BLW and 'Letting him go hungry'

[Kbee]

Can I ask for some advice please ladies.....
Billy is now 19 weeks, he was 5 weeks premature and is not a big boy at 12lb 4 oz.....he is exclusively breastfed.
He was sleeping well going from 8-5 then 5-8 however recently has been waking more and is hungry when he wakes.
Today I was at a group I attend when we began chatting about weaning, I mentioned this and a lady who works there and a number of mums said 'oh he's hungry'....I sald that I had wanted to try BLW and they said but you'd be letting him go hungry ???
Do I give baby rice...??

Thanks

 

[Kitten]

First off, it's probably a growth spurt.

Secondly, did these ladies understand what you meant by blw? When I used the term at clinic, the two health visitors thought I meant weaning him when he'd eat, so introducing solids at 4months if he would take it, so maybe these ladies thought you meant waiting til 6months. I got told by everyone he was 'going hungry' at 4months but I held out and kept breastfeeding and after 4-6weeks he went to less feeds than before, it was the 3 & 4 month growth spurts.

Ignore other people, they do what they think is best for their babies, it's none of their business what you do and if you're bf on demand then your baby will never go hungry.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Hi, it sounds like you've hit the 4 month growth spurt in which babies need to feed a lo more than they did before. It can last a long time, but it does pass. Many people see this as reason to wean, but all it means is that Lo needs more milk, which is more nutritious than solids.

Premature babies can be a special case with BLW. He MAY need solids before 6 months actual age because of his being premature. Ask your Dr. BLW may well be a possibility, though he may take slightly longer than most babies to start eating as he may be slightly behind with the skills needed to self feed. So you MAY need to spoon feed for a short period so he gets the nutrients he needs. This is not definite though, it obviously varies between babies.

BLW does not mean a baby goes hungry. A full term baby gets everything they need from milk for most of the first year, so food is just a toy at first really. My baby did not start swallowing food until a little over 7 months and never once was hungry, she just kept up her milk intake and that satisfied her. She is now able to self feed confidently at 8.5 months, so if she doesn't eat the food offered, it is because she doesn't want/need it.

If I were you I would get hold of the book 'Baby led weaning' by Gill Rapley as it has everything you need to know, explained a lot better than me!

 

[Kbee]

Thanks girls, I have ordered the rapley book and will take it from there.
I had thought that it was a growth spurt and tbh I dont think he is ready yet.
I just hate that I am soft enough to let others comments make me second guess my instincts

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

We all do it. It doesn't mean you are soft!

 

[purple_socks]

def doesn't mean ur soft! i'd like to second the 'growth spurt' idea...and i think that milk is actually far better during a growth spurt then solid food.

i completely agree with the above posters...theres no need for me to repeat it! def read the book!

 

[Lisa1302]

You aren't soft, we are all open to suggestion, sometimes even if we are 100% committed to something other folks' comments can make us doubt ourselves!

Izzy did start to take a huge amount of milk around that time, and still seemed unsettled, it went on quite some time as well as all the other ready to wean signs. It took me a while to get her eating enough for it to make any difference at all, as I wanted to start small and get her used to it.
I think like everyone has said, the waking and extra milk could easily be a growth spurt, so you need to sure it isn't before thinking of starting. I was determined to wait til 6 months with Izzy - but she had other ideas!

 

[faille]

LO won't go hungry if you do BLW hun.

They don't associate food with hunger for a couple of months after starting so when LO is hungry, he'll be demanding milk, not food!

Milk is better to fill them up on for the time being, too.

If you really wanna do BLW though, it really is best to wait as long as possible to 6m but glad you ordered the 'bible' - it's a great read and like Claire says, it explains everything and a lot better than any of us can in a reply!