Breastfed DS weight gain slowed down - help!

[mistressploppy]

DS (5months) has gone from 75th to 25th percentile in about 6wks - seems absolutely fine though.

Should I worry? (also posted in Behaviour/Development - sorry)

Jesus Kristina, what a nutter!
What was the context and how old was she?

LOL Druzhok - they have been reading The Contented Little Baby

moondog - context was baby's 8 months check up. Hv has been in the practice many years - she is early - mid 40s, has kids about 10 and 12

Bf rates in our area are one of the lowest in the UK. its VERY rare to see anyone BF in "public" eg restaurant/shopping centre/cafe.

she is probably one of the 20% of HV surveyed in our area who think that FF is more convenient

or the 33% who believe that BM is lacking in iron

or the 19% who think it makes father feel left out

or the 27% who agree with / are neutral on formula being as healthy as BM

or maybe she was just thinking of my social life, as 22% believe that a woman who occasionally drinks alcohol shoudln't bf.

Honestly - there is so much disinformation out there. I had a consultant endocrinologist ( female, youngish) tell me that i should stop bf as there is no benefit to baby after 6 months ( so it would make it easier to control my thyroid disease)

a dentist tell me i had to wean to get dental work done under sedation

a GP tell me to wean because i had a chest infection and needed heavy duty antibiotics

another GP tell me i had to wean to take hay fever meds when the ones i was taking were licensed for the toddler i was feeding

they are all bonkers up here. that's why no one BFs

No worrying. This nearly always happens in a bf babies. It looks like they have dropped because, well they have in relation to the average population of 5 month old babies who were nearly all FF iyswim.

This used to be taken as sign of need to wean but it doesn't make any sense if you think about it because unless you are going to puree indian takeaways there is nothing with more calories than milk.

Both mine did this, and both times it caused HV's to jump up and down. The first time it worried me but the second time I had completed my bfing peer supporter course and knew it was pretty normal.

You'll quite possibly find that the sleep has got more challenging too. This is because babies at this age are very nosy and aware cannot bf and look around so they keep their daytime feeds as short as they can get away with, using the night to catch up. FF can often feed whilst looking around so it isn't quite the same with them.

hth

At the risk of outing you completely, kristina, pls can I ask where you are, ish?

I have a friend in the NW who experienced what can best be described as horrified disbelief when she breastfed her toddlers. I'm in a cosy little middle class suburb in the Midlands and there is a lot of support for breastfeeding babies, but it seems to be what is done before one returns to work (objective: achieved) ... feeding a toddler retains the power to shock.

Cornwall is the only place I have felt comfortable (publicly) feeding an older child. I don't know if that says more about me or the place.

I am in Scotland

The only time i encountered " horrified disbelief" from a HCP was when i went for a scan for DS2. My DH was holding DS1 who became very upset during the scan so when it was fininshed I sat in the chair in the room and fed him for a few minutes ( he was about 11 months old). The consultant gave me a look of complete disgust, muttered something to the nurse and marched out the room. the nurse looked embarrassed ( at the consultants behaviour) and made nice comments about DS1 just wanting his mum etc

I'm not sure why she was so shocked at someone bf in a maternity hospital

BTW this same hospital has nowhere in the out patient department to feed a baby/toddler or any play area. But it DOES have a BF Friendly Award
(presumably because they have a patent information booklet that SAYS they have these things)

AngryWasp, you are spot on - he is stretching my nipple like mozzarella, trying to look around the room while feeding, drives me crazy.

VERY helpful to hear your experience, I feel much better now

at pureed indian takeaways!

LOL i forgot that stage.when you are chatting to a bf mum and the baby turns his head to look at you, either trying to take the nipple with him or coming off and spraying the room with milk

When does the nosy stage end? Never?

Shocking Kristina.
Thre is still a looooong way to go eh?

Stretched nipples ... it's just beyond awful what my children have done to my nipples