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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Spoke to the HV this morning...

24 replies

PigeonPie · 15/08/2006 15:40

Sometimes I am really silly; I should know better than to chat to our hv! Took DS (9 mo) to be weighed this morning as wanted to find out if I can put him in the next size up car seat (I can!).

Chatting to HV afterwards and dropped in that he was waking for bf in the night and she jumped at me that I shouldn't be feeding between midnight and 6am because it's bad for his gut, bad for his sleep patterns and various other things but had switched off by then! Did I want the Good Sleep Guide book she asked, no thanks I said - if he's still doing it at a year, I'll ask for it then!

I explained that as he was BLW and wasn't eating a huge amount I wasn't surprised that he was still waking at night (used to sleep through) and I would keep feeding him if he wanted it. He doesn't always have a feed when he wakes, so I'm not stressed about it all.

Has anyone else been told that breast milk is bad for the gut between 12 and 6?

OP posts:

colditz · 15/08/2006 15:42

PMSL

Maybe it would be, if he was 12!!! gosh, they really are all as mad a snakes, aren't they?! I'd have asked her for the research to back that little nugget of whimsy up!

Iklboo · 15/08/2006 15:44

Sounds like arse to me! DS wakes up for a bottle feed about 5:30 -6am sometimes and he's a strapping lad.

And how exactly do you explain to a screaming, hungry baby that he's got to wait until after 6am as room service is provided between the hours of 12am-6am?

Quootiepie · 15/08/2006 15:45

my god... so all babies for 1000's of years must have had bad guts then.

laudaud · 15/08/2006 16:23

BLW isn't in acronym list - help I'm a newbie?

maybe you could provide a yakult chaser for his bad gut!

Quootiepie · 15/08/2006 16:30

BLW- Baby Led Weaning. I was a newbie about 3 weeks ago - I feel abit of a pro now

Tatties · 15/08/2006 16:35

well with god knows how many bfs between 12 and 6 my 16 mth old's gut and everything else must be ruined!

What a load of old balls.

MarsLady · 15/08/2006 16:44

Well 1 of my mums was told by her hv that baby wasn't putting on enough weight (after telling her how contented he was and that he had a good sleeping pattern). She then told mum to top him up with formula and when mum said no she didn't want to she told her to feed him 2 hourly. Then as she left she said... of course my scales are probably faulty then we'll laugh about this next week. The poor girl was in tears when she left. As far as I can see the only one laughing will be the hv....

Consequently neither baby nor mum are sleeping much, baby has too much wind and not able to feed properly therefore compounding mum's lack of self confidence.

Ooh but my cell in Holloway is ready for me!

KathyMCMLXXII · 15/08/2006 16:48

Maybe if you feed them after midnight they turn into gremlins, like the little furry things in the film?

laudaud · 15/08/2006 16:51

Sounds like PP did the right thing switching off. When DD was younger and I was meeting with NCT friends, we used to discuss the conflicting messages all our HVs were giving and decided just to get on with it and listen to what suited us.

UniSarah · 15/08/2006 18:02

I must be lucky, I seem to have 3 sensible pro breast feeding Hvs ( the surestart team). when I asked about ways to get boy to drop the night feed I was asked about his pattern and told it prob wasn;t worth trying to change him yet as he seemed to have a pattern and was doing fine on it.

Original poster

PigeonPie · 15/08/2006 18:07

If I'd been quick enough I would have asked about the evidence for this, but I'm afraid it's great remembering these things after the event! Anyway, won't be going for some time now as I think I know what I'm doing and if I don't I know who to ask!

I've got a good mind to ask the surgery what her qualifications are for giving advice on bf

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not going mad and had missed this gem of information before.

OP posts:

MatNanPlus · 15/08/2006 20:16

had a feeling looking at the title.

Wonder when it stops being bad for the gut as i'm a maternity nanny and often eat between 12-6am if i'm up alot with a new charge.

It seems to suit my IBS quite nicely.

asur · 15/08/2006 21:18

at what age does it suddenly become bad for their guts? suddenly at 6months maybe?

Do HV's have a conference or something where they all get together to make up all this nonsense they say?

I wonder if there will ever be a thread where a HV said something really helpful/useful/worthwhile... won't hold my breath for that one...

Original poster

PigeonPie · 15/08/2006 21:28

Oh yes, apparently he should have been sleeping through from 6 months! To think, I should have been asking for this 'good sleep guide' three months ago! I tried to get him to sleep through when he was about 6 mo by not feeding him, but there was no way he was going to (despite sleeping through at 10 weeks for about 2 months).

Sleep, who needs it - overrated as far as I can see

OP posts:

asur · 15/08/2006 22:42

LOL - my DS is 3 months and he gets up 4 or 5 times a night for feeds. I figure it's just as easy to feed him than to make him cry and force him back to sleep... I'm sure he'll know when he's ok to sleep right through and like you said, I might look for info in that good sleep guide when he's a year ish.

HV's don't give babies any credit for knowing what they want.

aragon · 17/08/2006 09:08

GOD

I despair of my profession - I really do

Original poster

PigeonPie · 17/08/2006 09:28

Aragon, is there any way we can help to change things? I know I'm lucky because I have sense and I do question things, but what concerns me is the guff she's telling mums who don't know that she isn't actually always right. I was thinking of contacting our Surgery Manager - do you think this would be a good idea or is there anyone in the HV line of command it would be better to talk to?

OP posts:

liquidclocks · 17/08/2006 10:07

Aragon - don't worry, it's not all bad - I have a great HV!

PP - when I wanted to make a 'suggestion' regarding a person's practice my HV (bless her!) said to write/call the surgery manager. hth.

Wish I didn't need sleep...

asur · 17/08/2006 15:22

I would just warn you to be very careful how you word any suggestions. I wrote to my practise after a GP prescribed something to me while I was pregnant that when I read about it, it was known to cause birth defects. I suggested that the GP concerned should latest research on drugs before prescribing them. I got a reply saying that if I don't trust the GP's in the practise then maybe I should find another one! Nice...

liquidclocks · 17/08/2006 16:33

Asur - don't know exactly what was in your reply of course but if it was worded in the sort of way that you got the message 'put up or pss off' then it can't have been following nhs guidelines on how to deal with complaints. If you feel able to you could send a letter (along with a copy of the one you received) to your local primary care trust head office. All complaints should be followed up professionally and training needs identified should be acted upon. You as a patient should never* feel as though you've been reprimanded or threatened for voicing concerns.

sweetkitty · 17/08/2006 16:49

What about when the clocks go back is it OK to feed them at 11pm instead???

What a load of old trollop!!! Is 11.55pm OK too then but 12.05am not?

sorkycake · 17/08/2006 16:56

My God what a load of tripe! I suppose it's better to feed him cows milk instead of breast milk is it?!? Why can't they leave you alone to get on with it? As long as you're not ringing her to come and feed him at 3am why should she be bothered fgs?

tribpot · 17/08/2006 17:00

Fantastic. What about if your ds goes to Australia, should he not feed during the day as his gut will think it's night-time (despite the fact I am going to guess it is always dark in the guts).

mumoftwoangels · 17/08/2006 17:11

Still lol! Was she working on GMT or BST? They come out with some s**t at times. If he is hungrey feed him! It might be worth trying smaller more frequent meals through the day though to try to fill him up. My dd2 was not a big eater and given the chance would rather graze through out he day that obey meal patterns.

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