weaning; dont listen to health visitors!

[mopsera]

i have read so much about weaning, and i feel now its about fashions not nature.apparently in 1924 babes were weaned at 1 year; a few decades ago it was 9 months, then more recently 4 months and now 6! so...having been told at my one yr check up today by hv that she should be on 3 meals a day plus snacks and i need to cut back on bf sessions i think; well, why? if she wants boobie then her body is telling her to feed. If she wanted solids she would eat.i just wish hv's would stop scaring mums into worrying about graphs and should-be's; oh and she should be brushing her teeth too- with fluoride toothpaste!!! even tho there are only 2 and she's hardly eating!

Right....

my 21 month old ds is telling me he wants biscuits and sweets al day so obviously that is what his body is teling him and i should do it....

Erm, I'm with your HV on the toothbrushing I'm afraid, even tho I tend to agree with you on the 'fashions' in weaning idea...

I agree on the weaning fashions and the obsession about charts and graphs... but I really think you should consider brushing her teeth because breastmilk (or formula, or any kind of milk basically!) contains sugars that will cause tooth decay.

I do agree that HVs are odd beasts and are a law unto themselves but they are trained and it can't all be nonesense. I agree that BM is GREAT for a little baby but after a while they do need more... a lot more.

As soon as mine got their first stump of tooth poking through it got brushed twice a day.

It's not 'fashions' - it's evolving advice based on a growing and complex body of evidence relating to human biology and health outcomes.

Also you need to use flouride toothpaste (small amount) twice a day once they have teeth.

Oh, and my DD is nearly 2 and still having plenty of bm, just enjoys her food as well.

breastfed babies need to have their teeth brushed too. Breastmilk is full of sugar and if your child is feeding frequently, those two little teeth will be constantly swimming with it. You SHOULD be brushing her teeth.

People become more aware of how the human body works and as such things change off what we learn. 100 years ago medical treatments were nowhere near as advance as they are now, I wouldn't go back to things they did then!! Just coz things change doesn't mean its a bad thing!

And why wouldn't you brush your childs teeth? I find that a most odd comment tbh

Wrt to the tooth brushing, it hould be done as soon as teeth arrive. Regardless of what she does/doesn't eat. Each time she eats/drinks anything except water her teeth will undergo an acid attack.

The acid doesn't care how many teeth she has, how long they have been there, or what she eats! So your HV is correct, on that score.

I'm with Tondelayo, it's absolutely nothing to do with 'fashions' and of course you should be brushing her teeth, twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. Aquafresh do a 0-3 year old toothpaste, you only need the tiniest amount. My DS loves having his teeth brushed, he's 8 months and has 6 teeth.

You can buy those funny finger things if you can't get a toothbrush in her mouth.

Im afraid I agree with the toothbrushing, as soon as DD's first tooth started poking through the gum I started brushing even though older relatives think its hilarious that she gets her teeth brushed.
Surely its easier getting them used to brushing early than fighting a toothbrush into a toddlers mouth?