Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

Js_Other_Half

jopsey wrote:

sory for my ignorance go to loads of sure start things but what is a baby bistro ?

It might be another name for something like this?
http://www.thebabycafe.co.uk/

I attend two in different towns - one is much more sociable, whereas the other is more like a clinic. Both of them have midwives and other staff who help with feeding issues. Both infant feeding advisers were fabulous when I needed them over the Christmas holidays.

heather38

yes a baby bistro is like a coffee morning for BF mums you go along and feed, have a chat and a coffee and there are breast feeding specialist HV and BF peers there to help with any problems

Clive_Woody

Our little lady (now 8 months) let us know when she was ready for solids. She slept through from around 6 weeks old. When she got to 5 months she stopped sleeping through and needed a feed in the night. We gave it a couple of weeks, but we were both wrecks and it was clear she was getting hungry. We started giving her solids and haven't looked back....well apart from she has just started teething and isn't the happiest little baby at the moment.

Most HV have their heart in the right place, but they do seem to rely on charts far too much. Luckily ours were old school and showed some common sense. Our baby was happy and healthy so their main advice was keep doing what you are doing.

madhouseof4

I think that you know the answer yourself Heather, follow your heart. I agree with your completely, your little one would be letting you know if she wasn't getting enough to eat. what is also not commonly know about breastfed babies, is that they put on quite a bit of weight at the begining, the plataue whilst finding their true weight gain pattern. A breast fed baby chart does look quite differnt in that the slope after 4 months isn't as steep as the bottle fed baby chart. From the sounds of it, your daughter is doing just fine. If she is having plenty of wet & dirty nappies, then you are doing a grand job! In this case, don't listen to your HV, who like most HV's these days, only looks at the chart and not at the big picture.

plzhelpmesave!

going thru the same thing! MY DD born on 22 october so same age as OPs baby, breastfeeding & only taken her to HV once. She feeds every 2-3 hours and up at nite. She is desparae to eat - always looking and trying 2 grab our food or cups, bless her! will be starting her baby rice tomorrow as was told to start when baby shows interest in food. Have to say, i will use formula milk with her food - did it with my sons too although i breastfed all of them, for some reason i dont do expressing!

janb5

Crispy_Ambulance wrote:

Like everybody else says. Ignore your health visitor as they obviously do not know what they are talking about and have not kept up to date with current research.

Babies can't read charts, so don't know what weight they are supposed to be. Be guided by your baby, not by a set of numbers.

Obviously most of you have ignored Martin`s comment to be nice to all MSE`posters!

Is it quite so necessary to be !!!!!y and unpleasant? I am quite offended by your comments. I am a HV but also a mother. There are always some people who are not acceptable to you but sometimes that might be a personality clash. A thread devoted to HV bashing is just over the top!

There are always some parents who choose to start weaning despite being advised otherwise by WHO guideline and some whose babies do need to start earlier . It is always important (IMO) to talk to the parents - charts do not always tell the full picture and they are a guide only.

Sorry about the rant but this was a very one-sided discussion!

Justie

janb5 wrote:

Obviously most of you have ignored Martin`s comment to be nice to all MSE`posters!

Is it quite so necessary to be !!!!!y and unpleasant? I am quite offended by your comments. I am a HV but also a mother. There are always some people who are not acceptable to you but sometimes that might be a personality clash. A thread devoted to HV bashing is just over the top!

There are always some parents who choose to start weaning despite being advised otherwise by WHO guideline and some whose babies do need to start earlier . It is always important (IMO) to talk to the parents - charts do not always tell the full picture and they are a guide only.

Sorry about the rant but this was very one-sided discussion!

please don't take it personally Jan there are many very good HVs out there but even my friend who is a HV says her views and way of dealing with mothers would be very different now she's had a very positive breast feeding experience rather than before when she'd had a bad experience so even good well meaning HVs can change their minds and if inexperienced HVs are relying on book knowledge it can be difficult to apply that to your own child.

You can probably clear up though the guidelines about solids - I've read elsewhere that it's recommended to try to wean at 6 months now rather than earlier, is that right? And my friend talks about weaning straight onto finger foods rather than the baby rice type things. I'm sure you have more detailed advice that would help both the OP and the rest of us who are trying to work out baby issues between what all the different advice is.

janb5

Thank you Justie. Yes I do think starting solids at 6 months is harder than the previous 4 months but I am not convinced that going straight to finger foods is really helpful. We tend to suggest still starting with the puree foods first such as pureed fruit and veg/ baby rice and then progressing to more lumpier/grainier food once the baby is happy. Even if solids starts at six months there is still lots of time to progress at the baby`s pace to lumpier food and then finger food after that.

I always imagine that it is like being blindfolded and being offered new and different foods. The first impulse may be to reject some foods but eventually with re - offering they learn to know different foods and textures.

madhouseof4

I am also sorry of any of my post caused offence, it was certainly not my intention to bash HV's or anyone else. I agree that there are some truely fantastic HV's around. I am very lucky that since I moved dr's surgery, I have a wonderfully supportive, if somewhat dippy (and I mean that in the nicest way, I love the woman to bits!) HV, which is a good thing, as my youngest ds has many health issues and we saw alot of our HV at the time. I am also a breastfeeding peer supporter and attended a group with a sure start HV attached every monday. This sure start HV was a saviour to me during some of my darkest hours, after ds was classed as FTT but before we got his diagnosis. It is women such as these that gave me my faith back for this particular proffession, and thanks to them is a reason I am still breastfeeding my 2.8 year old. I wish that there was more that I could do than say thank-you, it doesn't seem adequate enough.

Opps, went a bit off topic, but didn't want Jan to think I was bashing HV's, I really so appreciate HV's in general, pity they aren't all like the 2 I see.

Snaggles

I agree, my health visitor was fab....it was her that really encouraged me to listen to what my body and my baby were saying, and to trust my maternal instincts.....sorry you felt like you were being picked on Jan.

It's not health visitors in general that are at fault, just the ones who are so blinded by charts and statistics that they forget to look at the baby.