Here's what the Doctor told me today...

[cinnamonamon]

Since so much of this is eating related, I'm going to re-post this here -- I'd really love some feedback on this food advice the doc gave today. Forgive the length -- I don't know if ya'll have noticed yet, but I tend to be a bit long-winded....


Now, I'm pretty sure I have a laid back Pediatrician -- she didn't even blink when I said (at 4 months) that we weren't going to give any more vaccines until 6 or 8 months & then it was going to be a very delayed schedule. She also (at the 4 month appt.) started the solids conversation almost as if she were going to have to talk me into waiting til 6 months.

At this appt., I'm not quite as excited, although I'm not mad or anything. Please, Mommas, give me your opinions on these things:

1. A few days ago we gave Ian a little bit of banana, he ate a spoonful or two & had maybe a little bit that he held & put in his mouth, but that was all. She said that we "should start introducing a new food about every 4-5 days, going through the vegetables and some fruits, etc." She doesn't recommend any fish before 1 year old because of mercury content (yet vaxes are okay ). I commented that I felt no need to introduce any cereals as bfing was sufficient for nutrition, & she said the only reason she would recommend it was for the Iron. When I said that I was planning to introduce vegetables to fill that need when necessary she seemed satisfied. She also said that I should (not to start, but work up to) feeding him solids twice a day, everyday & make sure I did spoon feeding & not just let him pick things up all the time. I did state that I wasn't interested in replacing any of his meals with solids, but would, instead, be adding to his diet very gradually. She nodded at this, but that was when she made the twice a day comment..???

2. With re: to the iron thing, I commented that because he was such a small baby at birth, if he wasn't eating many/any foods with iron, I would ask for a test to be sure around 8 or 9 months. She told me that "between 9 & 12 months we HAVE to check them, so I usually do it at the 9 month checkup in any case." Have to?? Who says??

3. She said that with the introduction of solids it is okay/possibly necessary to introduce some water into the baby's diet. 6 months is also when they ask/encourage that parents begin making sure their babies get some flouride. This is either by means of water or through flouride drops. Does he actually need flouride?

4. I commented that if my ds began to associate the dr.'s office with shots & pain once he got a bit older (because of the slow schedule for vaxing) we might just start taking him to the health dept. She expressed a concern that the health dept. might refuse to give him his shots in this manner. ??


Hmm... I think that was all the questionable information... now what do ya'll think? I just don't see myself giving Ian so many foods so quickly/often -- or why it's necessary. She made me by commenting that "bfing meets ALL of a child's needs for at least the first six months of life -- always," then she said "after that, it's -- well -- it's just a good idea to start adding solids at that point." Too bad she had to add that second part...

Have any of you encountered any problems with the health dept. with regard to not following "their" schedule on vaccinating?

Any comments & suggestions are welcome.

edited to add:

I remembered the other thing that kinda bothered me -- one of the milestones they asked about was "sleeping independantly." She already had her answer to that as I had commented (when she asked how often/if he woke at night) that he was back to only waking once as we were in the process of transitioning him to a pad on the floor & then to a crib. But we're doing that cause it works for us -- not because it was hurting him to sleep with us! So what's with that?!

[Momtwice]

It sounds to me like your pediatrician is a bit conventional and rigid in thinking, doesn't really think outside the box, but is not really awful.

About solids being a "must" at 6 months: there are some pediatricians who disagree. I think your idea to add them slooooowly is a wise one. Read more in these two links:

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/bf4.asp

http://www.drjaygordon.com/links/BF/solids.htm

Sleeping through the night: sounds like the doctor is operating from the script about solitary sleeping. This is something that makes me cringe too, if doctors think sleeping through indicates good health. Ridiculous.

Here are lots of good articles if you scroll down to the BOTTOM of this link: (Especially "Rethinking Healthy Infant Sleep" by McKenna)

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep.html

Here are studies about infant sleep including one that says only SIXTEEN PERCENT of babies at 6 months sleep through the night:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleepstudies.html

Two more interesting articles about the debate about whether babies "should" wake up at night:
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/breast...ages/6233.html

http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/detsleepthrough.html

Happy Reading!

[1jooj]

You might want to check with the local health department. They might be a lot less flexible with vax scheduling. Could be that they will do it, but they might make it an awful experience for both of you...in which case you might do better to work hard to make the doc's office a happier place.

When I started ds on solids, he did have to work a lot harder to poop, and we did offer a swallow of water from time to time. As for fluoride, everyone needs it in trace amounts, I think--the question is whether it is already present in the food you eat. As I understand, no one needs it in the amounts we get it in fluoridated water, etc., and its effects are topical on teeth? Check the dental threads for more and better info there.

My ped never insisted on cereal--she knew how well we were bfing and she extended bfed her own. We went straight to table food, almost entirely with fingers and right off our plates, and not a certain number of times per day...so she may be playing some CYA. But the iron check was basic protocol in our office too.

