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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

HV instructed me to cut down BF to 2 a day

22 replies

mamjo · 29/03/2011 20:02

My DD will be 6 months old later this week an I took her to see the HV today to get her weighed, she is 23 lb and so off the chart, but has been above the 75th from birth. The HV then asked about her eating which is 3 meals (started weening 3 weeks ago) and 4 BFs a day. She was exclusively BF until weening started and still only drinks milk from the breast.
6 months feels a little young to me to be cutting back to just 2 feeds a day. What are your thoughts?

OP posts:

nethunsreject · 29/03/2011 20:03

Utter claptrap!

peanutdream · 29/03/2011 20:04

gosh, that is very very young, you are right. you sound like you are doing a fabulous job so just keep on going with however many times you and your dd want the milk.

milk is supposed to be a large proportion of the diet even up to a year.

where on earth do they find these HVs????

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 29/03/2011 20:05

you are right
hv is insane

Iggly · 29/03/2011 20:07

Bollocks.

Milk is the most important part of the diet until they're 1. So you spend the time between weaning and 1 gradually building up solids and switch the emphasis from milk to solids as they get older.

I really don't know where these HVs get this crap from. It's dangerous. They don't have much training especially in BF. She may think you'll substitute BM with other dairy products? I would challenge her on this gumpf. Or complain.

DS is 17 months and it's only in the last few months he's gone to two feeds (although back up again!).

RitaMorgan · 29/03/2011 20:07

Ridiculous - you don't need to cut feeds, she will drp them herself when she's ready! My almost 8 month old still has 4-5 feeds a day.

TheCrackFox · 29/03/2011 20:08

She is talking out of her arse.

whatagradeA · 29/03/2011 20:09

Another vote for 'claptrap'. She's talking out of her arse

warzone · 29/03/2011 20:10

Keep demand feeding. At this age they still need to get most of their calories from milk. Food is really just a practice - their little tummies can't hold enough solid food to make it their main source of nutrition.

peanutdream · 29/03/2011 20:11

haha 'talking out of her arse' much better way of putting it

RitaMorgan · 29/03/2011 20:11

I don't even know any bottle feeders who went down to 2 feeds at 6 months.

pearlgirl · 29/03/2011 20:12

I think it sounds very young and that you know that too.You have done a brill job. Do you need to get her weighed? I haven't had ds4 weighed since he was 5 months and he is now 11 months- i did take him to a self weigh session to check he was holding his own(as he had a very slow start).

thisisyesterday · 29/03/2011 20:12

OMG! that is awful, awful advice,.

i would actually complain, because some mums will try and follow what this idiot says!
at 6 months a baby needs far more than 2 breastfeeds a day

i am actually so shocked at this

Beveridge · 29/03/2011 20:13

Where do they find these people to be HVs?!

DD only made it down to 2 bfeeds a day when she was .....hang on....some days she still doesn't and she's now 22 months!

As said already, milk is supposed to make up the bulk of their diet for the first year.

tiktok · 29/03/2011 20:14

mamjo - please ask your health visitor to explain why this is seen as a good idea for your baby.

PrettyCandles · 29/03/2011 20:14

Unfortunately your HV hasn't got a clue. Of course you shouldn't be cutting down on bfs at this age! Those charts are descriptive, not prescriptive.

Presumably your dd is healthy, developing normally, pooing and weeing, relatively happy, alert, interested, growing at a rate that vaguely parallels the chart? In which case you're both doing fine, and the old adage applies: if it ain't broke - don't fix it!

Original poster

mamjo · 29/03/2011 20:15

Thanks ladies, this is why I never take her to the clinic. Every time I have they have told me to stop demand feeding.
Will carry on regardless as usual.

OP posts:

Tommy · 29/03/2011 20:15

another HV talking nonsense about Bfeeding! just iognore her and carry on doig what you're doin. Breastmilk is better than anything she can have at this stage.

lukewarmmama · 29/03/2011 20:15

No, even the dreaded gina ford advocates 3 feeds until about 10/12 months or so, from what I can remember.

Mine decided for themselves that they didn't want the third feed , and I think I gave up trying at about 7 or 8 months, but that was led by them, not me.

Macdog · 29/03/2011 20:19

HV is quite mad.
Send her to me so I can shout at her like I always wanted to shout at my own HV (but never had the nerve)

mamatomany · 29/03/2011 20:20

They aren't meant to instruct you to do anything at all, just advise.

SharkSkinThing · 29/03/2011 20:28

I had the exact same advice from my HV at 6 months.

I also ignored it! And DS was - is - eating like a Trojan, and at 8 months is on 3 bf's a day, one ff in the night, and last night was the first time he didn't have a boob!

Like Lukewarm my DS has dropped his 10.30am feed, and even when we move over to bottles in a couple of months (I'll be back to work), he'll still have 2 - 3 milk feeds a day!

Keep going with what you are doing, it sounds perfect!!

BoattoBolivia · 29/03/2011 20:33

Tbh, it doesn't matter whether bf or ff, two feeds doesn't seem much at that age. My one year old is still on at least 3 full bottles a day, sometimes 4, and 3 big meals!

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