Posted on 03/25/2013 5:55:29 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Despite growing warnings from pediatricians about feeding newborns anything other than breast milk or formula, many mothers appear to be introducing solid food well before their babies' bodies can handle it, says a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
In a national survey of 1,334 mothers, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent said they gave their baby solid food before they were 4 months old, with 9 percent starting as early as 4 weeks. Doctors now recommend waiting until a baby is at least 6 months old.
(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.nytimes.com ...
Ok. Take everything you said as a given. Should the research not be done? Should we ignore or avoid the evidence that this study suggests because someone else would abuse it in a nanny state? It’s a legitimate study for such an agency.
Interestingly, breast milk is such an ideal food for babies that they can digest it completely by six months. Near the end of that time, my babies were going 10 to 11 days without pooping. My doctor said that was normal and it was a sign that they were ready to move on to solids.
What was annoing was so-called friends and family asking if my baby was eating solids 'yet', and bragging that their baby was eating spoon foods at 2 or 3 months. No, they weren't. They were just passing it through their digestive system.
When they are loaded up with formula and can't seem to stop being hungry, they are missing something from their diet. Then it's time to feed them a pre-chewed nibble or something soft here and there--a dab of mashed taters won't hurt them.
They also have yet to develop the proper gut bacteria that allow them to process solid food safely, potentially leading to gastroenteritis and diarrhea, Dr. Gold said. The early introduction of solid foods has also been linked to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, eczema and celiac disease.
I think most people know breast is best, and will do what they can to do the best for thsir child. Sometimes the ideal choice isn't available, and responsible parents do the best they can with the situation they have. "Increased risk" doesn't necessarily mean a child will become obese, develop diabetes, etc.
Of course there are unfortunately some parents who just don't care that much about their children.
That image has been purloined for later use.
>> “When they are loaded up with formula and can’t seem to stop being hungry, they are missing something from their diet” <<
.
Yes, that “something” is their mother’s milk.
“Formula” is not food by any stretch of the imagination.
God got it right, man always gets it wrong.
I was thinking of making a “Don’t Bloomberg me bro” bumper sticker.
Same here—my babies were happy babies!
that was my situation as well. My oldest is 24 and we had to make a point of saying NO water, no formula, just bring her to me on demand. And then my dearly departed MIL would say well if you gave her FORMULA i could feed her for you. i just rolled my eyes. My husband and i were born in mid to late 50s and i figured formula was still newfangled and being marketed as the BEST NEW THING, so that was her impression.
Trust me when I say mom was not an option—we were raising a grandbaby.
I do find it funny how many people brag about their “big” babies who are so hungry that they are slurping up bottles of formula mixed with cereal at 2 mos. Of course they say it is because they are so hungry that they are crying for more but they never consider that their infant’s poor little system is inflamed and irritated because they don’t have the enzymes to digest the cereal.
That isn’t a bad idea, either!
However, if a mother does not want to breastfeed, she shouldn’t have to fight, either. The doctors and nurses might give their opinions, but the decision is ultimately the mother’s to make.
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This is true, but MOST of the children being born in this country are being born to low income WIC/Medicaid types. If they refuse to breastfeed, then taxpayers are on the hook for the formula through WIC. Pisses me off to see it ..they’re too busy getting their nails done to slow down and nurse their own kids. Especially aggravating as lots of them do not work and have all day long to nurse their babies.
THEN what we have are endless visits to the doc for GI problems, allergies, frequent colds, ear infections, URI’s, etc. that may have been alleviated through Bf’ing.
Take your pic ..I’d rather women everywhere at least gave it 6 months. To me, it’s a self sufficiency thing, as breasts do not fail in emergency situations.
The solid advice has been around a long time ..but again, many women having babies now are from other countries and come with their own gaggle of grandmothers and customs and basically ignore the advice of most American pediatricians at this point. They just want their free carseats ...
I bottle fed two, and nursed one. The bf one didn’t require braces. That alone saved us $4K. Add that to the formula we didn’t buy and we’ve got a nice start on his college fund right there . . .
As a prepper and fiscal conservative, my vote goes to breastfeeding any day over formula.
God got it right, man always gets It wrong.
**
Amen. Ever done a taste test comparison? BM tastes like ice cream ...;)
She would gather the baby bottle she had placed earlier in a pan of boiling water to heat it up, hunt for her pack of cigarettes and matches, she would make sure the TV set on the correct channel and then pick up the crying baby after she changed his diaper.
Then she would sit down, cross her leg over so that her one ankle was resting on her other knee.
She would place the baby so that his head was on her knee and his behind was in her lap.
Then should would put the bottle in my baby brother's mouth and hand me her cigarette pack where I would dutifully put my finger on that little red plastic thread and open her cigarettes for her.
Then, I would pull out one cigarette and hand it to her, whereby she would light it up and begin to smoke.
Ahhh, the joys of childhood!
My mother guided me when I had my first child, and both my sons got Gerber’s rice cereal with formula mixed in about a week after they were home. Then we added strained fruit. The pediatrician back then didn’t have a problem with it, and it didn’t cause any problems with either boy. One is now 46, and the other is 41. My mother raised four kids that way, and I always figured her ways didn’t kill any of us.
LOL!! I’m sure my mother did the same thing with the four of us.
My mother used the Pet Milk and Karo formula for us. This was in the glass baby bottle era.(over 50 years ago)
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