Bit upset following discussion with HV - apparently bfing past 6 months is not really going to benefit my DD

[wasabipeanut]

Wasn't sure where to post this as involves bf and weaning.

So, I take ebf'd 22 week old DD to be weighed today. All good, tracking 40th centile so no grief re topping up or early weaning.

HV asks about weaning plans and I say I plan to continue ebfing until 26 weeks and then start BLW.

Various comments followed.

1. They recommend vitamins for babies still breast fed at 26 weeks.

2. If you start weaning at 26 weeks you have to really crack on with it as they need all food groups, vitamins, iron etc. A 26 week old will not get what they need from breast milk.

3. A baby has realised all the benefits it ever will by being bf'd for 6 months. The implication being that bfing beyond this point is for my benefit not hers.

Now I know for a fact that 3 is bollocks but points 1 and 2 worry me slightly. I did say, well if it is so crucial they are eating a good amount at 26 weeks then shall I start before and she said, no, the guidelines are 26 weeks. I'm just a bit confused because from what I have seen it takes a good few weeks/months for babies to actually start taking in many calories from solids if they are BLW and I thought milk still remained their main source of nutrition. According to HV she says my DD will probably start dropping feeds quite quickly.

I'm a bit upset about the whole thing really as she seemed quite down on the idea of bfing past 6 months. I had rather got used to the idea and was proud of myself for getting this far after some major difficulties around the 12 week mark. I feel a bit deflated really. I don't need her validation but I am now worried about weaning when I wasn't before.

Can anyone help to clarify?

No idea about the vitamin thing (must be a new initiative) but your HV sounds like a twat.

I had this too from my HV at that age. DS2 still bf at 13 months. I just ignored her. It didn't seem to harm my older two children either.

Ignore HVs. I am sure there are some excellent ones out there, but have never met any.

Don't worry about any of those points. When you start to wean give a variety of foods, but don't rush it. Carry on breastfeeding. Don't bother with vitamins unless you want to. Change your health visitor.

I did a sort of silent when she finished off the discussion by saying that the most important thing with weaning was not to get het up about it.

I wasn't until I spoke to you love.

She's talking shit, take no notice. I didn't wean my third child until she was 7 months, mainly cos we were on holiday and I couldn't be bothered. At 7 months she was then accidentally weaned straight onto applecrumble and icecream, but that's another story. I never gave her any vitamins, either -- specially in summer your baby is unlikely to run short of vitamin d, and iron from bmilk is better absorbed than iron from formula.

Honestly, if your baby is putting on weight and growing, is happy and content and has plenty of wet and dirty nappies, it's fine. At the beginning of weaning they don't take much food in -- and not coincidentally, if you wean them later they will move onto proper meals much more quickly than if you faff around with microspoonfuls of baby rice. Leaving it later means infinitely less hassle, plus you don't have to worry with all that business about avoiding gluten adn milk protein yadda yadda.

Tell your HV to come back and talk to you once she's got some proper information about breastfeeding.

Complete nonsense.Breastfeed happily,she is clueless.Why are there HVs who talk such total rubbish?

A 26 week old will still be getting all they need from breast milk. A 52 week old needs more than just milk. So, somewhere in between they need to start eating food, but they don't suddenly go from adequate to inadequate vitamins overnight.

In some areas they do recommend vitamin drops for extra vit D if babies are breastfed. You can decide yourself whether your baby is at risk of not getting enough vit d from you and sunshine with a few easy thoughts - do you live in the extreme north ? Or are you dark skinned and tend to cover up most of your skin when outside ? Or do you and baby not get out in the sunlight a lot (only 10 minutes a couple of times a week in direct sunlight to face and hands would be enough). If these don't apply, then vit D should not be a problem, especially at this time of year.

You've done great getting this far - don't think otherwise when she obv has some batty ideas about breast milk having no benefit over 6 months. She obv knows more than the WHO then

Splendid. Thanks everyone.

It just made me realise how bfing past a few months just isn't that common outside of MN posters. Sadly.

I was also told to give vitamin drops I have ignored my dd is small put putting on weight,happy and content.

The best bit of advice she gave me was to put plasters on my nipples and tell my one year old they were broken .

Agree with Frogs - she's talking shit

Your milk is far better for baby than follow on formula stuff

Some HVs are such utter twats

When DS was over 1, I took him to get weighed and she bollocked me for how much cows milk I was giving him - I totally ignored her with my reasoning being that he's moving loads, he's growing and he needs the calcium/fat

Hes 4 now and doing fine

I'm v v pro breastfeeding, but breastfed babies are meant to have vitamin D supplements from six months. Apparently. (The iron thing is trickier.)

