5.5m baby losing weight...but don't feel ready to wean

[xspiritmeawayx]

Hi,
I've been lurking on this forum for some time now and it has really given me some good advice (and recipes:)
I have a 5.5m little baby boy who is exclusively breastfed, I am 100% raw and have been for the last 1.5yrs excluding a couple of bowls of millet during the second trimester when i was pregnant.
I haven't been aving my son weight as i have felt no need for it...he sees so healthy, he sleeps through the whole night is very alert and can stand himself up on the edge of the cofee table.
Anyway he got weighed and was just 1oz off a stone yesterday and the health advisor seemed very concerned as he has 'veered off course' and although he hasnt lost any weight he is 'loosing weight in the sense the he is not putting it on as well as he 'should' be.
Now the chart she marks it off on is for bottle fed babes so im guessing the average is a bit higher for them so i wouldn't be concerned if it was just because he was lower than that, its just that his weight line thing has gone down a lot.
I really don't feel ready to wean him, he has tastes of fruit but doesnt want to actually eat. if he gets a tiny bit of the flesh in his mouth he just spits it out.
A few months ago i found he would overfeed-throw up, so i would keep try to keep an eye out for when he was actually feeding and not just sucking for comfort.
I realize that babiesa are going throw a big growth spurt at this time, especially if hes pulling himself up on things and trying to walk.
So, what im wondering is-should i try to wean him? i know you shouild run off instinct but i have been having a hard time with a lot of things lately and am worried that i like the dependancy that ds gives me so i am tring to hang ont o that.
Should i be woried at all or does this weight sound ok? He is lean but very very strong.
At the moment i am just keeping up with th breastfeeding but have noticed i have been offering a lot more subconsciously.
i have been going through such a stressful time lately i just feel really on edge.
thanks-even if it's just for reading,
linden x

[Zaphirah]

certainly don't wean. fruit at this age seems a little early-esp by his sign-he's spitting it out. I wouldn't worry. My dc, despite bottle feeding for medical reasons, have *always* been underweight. I really wouldn't worry, esp if he seems happy and is sleeping well. IMHO-breastmilk is WAY more nutritious than anything you could be feeding him at this stage.

[HolyGuacamole]

Breast milk is the healthiest thing - and is indeed the perfect thing - for you to be feeding him.
Charts mean nothing. The real gauge is whether or not he looks happy and healthy to you.

Relax, trust yourself. *hugs*
Trust your baby, too. If he wants to nurse, let him nurse. He knows what he's doing better than any doctor or chart ever could.

I agree that there's no need for fruit at this point, and he seems to agree, as well. Again, he knows what he needs. It's OK to trust his cues.

No matter what you decide to do apart from breastfeeding, there is no need to wean him. None at all. So there's one less thing for you to worry about. :)


P.S. You are allowed to enjoy nursing your son and the closeness and intimacy it brings. It's a special, beautiful, miraculous thing. You're blessed to be a part of this perfect, natural process and to be sharing it with your wonderful little son. It's OK to enjoy it. :)

[Zaphirah]

wow-if that's correct he's 14 pounds-my ds weighed 17 at A YEAR. He's a tall lanky skinny kid. Some kids are just like that.

[Moretta]

Like others have said, don't wean him.

Go with your motherly instincts and also your son's.

Big hugs to you and good luck.

[coco]

personally i feel that those charts and averages they use to judge where a baby is at are based on babies from sad eating mommies who feed their kids cereal when they are very young. of course they weigh more but that is not an indicator of health, it is only ONE thing in a list of many that you have already taken a look at and your baby is doing fine with (sleeping, alertness, development).

i would thank her for her time and let her know that i was going to seek a second opinon and not see her again. sorry to say but she (or he) sounds a bit idiotic to be that concerned based on all the other factors.

i don't intend to wean until age 3 or so, breastfeeding is a perfect compliment to regular food.

[xspiritmeawayx]

hey everyone,
thanks for your support and advice, i think it was the support that i needed the most.
the reason he was weighed in the first place was because the health advisor came round because someone had reported us for a burn on ds hand! it really upset me because its someone i know relatively well. they had apparently rang and said that they were 'very concerned about a burn on ds hand though they know we take good care of him they dont think we will be taking good care of the burn as we don't like using medicine'. i wear him in the sling when we're out and the only plces i had taken him out of the sling were the healthfood shop (i have a friend who works there) and the veggie cafe (with friends also). so i feel like i dont know who to trust as noone said anything to me.
so then after she checked the burn (which is healing perfectly without any unnesessary medicine) she weighed him and was 'very worried'.
its so annoying how many peopl just 'read off the chart' she even said herself 'well i don't have a clue when it comes to veganism'. but she still felt qualified to tell me how to raise my child???
so shes coming next month to weigh him again and im just going to say that i have been feeding him whatever she wants. i had so much trouble caused for me during my pregnancy through meddling women who thought they knew best.
i definately am having a unassisted pregnancy next time.
thanks a lot. will probably let you know how it goes when she comes again
linden xx