'Told off' by h/v

[Bec L]

Just took Poppy to be weighed and wasn't going to mention anything to the h/v at the clinic about her weaning, as my normal h/v is coming round to see us this afternoon.

Anyway, the h/v at the clinic happened to ask how the weaning was going so I just said 'good thanks.' But then she started asking what I was giving her and when I said just veggies and fruit at the mo, she went a bit funny with me and was saying you MUST have her on meat fish and chicken now and she needs to be having your foods as soon as possible. She also mentioned again about giving her whole milk on her cereal and said she won't be dropping any of her milk feeds yet as she will be too hungry because I am only giving her veg I came away feeling quite upset and confused and now I feel under pressure to speed everything up.

I know that Poppy DOES eventually need more variety but I don't like being rushed

Rant over! x

 

[colsy]

Um, HELLO Mrs Health Visitor? And what if you're choosing to bring up your child as a vegetarian? (I don't know if you are, but obviously at the moment it sounds like your baby is having a veggie diet.) Good luck xx

 

[polo_princess]

Dont take any notice chick!!

 

[Whisper]

she sounds pushy and annoying.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Milk should be her main food for the first 12 months. There's no rush to drop feeds hun x

 

[AppleBlossom]

You are supposed to give them variety, not just fruit and veg but what right has she got to stick her nose in? You will decide when to do it in your own time. As for milk feeds, like Mervs mum said, they are the main food for up to a year, Grace is properly weaning and eats anything but she has only dropped one of her feeds, she still has at least 3 in 24 hours, take no notice, some HV's think they know everything

 

[jackiea85]

Ignore her hun, u can't win whatever u do. Apparently Joseph, who was 18lb 4oz last week, isn't gaining enough weight so they have told me to put him on extra hungry milk and up his solids! I thought he was fine but obviously not! Unless ur baby meets their stupid charts then they will tell u to do something else. If you think your baby is fine as she is then ignore them xx

 

[Mervs Mum]

Um, HELLO Mrs Health Visitor? And what if you're choosing to bring up your child as a vegetarian? (I don't know if you are, but obviously at the moment it sounds like your baby is having a veggie diet.) Good luck xx

Good point too! I'm veggie and keeping Hebe veggie for the moment - she can have loooooads of variety in fruit and veg anyway!

 

[thelilbump]

she didn't need to be like that with you.

if your not keen on introducing meat you can always try lentils and such like. They're so easy to make aswell and full of protein to keep your LO going.

 

[Bec L]

Thanks everyone, that makes me feel a bit better.

I have already started giving her lentils which she loves, and am not planning to bring her up as a veggie (as we're not) but I think it's just with her being prem and still quite little, I don't want to push her too quickly. She has to take iron everyday by syringe anyway, so it is not as if I am depriving her of that.

I guess we'll get there eventually

 

[thelilbump]

red lentils and butternut squash always go down well with my LO and it's jst so easy to make and freeze aswell!


How prem was your daughter? x

 

[ryder]

Well you dont HAVE to have her on those... But generally after 6 months it is a good idea because they need more iron for proper physical developement, and those foods are loaded with iron... Whereas veggies and fruite arnt.

I just read that she is a premie... so no worries, I would go by her size and what she is doing. Iff she is really active and trying to crawl or walk, I would think about starting some.

 

[Bec L]

red lentils and butternut squash always go down well with my LO and it's jst so easy to make and freeze aswell!


How prem was your daughter? x

Yeah loves BNS too.

She was 6 weeks prem xx

 

[Mervs Mum]

There are iron rich foods that arent meat:

beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils
iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta
greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens
vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts

 

[angie0235]

You can't win with some HV. The tell you completely conflicting things. Trust your instincts babe x

 

[mommyof3co]

Well considering she is JUST 7mo, she doesn't need much more variety...fruits and veg is plenty at her age. She isn't supposed to give up any of her milk feeds yet anyways. Just do what you feel is right, you know her best and what she needs right now. Even if she is really active she doesn't necc need those things yet. Some veggies do have iron in them and it's not like her iron goes from fine to zero once she turns 6mo or anything. Hayden had no food (besides maybe 15bites total) until 9+mo and never had low iron. She will be fine Also if she's on formula it will have iron too

 

[Bec L]

Well I saw my usual h/v yesterday pm. She said not to worry too much, but then said to cut out the mid morning and mid afternoon b/feeds if possible?! Am not going to do that, not if Poppy is 'asking' for it! As far as solids go she said next time you're cooking something like a baked spud and tuna, put one in the oven for Poppy, scrape out the spud, put some tuna and beans on and give her that. Seems like a big jump from a small pot of puree to me but I'll give it a go in the next few days...or weeks.

As she's not on formula she doesn't get iron that way, but she does have it as a vitamin every day and also has some of the iron ruch foods MM listed.

I think the whole weaning thing is such a minefield, not helped by conflicting 'advice' from h/v's!!

 

[isil]

Alasdair is baby led but he's only just started chosing to pick up meat and eat it. He's perfectly fine. As long as she's eating I wouldn't worry too much. HV's just have their own agendas sometimes and get really het up about things they shouldn't. As your BFing I think you should just keep doing it on demand. Not only is it her milk, it's also her drink!

 

[ani]

What a lod of poopoo from the HV. Seems like you are giving your LO a great diet, including lentils and iron-rich veg. It's plenty for a baby of any age (and grown-ups!). And I wouldn't go dropping the milk feeds before your baby is ready. This is still the main source of nutrition up to 12 months, so give her all the breastmilk goodness she wants.

I'm also bringing my LO up as a veggie (vegan, too, god forbid!). There is so much variety in veg and fruit that they are great sources for essential nutrition. And at this point (our LO's are pretty much the same age) they compliment breastmilk perfectly. This is what I'm giving right now, too, together with some cereal (rice, barley, oat). I'll start adding tofu and beans etc. after 8 months, I guess this is the veggie equivalent of adding meat into the diet.