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8 month check today - was HV talking bollocks?

28 replies

bearcrumble · 17/11/2010 22:24

My son is 9 months but was just over a month early so we had the 8 month check today.

He's breastfed and was started on solids at 26 weeks actual age.

He now has 3 meals a day and snacks, a combination of chunky purees and finger food. He eats pretty much anything - typical day would be a baby yoghurt and a couple of baby rice cakes for breakfast, half a wholemeal pitta with peanut butter (no allergies in the family), few bits of steamed veg to hold and eat (this mostly gets chucked on the floor) and a stage 2 pouch or homemade equivalent and a few slices of fruit for lunch and same at dinnertime. Also rice cakes/fruit/ella's cookies as snacks.

I BF about 5 times a day on top of that including one night feed (I know, they all say you're not supposed to feed at night at this point).

So BF first thing, before morning nap, before afternoon nap, last thing before bed and once in the night.

She said that I should only be BFing three times a day. I think this is crazy. She said I should be trying to get DS to eat more puddings. I was totally Hmm at this stage and didn't bother arguing but it's been playing on my mind for the rest of the day that I'm doing something wrong.

He started out on the 9th centile, went up to the 50th at 6 weeks corrected and stayed there until 14 weeks. Since then he has slowly descended to the 25th at 34 weeks. Lengthwise he's on the 50th.

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bearcrumble · 17/11/2010 22:25

Oh and she said I should totally stop purees (even textured ones) now, and only give him what we're having to eat sans salt.

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Caz10 · 17/11/2010 22:27

Yes she is a loon Grin

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MoonUnitAlpha · 17/11/2010 22:27

Why on earth should you only breastfeed 3 times a day? Did she give you a reason?

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MoonUnitAlpha · 17/11/2010 22:28

She probably is right about the purees though, a 9 month old can eat pretty much the same as you.

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MakemineaGandT · 17/11/2010 22:29

what you're doing is perfectly reasonable - sounds like you know exactly what you're doing without her "help". Ignore and carry on!

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mylifewithstrangers · 17/11/2010 22:29

Ach she's talking crap. She'd shoot me if she knew how many feeds my 14 month DS has (including at least 3 in the night).

I'd be more tempted to agree on the no more purees though becuase they probably are not necessary. However if it suits you and he gets lots of other opportunity for finger foods then there is absolutely no harm. My DS has the odd pouch still because he likes them - much like giving them a smoothie I think!

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Caz10 · 17/11/2010 22:29

OK someone will come along and be a bit cleverer than me, but puddings?!!? WTF?!

Based on no expert knowledge at all I think he sounds like he's doing really well. And 5 times a day would have been a slow day when DD was that age. She fed in the night until v recently and she is 2.11 Grin

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whomovedmychocolate · 17/11/2010 22:31

Did she have actual birds spinning round her head because she seems to have concussion or some other kind of mental disorder. Grin

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ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 17/11/2010 22:32

I probably would phase out the purees now, but there's no reason to cut back on the breastfeeding at this stage.

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BigTeuchLittleTeuch · 17/11/2010 22:32

Food is fun until they are one Smile

And the 'puddings' are bleh! Seriously, if you can avoid it...do!

What they eat now is all about experimenting and he is still getting his crucial calories from his milk. I would say he still needs lots of bf because (apart from the p.butter at lunch and the cookies) the rest is what us adults would call 'diet food' Grin

Was she suggesting that you replace all of these lovely, nutritional, fatty calories from bm with sugary puddings? Really?

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SirBoobAlot · 17/11/2010 22:34

She's talking out of her arse :)

Seriously, there are some HV out there who really need educating!! You're doing great, don't let anyone make you think any different :)

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JRuBastard · 17/11/2010 22:34

I fed my DS until he was 2.5 yrs old, and am still going strong (2-3 feeds a day) with my 2 yr old DD. DS loved pureed food and preferred it to anything else well into his second year. DD was on 'what we had for dinner' by 8 months. They are both healthy, thriving children.

Is your DS healthy and happy? Are you concerned about his weight? Is your GP?

I would take the HV's advice with a pinch of salt, as it doesn't seem to have any real foundation.

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Sidge · 17/11/2010 22:34

She is wrong regarding breastfeeds and puddings.

It is a good idea to move away from purees though to chopped foods. It helps the development of the tongue, jaw and throat which will help his longer term speech and oral motor development. But as he's also having some finger foods he's moving in that direction already Smile

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solo · 17/11/2010 22:41

She's talking nonsense!

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SirBoobAlot · 17/11/2010 22:41

Actually I would write and complain. There are endless amounts of research which back up the fact she is wrong.

