What drinks with food (6 months)

[Ranirma]

My six month old is now eating breakfast, lunch and diner and is having protein with her lunch which is her main meal. She has a breast feed at night and early in the morning. Until very recently she was also having a bottle of milk with her lunch and at tea time. Since she has started having breakfast I want to give her the bottle of milk with her breakfast and cut out the milk with lunch. A friend told me that milk can cut the absorption of protein by 50% and that giving fruit juice with certain foods helps the absorption of iron. Does this seem sensible? My nanny does not agree with me - she seems to be against everything that I want for my daughter and it is stressing me out having to argue with her constantly. I'm sure that she is just contrary - yesterday she told me that we should keep the lunch time milk because dd is only young and needs her milk and this morning my husband has just told me that he had to fight with her to get her to give any milk to dd with her breakfast. (perhaps I should have put this message under "moaning about the childcare"). Any help appreciated.

Your friend is right (at least from what I have read as well)... milk will cut the absorbtion of protein and Vitamin C based ingredients will help the absorbtion of iron. Having said that I would argue that a glass of water is better and that a fruit for desert will give the child the vitamin C it needs for the iron absorbtion.

As for the childcare... sorry but you are paying her to take care of YOUR child. If you were asking her to do something difficult maybe I'd cut her some slack but come on whether she puts milk, water or juice.... in a cup... it's the same amount of work. Does she want your business ?
At my nursery they give children water with their meals but I am sure that if for any health reason I had said that he needed somehing else, they would accomodate.

I have always given water with meals to my 8mth old & kept her milk drinks separate. She now has a bottle first thing, one in the afternoon after her sleep and one before bed. I just find it easier to keep them separate so that she can gradually cut out her afternoon bottle (as she did her mid morning one a couple of months ago) and move to just 3 meals a day & not associate her meal times with milk. But I'm sure that as long as she gets the required pint of milk it is a matter of preference (also my daughter has always been a slightly 'sicky' baby & tends to bring up some of her milk so I prefer to keep it away from food!!)
As Pupuce says - its YOUR decision, not your Nannys. Decide with your husband & stand by your decision.

At my daughter's nursery, they're offered water with their meals, then have a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon which includes milk. When my dd was 6 months, the gap between meals seemed a bit too long to go without anything else to eat (I'm assuming milk is like food). Now she's older, the snack time is more social than anything, and we often forget to give her the milk at weekends. If you're concerned your daughter isn't drinking enough milk though, it might be a way of encouraging her to drink more milk. As for the fruit juice, it's true it does help absorption of iron particularly, but my health visitor told me that it should only be given diluted heavily with water. Don't forget it's got lots of sugar in it, even though it is natural.

You're right, the nanny problem seems like something different all together....!

Thankyou all for your helpfull advice. I feel much happier that I am doing thr right thing. I'm going to stick with water with her meal since she does have fruit as desert. She is certainly getting enough milk with a bottle for breakfast and in the afternoon plus late night and early morning breast feeds.
As for the nanny issue, we sat down and talked it over last night and things are OK gaain. The problem with France (where we live) is that they are obsessed with expert opinion and if you don't have the relevant diploma then you are not an expert - although I think that giving birth is a good enough "diploma" for me!

I know the French very well.... there expertise is very different from ours and tell her that whilst you believe she is well qualified and intentioned, you choose to follow British advice which you have researched.
I buy French magazines on parenthood and it is indeed very different ... particularely on food.

Yes, the differences can be confusing. I get most of my info from english web sites and friends and then shock the nanny and the poor nurses at the PMI (health centre) with my outragous suggestions like giving babies cooled boiled water (shock horror) or, even worse, baby rice (far too difficult to digest!?)

Their equivalent to baby rice is "cereales" which they give quite happily.
Last summer someone on this site called NHS direct to ask if it was OK to give bottled water (which the French always use to make bottles) and NHS direct said "it is better to boil tap water"... I had then written something about the fact that French water is much more regulated and therefore less (if not "not at all") risky then British bottled water... but yes there are huge difference.
I am aware of both sides and tend to follow the British side on most things.