Any pakistani mums on here?

[NishaaS123]

So basically I will be taking my baby back home to Pakistan for 2 months for him to stay with my in laws he is 4 months old and has reflux issues he will turn 6 months in Pakistan and I need to start weaning him there I am confused as to if I should take his food from here or use the food from there as you guys know Pakistan food is not 100% as we hear and my inlaws are saying we will give me little by little desi stuff aswell but I dont think that is a good idea did you guys take your babies at a young age? Any experiences ans thoughts?

I think you're overreacting OP. A bit of lentils / rice / mushed veg isnt going to do your baby any harm. In fact, its quite appropriate.

I dont know what went on here but thank you so much for the help guys maybe I am overreacting its just the germs from the water and stuff thats scaring me a little but you guys did put my head to ease a bit thanks a lot guys xxx

I'm Irish.

I weaned mine on rice, lentils, pasta, veg and their favourite was chicken curry.

As long as the water is boiled it will be fine.

Just make sure the water is boiled thoroughly. That’s the only precaution I took. (And I breastfed and South Asia is actually extremely breastfeeding friendly).

Not Pakistani but I would add that my friend was married to a Pakistani man and when they visited with the baby her husband was very very clear that all water was to be boiled if it wasn’t from a bottle. They still all got very ill and it turned out that although all water was being boiled for eating and drinking it wasn’t for washing, either clothes, bodies or plates etc and they think it may have been that that was the problem.

Everyone sharing their experiences who have not fed babies in Pakistan do not realise the water/hygiene situation. Its not about feeding kids curry and OP is not overreacting Children can get very sick very easily and its not fun at all abroad. I would continue to gather experieces OP.

Plenty of us have fed babies in South Asia and grew up there. Over a billion people live in the region- the range of experiences is pretty vast. Let’s not generalise.

[quote NishaaS123]@Kanaloa my inlaws want to feed him things like lentil rice mashed and other things I dont know the English terms for which I think will be wrong for him so I am confused[/quote]
I’m Indian origin. I followed blw. Didn’t go to India but I include khichdi, roti (mushed with ghee and hung yoghurt) and curd rice, and mashed veg with ground nuts. You need to use common sense that works for your current location - as India and Pakistan can get hot, in certain parts the advice is to give babies sugar and a tiny bit of salt. Obviously if you’re well up north and moving from air conditioned car to air conditioned house that might not be needed.

One thing you need to be careful of is they don’t try and wean him before 6 months or offer honey. Indo-Pakistani honey is full of the nasty bacteria we get warned about.

I also suggest taking a lot of milton tablets, a microwave steriliser, and a stove top one so you’ve covered all bases. Also buy those large 2-5 litre water bottles from a local store to store cooled boiled water (add some milton just before its used) and take it everywhere because trying to do it at a host’s house may get you accused of being rude or uppity. The biggest problem is water BUT as your baby’s young you can manage it and by the time he’s crawling and licking floors etc he’ll become accustomed to the bacteria there. Oh and make sure he’s up to date with Polio vaccine. It’s still a huge problem in parts of Pakistan and as there’s so much misinformation relatives might try to pressure you into skipping it if you leave it for there.

@Picktionary

Everyone sharing their experiences who have not fed babies in Pakistan do not realise the water/hygiene situation. Its not about feeding kids curry and OP is not overreacting Children can get very sick very easily and its not fun at all abroad. I would continue to gather experieces OP.

Agreed. Some Indian and Pakistani tap water has parasites in it we can’t even imagine - but most middle class to upper class houses have really good filters on all taps (including for washing).

Boil your water even if there is a filter.

And give your baby cooled boiled water. The whole ‘no water only milk’ thing doesn’t apply when it’s that hot.

And the BCG vaccine. The polio one is part of the usual childhood immunisation, the BCG isn’t.

@ChaBishkoot

And the BCG vaccine. The polio one is part of the usual childhood immunisation, the BCG isn’t.

BCG is offered at birth to everyone with a South Asian or African family connection. OP’s baby probably already has it.

You know it’s a bit hit and miss. We were offered for one child and not for the other. And then moved to the US where we got the second one done.

We were offered big for one child and asked for the second. We obtained it through the GP. I asked at the 6 week check.

Yes definitely boiled water no matter what and he already got his bcg vaccines and his poli9 vaccine were in the 6-in-1