Hello Pamela!


You were wondering the right time to introduce solids for a premie.
I am not any expert but I happen to have one small baby on my own
and I studied this situation two years ago with my daughter.

>What is your advice?  With the exposure of sIgA and growth factors contained
>in breastmilk does the pre-term baby's gut mature as quickly as a full-term
>baby's?

To my understanding premies gut mature as quickly as full-term babies
do. It isint the gestational age but taking something by mouth that
start the process. So premies can start solids at 4-6 months of age like
the other babies. Here in the so called "civilazed" world neonatalogists and
pediatrics actually recommend solids earlier to keep premies growing
fast. I wanted to wait until 4 months to start but doctors adviced it
already at 3 months. My daughter showed the need for solids at 5 months
of age but she was SGA (1380g at 37+3weeks) not a premie.

>His weight shows that he is absolutely thriving on breastmilk alone,
>but there seems to be some concern that he needs solids now in view of
>the fact that he *was* sleeping at night from 8pm to 5am and is now waking
>again at 12.30 am and 2 4 5 and 6!

If the baby is thriving there is no hurry to start solids. Especially
if the baby does not show any interest to the food the mother is eating.
If he is growing well they can wait until he seems more interested,
for example around 8 months. The premies can do other things according
their corrected age so why not eating solids? The premies CAN sart
eating solids 4-6 months of age but they do not HAVE TO start if they
are growing well. (My daughter did not but later we found out that she
had very little left from her pancreas - she needed Pankreon not
solids.)

Sleeping and eating do not have to have anything to do with each
other :-) Many babies that have slept through the night can start
waking up and nursing at some age and it is normal.


Best wishes,
Pia Ruohotie
RN, breastfeeding counsellor, WHO breastfeeding counsellor trainer,
mother-to-mother breastfeeding support group leader
Mother of two daughters
from Helsinki, Finland (Europe)

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