Has anyone's Ped. ever told them this?

[Lemonthyme]

"offers me formula samples everytime I'm there" WTF???  They'd probably get struck off in the UK for that!!! 

[LizzieN]

Honey don't feel bad being guided by your paed, they are supposed to have up to date information and advise in your childs best interest...I just think sometimes they do let their own personal opinion get in the way of this   (we all do it I guess)...

Current WHO recommendations are to introduce solids no earlier than 6 months, BUT it's a general recommendation and your paed may well have had her resons to suggest early introduction...you've done no harm sweetie as long as your LO is enjoying the solids

Oh and coming from a mum who also works hard to get enough weight on her bubs I would be greatly offended about the formula samples..Honestly I would say to her, that since you have no intention of introducing formula she really should offer the samples to someone who needs them

Big hugs lovely
xx

[~*~Louisa~*~]

peads tend not to be supportive of breast feeding, for them its too uncertian, you might have a breast fed baby who is doesnt seem hungry but had other issues and they will straight away think not enough milk because you can't say well they drink x oz each time.

When we had weight issues i was told if i want to breast feed i must express so we know how many oz she had

[Lemonthyme]

But if they knew anything about breastfeeding, they'd know that babies can get more milk than any breastpump!  That's f---ing ridiculous!  They all need retraining!

[~inbalance~]

Ladies, I'm sure we all agree that not all advice given by peds today is up to date or what's right for every baby.  They are still doctors though and we still trust them with our children's health.  We know our babies best as their mommies and so we trust our own judgement.  That's why it's up to use to do our research and make decisions based on what we've learned ourselves.  Doctors are a great resource and can be very helpful, but we can also turn to other health practitioners, midwives, lactation consultants, nutritionists, friends, family, and fellow mommies for good advice. 

[LizzieN]

Nicely put Martina....I think one further point I would like to make to everyone is that when we choose a doctor finding someone who is on a similar page to us, who you can communicate effectively with and who listens and takes what you say and feel on board is very important...Difficult particularly in health care systems which are streatched etc, but still important.

Recently I found a family doctor for our kids who is WONDERFUL:
he speaks to both the kids like he speaks to me
He listens to what I say
He explains what he is doing and looking for when he is examining the kids and he talks to the kids about what he is doing.
He ALWAYS asks if he has answered all my questions before we leave.
The kids LIKE him.

IT is brilliant!  Hope you all find docs who are just as good

Hugs to all
xx

[Smurfette]

Oh, wow! Can I have your dr? Lol.
When I gave birth, I had the choice of 2 drs. That's it. That's all that were accepting new patients.

[LizzieN]

It is hard isn't it?  We actually stumbled apon this doctor as our DS was VERY ill and our normal docs couldn't fit him in, we had also moved to a new area so called locally and this doc was new also and accepting new people onto his books....he IS fantastic   I hope he stays!!

Sorry that you only got the choice of two doctors, getting a paed was the same for us there was really only one...luckily he was good, a bit dismissive initially, but overall he did well with DS (he had bad reflux).

Big hugs sweetie
xx

[katyusha]

Hi! Looks like you guys have sorted the cereal issue. Currently I am resisting giving the fortified cereal because it has formula in it but I give normal 'plum' 4 grain baby cereal instead. The advice I got that babies need lots of carbs, fat and protein and iron, much more than adults do. There have been a few articles in UK baby mags about parents giving what they thought was healthy food but actually was not healthy for babies because their needs are different to ours. So it turned out my baby needs more iron than me and all the full fat products. I am mostly vegetarian so i struggle with this a bit as I can't seem to find much on good diet for vegetarian babies. So as my baby had been sick a lot I decided to go the traditional way with fish, eggs and chicken and may try red meat next. he has put on a healthy weight since, so it seems to work. One thing I found about vegetable sources of iron is that you need much more quantity for it to be absorbed and with pulses they tend to have too much fibre for baby, so if my baby eats a lot of them I was told to offer them with rice or other carbs.

[Smurfette]

Yeah, I think there is 2 different kinds of iron, one that's in meat and one thats in veggies and the meat kind is more easily absorbed by our bodies. I think you can combined sources of vitamin C when giving iron as it helps to absorb more. Google it to make sure and see if that's still true about the iron in plants. However I think you also have to be careful about constipation if there is too much iron....at least I know that can happen with adults.

Yeah, I've also been told full fat dairy...it's actually kind of hard to find yogurt that is full fat. There are so many '0 calories' products on the market!

[~inbalance~]

We use a full fat yogurt from Astro, balkin style I think it's called.  It's plain, no sugar, super rich and super yummy!

[~*~Little Miss Sunshine~*~]

My DS2 had low iron even though he ate baby cereal every day  I think it's important, however I agree with PPs that it's good to serve a variety.

[katyusha]

funny but for adults my iron tablets say that it is good to eat with vitamin C but NOT with cereals or dairy, so maybe the iron fortified cereal doesn't work? Or maybe they managed to make it work. No idea.

[deb]

I don't know how I missed this post the first time around, but.... the veg are DEFINITELY healthier than the cereal! And for everyone, ESPECIALLY babies, full fat and animal fat and cholesterol are essential for nerve and brain growth. Cholesterol is what nerves are sheathed in, basically, and it's crucial. Dark meat chicken, full fat yogurt, avocadoes, olive oil (we mixed guacamole and olive oil), and eggs when they can tolerate them are essential - good sources of good fats and nerve growth. And yep, red meat is good as well for iron - iron-fortification is iron that the body has a hard time actually using, but when it occurs naturally in foods it's easier fo the body to take in and use - and yep, with Vitamin C as well seems to be better or iron absorption.

Grains and pulses, BTW, if you do use them (we mostly don't bother but sometimes we do use them), if you're able to soak them overnight before using them, definitely do so, and ditto to nuts and seeds. It makes them easier to digest by actually starting them sprouting.   (Think of birds that eat berries and are able to poop out the seeds which then sprout someplace else because they haven't been digested inside the bird and you'll get the idea. )