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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ignore the Dr and to keep feeding DS like I am?

198 replies

startrek90 · 31/03/2015 14:54

I have just got back from DS weighing in. He is 6 months old and according to the Dr is underwieght and needs more food.

I feed on demand atm. I thought my baby was getting enough. Some days he eats more and some days he eats less. On average his feeds go like this;

6am: 230ml milk
8am: 230ml milk and baby porridge
12 noon: Jar of baby food and 150ml milk
2:30pm: half jar baby food and 150ml milk
5pm: fruit pot and 150 ml milk
8pm: 230ml milk

he eats during the night if he wants and i give him more or less if he wants.

The dr said to force him to eat more and give him more solids but DS won't have it. Aside from the first and last feed I offer food everytime before I offer milk.

AIBU in ignoring the dr and continuing. I feel a bit crap now tbh.... I thought I was managing for once and now I feel rubbish....

OP posts:
MadameJulienBaptiste · 31/03/2015 15:12

Argh just lost a post.
maybe baby needs actual SOLID food to munch on. Jars are not solids Imo.

Sit him at the table when you eat and offer bits of that, either chunks or roughly mashed. potatoes, veg, gravy etc. In between offer banana, buttered toast, and just make up a bag of jumBo oats with milk. Much more texture for him to get his teeth into than baby Porridge.

Original poster
startrek90 · 31/03/2015 15:12

its more its a slow gain.....he seems happy and the dr said he is developing really well thats why i am confused :/

OP posts:
momtothree · 31/03/2015 15:13

I had small babies and when they were ill - just a cold their weight dropped - the HV panicked because they had dropped off the scale - i knew they were just small.babies who hadnt been well - i dont think one appointment with one doctor should panic you. They are both still small, bur fit and healthy.

DoJo · 31/03/2015 15:13

AIBU in ignoring the dr and continuing.

I can't see why you would do this? If the doctor is concerned that your son needs to put on weight, why would you not consider their professional opinion? If you have a good reason to think that they are mistaken, then by all means discuss it with them, but just ignoring their advice for no reason seems perverse.

MissBattleaxe · 31/03/2015 15:13

At that age, I tried my babies with home made cauliflower cheese, home made rice pudding, shepherds pie and carrot and potato mash. Its sounds like a faff but you do one big batch and freeze portions so you always have baby food in the house. Naturally you can eat it yourself too!
I would also give him something more filling than a fruit pot for his evening meal if I were you.

Gileswithachainsaw · 31/03/2015 15:14

She's loathed on here but Annabel karmal has some good recepies and meal plans.

finger food is good two. toast with cream cheese, veg sticks (steamed)

steamed chicken strips, mince can be mashed up. jacket potatoes can be mashed up with tuna and cheese .

It can be really easy you don't need to worry.

things like beef in a slow cooker fall apart so are perfect for babies to suck/gum on

wheresthelight · 31/03/2015 15:14

I think your GP is being a bit of an idiot tbh. your baby sounds spot on considering his birth weight. have they mapped his weight on the prem graph or the normal ones?

there is nothing wrong with jars of food although mn will have you believe it's poison. if you have time to make your own then great but if you don't then there's nothing wrong in using jars.

op I have very little faith in hcps who go on about a baby beong over or under weight. my hv told me that at 4 weeks old dd was overweight and needed to go on a diet. she had a massive issue with me because I ff and refused to discuss my decision with her as quite frankly it was none of her business. gp saw dd 2 weeks later and wrote a complaint on my behalf to the hvs boss as actually dd was fine. she is now 19 months and still tracking on the 25th centile for heigh and weight. in fact she has only just gone into 12-18 month clothes although all the bottoms are on their tightest adjustment to stop them falling down

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 31/03/2015 15:14

The thing is, to advise you anyone would need to understand his weight, his centile and what has happened to that over time.

Some doctors are sadly shockingly badly trained and think all babies should aim for 50th. Or he could have a genuine problem of drifting down and down. We don't know.

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 31/03/2015 15:15

Jarred food isn't proper food. The nutrients are damaged by the heat treating process.

If he can sit up and grab food and bring it to his mouth, he can eat normal food. Give him whatever you're having as long as it's not salty. Toasted cheese, mashed potato, fish, peanut butter on toast, scrambled eggs, spaghetti and tomato sauce, stir fried noodles and vegetables, frittata, crudités, anything.

