# bliss v nhs weaning guides??



## divadexie

OK... so I am confused now!

My hv was ranting on at me about how LO is NO where near ready to start weaning yet blah blah, last week, an this week say she had a leaflet that says its adjusted ae 6mo you start But she forgot the leaflet (shes so unorganised!) and I forgot about it til today when she popped it through my door.

Now, it is a ''nhs dumfries and galloway guidelines for feeding infants and young children'' and called ''starting your premature baby on solid foods (mixed feeding)''


On the first bit it says ''babies who were born early are not usually ready to start until around the time they *would have been* 6months if they had been born at the expected time''

It also has info for the dietician so I am betting they go by this stupid rules too.

Why is it different?! I didnt dare tell hv I have been giving one spoon of baby rice a day for the last few days.


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## AP

I'm very FOR the Bliss Guidelines,, Bliss was a charity arouhd when I was born (29wks) so my faith is there. Saying that though we did take it slowly. But at 6 months actual age neonatal expected us to be weaning. The HV recieved the report from neonatal stating this and that shut her up! I think she now stands by the bliss rule, shes certainly changed her tune.

So I'm betting Bliss has way more insight than just general nhs information! im stunned they produce such leaflet!

Its also important to start early as preemies take their time too. We bumped into one of the nurses (she prob looked after anna at one point too) and she told us it was completely normal for alex to be still on stage 1 food at her age.

I think its about taking a balanced approach. Its about you feeling comfortable, and anna being comfortable. The difference is, we cant wait for the 'signs that they are ready to wean'. Iron stores run low at 6 months actual, no matter how old the preemie was.

but no - we didnt tell the HV either :rofl:


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## divadexie

I knew there was some sort of 'reason' for 6months to wean I just hadnt looked for it yet. So I guess it takes 6months for the iron supplies to start running low, from the minute they start taking milk? At least thats what makes sense to me lol am I wrong?

I thought it was like, it took 6 months of having milk for the stomach to 'mature' or something enough to introduce something else.

I have consultant appointment on monday I bet they go by their stupid nhs rules well I will have them ring ERI and then tell me shes nowhere near ready yet! Will also be printing out the bliss stuff.


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## Laura2919

I weaned Chloe and Jaycee at 4 months with the help and support of my HV and my doctor. Regular visits to see the HV and we were all happy. Never affected the girls and they love their food. Do it when you feel like your ready to do it. 
Chloe and Jaycee started at 4 months with a spoonful of baby porridge and I slowly increased it and before they were 7 months they were weaned onto solids and we have never ever looked back


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## AP

divadexie said:


> I knew there was some sort of 'reason' for 6months to wean I just hadnt looked for it yet. So I guess it takes 6months for the iron supplies to start running low, from the minute they start taking milk? At least thats what makes sense to me lol am I wrong?
> 
> I thought it was like, it took 6 months of having milk for the stomach to 'mature' or something enough to introduce something else.
> 
> I have consultant appointment on monday I bet they go by their stupid nhs rules well I will have them ring ERI and then tell me shes nowhere near ready yet! Will also be printing out the bliss stuff.

The iron stores from birth run low at 6 months, its not anything to do with the milk.



> Before birth, full-term, normal-weight babies have developed iron stores that can last them 4 to 6 months. Because preemies don't spend as much time in the uterus getting nutrients from the mother's diet, their iron stores are not as great and are often depleted in just 2 months.

which is why we use iron supplements like Sytron and Abidec to help. Weaning early is another reason.

Print out the Bliss stuff, and remind them who *specialises* in prematurity ;)


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## aob1013

Leni was 6 weeks early, so shall i wait until 6 months corrected age?


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## AP

aob I'm not sure, im kinda going by Anna's and Alex's gestational age but I would imagine same applied to lil Leni? <3 xxxx


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## AP

Ok, its been a while since I read it, so I had a look and picked up a few pointers from the Bliss Weaning Booklet, which you can download here https://www.bliss.org.uk/page.asp?section=584&sectionTitle=Weaning+your+p

Personally we did start early, but we were thrown by the conflicting information that only scared us from trying any more than a bit of baby rice. So we kinda got an ass kicking from neonatal when we were only on one meal a day when we should have been on three.

So, we have ended up in the weaning too late catergory below :( with a lil bit of trouble when it comes to lumpy foods. We pussy footed around, unsure of what we were meant to do, and I wish I just stood up and did what i believed! 




> *Why treat premature babies differently?*
> Babies born prematurely or with a low birthweight miss out on some of the normal
> nourishment that occurs in the womb during the latter stages of pregnancy. It is
> rarely possible to match this supply of nutrition in the early days or weeks of life,
> due to complications from premature birth. Thus, some premature babies may
> need extra nutrition later in order to &#8216;catch up&#8217;. Also, the process of weaning may
> take them a little longer than term babies.