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solo · 17/11/2010 22:42

She's talking nonsense! I fed Dd on demand until very recently really and she's nearly 4.

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bearcrumble · 18/11/2010 09:03

Phew. Thanks so much - I thought it must be nonsense.

I do try chopped food now and then, but what he does is stick his fingers in his mouth, pull the chunks out and tub them in his eyes and then cry loads, so I've been a bit reluctant to do it that often. It means he eats a lot less too - but I guess I can always up the number of BFs while he gets used to chopped food.

Thanks again.

If you have time - what would you say in a letter and do you have links to the evidence?

I did say that I wasn't going to use plug socket covers because of this - www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ - UK sockets are actually safer without covers and then she gave me a safety pack that contained... socket covers.

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SirBoobAlot · 18/11/2010 09:11

That's how they get used to chopped foods - its normal. They want to feel what it is, and get used to the textures. They get used to it eventually. Ripe pear, banana, steamed veg and rice cakes are good ones to start with.

I like this link about feeding on demand. I would also state that children get the majority of their calories from milk for the first year, so it is absurd to limit that calorific in take.

This quote from the Food Standards Agency website:

How long to breastfeed

Your baby needs nothing but breast milk (or formula milk if you?re not breastfeeding) until they are six months (or 26 weeks) old.

At six months, you will need to start giving solid foods as well as breast milk, but your breast milk will still be important for your baby. So continue breastfeeding and give solids for as long as you and your baby want to.

After your baby has started on solid foods, they still need plenty of breast milk or formula milk until they are a year old. How much they need depends on how well they take to solid foods, and this may vary from day to day. Let your baby decide how much milk they need each day.

If you have to cut down on breastfeeding - perhaps because you are going back to work - remember that just a few feeds a day will still give your baby valuable nutrients and help protect their health. This can be especially useful if your baby has just started at nursery and mixing with other children who may have coughs and colds."

Would also mention that maybe the HV needs some up to date training about the WHO recommendations.

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moondog · 18/11/2010 09:13

'Did she have actual birds spinning round her head because she seems to have concussion or some other kind of mental disorder.'

Very funny Chocolate.

Talking complete sand utter shite.

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bearcrumble · 18/11/2010 09:48

Thanks again SirBoobAlot. I will write to the head of the team for our area.

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NormalityBites · 18/11/2010 09:53

Nope, she is talking rubbish. Apart from the bit about purees, they are unnecessary. DD ate what I ate from her first food. But the rest is total shite - I think they send them on a specil training course - how to be least useful and keep mothers worried and on their toes Grin

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tiktok · 18/11/2010 10:43

bearcrumble - I think your HV is confused about bf and formula feeding.

A formula fed baby well established on solids at this age might well not need more than 3 ff a day (roughly equivalent to 20-24 fl oz). There are occasional concerns about babies getting more than this, in addition to plenty of solids, and 5 formula feeds a day of this size is probably too much.

But a bf baby really does not need limiting in this way at all. He can be trusted to adjust his intake to match his needs, and it is perfectly normal to have a night time bf as well.

So I think she is poorly trained and thinks of everything as a 'milk feed'.

The puddings thing is just daft.

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BollocksToThis · 18/11/2010 10:54

I have found that the answer to the question posed in the thread title is almost invariably "yes". Isn't that sad? Goodness knows how many other mums have been made to feel confused, undermined or despondent having been on the receiving end of such advice, so please do complain.

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AngelDog · 19/11/2010 10:15

At DS's 10 month check I heard an HV telling another family he should only have one bf a day.

The HV I spoke to was unfazed when I said he had 6 or 7 bfs a day (I didn't mention the nighttime ones!)

The WHO say to bf 'frequently and on-demand' until up to 2 years, or beyond.

I don't give puddings and I don't give snacks. DS is thriving, healthy and maintaining his 99th centile weight, as he has since about 3 months.

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Rugbylovingmum · 19/11/2010 10:31

Do you think she was thinking about dairy products when she said to give puddings? My DD lost interest in milk feeds once she started on finger foods and my hv said to just make sure she got some dairy products each day. She advised giving her yogurts, rice pudding, custards and other milky puddings with her meals. DD does have yogurt with fruit after most meals as she loves it but we ignored the rest of the pudding advice - we get enough dairy into her with the couple of milk feeds she has, her yogurts and the milk/cheese/creme fraiche etc we use in her main meals and I don't see the need to get her used to having too many puddings.

It's weird that lots of hv's seem to recommend that you cut down on bf then tell you to up their dairy intake by feeding them sugary puddings instead Hmm.

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