pressure to stop!!

[lovelymamma]

Hi i dont really know what i'm after really. support more than advice if poss.
I used this board a while ago when my daughter Orlaith was showing some add symptoms.
shes been diagnosed as cows milk protein and soya intolerant. Not too much of a problem for me cos i'll jst breastfeed and cut out what i need to. Or so i thought.
She has literally just turned 6 months old and already my hv assisstant is hinting for me to give up. Orlaith was prescribed Nutramigan(sp) a couple of months ago but i havent picked it up from the pharmacy as i didnt really want it anyway.
Anyway, my health visitor was fine with this but orlaiths consultant when i saw her at beginning of november kept saying i had to try her on it but shes likely to reactetc and will then need somethingelse. she didnt get the fact that i was telling her i didnt want to use it!!!
when i took orlaith to be weighed on thursday (day b4 she turned 6 mos) the health visitors assistant said well you'll need to one day. why???? i intend to carry on breastfeeding, it suits us both!!
Do i need to try her on the formula? why should i?
luckily she can tolerate UHT milk as the protein is altered enough for her so i mix her brekkie at mo with a little of that watered down.
why can i not continue til shes 1 and take it from there?
why all of a sudden are there people attacking me from all sides to try formula? surely my milk is best for her?
i am getting sooooo confused,
if there is a medical reason why i should give my intolerant precious baby girl heat treated and modified cows milk instead of mine then i want to know what it is.
please someone help me!
sorry if this is jumbled but thats how it is in my head at the moment
thanks ladies xxx
take care
christina xx

Christina, there is no good medical reason why your dd should have any milk other than your own..... But it's a good question to ask the health visitor, her assistant and the doctor. Ask them why you cannot continue to bf for as long as you and dd want to.

I cannot see any advantage in using the formula. It's for babies who are not breastfed. And yours is. So go figure

Second everything tiktok said

Third everything Tiktok says! ( It's usually best, she gets ratty if you disagree wither her)

I have no idea why the health professionals are pushing for you to use formula - if breast feeding is going well for you both then of course there is nothing better for your dd than your own milk. Please don't stop until one (or both) of you is ready to.

Hi, thankyou for your replies ladies. Its as i thought, i didnt think there was a reason. I intend to stick with it til shes 1 and as far as i know its going fine, she enjoys it as do I.
I'm seeing the paed in feb so will say again to her that i dont intend to give up. Why is there a pressure to feel like you should give up at 6 month? I dont really see the point if all is going well as your past the hardest part!
anyway, thanks again ladies, I will continue as we are.
xxx

That's great, lovely....don't forget to come back and tell us what they said

I think your HV - who you said was fine with your choice - needs to know what her assistant is saying, too.

And.....ratty? Moi?

Lovelymamma,you have more common sense than all of these people put together.
I feel very angry on your behalf that they are harassing you instead of praising your excellent judgement.

Arses.

My children have never had formula or milk as a drink either.

It hasn't been a hassle at all!!!

lol i will tiktok and thankyou very much for your advice. I am waiting for a phone call back from my hv now. thankyou xxx

thankyou moondog. I didnt think there would be a reason behind the need to use it. I intend to carry on and feel rather proud that i've got this far.
My ds1 now 4 was never breastfed as he just wouldnt latch and pressure in hospital was to give him food, as a new mum the only option i saw was formula.
ds2 now 2 was breastfed til 2 weeks old then put on formula as he wasnt gaining well, i researched and then relactated at 4-5 weeks old and then carried on til he was 6 months but that was mixed feeding. i didnt feel confident enough to totally scrap the formula.
DD now 6 months has been total breast, being weaned now but very cautiously.
so all in all i am proud of what i am doing and resent anyone even hinting i should stop!!
thankyou xxx

lovelymamma, these so called 'health' professionals are crazy even mentioning formula to you when you have made it so clear that you are going to continue breastfeeding your daughter

why on earth would she need anything other than your milk?

if only more babies with intolerances were given the fantastic protection to their digestive systems that breastfeeding provides. good for you you are right to be proud of yourself

I'm still feeding my dd at 13m and even on the days she's away from me she is not remotely interested in cows milk, and yet people keep urging me to give her yoghurts and cheese spread all the time 'for protein'

dont get me wrong she likes yoghurt and cheese and we all eat these several times a week ... but I cant believe she 'needs' protein from cows milk when she has my own milk still

Am scratching my head over this too. Am posting so it will be in the 'threads I'm on' and I can find out what the hv assisstant says next. And Christina, good for you, sounds like you are doing everything right

nutramigen tastes nasty. your dd probably will gag on it. why torture her into accepting it.

it makes for nasty nappies too.

bf is the best thing for her. your hv assistant is an ass.

don't go back to see them if you don't want to.

thankyou ladies. I have also been told to give her cheese etc if food for calcium?!? wtf??? shes cows milk protein intolerant why give her cheese? she cant have it!!! i cant have it!!
hv has said she can understand why i am annoyed at what was said to me. The hv assistant may have got the info wrong and hadnt grasped the fact that orlaith is ok with uht milk so presumed that at age 1 she would need to go on the nutramigen anyway.
Well if shes still breastfeeding at 1 then wahey we'll carry on til she decides to wean off. As far as i know if need be she can go onto uht milk at 1 anyway. When she turns 18 months the consultant will "challenge" her with milk proteins. so at the moment, seeing as i have gone past my 6 month target my new one is 1yr then 18 months.
thanks ladies

other foods are rich in calcium. not just milk. japanese, chinese and all American Indians do not use any diary products in their traditional cooking methods.

calcium in other foods

for white beans read: baked beans/haricot beans

collard greens - think spring greens

rutabagas are swedes/turnips

brilliant info kiskidee

Wow - not heard of an intolerant baby being ok with uht milk before. Do you have any info on how common that is - I'm still bfing my 9.5 month old milk intolerant DD, so have also had to give up all dairy.

The only reason I can think of for them suggesting stopping is because you might be deficient in calcium, but one would have hoped they would just give you info on which other foods are calcium rich instead.

My DD occasionally has Nutramigen on her cereal - personally I think it's rank, but she seems ok with it.

hi great advice thanks.
cant sleep i havent a clue how rare etc it is but it was the dietician that said to try it and shes ok when i drink it. the heating process the milk goes thru adjusts the protein. i dont know how it works etc but it seems to be working. i dont know how long for tho as she was ok when i had soya but 4 weeks later bang she cant have that either!!
i am glad for the moment tho!
thanks for all your advice