Feeding recommendations in countries other than US, UK and Australia

Chantelle - posted on 12/18/2009

it sounds like you need to at least try, it does not sound like you have anything to lose it seems that professionals have different ideas all around the world. you need to find what will work for you. in the uk they say dont give baby solids before 6months in barbados they say if baby is not getting full they start solids some as young as 6weeks have baby cereal. my heart goes out to you. i will try to research some more. i cant say what to do but if it was me i would try...................

Renae - posted on 12/17/2009

Quoting Chantelle:

have you had a look at allergies and intolerances just a thought. so hes been having his meals but you want to reduce milk and give more food? hope i got it right this time. again i am not a professional but i suggest you speak to a nutritionist so you can find a way to replace the vitamins etc he would get from the milk.
my story is.....13yrs ago i had twin girls one of whom was small from birth and had feeding problems she then at 2yrs 6mths she developed eczema long and short it took 5 yrs of battles to get 2 diagnosis from to consultants and they did not agree so i took matters in my own hands and kept a diary of avery feed and every reaction by my child i soon realised she had reactions to food and milk. i had to change her diet all the milkand other foods and it worked. my youngest was even worst that the first but i already had some knowledge and new i had to fight result she was diagnosed by 5 weeks. but she suffered with bad pains, reflux, etc and still does at 5yrs if we dont keep on her diet. sorry to say even though they get paid you will probably have to do most of the work hang in there and please try to get a dietian or nutritionist on side it will help

Hi Chantelle, thanks for responding again. He has been checked for everything, including allergies and intolerances, through diseases, infections and chromosomal abnormalities.

That's kind of my problem. We have seen 6 paediatric dieticians/nutritionists, 3 of which specialise in feeding disorders and every one of them told me that I can give him a nutritional supplement in his food but it is not nearly as good as milk and milk is the only way for babies under 12mo to get all of the nutrition they need. For this reason the usual treatment for feeding disorders in Australia is to insert a tube and put the baby on a continuous feed. I do not want to do this but am getting close to having no choice if he doesn't gain weight soon. This information is what is distributed by our Heath Department so that's why I get the same answer no matter who I ask in Australia.

I recently found out that in France, their Health Department says babies over 6mo only need a small amount of milk (about a quarter of what we are told) and most of their nutrition comes from food. Which is the exact opposite of what is taught here. So I'm wondering which one is right, is it possible for my baby to get what he needs from food? If I can find out what babies are fed in other countries, and their babies turn out perfectly healthy, then screw the professionals here I will do what they do in Europe. I am planning on trying it anyway to try to get some weight on him but dont want to nutritionally deprive him.

Becky - posted on 12/17/2009

I know you said no responses from the u.s but i can't help but try to help you for I went through this as an infant and so did my son and daughter.I was diagnosed with pilorixstinoses...wich is where the valve above your stomache closes or seals off and you vomit when, or after feeding(doesnt sound like this for you)...my daughter however could only have breast milk strait from the breast or she would get sick with bad belly pains......my son couldn't drink formula or soy or anything else the doctors wanted me to give him....this is what my parents did and it worked tramendously!.....the would fill a bottle(8oz.) with vitamin d(whole milk)milk and put about half a teaspoon of chocolate drink syrup or mix in it......this worked because it didn't give them the taste they associated with the owwy belly and they still got alot of vitamins and thier milk product. And when they had upset bellies they would make a 4oz bottle with warm water and put a peppermint candy in it until the water changed color(usually about half a candy) and give that to them.....the mint calmed the belly and helped with the gas pressure.

Chantelle - posted on 12/17/2009

have you had a look at allergies and intolerances just a thought. so hes been having his meals but you want to reduce milk and give more food? hope i got it right this time. again i am not a professional but i suggest you speak to a nutritionist so you can find a way to replace the vitamins etc he would get from the milk.
my story is.....13yrs ago i had twin girls one of whom was small from birth and had feeding problems she then at 2yrs 6mths she developed eczema long and short it took 5 yrs of battles to get 2 diagnosis from to consultants and they did not agree so i took matters in my own hands and kept a diary of avery feed and every reaction by my child i soon realised she had reactions to food and milk. i had to change her diet all the milkand other foods and it worked. my youngest was even worst that the first but i already had some knowledge and new i had to fight result she was diagnosed by 5 weeks. but she suffered with bad pains, reflux, etc and still does at 5yrs if we dont keep on her diet. sorry to say even though they get paid you will probably have to do most of the work hang in there and please try to get a dietian or nutritionist on side it will help

Renae - posted on 12/17/2009

Sorry I should have clarified that he does have 3 meals a day. He has baby porridge for breakfast and homemade mixture of vegies for lunch and dinner.

Maybe I should have phrased my question better, if I increase his solids and just fill him up on food all day long and forget/greatly reduce the milk, can he get enough nutrients from food?

They measure breast milk by weighing them before and after a feed, but that's only if there is a problem, if the baby is thriving I guess they just assume they are getting enough.

His feeding disorder started at about 6-8 weeks. He would feed for a minute (breast feed) then his tummy would grumble (you could hear it from the other side of the house) then he would pull away and scream. It would take about 40 min before he was calm and wanted to feed again. None of the wind drops or colic solutions made any difference. We were admitted to hospital at 5 mo and he was diagnosed with "transitional colic" which is no help at all and means "he has abdominal pain when he feeds and we dont know why but most babies grow out of it between 6-18 months so there is no need to do anything about it". He is also on medication for reflux which has helped a bit so that may have been part of the problem. I don't think he still has pain, it seems to me that the pain went away at about 7-8 months but I think he associates the milk with pain so doesn't want to drink too much.

Chantelle - posted on 12/17/2009

i am a mum of 3 although i now live in the uk i have lived in the carribean. i am attempting to help as 2 of my 3 children had or have many food allergies from birth. i had to change my diet in order to breast feed my last little girl. all my girls had some sort of solid food from 3months they all put weight on and have thrived.

my personal opinion is that so long as the food given is nutritional then baby must get nutrients from it. sorry im not a professional but as a mum i do feel you should do what you think is best you will usually be right. if baby is not thriving on just milk then you have no choice but to try food 9months is old enough to be eating solids. just out of curiousity what dissorder does baby have? lol just rereading you letter, how does one measure 150ml of breast milk? hope you get a few more responses and good luck