Pretty much nobody actually does this, though. Fwiw. (Pregnant and breastfeeding mums are also supposed to have Vitamin D supplements. Nobody does that, either.)

The risk of vitamin D deficiency is higher the less pale your baby is, the further north you live, and the less exposure to sun she gets.

at your last post, Wasabi.

Yet another HV with very little idea about what they're talking about with regards BF . Ignore.

You know, you don't actually have to see your HV if you don't want to. With DS I saw her all the time and ended up worrying about every little thing and really doubting some of my choices, with DD I think I've seen her once since DD was a newborn (and that was for DS's 3 yr check) and I'm so much more relaxed about everything!

...the was at your "wasn't till I spoke to you, love" comment, not the fact that it seems only MNers bf after 6 months...Obviously!

Mrskitty I only see her for weighing every 4 weeks or so. I'm not obsessed with weighing but I like to check in every few weeks or so and annoyingly that is a HV run clinic.

I didn't know about the vit D thing. I take breast feeding supplements anyway (DH bought 6 massive packs as they were on offer, I've still got months worth in the cupboard.)I live in Berkshire not the Outer Hebrides and we have plenty of exposure to daylight!

Nah! you are doing fine. Some health visitors are very knowledgable and some like yours are as barmy as a bed bug. It is very rare for children to get rickets, if they get some exposure to sunlight.

Problems with rickets have got worse in the past few years due to children playing on computers more and the increase in immigration. If you are black, wear a burka or never leave the house AND have a poor diet then you would need vitamin drops.

The human race was designed to survive. You can breastfeed as long as you like. Your baby can make his/her own vitamin D from 20 minutes outside.

Is there a breastfeeding cafe near you? I found the nhs breastfeeding support group run by a health visitor who actually knew a fair bit about breastfeeding good.

Does your area allow you do go to a different clinic? In our town mothers can go to whatever clinic they like.

wasabi - my hv arranged for some assistant person to come and see me when DS was 18, yes 18, weeks old to discuss weaning (FGS - he wasn't even 5 months old!) She told me pretty much the same things your hv did and when I said - 'Look, we are quite happy bf and will wait until the RECOMMENDED time', I got a patronising 'Well done. But if you can't manage then here is what you should do some ideas' I was furious , I myself am a hcp and am educated enough to read the literature and see that what she is saying is absolute codswollop, but she is obviously going forth and spreading this rubbish to everyone.

Haven't thought of it before, but think I will make a complaint about her.

she's talking utter nonsense - it should be exclusive bfing to 6months, then from 6months to a year bm should ideally still be the main source of nutrition with food as a supplement, gradually becoming more significant.

The benefits of bfing continue as long as the child is bf. a childs immune system isn't matured until they're 7!

until your baby is 1, any food he/she has is only meant to compliment BM. it is not supposed to replace it. BM continues to benefit your baby for as long as he/she is getting it.

HV rarely benefit anyone (IMO)

Thanks for the positive comments - I really appreciate it.

Didn't know that about immune system Robyn. Actually DD has just thrown off chicken pox that her 2.9 mo brother bought home. The poor fella got a good dose of it - around 100 spots or so although shrugged it off reasonably quickly.

DD got her 1st spots bang on 2 weeks later and I worried she was going to be very ill as she is still so little but it stopped at about 15 spots and she didn't have a temperature or anything. I am convinced that bfing basically stopped the virus in its tracks.

Vitamin D deficiancy is a real issue and is thought to be linked many health problems. I am very pro breastfeeding but low maternal vit D is very common and that does result in low Vit D in the baby, especially if you live in the north.

lots of info here from WHO go to page 26

article here

Point 3 is obviously bollocks and point 2 is probably in response to the cow and gate advert with the baby with the giant cup. Iron in formula is not as easily absorbed as iron in BM. Formula does have more actual iron in it but that doesn't translate to a higher bioavailability of iron.

Just wanted to add that when weaning very little babies (4months) it can take ages for them to get the hang of solids. And the first amounts of food are so tiny that it does take a while for them to start getting any really useful nutrional benefits from the food.
But if you leave weaning until 6 months, you are likely to find your baby gets the hang of solids much faster, and so will start eating bigger amounts of food more quickly.

What I'm trying to say (badly) is that a baby weaned at 4 months and a baby weaned at 6 months will both be eating very similar quantities and types of food at 8 months - even though the first baby has an extra 2 months experience. The second baby gets to the same place, faster IYSWIM.

To be fair, NewVan, they tend to talk to parents at around 4 months to catch the ones who might have started at 4 months on the advice of grandparents etc.

Not much point visiting someone with a 24 week old baby saying "Please don't wean them just yet!" if they started at 17 weeks!

Thanks for links LouAnn