Had some 'interesting' advice from my HV today at clinic. . .

[Faerie]

I must say that for the 7 weeks that I had a HV whilst living in the UK I couldn't fault the 2 I saw, they were great and very helpful. Must've been lucky

 

[amazed]

I cant believe she told you to do that... with my oldest (he was prem and just over 2lb at birth) she was gonna put him on SMA high energy to bulk him up (i think thats what it was called) but in the end he just started putting on weight i wouldnt worry to much hunney... xx

 

[Abz1982]

I think that sometimes they need to not pay attention to the charts! I mean, if your child is healthy and happy and looks well covered - as in not visible skin and bones - then what is the problem?

 

[DonnaBallona]

ooooooooooh babyshambelles we're totally on the same page here. I have to admit I looked at her like honestly. I hope Olivia feels better soon

oh, and Princess Bump-you made me well up you daft thing! she certainly is a credit to us, thank you so much for saying so

Thanks for all the replies ladies

 

[freckleonear]

Maybe I'm missing something but as a dietitian I don't see anything wrong with her advice. Of course babies come in different shapes and sizes, you as her mother know her best and know that she is happy and healthy. The health visitor doesn't know that, all she knows is that some low weight babies are underweight due to an underlying health problem, they are more likely to be ill or develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Advising mothers of low weight babies to fortify their meals with high calory foods such as double cream and olive oil certainly isn't going to do any harm (why on earth are people saying it is dangerous?) and may actually help some babies. You know that you don't need to follow the advice with your daughter, but other babies in the same situation might actually need it.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Maybe I'm missing something but as a dietitian I don't see anything wrong with her advice. Of course babies come in different shapes and sizes, you as her mother know her best and know that she is happy and healthy. The health visitor doesn't know that, all she knows is that some low weight babies are underweight due to an underlying health problem, they are more likely to be ill or develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Advising mothers of low weight babies to fortify their meals with high calory foods such as double cream and olive oil certainly isn't going to do any harm (why on earth are people saying it is dangerous?) and may actually help some babies. You know that you don't need to follow the advice with your daughter, but other babies in the same situation might actually need it.

Can I ask a question? Isn't the fat in double cream saturated fat? I know babies and children need some, but wouldn't it be better to give foods that are high in 'good fat' instead?
Not questioning you, just asking out of interest...

 

[freckleonear]

Can I ask a question? Isn't the fat in double cream saturated fat? I know babies and children need some, but wouldn't it be better to give foods that are high in 'good fat' instead?
Not questioning you, just asking out of interest...

Saturated fats have a rather undeserved bad reputation, the real badies are actually trans fats (found mainly in processed foods). Remember, breastmilk is extremely high in saturated fats so for babies, saturated fat is good fat! Longer chain fatty acids also provide far more calories than short and medium chain fatty acids, which is the real issue here.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Trans fats are things like 'hydrogenated vegetable oil' right? the stuff you find in commercially produced cakes etc.

 

[Faerie]

Thanks for coming in freckleonear. Isn't too much dairy not great for prem babies stomachs anyway, seeing as they're underdevloped?

 

[RainbowMum]

In one of my previous jobs we added double cream to boys porridge and every meal they had, otherwise lots of cheese on toast.
Also masses of Joghurt and Custard to 'fatten' them up a bit too...

 

[DonnaBallona]

Thanks for posting freckleonear, much appreciated your input.

Thing is-wont adding double cream to all her meals just make her fatter-not help her grow? I certainly dont want her to be fatter-she's in proportion-but surely advising me to give her double cream with every meal is daft, seeing as 1.) she's lactose intolerant and 2.) she hasnt told me why it going to help her situation.

If you have any advice on helping her to maintain her weight and take more milk then all input will be appreciated!

Lastly, I also asked for help in reading packets if you can also shed any light on that. . .IE what sort of amounts of salt and sugar and things on the packets of baby foods is an ok amount to give? and where should I look on a packet to find the sugar content?

TIA

 

[freckleonear]

Thanks for posting freckleonear, much appreciated your input.

Thing is-wont adding double cream to all her meals just make her fatter-not help her grow? I certainly dont want her to be fatter-she's in proportion-but surely advising me to give her double cream with every meal is daft, seeing as 1.) she's lactose intolerant and 2.) she hasnt told me why it going to help her situation.

If you have any advice on helping her to maintain her weight and take more milk then all input will be appreciated!

Lastly, I also asked for help in reading packets if you can also shed any light on that. . .IE what sort of amounts of salt and sugar and things on the packets of baby foods is an ok amount to give? and where should I look on a packet to find the sugar content?

TIA

The idea is basically that if a baby isn't growing well, they may need more calories to help them grow. The problem is that foods us adults consider healthy are generally high in fibre and make babies feel full up. You can't increase their calorie intake very much by simply feeding them more of these foods, as they just won't be able to eat enough. This is where fats come in.

As adults, we tend to think that fat makes you fat, which is often true in our case! For babies though, fat is an excellent source of calories. It is very energy dense and provides more than twice as much energy as the same amount of carbohydrate or protein. Babies need calories for all kinds of growing, it's unlikely to make them fat unless they are already getting more than they need.

Obviously in your daughter's case you can't give her double cream, I'm amazed the health visitor didn't realise she was lactose intolerant! Good alternatives would be avocado and olive oil, which are also very energy dense and happen to have more of a healthy reputation as they contain good monounsaturated fats.

To be honest, I don't know much about premature babies and milk intake, so I can't really give advice there. As I explained above, avocado and olive oil would help maintain her weight and have the benefit of being nice and healthy anyway.

Regarding packaging, salt is listed as sodium in the nutritional information. Babies up to 12 months should not have more than 1g of salt (0.4g sodium) per day. Sodium is found in formula milk as well as food.

The sugar content is listed as “carbohydrates (of which sugars)”. This is the total amount of sugar, not just the sugar added by the manufacturer, so it includes naturally occurring sugars in fruit and milk. There are regulations limiting the amount of sugar in baby puddings, deserts and drinks, but only added sugar is regulated in cereal based foods rather than the total amount. For instance, rusks can contain 20-30% sugar. For adults, anything over 10% is considered high! Check the list of ingredients to see where sugar is positioned in the list (it can also be listed as sucrose, glucose, dextrose, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt or corn syrup). If it is near the beginning of the list then it is a major ingredient. There isn't really a set maximum amount of sugar, it's more a common sense thing to avoid it when possible, especially refined sugars. On a side note, I never buy sugar free products as personally I consider artificial sweeteners far more dangerous than the occasional bit of sugar!

Hope that is helpful and answered your questions. It sounds like your health visitor doesn't really know the reasons behind what she is suggesting, perhaps you could ask to see a dietitian to explain things further to you if she says any more about it?

 

[Hevz]

Maybe I'm missing something but as a dietitian I don't see anything wrong with her advice. Of course babies come in different shapes and sizes, you as her mother know her best and know that she is happy and healthy. The health visitor doesn't know that, all she knows is that some low weight babies are underweight due to an underlying health problem, they are more likely to be ill or develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Advising mothers of low weight babies to fortify their meals with high calory foods such as double cream and olive oil certainly isn't going to do any harm (why on earth are people saying it is dangerous?) and may actually help some babies. You know that you don't need to follow the advice with your daughter, but other babies in the same situation might actually need it.

I'm saying it's dangerous as 3 paediatricians told me so

 

[DonnaBallona]

thanks V. much freckleonear, found that loooooooooong post mucho helpful!

Im not seeing a peadiatrician until January now but I shall perhaps phone and ask questions. Off to buy Avocado's in the morning!

Thanks again for all the replies xx