Farley's rusks in a babies bottle?

[Newmum0113]

Hi all, I asked this on someone else's thread, but I wanted to get more opinions/anecdotes please?!

DD is 8 weeks old and DH was considering we should put a rusk in her last bottle (11pm) to help her go through the night.

We aren't doing this yet, and may not do it, but both our parents did it with us and our siblings.

Thanks for your replies.

[LoopyLobster]

I think you need to report your HV, she clearly has no idea about baby development. At 8 weeks VERY few babies sleep through. It is not normal or expected.

[FionasFatFairy]

Where did the grandchildren come from? Even I don't know what I was trying to say!

[FionasFatFairy]

Newman, I have found a lot of the advice given in the UK differs to that in Spain. I also have a very old Italian MIL so I have lots of fun defending myself from old wives tales!

Giving cereal to babies in their evening bottle IS commonplace in Spain, all our Spanish friends and relatives do the same thing. I have never been quite sure what the cereal is, but it looks and smells like ground up biscuits.

I have never given this to any of my children, partly because I knew it wasn't recommended in the UK, and partly because DS never slept anyway (reflux), DD1 slept 12 - 6 at 6 weeks and 7 - 7 by 3 months anyway and DD2 still doesn't sleep well at 3.

As others have mentioned, the advice you have received from your health visitor does not seem like she is very experienced. Can you ask to see someone else to discuss her advice?

[DoubleLifeIsALifeOfSorts]

Hey everyone, have a think about how this thread looks... An accumulative load of shouting at the OP, calling her selfish and saying she / her dh are going to harm her baby just to get a nights sleep themselves... None of which the OP has said!

OP, it's not a healthy thing to do for such a young baby, although it is the culture in some countries the advice now goes against what people used to do.

Your health visitor is very very WRONG in what she has told you and is giving you unreasonable expectations of what a small baby should be doing. I'd actually report what she's said to the practise manager if there is one. Babies are all different in their sleep patterns but they all get there in the end.

It can range from sleeping through to cluster feeding most of the night - I had one of the night feeders and I was utterly exhausted, but nothing I did changed that and it was just what he needed at the time. It's better to concentrate on how you can cope with rubbish sleep rather than to do things that may be bad for the little one. Soynds like you are coping ok, so im not saying this as a problem thing, but as a preventative measure.

It's really important you treat yourself very kindly and to be open about asking for help to make sure you can get some sleep in the day/ early evening etc. You need to look after yourself do you can look after your baby.

[Indith]

I can't believe your hv thinks she should be sleeping through!

Sometimes this comes from confusion. a newborn NEEDS to feed frequently and not feeding at night would be dangerous. There comes a pint where not feeding at night if the baby sleeps through naturally will not harm the baby. Sometimes this is given as the point at which baby should be sleeping through. It isn't and many babies will continue to feed at night.

a great resource for sleep which will give you the figures for how many babies sleep through at what ages is the infant sleep information source known as isis online. everything on there is evidence based and the stats on when babies sleep through is guaranteed to make you feel better about yours still waking.

[PacificDogwood]

Good grief, that is rubbish advice from your HV - unless she refers to the 4-5 hrs which officially count as 'sleeping through'?

I am not British and I am well aware that lots of things are done differently in various parts of the world, but the science behind the recommendation to not give anything in a baby's bottle but milk is quite sound.

I think you got the consensus on this thread and hope you don't feel too shouted at.

[whereisthewitch]

Ignore the idiots on this thread OP there truly are some self righteous people on MN.

I found DD dropped the 3am feed at about 11/12 weeks and did 10-6 most nights. But remember all babies are different as pp have said it can take until toddler hood for some to settle into a good sleeping pattern.

[differentnameforthis]

8 week olds don't need to sleep through the night. They still need food & are usually fed every 3-4 hours when on formula.

[ilovepowerhoop]

I expected a night feed until at least 6 months and only started to discourage the feed after that age (gradually decreased the amount in the bottle). The majority of 8week old babies will be waking for at least 1 (probably more) feeds. Ds still only went 3hours between feeds night and day at that age.

[brettgirl2]

mil did this with dh. It never did him any harm, he's fine. Well apart from his asthma and allergies. I definitely would not give rusk until 6 months at earliest as they contain wheat. Early weaning stick to more natural foodstuffs of absolutely necessary.

[brettgirl2]

Oh and I have no idea what 'sleeping through' is. ....

But at that age I put dd down at 7 and on a good night she would wake once. The dream feed thing never worked for me.

[BertieBowtiesAreCool]

Are you living in Spain or England? I would find it very odd for a UK health visitor to say an 8 week old should be sleeping through, but I know there are different general expectations in different cultures so it might be the case in Spain (of course, the baby doesn't care what country it's in and it's true all over the world that it's unnatural for an 8 week old to sleep through - if you're VERY lucky you'll get one which sleeps about 6-7 hours in a row!)

I think people have been overly harsh. Possibly because it is very risky to put cereal into babies' bottles so they want to get the message across, but I think it's unnecessary - a simple "No, it's not a good idea" would suffice. I think some people have a weird superior attitude that everyone should know what they know or they are stupid Not the case at all, nobody is born instinctively knowing how to look after a baby.

