Baby Whisperer and breastfeeding.

[cappuccinosmom]

I was so disappointed when I got to the chapter on feeding your baby.

She spent a lot of the chapter defending forumla and explaining why breastmilk was no better. She did mention that breastmilk composition changes and is different for different moms at different stages--but as if that was a *bad* thing.

And she talked about not having enough milk for your baby to thrive, but then went on and on about not having milk come in for the first three days, as if a baby would starve in that amount of time (making formula necessary, naturally).

And, there is no such thing as nipple confusion. Ever.

Someday cows may be genetically engineered to produce human milk and then we'll all tout cows milk as the best. (WHAT?????)

Formula may soon overtake breastmilk as nutritionally better.



I was just about to recommend the book to a brand new mom. But she is already a nervous wreck about breastfeeding and everything else and I don't think I can recommend it anymore.

[medaroge]

ugh, thats awful. I'll be sure not to recomend that one!

[alegna]

Yeah, awful book on a couple of fronts.

I would not suggest it.

-Angela

[PatienceAndLove]

And I had heard such wonderful things about it...

[acannon]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

Someday cows may be genetically engineered to produce human milk and then we'll all tout cows milk as the best. (WHAT?????)

WTF is THAT about??? There's already an "animal" that makes human milk, and that's HUMANS!!! Why is human milk only acceptable if it comes from a cow? That makes absolutely no sense and it incredibly freaky, IMHO. And how would the milk get the right nutrients and stuff in it? Would we start feeding cows prenatal vitamins? She's not big on thinking things out, is she? Wow.

ETA: I told DP about that and he said they're already working on it. Yuck.

[menomena]

Wow. A formula feeding bias is DEEPLY entrenched in the social psyche...

Seriously? Cows producing human milk will make it superior? Huh.

[MilkTrance]

Originally Posted by PatienceAndLove

And I had heard such wonderful things about it...

Well, she does not advocate CIO. At all.

So in that respect, it's the lesser of three evils (the other two being Ferber and Ezzo).

[Claire and Boys]

I remember there is a passage in that book that states that breastfeeding will make your boobs saggy and if you have any issues with body image, you'd better formula feed instead. I remember reading it when pregnant with #1 and thinking WHAT?!?

[granola_mom]

That's ridiculous and insane!

[BlissfulMommy]

It makes me so sad that many new moms who are insecure about BFing and their milk supply are going to read the book.

As for the genetically engineered cows producing human milk, It's the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard! I just hope if it happens it will only be available by prescription. I'm sure it will be sold in grocery stores as baby formula though. :

[homewithtwinsmama]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the Baby Whisperer has NO CHILDREN. So therefore, why would I take her advice on anything. But then I am one of those who thinks that men and childless women shouldn't be catching babies either. I know it sounds harsh, but if you attend me in labor and can't say from personal experience "yes I know its hard, it hurts.... but you can do it" then p*** off! Same goes for breastfeeding. I love hearing what male peds tell my clients about breastfeeding. Its insane! I had a male ped with my first twins and had to ditch him fast because his breastfeeding advice was the pits. He had twins and told me you can't exclusively bf twins (cause his wife failed to do so). Somehow I managed to grow two babies on my milk though...

[marisa724]

Tracy Hogg was a nurse and nanny in England, who left her own daughters with family to move to America and start her Baby Whispering empire. I don't know how old they were when she left, though. She has since passed away, so any books after 2004 are not actually written by her.

[Claire and Boys]

She does have children, the one who doesn't is Gina Ford..don't even get me started on her book :

[Onemagicmummy]

The last book was infact written by Tracy Hogg, BEFORE she died (she died 25th Nov 2004) the book came out early 2005. she had 2 girls.
she may not have had great BF advice but she was a god send to me with my middle 2. her EASY routine was wonderful for my youngest son, it was to only way i got past the first 6 months having a newborn and a 1yr old walker and a 3yr old. i will be using some of her techniques to help me get Evie napping in her cot(once i get a cot) and sleeping part of the night in her cot.

Kiz

[Down2Earth]

I don't think this book is all bad. : My sister had a horrible time getting her baby (8 mos) to sleep AT ALL. This book really helped her set up a bedtime routine and baby falls asleep on her own now. (She's now 3 and still loves her bedtime routine.)

I think this is more of a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you aren't having trouble with sleep then I don't think you would ever need this book. But if you are at your wits end, maybe it would be a good resource.

[yoginisarah]

Wow, was the book funded by the International Formula Council or something? I'm just not sure why a book about sleeping would go into that much detail about breast vs. formula. I've never read it but of course now I'd never pick it up. I can't believe some of those things would be said!

[Ruthla]

I have to wonder if she would have revised the book by now if she was still alive- say put together the same suggestions about sleep, etc, but cut out the innacurate info about BF.

[Claire and Boys]

Yeah, it isn't just a "sleep" book. It covers a lot of different areas of baby care. I liked the book when I was pregnant with #1, but as with many baby books it was soon tossed by the wayside when ds was born as he had his own ideas and didn't fit into what the books said he should

[marisa724]

I know a lot of my friends have liked it, I tell them "Just staple shut the chapter on breastfeeding, please!"

[meganmarie]

Well, she does not advocate CIO. At all.

So in that respect, it's the lesser of three evils (the other two being Ferber and Ezzo).

Well, I guess she may be the lesser of those evils! But those aren't the only baby advice books on the market, just the ones best known in mainstream parenting. I'd refer sleep-deprived new parents to the excellent sleep books by Dr. Sears, Dr. Gordon and Elizabeth Pantley. They all have good, practical sleep tips that are consistent with attachment parenting principles AND are very pro-breastfeeding with accurate information.

My stealth lactivism saboteur approach: When I am in the bookstore or the library I always find BabyWise and Ferber and hide them behind other books on the shelf so no one can easily buy them. Then I rearrange things so the breastfeeding and AP friendly books are more prominently displayed.