Feeding babies

Becles

Just wanted to say about the centile charts - I never paid much attention to them to be honest.

My eldest was born a month early, so was underweight. I was told he would catch up before it was a year old. He never did and was always off the bottom of the chart. He's always been so skinny that you can see all his bones. However, he's always eaten like a horse, had plenty energy and is rarely ill, so being underweight hasn't had any negative effect on him at all. I'm happy with his general well being and not bothered if a chart says his weight is wrong.

super41

Jay-Jay wrote:

Until that time comes he will conjour up a picture of 'parenting' in his head of doing what he sees on soaps, movies and in magazines of the doting father poking a bottle into a baby's mouth.

Yes, have you noticed that no-one in TV soaps breastfeeds?

leftieM

That article in Ecology was fascinating (and scary!) I was a bit sceptical until they mentioned Prof Mary Renfrew, who knows her stuff. I've found it hard to unearth information about the benefits of breastfeeding. We are still very much a bottle feeding society!
My husband felt left out when I bfed our first child. We then discovered his DMS (daddy's magic shoulder) so whenever the baby was really unsettled he would take her and she quietened down quickly. Now they're best buds!

ailuro2

Most couples end up with a pic of baby sleeping in dad's arms- they drop off together after burping--awww!

remember 97 ish% of Scandinavian women bfeed successfully, so why not in the UK?

Sometimes I think it's easier for hospitals to hand out bottles than it is to have time to support bfeeding mums having a hard time. Just my tuppence!

super41

ooobedoo wrote:

I just want to add that I have found this thread really informative, I tried to breastfeed my son and DH supported me, he dropped to much weight and the midwife told me I had to bottle feed him.

Armed not just with this information, but talking to a woman from the NCT yesterday and my GP and fab people that have breastfed I am so determind to feed my daughter(due in Dec) myself. I have a much more supportive widwife now and she knows the problems that I experienced. I was told my one of the nurses at my GP#s surgery that they have different charts now, one for bottle fed babies and another for breastfed babies.

I can really relate to what you say here. I fed my DD fine and with DS wanted and expected would be able to b/feed and everything went fine in hospital. At 2 weeks another midwife saw us and weighed DS who had put just 1/2 oz on, after initial weight-loss. I wasn't too worried but she said I had to do something because of this weight drop and suggested bottles and formula. I was so upset because of the insensitive way she dealt with it and because I thought DS wasn't thriving because of me etc. Being postnatal I cried the whole day. As a compromise she suggested I feed him expressed milk from a cup. Realised we didn't understnad how to do this DH called another midwife who came round that evening. She was so brilliant and spent an hour and a half with us helping baby latch on, different positions etc. She kept saying you can and will b/feed your baby because I said I had lost confidence in myself etc. I can't tell you what a boost she gave me and how the right person can make all the difference. I so nearly went down the bottles/forumla route. Now my baby is putting on weight regularly. So I'm so glad to hear you have someone supportive already.

Interestingly when my Health Visitor visited after this she was not worried about baby's weight said it would only became a serious problem if he was still not gaining enough at 6 weeks. Another example of how you can get conflicting advice. I have the breastfeeding centiles in the red book so they are around.

PS if you get sore whilst breastfeeding try Lansinoh cream its brilliant stuff.

ailuro2

cabbage leaves and also camillosan are also great for sore,chewed nipples.
Keep the cabbage in the coldest area of the fridge, it's wonderful!

jellyhead

my firstborn was always too small and too skinny but we saw a dietician and she said his diet is fine, he's just small person.

my second baby is now 14 months old and is at the other end - he's off the top of the scale for height, and at the top for weight. again his diet is fine although he does have a larger appetite than my firstborn. he's not fat but my firstborn is very skinny. we have some skinny men in the family though, it's normal. so don't worry about the charts too much unless there's a sharp drop in weight or baby doesn't gain any - but you probably know all of that anyway.

i wish i had managed breastfeeding, it's so easy and convenient. he'll no doubt realise that after the baby arrives. pop baby on the breast or go downstairs to get a bottle out of the fridge, heat it up etc. all the faff with keeping bottles cold then warming them when you're going out - taking flasks etc.

Jay-Jay_4

ailuro2 wrote:

Sometimes I think it's easier for hospitals to hand out bottles than it is to have time to support bfeeding mums having a hard time. Just my tuppence!

It's true. This country needs more midwives! I know of hospitals where there will be ONE midwife per ward of women due to staff sickness (stress due to understaffing) and lack of proper cover. I guarantee that any midwife will admit that in a NHS hospital they simply don't have the time they need to spend with new Mothers to help establish feeding.

Often, new Mothers aren't too bothered about feeding and feel that if a midwife suggests it or offers help they are putting them under pressure to feed. It's a lose lose situation and it's easy to see why after years of this some midwives get to the stage where handing a Mother a bottle is just 'easier' for everyone.

There are breastfeeding counsellors in hospitals and specialised teams available but a struggling new Mum needs 24 hour access to support and unfortunately it's not a priority in this country. I recommend that anyone who is considering b/f for the first time gets the numbers for La Leche and NCT helplines, they are the people who can help you more than any general health practitioner.

Mrs_pbradley936

Jay-Jay wrote:

There are breastfeeding counsellors in hospitals and specialised teams available but a struggling new Mum needs 24 hour access to support

My youngest is 23 (which make me old!) but when I was in my teens and twenties everyone had that kind of support because every new mother had her own mother, grandmother, older sister, aunt, neighbour etc. Family size was bigger and mums stayed at home, also people often stayed in the same area they were born in. There does not seem to be any community support any more because those trends have been reversed and so women have to seek it from the medical staff.

Jay-Jay_4

We also have a generation of new Mothers who were bottlefed, their siblings, cousins and friends were bottlefed too. The information they're given is often incorrect and breastfeeding can seem like yet another obstacle in the way of normality.