Rusk in formula?!

[JazzieJeff]

Ok, so I felt like I had to ask about this because I've never heard of it before and thought it was kind of weird...

My nan and auntie came over to visit me and my 2.5 week old DS today. I was talking about feeding during the night and how DH and I are starting to get used to it. Cue knowing looks between my nan and auntie. I asked what that was all about, and my nan goes 'why don't you just put some rusk in his milk? I did it with all my three and they slept through from the word go.' once I'd established what rusks were (clueless mummy), my auntie said she'd done it with my cousins too, and her daughter in turn, had done it with her three girls (now aged between 7 and 3, so quite recent). Now I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do this, but they made it sound like I'm the only one not doing it.

DS is actually a pretty good sleeper tbh and I don't begrudge getting up in the night, but honestly... Am I missing a trick here? Genuinely, is everyone apart from me doing this? And if not... Where has it come from?!

It's an old wives tale and not a good idea At All. It's a choking hazard, first off, and secondly, a tiny baby is supposed to just drink milk - it's all their wee systems are set up for. Most people are not doing this, and for good reason.

Nod, smile and ignore. It's a handy skill to learn as a parent.

No, only clueless people would do this. Your DS is 2.5 weeks old, it would be a terrible idea.

You are normal. They are lunatics very out of date and wrong. Smile serenely, thank them and ignore ignore ignore.

Hope things are going ok btw, I remember your other thread, how's it going in general? :)

Please don't do this. It is a dreadfully outdated idea.

Your baby cannot digest anything but milk until they are sitting up on their own, which usually happens at around 26 weeks (6 months).

Ignore them. Nod and smile if you must, but ignore them.

lol @ matching xposted advice

Thing is, your nan and auntie have No Idea what would have happened if they had not done this - some babies are just good sleepers, some aren't. Believe me, if eating made babies good sleepers, I would look a Lot Less Haggard right now...

yikes! it is such a bad idea.. for such a new baby, adding anything to the formula, or making it up without adhering to the correct blaance of water and powder is potentially dangerous. it can cause dehydrationa nd overload the kidneys, and it's a choking risk.

babies do not need anything other than milk until sometime around 26 weeks and a baby that is newborn, with a teeny tiny stomach, needs it's tummy filling little and often, with milk only

babies are supposed to feed frequently and wake up in the night .. expecting otherwise of a 2 week old is crazy !

Oh dear. Outdated and dangerous idea.

Next time you see them can you mention this?

I suspect they're recommending it all over the place.

kellymom gives several reasons why you should never add rusks to the bottle (they are also incredibly sugary (around 30%) and most contain gluten which should be avoided until 6 months):

Doctors and other experts recommend that you never give baby cereal in a bottle unless recommended by baby's doctor for a specific medical condition. Here are some of their reasons:

?It is a choking hazard.
?The cereal takes away from the amount of milk in the bottle (adds carbohydrates and dilutes the nutrient density), and baby may not get adequate milk volume for proper growth and development.
?Baby is being given a higher concentration of calories without being able to regulate her own intake. This can lead to weight problems in the future

Not that uncommon in some areas still. Have had mums on my caseload who have gone against advise and put rusks in formula,cut the top of teat then prop fed ie prop the bottle up by a cushion so not held by an adult. Big big risk of choking and cited in cases of neglect.

Oh jaffa, how sad.

Ugh.

OP, I hope you now feel confident your instincts were correct. I would probably take any further advice you get from them with a biggish pinch of salt, too.