Because those with achondroplasia have a delicate spine that needs extra care (to learn more you can read one of my previous posts: Caring for a baby with Achondroplasia) I was not sure what that would mean for weaning Elis onto solids. I knew that I wanted to do baby led weaning, I had done purées with our eldest as that was the only option doctors seemed to force upon me in Belgium and as a first time mother I didn't question their knowledge. I hated it and as I wanted to make everything from scratch it was extremely time consuming even when I pre-freezed portions. When we found out we were having a second child I dreaded the prospect of doing purées again, I did not know where I'd find the time with two children aged 2 and under to make the food. Baby led weaning (BLW) had already sounded tempting to me, there seems to be far more benefits to letting them feed themselves from the start, as it seems to help promote the muscles needed for speech and chewing abilities, you go at the baby's own pace and it has been suggested that it lowers the risk of childhood obesity. From my lazy parenting perspective it sounded ideal that I could just feed the baby the same food as the rest of the family were eating. It was a slightly slower process than it had been the first time around, but I really enjoy breastfeeding so I didn't really mind; the most important thing was to remove an element of stress from my day to day life and I definitely achieved that.
So as you can see I was already set on how I wanted to wean our third child, I have even less time for purées now after all! The problem with BLW is that you're meant to start that when you're baby can sit on their own; which is difficult when caring for a baby with achondroplasia (dwarfism) as you're meant to delay any upright positions for as long as possible to allow their muscles and head control to mature at their own rate. Children with achon tend to hit their physical milestones later than average height children and sitting independently is no exception. Before having been given any advice by his paediatrician my health visitor and I had discussed how to tackle the weaning, I had let my health visitor know that I was happy to delay his weaning on to solids and breastfeed him exclusively for longer as long as he was thriving. But as we approached him becoming 6 months we had a doctor's appointment and were told that he could do BLW as planned he would just have to sit in a more supportive seat and at a slight incline to keep the downward pressure off his spine.
Our occupational therapist organised this amazing seat for us to borrow for as long as we need. The brand name is "Sunbeam" and is a chair I've seen recommended by lots of mothers with short stature children. The seat has so many angle options it really gives you endless choices and the ability to really let the seat really grow with the child. As you can see it has a sturdy neck support to keep their heads from lolling from side to side. It has also got support under their armpits which helps keep their back sit straight in the seat. It does come with a tray but I have found that it only makes it more of a hassle getting him in and out of his seat while his arms are too short to reach the food on it anyway so I tend to hand him his food. I do find it's a bit of a pain to clean because there are lots of small nooks and crannies for crumbs to fall down (the highchair the girls used as babies and is so easy to wipe down so I guess I've been a bit spoiled with it), but as long as you make some time you can get it clean with warm water and a soft sponge and as far as I can tell you can remove the covers for when you need to do a more thorough clean.
I must admit the seat made me laugh so much the first time I saw it. My husband had been in when the NHS delivery guy dropped it off and it stood waiting for me when I got back from doing the nursery run. I don't know about you guys but it totally reminds me of a James Bond villain chair (I think it's because of the distinct office chair look) so I have lots of fun spinning him around in it, putting on a silly voice and saying "I've been expecting you *insert name here*". Joking aside though it has been absolutely fantastic to have this at our disposal, Elis is now 9 months old so has been moving on to solids for 3 months, he is strong and able to do a lot more than we had anticipated at this age but he still can't sit unsupported independently so this chair has been so important and will continue to be so. The hard part is planing feeds so eats at home so I'm still breastfeedung him more than I did his sisters at the same age. Make sure you chase your physio and occupational therapists for equipment that will help ensure your baby is supported safely (I plan on covering bath time in a future post). The BabyBjörn high chair we have used for the girls (and has been one of our best and favourite baby buys) has already been ok'd by our occupational therapist as a good chair to use once he can sit unaided. It is designed to be ergonomic and has good, rigid support for his back and as a mother who likes easy to clean things it is a dream come true with the added benefit of being stylish and easy to fold up so it barely takes up any space at all unlike a lot of chairs on the market that I find clunky and garish.
I'm so glad that weaning wasn't as difficult as I had first worried it might be because of the delayed sitting. If you're in my position, of course make sure you follow medical advice, but at least you know that in all likelihood the weaning process shouldn't be too different from an average height child's, Elis has managed to eat everything fine so far despite the incline he sits on. I wish I had known all of this at the beginning and I'm delighted that my favourite chair will get used again in the nearish future. If you're looking for another alternative though the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair seems to be a strong favourite with other families with young ones who have growth restrictions, they are particularly popular because as they become older they can climb into their chairs by themselves thanks to the built in steps giving them much desired independence.
 |
You can tell by the bib that he's got sisters! Got no time for gender stereotypes! |
Our occupational therapist organised this amazing seat for us to borrow for as long as we need. The brand name is "Sunbeam" and is a chair I've seen recommended by lots of mothers with short stature children. The seat has so many angle options it really gives you endless choices and the ability to really let the seat really grow with the child. As you can see it has a sturdy neck support to keep their heads from lolling from side to side. It has also got support under their armpits which helps keep their back sit straight in the seat. It does come with a tray but I have found that it only makes it more of a hassle getting him in and out of his seat while his arms are too short to reach the food on it anyway so I tend to hand him his food. I do find it's a bit of a pain to clean because there are lots of small nooks and crannies for crumbs to fall down (the highchair the girls used as babies and is so easy to wipe down so I guess I've been a bit spoiled with it), but as long as you make some time you can get it clean with warm water and a soft sponge and as far as I can tell you can remove the covers for when you need to do a more thorough clean.
I must admit the seat made me laugh so much the first time I saw it. My husband had been in when the NHS delivery guy dropped it off and it stood waiting for me when I got back from doing the nursery run. I don't know about you guys but it totally reminds me of a James Bond villain chair (I think it's because of the distinct office chair look) so I have lots of fun spinning him around in it, putting on a silly voice and saying "I've been expecting you *insert name here*". Joking aside though it has been absolutely fantastic to have this at our disposal, Elis is now 9 months old so has been moving on to solids for 3 months, he is strong and able to do a lot more than we had anticipated at this age but he still can't sit unsupported independently so this chair has been so important and will continue to be so. The hard part is planing feeds so eats at home so I'm still breastfeedung him more than I did his sisters at the same age. Make sure you chase your physio and occupational therapists for equipment that will help ensure your baby is supported safely (I plan on covering bath time in a future post). The BabyBjörn high chair we have used for the girls (and has been one of our best and favourite baby buys) has already been ok'd by our occupational therapist as a good chair to use once he can sit unaided. It is designed to be ergonomic and has good, rigid support for his back and as a mother who likes easy to clean things it is a dream come true with the added benefit of being stylish and easy to fold up so it barely takes up any space at all unlike a lot of chairs on the market that I find clunky and garish.
I'm so glad that weaning wasn't as difficult as I had first worried it might be because of the delayed sitting. If you're in my position, of course make sure you follow medical advice, but at least you know that in all likelihood the weaning process shouldn't be too different from an average height child's, Elis has managed to eat everything fine so far despite the incline he sits on. I wish I had known all of this at the beginning and I'm delighted that my favourite chair will get used again in the nearish future. If you're looking for another alternative though the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair seems to be a strong favourite with other families with young ones who have growth restrictions, they are particularly popular because as they become older they can climb into their chairs by themselves thanks to the built in steps giving them much desired independence.
Comments
Post a Comment