HV suggesting weaning at 4.5 months to sleep through night

[TomsMumLP]

Is it wrong that a health visitor suggested I give my 21 week old BF son some baby rice to help him sleep through the night? I have got used to waking 2/3 times at night to feed him & don't mind. THe HV told me 'they should sleep through the night at 6 months' which I think is just a rubbish generalisation - especially with breastfed isn't it?? He isn't demanding more than normal but my husband now thinks DS needs more nutrition - he was under his 'centile line' at his last weigh-in. I know that the chart he is compared to is for formula babies but he was small to start with (6.6 - now 13 pound 1) and so we are now paranoid!! Any opinions?? Thanks

HV IS AN IDIOT

I think she is talking nonsense, it is ofetne when you start weaning that they stop sleeping through (If they hasve been). I don't think there really is that many that sleep throught at 6 months. Ignore her and do whatever you feel is right.

Oh no, not another crap HV! Where do they come from?

My opinion is that you should take what they say with a liberal pinch of salt. If your DS is alert during the day, and is feeding well, then you should hold off the sloids for now, which it sounds like you a planning to do anyway.

It'[s my experience that intruducing soilds makes absolutely feck all difference to babies sleeping through. It didn't work for mine!!!!! Introduce solids when the time is right for you and your DS. There's lots of evidence that supports leaving wening until 6 months.

the fact that you are questioning it in such a way shows you know it's wrong. your instinct is that it's ok to be doing night feeds at this stage and you aren't worrying about getting your baby sleeping through. you have that instinct for a reason..because you are a wise mummy!

'Lies on back laughing with feet in the air' emoticon...............

rofl at mears

and you call yourself a professional

did I ever mention I have a really visual imagination .. and now have visions of you in your little blue uniform and black tights and surgical shoes doing that toddler kicky giggle

tell her (hv) to shove that red book up her back side.

TomsMum .. mears is a midwife .. a very experienced, clever and good midwife .. and a mother with humpty-dumpty kids too .. listen to her infantile giggles in response [girn]

Well as its normal for babies not to sleep thru the night & is actually beneficial for your bm supply that they feed at night Id say she basically doesnt know her stuff at all. Never mind the obvious disregard for her own guidelines from the DOH that state "exclisive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months (26 weeks) of an infants life"

If I was feeling a little mean I would go back & ask for some stuides, research or actual government backed guideline that backed up her recommendation . When she starts looking very blank or surprised tell her that as she obiviously has no idea what she is on about you will be reporting her to her superiors & recommending that she gets some more training as any monkey with an internet connection can find out that giving baby rice will not help a 21 week old baby sleep thru the night and will more than likely cause it to wake more, and take up valuable space in a babys stomach as it contains less calories and nutrients than the biologically normal bm she is already getting and btw did she know precisely how the human race managed to survive before the invention of baby rice .....but then Im in a bit of a wicked mood atm

I'm happy to start a 'my child won't sleep through the night' support thread...but I'd guess there's about 100 already. You are definitely not alone. HV a bit dodgy, imo.

God,they talk some shit don't they???
Baby rice is like wallpaper paste-fills up a hole and sticks,whether on a wall or in a stomach.Loads more calories in milk if that is what is bothering you.
Just put baby on the breast more often.

I didn't expect my b/fed babies to sleep all night until about 10 months.

Give her a boot up the jaxy from me will you Tomsmum??

TomsMumLP - my apologies for my post yesterday - could you tell I was relaxing with a glass of vino?

Sounds as though you know already that your HV is talking pants hence why I did not post in my usual professional manner

LOL Mears - I think you should post more often like that

Bad bad bad HV!!!

Baby is probably having a growth spurt.

You can get breast fed charts now from the surgery.

Just want to point out that the charts aren't based on ffed babies - they're based on babies who were fed all sorts of ways (breast, bottle, mixed, weaned early, late, thrown a bucket of fish each day while they clapped their hands in manner of sealion, etc, etc).

Thanks for the support! I love to read a good rant.

Quick get me a hammer and some baby rice, my bf 6 month old still has feeds in the night!

or how about gin or vodca?

doncha just love it when the HV tells you what your baby ought to be doing becasue the chart/book etc say so...rather than giving advice based on teh individual child

the teeny amount of baby rice he could take would make not a jot of difference...milk , milk & more milk...tis infinitely more filling than wallpaper paste!

Bin the book! Bin the book! Bin the book!

Honestly, Health Visitors. I've shat 'em.

What would hv do if we burnt all the baby rice? thats there answer to everything.

My baby has grown another head, is ok, give him baby rice!

So, what is the point of baby rice? When I do eventually wean my son should I just give him veg/fruit?

if you wait till 6mo you can bypass the puree stage entirely if you want and have a bash at baby-led weaning (BLW) - lots of discussions on the Weaning board about it and MN regular Aitch is something of an expert - read about her forays here ...