to HATE all this new fangled, internet baby advice stuff

[LeBFG]

Of the sort:

breastfeeding necklaces (like this) give baby learning opportunities and stop them from getting brain damaged

lack of ''tummy time'' is to blame for all sorts of things from cognitive development to ability to read. I mean, really? We are damaging our children for life if they don't spend 10mins a day on their bellies?

And tons of others, including my old favorite, the BLW fad where babies practice their fine motor skills, jaw muscle movement and coordinating swallowing, which is helpful because otherwise they would never get a chance to do these things with purees and finger food.

All of these ^ things are good ideas, so why don't they just stop at that. Why do they have to tack on life-altering, super-duper brain development shit to sell the idea?

That piece of crappy jewellry that people are referring to saved my sanity when breast feeding. Not bothered about the 'stimulating benefits' or anything, but it gave my DD something else to play with besides my free nipple

BLW is good for all the reasons stated, but also because the baby controls how much they eat, so they don't get overfed by some overzealous parents. It gives them a smaller chance of being overweight in adult life as they carry on regulating their own intake of food and following instinct with it as they do when breastfed on demand.

If you don't like it on the internet, don't read it. Simples.

HoneyDragon had it spot on re the necklaces:

"Breast feeding necklaces should be advertised with their real purpose

stops baby trying to tune your other nipple to radio 5 and reduces all manner of maternal wincing"

Wish I'd tried one now, but seriously did you read the shit on that eBay page?? Awful. Nothing wrong with the product, but wow that's a fast way to lose custom. Can't believe they actually thought that blurb was a good sales tactic.

miaow

I said some. So not generalisation at all.

Well said Miaow.

I've been away from new babies for 13 years, and I've come back to a world of reflux and tongue tie. I don't dispute these things exist, but they can't be new, surely? What was the solution 5, 10 or 20 years ago?

Like a previous poster said, in the past the solutions often suggested were to formula feed and leave to cry, preferably out of sight and earshot.

miaow I also said overfeed, not force feed. I didn't generalise, I said some I even put it in italic for the benefit of people thinking I was generalising.

I was simply stating one of the benefits of BLW, I wasn't slagging anyone off.

Chill the fuck out.

Some odd ideas.

Of course we knew what reflux was. 18 years ago my ds had reflux. I was told to feed little and often and we kept an eye on his weight to make sure he was still gaining (which he was thanks to small frequent feeds).

It wasn't the stone age ffs.

scientific basis of studying one child

That's the thing though, if BLW has been done from the start then they regulate their own intake, tummy size increases at their own pace and some days they will eat loads, some not so much, that's just natural.

Babies are more in touch with their natural appetite than adults are. If your baby can maintain this natural sense of eating when he's hungry and stopping when he's not, he will have a powerful weapon against the culture of recreational eating that he will encounter when he's an adult.

I'm sure some of the stuff that is found on the net is unnecessary, but I get really annoyed when people insist (MIL and SIL I'm looking at you) that the things that were done in the 70's are still absolutely the right things to do. Science and knowledge moves on. Weaning is now advised at 6m not 12w for a reason, not because someone just dreamt it up. BLW may sound a little smug, but it's trying to encourage parents that their babies can eat "real" food ie not mush, and will not choke. Tummy time is advised by paediatricians and physios to help increase gross motor skills and strength. Babies now sleep on their back not their front as extensive research into SIDS has shown this is one of the biggest ways to reduce the risk. It's advised that you don't fall asleep on the sofa with your baby as studies have shown that it is very risky.

To dismiss all the above is really quite ignorant. Absolutely we should use our instinct, but that can't tell us everything.

When eating it takes the brain a while to realise that the stomach is full. When spoon feeding the food is going down a lot quicker than when a baby eats by BLW method.

Some parents do encourage baby to finish up as well though, using distractions and such. 'Just one more spoonful there's a good baby'

It certainly wasn't the Stone Age. I knew one baby with reflux. Most of my peers breastfed. I have lots of friends who have breastfed. Until I joined mumsnet I had never heard of tongue tie (and I'm now terrified of it!).

I resent the comment that 13 years ago people left their babies to cry out of earshot. I'm talking a millienium baby, not one from the Victorian era.

I resent the comment that 13 years ago people left their babies to cry out of earshot. I'm talking a millienium baby, not one from the Victorian era.

I didn't make that comment, I just said 'the past'.

That BFing necklace is the most stupid bloody thing i have seen in a long time. What a complete tool you'd look wearing that.

And it says not for under threes due to being a choking hazard. Right....So when your baby clutches at it whilst feeding and manages to pull a bead off and transfer to mouth (they can fall into the folds of clothing), they are of course not liable.

Sorry but these 'companies' exist solely to prey on the vulnerabilities of new parents, desperate to do their best for their child. Babies learn through everything they do. They do not need constant proactive stimulation.

BFing should be a quiet, focused time. Do you encourage your five year old to creatively play during his supper? No. Well why then would you encourage a baby to do so?

Yes - in response to my comment about circumstances 5, 10, or 20 years ago, in relation to my experience of having a baby in 2000.

A long time ago, it was common practice to leave "difficult" babies to cry it out, or put them in the garden for some fresh air. This wasn't the case earlier this century. Just wanted to make that super clear.

The BF necklace, I used to make loads of handmade jewellery (much nicer than that necklace). My ds broke so many necklaces by pulling them that I gave up wearing them. The sound of a load of beads hitting the tiled floor and spreading the length of the living room put me off somewhat. Hence I have got boxes of beautiful necklaces and bracelets that I really should sell but really can't be arsed.

13/18 years ago reflux would have been known to doctors and the few parents with a refluxy baby, nowhere near the common knowledge it is now.
My mum and her friends (60yos) had never heard of it til now, when my DS had TT and reflux, despite some of the symptoms I had as a baby being similar.

I was barely on the Internet 13 years ago, only used it at work and didn't even have a home PC - now I have an iPad and have found out an extraordinary amount of baby/child related info completely irrelevant to my personal situation, purely out of curiosity.
I thank my lucky stars I found MN and have been actually educated about situations and children I don't have personal experience of, ie disabilities, special needs, different approaches to bringing up kids, and shock horror easy babies etc.

The snake oil salesmen can try their best, but most of us see thru the bullshit and only buy into what suits us. And yes, some of that snake oil will 'work' for some people, while others may waste their time and money on it out of desperation. Life goes on.

I think the point of this thread (as I see it) isn't to rail at any particular method of parenting, but at the charlatans who try to persuade us parents that if we don't do X then our children will have flat heads/be forcefed/be understimulated...

When I had DD we didn't have a name for it, but some of us did BLW without knowing that it other benefits other than not having to spend hours pureeing bloody veg and feeding a reluctant child.

Giving her food to eat meant that I could relax and enjoy my meal. I didn't need someone to tell me that it trains her fine motor skills.

The same with that bloody necklace. As Honeydragon so succinctly put it, it is actually not a bad idea, but their sales technique is awful.

Don't tell me what terrible things will befall my child, if I don't buy your product.

MmeLindor's No 1 Rule - If someone tries to sell you a product by making you feel like an inadequate mother or human being, walk away. FAST.

MmeLindor agree with all that you said. I guess I missed the point of the OP a little as it was so 'angry'

Yabu because you missed amber teething necklaces off the list.

Otherwise yanbu

Ham
I had one of those for DS. Useless but looked pretty