> *When to start?*
> We recommend that weaning start when your baby is between five and seven
> months old actual age from birth. All ages quoted in this booklet (unless it says
> otherwise) are calculated from the date your baby was born, however premature
> your baby was. This is their &#8216;chronological&#8217; or &#8216;uncorrected&#8217; age. You don&#8217;t have to
> wean as soon as five months is reached, but start to look for signs that your baby
> might be ready. It is better to delay a little rather than rush before your baby is
> ready. There are government guidelines recommending that, for most babies,weaning shouldn&#8217;t happen before six months old, but premature babies are not
> included in these guidelines. Very occasionally, a premature baby may benefit
> from weaning before five months, but this must always be done with the advice of
> the healthcare team. It is important not to begin weaning too early or too late. The
> reasons are outlined below.
> 
> *If you wean too early*
> Although giving premature babies milk early helps to develop their digestive
> system, this still may not be developed enough to take solids before five months.
> Also, at the beginning of weaning, babies may reduce the amount of breast milk
> or infant formula they take in favour of solids. This may lead to poorer growth
> because of a lower intake of nutrients if your baby is not taking enough milk or
> solids.
> *If you wean too late*
> Many babies start to make some early &#8216;chewing movements&#8217; from around four
> months and sucking becomes less dominant.
> Around four months, babies are able
> to use their tongue and lips to explore
> toys and food. Starting solids shortly
> after these chewing movements start
> helps the development of the mouth
> and jaw muscles. Around five to
> seven months old, babies are usually
> willing to try new flavours but, as they
> grow older, this can become more
> difficult. If a baby is used to a spoon
> and semi-solids by seven months,
> the introduction of lumps should be
> easier.
> If your baby makes chewing movements much earlier than four months and is
> distressed by this, you should check these symptoms with your doctor. This may be
> milk or acid regurgitation
> (gastro-oesophageal reflux). For more details, see the Bliss factsheet on reflux,
> which is available on www.bliss.org.uk
> Finally, don&#8217;t worry. This is an anxious time for all parents, those with full term
> babies as well as those with premature ones.

Sorry girls you know I hate posting links with loadsa info :rofl:


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## divadexie

great i am printing this out! :) xx


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## Foogirl

Wean at actual. That's what the NNICU told us and it worked fine for us. As long as your baby is able to support their head there is no physical risk, the rest is just practice.

Our HV suggested we wait, the pediatric dietitian (who had never even met Abby) apparently told her that. I told her we were going to go ahead and do it. But to be fair to her, she was talking about waiting til 6 months actual whereas we decided to do it at 5. I had no problem telling her, after all, they aren't in charge, they only advise.


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## Dona

We started at 5 and a half months. HV supported our decision. The best thing we ever done xx


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## Marleysgirl

Our hospital paediatrician said to wean based on corrected, so I quoted the BLISS guidelines at her. Her response was "Well, it's up to you!"

I spoke to our HV (on one of our rare visits), and she said she had read some very recent research in one of the trade mags that suggested weaning based on corrected age was better for prems, so she was all for us starting early.

And then we've taken months and months and months over it, with Andrew still on Stage2 foods now.

Andrew visited the Dietitian for the first time this week (I'll post more in his thread), she had no comments either way but *did* say that the gag>vomit reflex is something she sees often in premmies and she thinks it's related to tube-feeding. Just wanted to add that note in as I know some of you other mums have a similar problem.


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## AP

Marleysgirl said:


> Andrew visited the Dietitian for the first time this week (I'll post more in his thread), she had no comments either way but *did* say that the gag>vomit reflex is something she sees often in premmies and she thinks it's related to tube-feeding. Just wanted to add that note in as I know some of you other mums have a similar problem.

A neonatal nurse also mentioned this last week and said it can have something to do with the lumps issue ;/


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## embojet

We weaned at 17 weeks actual on teh advice of Molly's consultant - best thing we ever did!


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## divadexie

God my printer is ********!! :(
It could not work out how to print off the 30page booklet for weaning A5 side front and back :wacko:

And cos it was a pdf file doingit myself would have meant doing a screen shot and editing in paint every single page then piecing them togethe and printing half then working out what page went on the back of what one.

So I now have an A4 booklet at least the damn thing could work out how to do just the odd numbers then I put them back in to do the evens on the back Lol.


But I now have some info to take along with me to appointment tomo and show HV.

Bliss has been around for years, and our NHS guidlines are always changing so I know who I am going with! Lol


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