CultureSucksDownWords · 31/03/2015 15:15

6 month olds can easily eat pasta and the other foods that PP have mentioned.

I think adding oil to jarred food is a very strange suggestion, when you could make more calorific and nutritious food quite easily at home. The problem with jars is they are very similar in taste and consistency, and they don't have as much nutrients in them as the equivalent home made stuff. So they are fine for occasionally but I wouldn't use them all the time.

Original poster
startrek90 · 31/03/2015 15:16

how do your force a baby to eat more??? hold him down or what? i am just confused... on the one hand DS seems fine and the DR says he is ok but on the chart thingy she said he could gain more....

OP posts:
BarbarianMum · 31/03/2015 15:17

I wouln't ignore your doctor but I wouldn't necessarily worry too much either.

Is you baby putting on weight? Is he happy and healthy? At 6 months milk should very much be his main source of calories, with solids coming in as he wants them, so I wouldn't try swapping milk feeds for solids or he'll probably end up taking in less calories. You could maybe separate out his milk feeds from his solid feeds. Or maybe mix the fruit with the porridge for breakfast and add in something more carb/protein filled later.

If it makes you feel better ds1's weight slid from the 75th to the 9th percentile over his first year. Doctors were quite concerned - lots of advice about feeding him up -tried, didn't work. Finally referred to a dietician who measured his length carefully and pointed out that he was perfectly in proportion. He remains small and slight to this day but is very healthy and active.

GotToBeInItToWinIt · 31/03/2015 15:17

There's nothing wrong with jarred food, but they're not ideal to feed your baby all the time, in the same way it's not ideal for an adult to eat ready meals all the time. At 6 months DD was mainly still getting her calories from milk but ate lots of finger foods and also things like mashed potato with butter. I can't see the sense in adding oil to jars when you can just cook something up that's more calorific and freeze in portions.

ChipDip · 31/03/2015 15:17

You should be introducing him to solids by now. It's very, very easy to process/break down solid food which would be more nutritious anyway. Try it.

Original poster
startrek90 · 31/03/2015 15:18

its a normal chart not a prem chart???

OP posts:
RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 31/03/2015 15:19

The NHS reports a study that concluded processed jarred baby food was low in nutrient density.

Gileswithachainsaw · 31/03/2015 15:19

I dint think. He needs to eat more just be given a wider variety of more nutritious food which will slowly replace milk over the next few months. The calorie and fat content of this food will vary which is fine but it seems stupid to add oil to an already slimy jar when a more pleasant way would be to give actual food.

Comingoutofhibernation · 31/03/2015 15:19

I would never advise anyone to ignore medical advice, but I am concerned the doctor said force him to eat more. You can't force a baby to eat more than it wants. I had a very poor eater, and tried everything to make him eat more, nothing worked, until he got older, and started doing it willingly. I would focus on offering a good range of food that he can manage, and lots of high calorie food. If he is alert and has plenty of energy that he is most likely to be fine.

CultureSucksDownWords · 31/03/2015 15:19

You can't force him to eat more food. So you make the food you do give him more calorific and nutrient dense. Hence the odd suggestion to add oil to the jars which would at least up the calories. However you can up the calories and nutrients by giving home made food with extra fat/protein added in as PP have described.

BarbarianMum · 31/03/2015 15:21

You can't force him to eat more and if you are wise you won't ever try to. Just offer good food frequently and don't stress.

Gileswithachainsaw · 31/03/2015 15:21

eating the same amount of normal food he gets all the nutrition from the food and is t filling up on Apple and thickeners which render the nutritional content including fat lower

Original poster
startrek90 · 31/03/2015 15:21

ChipDip how do I do that? I don't have a blender or anything... I tried to make mashed potato with carrots but it seemed to bitty for him... he struggled with it and almost choked....

OP posts:
Pointlessfan · 31/03/2015 15:22

I don't like the idea of forcing babies to eat anything, surely that will lead to food issues later on. Try mashed avocado on toast, it contains loads of good fats.

nottheOP · 31/03/2015 15:23

Have a read about baby led weaning OP. I didn't do it but did offer a bit of finger food in the afternoons sometimes. It might work for you.

SqueezyCheeseWeasel · 31/03/2015 15:23

You can buy blenders v v cheaply.