"Breastmilk is like chocolate"......

[grey12]

As per DC3's health visitor

Background: DC3 is nearly 1 year old and hasn't really taken to food. I have introduced several foods but she mainly chews a bit and spits it out, coupled with the fact that she is going through her "throw everything on the floor" phase.....

Now, I'm not a stressy FTM.... she's doing well! She's developing well, hitting all the milestones, very social, very happy. We have no concerns about her. She does have her baby rolls DC1 was much slimmer!

But comparing breastmilk to chocolate is crossing a line! I get it that it can be a comfort thing but she's doesn't complain about being offered food, she just doesn't really eat it. And breastmilk is good food for a baby. My understanding is that at this age food is a complement to BF and not the opposite.... I find it upsetting because it isn't the first time a HV has made a bit of a dangerous comment to me. I'm an educated person so I just laugh it off, but other people will take it at face value

She was actually born a little smaller than her sisters (but what can I do about that?!) and with Covid the last time she was properly weighed was at 2 months she wasn't even measured at birth!!!! What am I supposed to write in her baby book? (don't actually have a baby book.... child no3, remember? ) So, HV has put her on a waiting list (!!!!) to be weighed. Why has everything become so challenging with Covid?! What a strange service to cut

@Mummasdiary2021

Breast milk is only suitable as a main source of nutrition up until the baby is 6 months, from then on they need good in addition. At the age your child is at I would agree with the health visitor that food is first and milk is an addition to the food as the milk won't be providing baby with enough calories and nutrients

Another misconception. It is perfectly acceptable as the main source of nutrition pre 12 months of age. There is no magical switch at 6 months which mean babies must have solid food however, it makes sense to introduce them to solid food. You and the health visitor are incorrect.

I get your point OP and I think you are right it's not a helpful remark and of course, breastmilk isn't the same as chocolate, it's supposed to be the main source of nutrition up until 1 (with other food) - and for my child it was his main source until older because it took him a while to get into it.
I'm sure you are right that your daughter is doing well and as long as you keep offering her food and she sometimes eats some of it she will be fine.

Well bm is like chocolate, it tastes sweets and having it releases lots of oxytocin. It doesn’t means it’s bad.

I’m a big fan of bf and bf my 2 year old but it’s not nutritional complete for a 1 year old.

Yes, which is why you shouldn't withhold solid food from an older baby or toddler.

But offering it and them preferring or heavily relying on breastfeeding instead is fine. Whereas chocolate really wouldn't be. That's why it's a misleading and unhelpful comment.

I understand what they mean but it is an odd way of putting it.

At nearly 1 baby should be eating and breast milk just isn’t enough to support them. Nothing wrong with continuing to breastfeed alongside food, of course!

@Testingprof This is simply not the case, which is why breastfed babies need vitamins from 6 months.

Breast milk alone is not enough to nourish an almost 12 month old baby.

[quote Whathefisgoingon]**@Testingprof This is simply not the case, which is why breastfed babies need vitamins from 6 months.

Breast milk alone is not enough to nourish an almost 12 month old baby.[/quote]
@Testingprof said MAIN source, not ONLY source of nutrients.

@Mummasdiary2021 said breastmilk is suitable as the main source until six months, which isn't true. It's suitable as the ONLY source, and apparently there are studies that support 7 months regarding iron supplies (which seems to be the biggest concern). But judging by the rest of the comment I think that was a mistake and they know that!

From what I can tell there's not enough evidence to definitively say all babies must rely mainly on food rather than breastmilk by 12 months on the dot (correct me if I'm wrong). But most babies do and it's late enough to be looking at the way you're offering food and breastmilk and asking is there something you're doing that could be inadvertently hindering them making the transition.

Having said that, OP, everyone knows HVs don't know what they're talking about a lot of the time. Advice seems to be all over the place. That's the way things are right now and it sucks, but in general they probably to more good than harm.

@Janek

Re iron, I always understood that the iron in breast milk was easily, nay perfectly, absorbed by the child so it didn't matter that there was so little in the milk, they still got enough. Which makes sense if you think about evolution. And fortified formula is much harder to absorb the iron from.

If this is true why do the NHS advise vitamin drops for all under 5s except those who drink at least 500ml formula? It’s ok for breastmilk not to be perfect.

@Kakapop that is very wise!

