Weaning a preemie?

[katy1310]

Hello

I'm sure someone said to me back when Sophie was still in hospital that we should start weaning Sophie at 6 months actual, but I wasn't sure if I'd imagined that among all the stress! I just looked on the Bliss website and it says you should wean preemies between 5 and 7 months.

Sophie was 5 months last weekend so I was just wondering when everyone else started weaning and how you know if they are ready...I don't know the first thing about it! She has been wanting her feeds more frequently than she was, even though we increased the amount a couple of times lately. She was feeding every 4 hours and now it's sometimes even every 2 hours she's getting hungry - yesterday and today I've felt like I've been feeding her all day (she is on formula now).

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance ladies

 

[AP]

Hiya dolly!

We started with a wee tooty spooonful of rice and took it slowly to one meal a day. But I was petrified so didnt do much about weaning, i didnt work hard enough on it.

When we took Alex for her 6 month corrected check up, they were surprised to find i hadnt got her into 3 meals a day. Oopsy I went home and 3 meals started that day.(I feed her jars most of the time, I cant cook a baby, never mind food ffs.......lol)

So, you could use the 6 month corrected age as a target to get 3 small meals a day in - Neonatal will expect this by then so you'll prob get a gold star or a blue peter badge lol

Go by Bliss guidelines. Your health visitor will prob not be best chuffed, (mines wasnt and refused to listen to me) but neonatal goes by same rules as Bliss.

The problem I found with leaving it too late was that Alex wont eat anything lumpy now. She still gags and throws it up. And if I could do it all again, I'd start afresh!

Just start with tiny bit some rice or fruit puree after a milk feed, in her bouncy chair(or that lovely rainforest thingy (rice might be ideal if sophies still sicky, it could help)

HiPP organic have a great chart to help you too, we have it on our fridge
https://www.hipp.co.uk/media/pdf/Weaning Chart.pdf

 

[katy1310]

That's brilliant, thank you Really helpful advice. It's sooooo scary to think of starting to wean her, she's still so tiny! We were just saying, how mental is it going to look if we're out and about and have to feed her, people are going to think we are trying to feed solids to a very young baby, lol!

We have the health visitor on Monday so I will see what she says, should be interesting!

It's good to know what the neonatal unit expect as well.

Eeeeeek, I'm scared!!!!!!

 

[25weeker]

I started weaning a couple of weeks before Holly turned 7 months. She is still on one tiny bit of fruit or veg a day but next week when she is 4 months corrected I am going to start her on 2 meals but still tiny ones. I think I will probably stick to stage 1 foods until she is 6 months corrected. So far I have given her carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, avocado & banana all watered down with her milk. I usually give it about half hour/ hour after her feed.

One thing they recommend is try new things mid morning / early afternoon incase she has any reactions as doctors surgeries are still open!

 

[AP]

Believe me, see when I was out, I was PETRIFIED that some bloody quick to judge know it all would say something. I still am when it comes to Alex holding her bottle in the pushchair when we need to. I'm just waiting for some tube to say shes too young.

However, the look on their face would be priceless if you just said "excuse me, shes 5 months/6 months......"

Try and find small spoon, but best I found was Tommee Tippee though as they are soft tipped.

its frightening, im scared thinking about it again and im bloomin well into it!

 

[25weeker]

I use tt spoons and think they are good.

I also haven't told my hv I am weaning. Couldn't be bothered listening to her tell me I shouldn't and then ignoring her anyway

 

[katy1310]

Haha, I only just got past the last hurdle of telling the health visitor I'd stopped breastfeeding and now I have a new thing to worry about telling her!

 

[AP]

Don't bother then hunny - she wont know!!