[Momtwice]

Fluoride:

I would do a search for about articles for FLUORIDE (remembering that pesky U before the O)

at
http://www.kelllymom.com
http://www.lalecheleague.org

and at the home page here, for articles at mothering.com

[DaryLLL]

Ask your q about flouride at the dental board. Ask your vax q at the vax board.

As far as solids, you dr is out to lunch. There is no rush to intro solids on any big schedule, as if it were a race. Watch your baby, not the calendar. (Babies lack all the enzymes and acids necc to digest carbs and non-milk proteins until 12-18 mos of age.) As for spoon feeding being necc, as opposed to self finger feeding, bull-hockey there too. 2 of mine refued to let me spoon feed them purees, and just waited (with maybe a hunk of bagel to gnaw on) until they had the fine motor skill of the thumb-forefinger pincer grasp capability, at around 9 mos. And they loved to eat then! (They would sit and eat for at least 5 mins in the high chair! Spirited! : ) They preferred to sit on my lap and mooch.

Many babies are still refusing most solids at 12 mos or older.

Keep in mind drs are trained to diagnose and treat disease. Period. Most , if not all, of their infant feeding and sleeping advice comes from personal exp, or the propaganda the ABM folk deliver to ther doors on a regular basis.

[wombat]

I'm surprised too at how peds spout the American Academy of Peds. line about exclusive BF for 6 months .... but then tell you "you CAN start cereals at 4 months", "you need to introduce solids now at 6 months..." Right NOW, like if you don't that'll be the end of it. They'll be milk drinking adults or something. I think they're covering themselves, they spout their professional organisations line but then push their own ideas.

[cinnamonamon]

Originally posted by DaryLLL
As far as solids, you dr is out to lunch.

:LOL

Thanks ladies, for all the info. I grew up with that "Doctors & Teachers, etc. know best" kind of mentality, and it's still hard for me to shake that sometimes!

Wombat -- it makes me wonder as well... I almost said to her "and if I don't let him use a spoon? What? Will he be a 20 year old only capable of picking food up with his fingers?" :LOL

[kama'aina mama]

It's funny, isn't it... how Doc's (and others) seem to have this attitude that there is a really limited window of opportunity that even a little logic would tell you is false. Liek what? If I don't start solids at six months he will never learn to chew and will have to be on a liquid diet his whole life? Etc....

[elelvee]

Fluoride is toxic.

It makes teeth worse, not better.

It occurs "naturally" (due to soil pollution) so often that we already have too much. Plants absorb this, especially tea plants.

Fluoride accumulates in the body, so there is no "need" to repeat doses.

[captain optimism]

Originally posted by DaryLLL
(Babies lack all the enzymes and acids necc to digest carbs and non-milk proteins until 12-18 mos of age.)

Is this true? Where did you read this? I have just introduced solids, like a good doobie, to my 6 month old. If he can't digest carbs that's going to change what we feed him!

Edited to add: I found the answer on the Kellymom page, but no reference:

If solids are started before a baby's system is ready to handle them, they are poorly digested and may cause unpleasant reactions (digestive upset, etc.). Protein digestion is incomplete in infancy. Gastric acid and pepsin are secreted at birth and increase toward adult values over the following 3 to 4 months. The pancreatic enzyme amylase does not reach adequate levels for digestion of starches until around 6 months, and carbohydrate enzymes such as maltase, isomaltase, and sucrase do not reach adult levels until around 7 months. Young infants also have low levels of lipase and bile salts, so fat digestion does not reach adult levels until 6-9 months.

(About the spoon: we started with spoon feeding and so far my baby likes the spoon better than the food. We gave him one to use himself and feed him with another, and they both fascinate him... )

I read what the WHO had to report on their research into complementary feeding. They do not think solids are just for practice. They have two concerns: that people not stop breastfeeding (because that's where all the good nutrients are sure to be) and that they do start feeding nutritious foods at 6 months. They are worried about feeding solids too early and displacing breastmilk, but they also worry about parents starting solids late or filling the baby up on non-nutritious food.

If you look on this page you'll find a link to a PDF file with the proceeds of the WHO conference on complementary feeding.

(edited to add link to WHO page)

[Dmitrizmom]

I'm going from personal experience here... my ds is 30 months... he self weaned at 12 months... up until that point we had very very very sporadically done solids starting at 9 months (think maybe 3 jars a week). Tried cereal and he wanted nothing to do with it. He transitioned straight to table foods w/o any problems. With new dd, I plan on holding off on solids as long as I can.

Our ped did the stick for iron too. His levels came back low, we were told to give him iron, and have the levels checked again at his 12 mo... We didn't do the drops and his levels were just fine when we rechecked them.

We were told to do fluoride. We didn't. Dietary fluoride is far in excess of what is needed if you eat any food that has been commercially prepared - its in the water used for canning, cooking, etc.