[Melonbreath]

Why not just bung some laudanum in too for good measure?

[Jiltedjohnsjulie]

Hi newmum and congratulations on your new Lo

Are you feeling under pressure from your DH and HV to get Lo sleeping through? I'm sorry but your HV is wrong. Sleeping through is only classed as 5 hours so if your Lo is going to sleep at midnight, then waking for a feed at 5am, they are sleeping through. Is there a particular problem with her sleeping that your DH is worried about? If you give us more details we may be able to help

I think its also important to remember that there is a huge variation in what is normal for a baby and sleep. While some will indeed be sleeping through at 8 weeks, they are a minority. What your baby needs right now is knowing you are there for her and milk whether that's BM or formula

Have you come across the isis website yet? Its a great resource for parents and HCPs and perhaps you should tell your HV about it too!

There is some information on ISIS regarding sleeping through the night which you and your DH might find helpful

Personally I wouldn't put cereals in a bottle. Firstly, its a serious choking hazard and you need to make your DH and both set of parents aware of this, just in case anyone gets the bright idea of trying it while you're not around.

There is also some evidence that introducing foods such as cereals, and don't forget that rusks are full of sugar too, can interfere with your babies insulin levels and can leave her prone to developing diabetes later on. The cereal will also take up tummy space that is needed for her milk. It will stop her being able to regulate her own calorie intake which could lead to problems with her growth development and could lead to obesity later. Also, as it will interfere with her insulin and her ability to regulate her calorie intake, it could lead to more night wakings, not less.

Before you consider giving her anything other than BM or formula have a read of this. Its a really good article and includes things like the signs of readiness. Personally I wouldn't give anything other than the formula until she meets those signs.

All your baby needs until they are six months is BM or formula. While some people do wean before 6 months there is evidence that weaning before 17 weeks can cause harm. Whether you put food in bottles or on a spoon, it is weaning. The kind of harm that it can cause are things like IBS, Celiac disease and increased risk of allergies. Your parents may well have done this but you need to toughen up and ignore their "helpful advice".

Since they were parents there has been 20-30 years of research and thankfully we now have evidence on why things like this should just not be done.

My Aunty was always trying to get me to wean my DC early. She weaned hers at a similar age to your dd. My Aunty just does not seem to be able to associate the early weaning with the fact that all of her children have digestive problems and her youngest has asthma, had a heart attack in his 20s and had to retire at 50 due to ill health.

If you do want some help on improving her sleep have a read of 31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep. If you want a book to read try Baby Calming by Caroline Deacon. Your library might have a copy. I'd also get your DH to read them too

Sorry for the huge post but I didn't want to say "no, don't do it" without explaining why it might not be the best idea and also giving you some ammo some good information so that you can decide for yourself.

[PacificDogwood]

Jilted, great post

melon, not so much - have you RTFT??

[Jiltedjohnsjulie]

I think the OP was right to start the thread and doesn't deserve the abuse. She obviously didn't think it was a good idea or she wouldn't have questioned it on here.

Just hope we haven't scared her away.

[MarthasChin]

You have a very young baby who will naturally wake in the night to be fed. You both know that deep down. Don't put rusks in the baby's bottle. Just accept your fate as a parent - you haven't a hope in hell's chance of getting an unbroken night's sleep again, until they move out

[Famzilla]

Eek DD doesn't sleep through yet and she is 8 months old, I'm not worried.. All in good time.

Your HV is daft and I understand what it's like to get all this well meaning advice from parents (and that terribly irritating line "well, it didn't do you any harm!" If you tell them you won't be doing things their way).

Otherwise I just echo everything jilted said. Congratulations for your new baby!

[waterrat]

Most babies wake at night for feeds until they move onto solids - proper solids not just a rusk. I find it hard to fathom that an Hv would say an 8 week old should sleep all night - I think you should report her - seriously.

[Pyart]

Wow someone asks for advice and this is how it's given?? Ignore all the arseholes love, lady who put long post in hit the nail imo, trolling on babysite now? Why can't people just give you friendly advice in a polite way? No need to call you or any of your family ugly names (stupid arse etc). Makes me wonder how many young mums make poor choices because this is what happens if you ask.

[HoldenMcGroin]

Welcome to Mumsnet, Pyart

Nice to see you disapprove of namecalling

[IAmAPaleontologist]

I expect everyone got over the name calling a few months ago.

[HoldenMcGroin]

Aye IAm

[UriGeller]

Dd is 19 months and hasn't slept through the night yet! She's fully weaned and eating more solids than her 3yo brother!

Apart from what everyone else has said, giving bulkier foods does not guarantee a full nights sleep.

Your HV needs to check her facts.

[WhatsMyAgeAgain]

Wow. A lot of arses replying to OP.

I was told to put rusk in babies bottle. Didn't have chance to consider it further as breast feeding.

Sooo many things my parents did that are no longer recommended. Some I won't do, some I might.