to your doctor and asked about prescription milk, like nutramigen, if your LO struggles with normal formula? We had the same problem as you, but we actually found that Liv had silent reflux, and she was put on ranitidine, and we put gaviscon in her formlua (she is on aptamil first). She dropped the ranitidine a couple of months ago but still has gaviscon in her bottles.
Also Liv wasn't very keen on baby rice, too bland so I gave her Heinz Sunshine banana cereal which she absolutely loved! I als fed her solides before a bottle, contrary to HV advice and I found she ate a lot better as she was actually hungry! We started with breakfast and gradually worked up to 3 meals a day. Hope this helps, but contact me if you want to know more xx

Nikki_Ann · Feb 16, 2010 6:55AM

My LO was born at 28 weeks in January and I started weaning her in July when she was 26 wks uncorrected, 14 weeks corrected. We took it very slowly, and she ia now 13 months (uncorrected) and happy and healthy, she loves her food and eats a wide variety. Th recommended age has changed again from 6 months back to 17 weeks (4 months) as far as I know.
Also have you been to your doctor and asked about prescription milk, like nutramigen, if your LO struggles with normal formula? We had the same problem as you, but we actually found that Liv had silent reflux, and she was put on ranitidine, and we put gaviscon in her formlua (she is on aptamil first). She dropped the ranitidine a couple of months ago but still has gaviscon in her bottles.
Also Liv wasn't very keen on baby rice, too bland so I gave her Heinz Sunshine banana cereal which she absolutely loved! I als fed her solides before a bottle, contrary to HV advice and I found she ate a lot better as she was actually hungry! We started with breakfast and gradually worked up to 3 meals a day. Hope this helps, but contact me if you want to know more xx

Weaning ... when?

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