HV just told me I am giving DD too much milk.. and need to start solid snacks Help

[happypiglet]

DD is 7.5m old. She has three meals a day mixture of finger foods and mashed our food. I currently also BF her at 7.30am, 10am, 3pm before her tea at 5pm and bed time. HV says I should cut down the BF drastically and give fruit and stuff at 10am and 3pm.. It seems early to me- my DS's didn't have solid snacks until c 10/11m......
She said DD would get anemic. I though Breast milk had iron in....
Help my confidence has been knocked by this woman....

She's talking out of her arse. Do what makes both of you happy.

Well she's hardly likely to be less anaemic from eating fruit. What does she eat the rest of the time? FWIW, DD had milk mid morning and mid afternoon up to 9mo, she sometimes had something like toast and marmite too, but usually it was just bm. We are vegetarian too yet she is and has never been anaemic.

Carry on as you are, and don't go back to see her!

I've only just started snacks in the last few weeks and dd is 9 months old! She still has 4 feeds a day as well at about the same times as your dd.

I wouldn't worry about it. You could offer snacks midmorning/afternoon, if she is interested she'll take it. Or not.

As for anaemia, iron stores in bm gradually decrease after 6 months. Your dd will still be getting some iron from bm and also presumably from the solid food she is now eating. Snacks are unlikely to have a major imapact on iron intake. If you are worried about anaemia you could try and include iron rich foods in her meals.

FOOD IS FUN UNTIL THEY'RE ONE.

happypiglet, your HV is making the common, but pretty unforgiveable error, of assuming formula and breastmilk are the same and have the same effects.

5 full bottles of formula at 7.5 mths are not all that many, in fact, but in terms of breastfeeding, it's also totally normal and a lot less than many bf babies have at that age. Many also feed several times in the night.

Your dd's breastfeeding is nourishing and good for her, and not interfering in any way with her becoming accustomed to solids - why would fruit be better for her than a breastfeed? Just ask her that, and on the basis of her answer, you can judge whether you need to take any notice of her at all

Breastmilk does have iron in it, it is well-absorbed, and certainly has more iron in it than the fruit she wants your baby to have instead....

7.5m does seem quite small still, and you are offering finger foods/mash 3 times a day. I think dd was more towards 10 months before she was regularly eating at meal times rather than just drinking milk.

ooops, dd2 pressed 'post' while I was counting out the months. Worked it out now, and I know at 10 months I didn't care if she ate lunch at the childminders because I picked her up straight after lunch and started the afternoon with a bf.

Thanks all. She does eat iron rich foods at lunch (red meat, chicken, lentils etc) and has plenty of fruit and veg too. Plus Ready Brek at breakfast which is iron rich too...
Tea is more slap dash as she feeds it to herself entirely so less goes down!
She is happy and weight is OK. Why can't HV get it right about BM?

Because there is no "right" - there is only opinion!

Your baby is still being fed something (milk or solids) about every 2+ hours and this HV obvious thinks it could be time to move on to more spread out feeds.

But if your opinion is that it's not time then don't do it!

She is kinda right..iron store start to go at around 6mths but if you say she is getting 3 meals a day then i cant see how your dd would get anemic..i think she needs to check what your baby is eating before she can make a proper judgement on it. As long as plenty of fruit n veg going in there and as you say there will be some iron in your bm, if your diet is good also!! And your baby seems content and lively, i would carry on as you are doing..sounds like you doing a great job and i have never known a hv tell a mother to drop of on the bf..bit weird!

you do what feels right for you and your baby.

only read the OP so far but my nealry 3yo and nearly 5yo still don't really have snacks unless they ae at school/toddler group

God,another fucking idiot on the loosed undermining women.
Where does she live? I will come a push a potato up her exhaust (and i aint talking her Renault Clio...)

LOL Moondog!

Ah, time to use the new acronym.
Tell her STFUM.
She is talking pants.

She's talking bollocks. My HV sent me a letter this week inviting me to a 'weaning party' now my ds is 12 weeks old! wtf!

ds2 is 12mths. He has 6 bf in 24 hrs 3 huge meals plus snacks...
Madness

Eh Ledodgy!
For real??!!
They've all gorn mad,quite quite mad.

What utter rubbish! Dd hardly ate a thing until 11 months, and was still having 9 bfs a day at that point. She is in perfectly good health now at 2.1 yrs, and still often bfs as many times a day as your dd.

another 2 hv's who need a firing squad.

somebody, pass me my rifle.

Snort! at "weaning party"

what absolute rubbish HV can talk sometimes!

the woman is chatting absolute shite...she probably hasnt even got any kids.... i weened my daughter on organic food, the health visitor came round and told me to give her burger and chips as finger food!!!! tell them to keep their fecking noses out because you know your child better than anyone x