HV has me confused...

[~Emma~]

 So I had a visit from the HV the other day. She gave me the usual guilt inducing lecture about quitting BF...another story.

 Anyways she told me that by now (7months) baby D sould be on 3 solid meals a day and that I should be well cutting back on my BF to perhaps as little as 2 a day.  Now she is on 3 x solid meals a day but still has 4 milk feeds (3 BF, 1 x FF).

 Is it just me or is this ludicrous?

[~inbalance~]

I think that YOU are the expert with YOUR baby and not her!  Smile and nod at her advice, but use your instinct.  I would think that's ludacris as well.      I'd definitely stick with the 4 milk feeds a day. 

[Shiv52]

God she sounds like an all round nightmare.  I think 2 milk feeds a day is too little for 7 months.  I know with Maeve we did 4 until she 8/9 months and then moved to 3 some days, 4 others. 

But like Martina says, you know what will suit D best. 

(Are you sure you won't report that HV?  Dodgy milk intake advice, CC recommendations, critical parenting advice....she sure covered a lot in such a short visit considering she doesn't really know you!)

[Texomamama]

Like the ladies said above, the advise she is giving you sounds way off base to me.  7 mo and 2 milk feeds?  No way.

[~Emma~]

 Yep, she was a veritable bloody nightmare. I cannot stop thinking about all the 'advice' she gave me. I feel like I am doing nothing right with D and wondering how the hell I managed to get B to aged 2.5!! 

 We did the same with B, he had 4 milk feeds a day until 8 months.

 She said on order for her to sttn I need to intro more and more protein and fill her up with that before bed NOT milk.  She is not waking in the night out of hunger this is the thing. anyways, who gives their baby a feed of meat and then puts them to bed!! I can jsut see baby D tucking into a rack of ribs at 7pm!

 I am just only now intro'ing meat and her purees are more on the chunky side as its always what she's liked. Its the exact same way I did it with B.

[~inbalance~]

Emma, DO NOT let her feel like you are doing things wrong with D or have with B!!  Mummy knows best!

Honestly, you can't do it wrong.  Ok, we all want them to sttn, but if protein were the magic answer then all of us would be trying to stuff meat down their throats as soon as they could have it!  It is NOT that easy, and it doesn't work that way.

Not to mention that meat is not the easiest thing for little tummies to digest.  And this is all assuming that you have a baby that will eat anything (I know D is good with solids, but F was not so if I had been given that advice she would have gotten a right slap upside the head for assuming she knows best for MY baby!).

Does this woman even have children?!?!

Hugs hugs hugs!!  You are doing fantastic reading your own baby!! 

[Shiv52]

Hence the reason I don't bother with my HV!!  Since she tried to tell me at 2 months that Rosa was underweight and I should consider formula I haven't bothered with her.  Before she left though I did point out that the charts were for FF babies and that Rosa wasn't underweight, just on a lower centile and wasn't breast milk not better for babies in the longterm?  And she got all flustered and said 'well yes you are right, i just dont' come across a lot of mummies who BF for very long'.  Grrrr!  This is the same one who told me to give M skips when she was 7-8 months so she could practice eating on her own!  

You have to remember Emma that they are not paid to give advice based on research and/or what is best for babies.  They are given all the advice. sometimes not, and then it is upto them what they pass on.  Alot of it, actually all of it is opinion.   Their opinion.  I got the CC recommendation not so long ago from her too and I did ask her what she thought of current research into CIO/CC and sleep training and she said she hadn't read it.   That to me says it all.  Am sure they are expected to keep upto date with current advice but I do find mine doesn't even know the latest WHO recommendations let alone additional advice.  SO remember she gave you her opinion.  

And wow to you starting meats with D.  She loves her grub!!  R is not overly fussed.  I am starting to think she is intolerant to dairy.  I gave her fromage frais and a puree made with milk and a hipp organic cereal that is milk based and you make it with water and each time we're getting awful mucousy nappies and a wee patch of dry skin on her cheek flares up.   UGH!

[~Emma~]

 Well I gave lentils this week. I dont know I just think its a more gentle way of approaching protein...just my opinion though, not based on ANYTHING! 

