When your doctor is concerned about something and you're not and when you disagree about...

[MamitaM]

I took my little man for his check up today and for a vax and he was also weighed. He's 4 months and 1 week and weighs 18 pounds! Pretty nice weight! The nurse was concerned that he lost 80 grams (or ounces, I can't remember now) in the last month. I'm not at all concerned though. I breastfeed on demand and when he latches off I offer again and he tells me "no Mama I'm full" so I don't try again until he seems to be hungry. He makes enough wet and poopy diapers each day and it's all normal breast milk poop too.

I mentioned to the nurse that I'm not going to give cereals and might even bypass the purees and go with Baby Lead Weaning. She'd never heard of it before and I explained it a little. She's concerned that my babe will be lacking in iron if I skip the Iron fortified cereals. I'm still going to breast feed though while doing the BLW and will until he's really getting all he needs from solids. I also said that I didn't know much about BLW yet and will do more research before I start it.

So what do you do when you're really not at all concerned about your babies health, but the doctor is?

[dalia]

Ignore the doctor and go with your gut. I wouldn't discuss anything with the doctor just nod my head an say, "yeah, okay" and then go home and raise my kid the way I see fit.

[Knitting Mama]

You thank them for their concern and you do what feels right for you. We had similar ideas here, and similar concerns from my ped (although she is really awesome all around and was quite interested in BLW when we talked about it, she just hadn't had experience with it). And in our case, it turned out that Cecilia is anemic-- but that's because of her low birth weight and my own battles with anemia.

Just as an FYI, doing iron rich foods with vitamin C increases the absorption of the iron. Sweet potatoes and spinach both contain both iron and vitamin C, and you can do other good combinations of the two.

[tessie]

I wouldn't be at all concerned by one possible loss at that age. Weight gain does slow down somewhat and a small loss or no gain could be due to different scales or scales which need calibrating, baby having been ill or even an enormous poop.

I would weigh again within a week or two for my own peace of mind but I wouldn't be too concerned by one off weight in an otherwise healthy baby, especially if there is plenty going in and out. I probably would offer the boob a bit more and if more weight has been lost or none gained in a week or two I'd want to discuss it further.

With regard to weaning. Just do what you feel comfortable with. There isn't a right or wrong way, it's down to what works for you and the baby. I also wouldn't be overly concerned by lack of iron when weaning if he's eating a balanced diet. You can always offer iron rich cereals as finger food rather than mush. ;)

ETA. I forgot to say I'd suggest to the dr that 'we'll keep and eye on things and talk about it further next time'. If it's still going on next time the discussion is probably valid. If all is fine then you just tell them that.

[geekgolightly]

Like a PP said, there are lots of foods naturally rich in iron for when your baby is ready for solids. It's unfortunate that the nurse only mentioned iron fortified cereal as an iron option.

Here is a great link on iron for infants.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

[AFWife]

Say thank you and nod and then go about your merry way.

Unless it's something SERIOUS (like, if he's lost major pounds at the next appt or something) I'd go with my gut.

And, FWIW, on iron: If your iron levels are okay then the levels in your milk will be fine. So, eat iron rich foods and keep BFing.

[ProtoLawyer]

Eh. Food is food, supplements are supplements. That's how I see it, anyway--we feed my son real food, and use a supplement for iron (I had moderate anemia during pregnancy and severe anemia post-partum, so his stores weren't great) rather than fortified commercial "food."

Happily, I have a doctor whose philosphy aligns with mine, but the nod-and-smile thing is useful in situations like that.

[Knitting Mama]

What supplement do you use? We tried the Poly-Vi-Sol and seriously, that is the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced. It stains everything, it tastes disgusting, and I wouldn't take it, and neither would she!

[coffeegirl]

I think the Poly---whatever stuff is what my daughter was taking, too. I know it's probably not recommended, but what I did is I'd give her the vitamins in a little bottle with formula (you could use breastmilk too) and then would add a half teaspoon of sugar or so to help the taste. She always drank it right down so no problem.