Doctor says put sugar in formula to get DD on bottle!

[greeneone12]

Really??!!

Nope.

Noooooooooo! Is your doctor still in victorian times?

Ridiculous! The hint is in the word "formula"

i was advised to dip my nipples in sugar to encourage b/fing

not really, just like OP, messing

She is quite old school.....and she said two teaspoons then gradually reduce sugar until she takes it with none added. I just nodded and smiled!

auntie it's true!

greene can I just ask how come you came to be discussing this with your GP and not a BFC? Its so sad that GP are giving out advice like this.

Formula is already very sweet though.

I've got a bottle refuser too - although he did take a bottle until 8 months. Have had some success now with diluted cow's milk from a glass or through a straw

That's good rita

jilted I was at doctors today about DD's high temperature and her eczema and she asked if she was feeding ok. That's when I said yes fine, I am still BF at 8MO. Actually she doesn't take a bottle. That's when she said about the sugar.

I've had advice like that from my GP and from a hv before, so I can well believe it!
The worst I heard was a local hv advising a mother of a non sleeping baby to put baby rice or a rusk in milk in a bottle "we're not supposed to tell you this any more, but it works!". The baby was 3 months and BF. The hv was complained about and had to go on a training course.
I would write a letter to the practice and suggest the GP brush up on his baby feeding knowledge.

By "some success" I mean literally a mouthful though - he just spent the weekend at my mum's and had no milk at all.

It's a husband and wife who are both doctors and have been my doctor since I was little. I think she means well but is from India and has very very traditional views. Was supportive of co-sleeping which was good! But also gave me a big long lesson in bringing up kids when I went there the first time. I won't be doing the sugar thing but it is interesting that they can tell people that.

Really rita. How old is he now? Might have to go back to work 2 days....

how old is your DS? My ds coped fine on solids and water at 7m when refusing milk from the CM.

At 7M? Really?! So you just did morning and evening feeds? Did DS then compensate at night as milk is still most important until 1yr?

Also did you wean early as my girl barely manages 2 meals a day!

So hang on, she's not only encouraging you to put sugar in formula, but she's advising you to switch from breastfeeding to formula feeding despite the fact that you've said breastfeeding is going fine and you're happy?

Bloody hell. I'd find a new doctor, that's appalling advice.

No, I didn?t wean early. I started blw at 5.5m and up till he started at the cm he didn?t eat that much really, and always refused a spoon. He also happily took bottles from his dad. For some reason at the CMs he decided that milk was no good from her (presumably as milk was mum or dad and she was someone new) and he would eat anything and everything from a spoon ? so went very quickly on to 3 meals with a mix of spoons and finger food.

He didn?t up his bfs in the night either, although I was prepared for him to. I do bf at bed, once or twice in the night and morning, and then days I?m not at work usually 2 more bfs in the day.

What tortoise said.

He's 10.5 months now and has 4 breastfeeds a day (I've just cut down to 3 and am offering milk in a cup for the 4th), but he's a good eater. He seemed to be fine this weekend with no milk, but I don't think he drank enough water to compensate for the lack of fluids.

Agree with tortoise. Did you ask about formula or did she volunteer this advice? Completely unnecessary. If you are going back to work soon you could just continue to breastfeed when with him an express when not.

Meant to add: and offer it to him in a cup. If you want to give him formula when away from you, he can have it in a cup too, no need for bottles at this stage.

LOL - whenever I worry about the shocking advice given out by HVs at times (and having more contact they have even greater chance of giving crap advice) I hear advice like is given by another HCP and realise it's not just HVs with bad advice.

Sorry - she wasn't trying to convince me to give up. I said she wouldn't take one as an off the cuff comment but then she offered that advice. What interested me was that she didn't even suggest expressing!