 I have tried and tried getting the intolerance thing through to my GP and HV. They will not listen. We had a frank discussion where she said she thinks I am being a fractious mother and I disagreed. My thoughts are based on her skin and her nappies NOT the fact that my DH is away and I am finding things tough! She said I would be irresponsible to dicontinue BF given that its when she has the least issues. True to a certain extent BUT should I continue even if I feel resentful of it?

 ((((hugs)))) Shiv, I hope its not an intolerance I really do.

 My head is up my backside with all of this. 

[Shiv52]

D aleady has a formula feed a day doesn't she? Would the GP agree to a trial of hypoallergenic formula?  THat way you cuold stop BFIng and see does no milk proteins make a difference all in one go?   Or are you on an ED? 

[*Amy*]

Sorry Emma about the hv read your other thread open mouthed? The cheek of her! Unbelievable really!!
DD is a little over 8 months and has 4-5 bottles a day (I weaned at 6 months) she is doing blw and she gets protein and she wakes in the night, just for a cuddle or a reposition or I think to make sure I am still here lol! I know she is getting more milk than she should be but honestly she seems to have an insatiable appetite lol! Had no hv here thankfully, I had ds in Ireland and the hv there was zero help, told me to give solids at 4 months and formula when he was an infant cause he was hungry......he wasn't he was just tired!!

[cuckoochick]

Your HV sounds like my MIL! But at least my MIL is not a health professional. I too am shocked at her outrageous comments.

I know this HV has really knocked you, but everyone is right. You know D best and what is right for her. I'm sure when D wants a rack of ribs, you'll know!! Keep smiling

[~Emma~]

I'm sure when D wants a rack of ribs, you'll know!!

 

Would the GP agree to a trial of hypoallergenic formula?

 Long story short he didn't. He said he would and then when I went to pick up it wasn't there. He left it to his receptionist to tell me that he didn't think I should be putting her on it. Complaint has been made about that one. Wasn't too happy about being fobbed off or the fact that I was discussing medical stuff with a receptionist.

 They wont trial it as her symptoms aren't severe enough. They wont trial without 'definitive diagnosis.' That and money.  I did try to explain that the more formula I give her if she does have an intolerance the worse her symptoms will get. All another story entirely. I have given up on it. I dont have the fight in me right now. I have started adding dairy to her diet and more to mine (hadn't done an ED but cut out the biggies). I'll just have to see what happens with her. Its all quite sad really so I am hoping, hoping, hoping that she doesn't have an intolerance as the guilt will be on me if she does.

 

[Lemonthyme]

My son went from 4 feeds at 10 months to 2 feeds at 11 months (with some encouragement, he didn't drop them himself) and now he's had his first day without a morning BF and he's 1 year old.  2 feeds for a 7 month old is kinda daft.  I don't know a single BF mother who has got to that stage (at least not without introducing combination feeding.)

I don't know much about this kind of stuff but my gut feel is that generally BF is better tolerated than anything else so I would continue to breastfeed if I could but it has to be something you both want to do.  I'm stopping earlier than my LO would ideally want to because I want my OH to be able to put him to bed occasionally!  We all have to do what's right for the whole family.

My LO has his tea at 4:15pm!  Milk at 6:45pm so what on earth she'd think of me?!  There is some research somewhere which suggests that breastfed babies tolerate new foods with fewer allergenic responses so if you can stand to carry on a bit longer, it might help as you introduce the protein foods?

Anyway, it is up to you and you've done brilliantly for getting this far.  Bear in mind that even 10 years ago, women who breastfed routinely gave up at 6 months anyway as that was the done thing!

[Mama2C]

DS is 14 months and he still has 4 BF a day...as well as 5 solids - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner... and he is doing great! At 7 months he easily had 5-6 BFs a day...plus solids every few hours... goodness gracious I mean BF/FF should still be the priority at this age!!

[Mashi]

Pees me off so much when doctors have attitudes against HA formula.  The only way to get this 'diagnosis' that he wants is to TRY it!!  Any chance you are able to pay for it on your own Emma...it is expensive (about 14 quid per tin, and one tin got me about 3 to 3.5 days at that age) but if you could do it for a week then you pretty much have your diagnosis and can insist on a paed referral - and a paed will give you that script!