@loveacupoftea18 got another possible tip today at dinner DD kept throwing her carrots on the floor. Afterwards I sat her on my lap as I was eating and she stole a bit of carrot off my plate! And then a bit of parsnip and ate them! Woohoo! Maybe part ignoring, part mimicking, part "what's this?" but she ate some veggies

@RobinPenguins exactly b milk isn't perfect. My current 18 month old had to have iron supplements at 6 months because he was anaemic (found out when testing for something else).He was on really strong iron supplements which did very little by 10 months. Just enough to take him into the non anaemic category, he was only mildly anaemic anyway. We came off the supplements and was re tested three months later and his iron had increased substantially. Consultant agreed it was just the b feeding and he finally caught up due to the iron rich foods I was feeding him, this actually did.more than the supplements! By 5/6 months babies have used all their iron reserves that they have from birth and therefore require iron from food. This food for fun business is just ridiculous. Yes it makes people less stressed if they have a fussy child, but it's just simplybnot true. I've had conversations with trained child nutritionists etc, not just people on Mumsnet who seem to think that you can survive forever on b milk!

@grey12

A HV comparing BM to chocolate in some people's perception would mean reducing BF to "special snack" only. My older kids only have chocolate as an occasional treat...... so it IS dangerous to say something that could lead someone to avoid BFing their baby in order to force them to eat normal food. Babies need to be lead in a softer way.

So you didn’t actually consider it in this way, you took it in the way she meant it, but you are concerned that other mothers might not be as clever as you?

Your health visitor is very ignorant and you should ignore her! Solid starts on Instagram is brilliant if you would like some advice on some of the challenges of getting your one year old to try new foods. Your HV should be giving better advice about overcoming challenges.

There is no need to reduce breastfeeding to the frequency of a special treat like chocolate. You're absolutely right about the uninformed taking it at face value and it could really cause someone to unnecessarily stop bf sooner than they wanted.

A baby’s iron stores will deplete from 6 months which is why mums are recommended to wean then. It’s lowest common denominator advice but is designed to catch breastfed babies because they are the ones at risk. For formula fed babies food until 1 being for fun can apply as it’s loaded with iron.

One way you can help is by giving your child a multivitamin that contain’s iron (WellKid / WellBaby are the best imo) so the baby’s iron stores do not deplete. If you do this then you have equalised the playing field with formula fed babies and don’t need to worry as much. If you don’t then you need to take weaning seriously.

I personally couldn’t stomach the nursing multivitamins but gave DS a baby one during weaning. We had tantrums and allergies and all sorts of issues in between but I took it seriously because anemic babies do not grow normally and I have seen some of the growth issues from this from my family - smaller when siblings aren’t, pale, not as much energy and because of that more at risk of becoming obese later in childhood.

As your baby is almost 1 and was small to begin with I would say you have been incredibly irresponsible not taking this seriously. Just because it’s your 3rd kid it doesn’t mean you should just stop researching or learning about child nutrition.

I guess the HV said chocolate because she couldn’t say crack. My HV did. She said BM was like crack to babies and as such if you offer a breast or meal type option they will always choose breast. For me to continue to bf I needed to stop DS feeds an hour before meals - this made the transition easier. This meant I can still bf him now at nearly 2. But what do I know I only have 1 kid

Actually no food before one cannot apply to formula fed. It has lots of iron, but is poorly absorbed. B milk has little iron but is well absorbed. Formula fed babies do get more iron though, but they still need iron from food. The iron requirements for 6 to 12 month old babies is actually pretty high

I disagree with her comment but its hardly a big deal. Just carry on doing what youre doing

@Janek

Re iron, I always understood that the iron in breast milk was easily, nay perfectly, absorbed by the child so it didn't matter that there was so little in the milk, they still got enough. Which makes sense if you think about evolution. And fortified formula is much harder to absorb the iron from.

I don't think this is correct. Google breast milk and iron.

@Opalfeet

Actually no food before one cannot apply to formula fed. It has lots of iron, but is poorly absorbed. B milk has little iron but is well absorbed. Formula fed babies do get more iron though, but they still need iron from food. The iron requirements for 6 to 12 month old babies is actually pretty high

Not true. While India isn’t really considered a breastfeeding among the middle and upper classes, it does have a massive, massive problem of poor women following traditional exclusive breastfeeding practices until 1 because it’s cheaper. Those traditional practises are considered part of the reason why heart disease occurs earlier in these communities. Anemia, long term, weakens the heart muscle.

Sorry @Osanj what is not true exactly?

@EmbarrassingMama you're right. I don't assume everyone is a post graduate but also I don't assume everyone has 2 other kids already!!! I remember as a FTM you get nervous/scared a lot if your child may have a problem when they are really ok and will get there eventually. So yes, it worries me that SOMEONE might follow a wrongly worded advice from a health professional.