To think that this is a bit wrong?

[SunshineAndKittens]

I'm currently expecting, so may be over reacting. Plus I do not have any actual children of my own.

A very good friend of mine had a baby 5months ago. She decided to breastfeed her as it is cheaper than formula.

However, 4 weeks into bf and she couldn't be bothered with it anymore. She wasn't having troubles with it, in fact she seemed to be a natural. But she wanted to get back to smoking and drinking. Which I suppose is fine, its her life etc.

So she puts baby on formula, it appears that she is still hungry after a feed so they double feed her, til she is sick (not sure if this is normal, because I have no baby of my own to compare with, or any friends with babies)

Anyway, it becomes clear that she is loosing some weight. So to bulk her up, they opt for feeding her the 'hungrier baby' formula. This seems to be doing its job, but hey are still double feeding her til she is sick.

When he was 8/9wks old, they started to feed her pureed fruit and veg. (I'm fairly certain this is wrong, but again have nothing to compare to, and am only going by what it says in baby books) I expressed my concern, about it being a bit early, but she says that because he is sooo hungry that this is the only way to keep him satisfied, so I don't know if thats right either.

When he was about 3 months old, the 'hungry baby' formula wasn't keeping him satisfied during the night, so they started to feed him cows milk. But they put a spoonful of sugar in it..... I asked if this would do damage to his teeth, but she says he swallows it straight away, and it doesn't touch his teeth. so he will be fine.

I wonder if I am being a nervous Nelly over nothing. Because I am currently looking after a bump and not a baby, I don't really know how things work iyswim.

I feel a bit daft, and think that maybe I am being unreasonable, and should probably just keep my nose out.

But wanted to ask...

TIA

You do seem to be describing pretty much all the things which parents could possibly do wrong with feeding a baby. But surely you know that if you've read any baby books?

If you are asking "Should I do these things with my own baby?" then the answer is obviously no. You should follow the advice given in leaflets etc which your midwife or health visitor will give you, and you should ask the health visitor or your gp if you are unsure or worried about your baby.

If the question is "Should I do something about this?" well, yes. If her baby is losing weight and being sick regularly, then of course you should push her very strongly to take the baby to the gp for proper advice.

That is not normal for babies - they do not normally lose weight after the first few weeks, and they are not usually sick in any quantity. I assume you know the difference between being sick and possetting?

I think you should suggest that they liquidise a roast dinner, maybe with a couple of oysters chucked in; and give this to the baby in a bottle. It is essential that plenty of salt is added and also it will bulk the baby up better if they feed the baby flat on it's back with an elastic band tied around the bottle to keep it in the baby's mouth.

They must be drunk while they do this.

HTH

so who is?????

who is it i mean.

Tell them to stop wasting their time feeding the babby milk, it should be on Irn Bru or blue pop by now.

pfft to sugar. What wimps. LARD is the way forward. Melted lard.

It is someone taking the piss, I mean Sunshineandkittens fgs.

The kids needs to start walking soon as well, then your friend can sellotape a tenner to his chubby wrists and send him round he corner shop to buy Lambrini and Lamberts

Nice try op, now who are you?

tis not me shiney (i know i will be next on your list ) too fluffy for me

Sorry haven't been around to answer posts.

Yes, unfortunately this situation is real.

So, because this is all the WRONG things you can feed a baby, and this couple are doing all of them - i must be making it up

I wish it were a wind up, but it's not.

I did come on here asking advice, because i don't have a child of my own yet, and despite what it says in baby books, people dow their own thing.

I am not about to follow her ways, as i think they are all wrong. But since I was unsure about when to give a child 0pureed fruit and veg (since guidlines are always changing) I cam on and asked about it.

Glad to see you are all having a good laugh about it.

And, sorry for using 'nervous nelly' but its just a phrase I use.

Thanks for all your help. Really

Is her baby still being sick a lot, or still not putting on weight? If so, I think you do need to push her to take the baby in to a baby clinic or the GP to have them take a look.

People do sometimes decide to ignore the advice and "do their own thing" - I reckon if they do things just a little before what the guidelines say then it's not a huge deal, but 8 or 9 weeks is very very early for anything apart from breastmilk or formula, and that has been the guidelines for a long time.

And ordinary cows milk (full fat) is only ok from 12 months onwards - if she seems full for longer with it, its just because her tummy isn't able to do anything with it, not because it's doing her any good.