sophiechristophy

I agree Fuschia.

JennyH = I think it is important not to normalise leaving a small baby alone in a cot crying for extended stretches of time.

I am shocked that you would leave a baby crying for stretches of 30 minutes. I wouldn't leave my baby crying in her cot, certainly not for more than 5 minutes - and she is 18 months, if the baby is crying then she has a need that is not being met.

Littlemoo, your story is so terribly sad and I am so sorry for your loss. It is very important I agree to remember the babies in all of this, and I do think that often in pregnancy we can get caught up with the 'sort if birth' that we would like, when really all we should be wanting is a birth where everyone is well at the end of it.

That is why we gestate for only 9 months instead of 18 months, to allow delivery at a time when the head can pass easily through the pelvis. This shorter gestational period explains why our babies, when they are born, have a further 9 months of dependence and much more brain growth after birth, unlike other animals who birth at full gestation and whose babies can get up and walk and have a large degree of independence straight away.

That piece was awfully written and did nothing to empower women in birth, just to scare them. And New Mother, are you joking about pelvis size? Have we evolved so we just pop instead of giving birth then?

srisky - nothing wrong with ideals at all. And, you don't have to do pouches/pots if you don't want to, my daughter is 18 months now and i have never bought either, it's not hard to miss them out.

agreed straferjack - i have organic soft cheese, cheddar, sour cream and live yoghurt in my fridge. Dairy is great for adding flavour and texture, and I definitely didn't say to exclude it from the diet, or that there is anything wrong with eating it in moderation. I was just trying to make the point that people shouldn't feel the need to give it to their children as a health drink to boost calcium, or feel the need to give 'milk' to their children just because there is a cultural belief/habit to do this. also agreed with otta, my daughter has dairy in her diet, but I don't give her cows milk as a drink/bottle.

sesame seeds, almonds and figs are very good calcium sources, so you could add those to breakfast porridge or as a snack in the day to get a boost.

Unlike the iron in spinach (you can boost your iron absorption from green leafy veg by eating together with a source of vitamin C, such as lemon juice or tomato btw), calcium is more easily absorbed into our body from veg sources than it is from dairy. Calcium is present in so many whole foods, that in a well balanced diet you will more than likely be getting enough from the foods that you are eating. Comparing the level of calcium present in diary vs a vegetable source does not tell you how much calcium is actually absorbed by those sources into the body.

I should also make the point that breastmilk is still nutritionally beneficial to human babies after the introduction of solids, so if you can keep going after 1.

srisky - good questions. 1) Yes, it does extend to all dairy products, but some are easier for us to digest than others. Fermented milk products are the best, which are, for example, live natural yoghurt and something called kefir : http://nourishedkitchen.com/milk-kefir/ There is a very strong cultural belief that dairy products are the best food for calcium, however this is simply not the case, and when weighed up against the potential negative effects of eating a lot of dairy, there are much more beneficial sources of calcium to choose from. The calcium from these sources is also more easily absorbed by our bodies than from diary. I bet you have probably eaten many sources of calcium today, without even realising. Just a few examples of food containing calcium would include: sweet potato, spinach, lemon, celery, broccoli, bananas, pineapple, avocado, oranges, green beans, asparagus, grapes, carrots, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, oats, brown rice, lentils, chickpeas, wholewheat flour... the list goes on and on! 2) This is a difficult question to answer briefly! The point with milk, is that it's function is as a first food for babies, whether that is a calf, kitten or human baby. No other animal species aside from humans consume milk after weaning. I would say that foods that can be hunted and gathered and fished are suitable for human digestion. Foods in their whole form, unprocessed, are best for us. What I am saying is that dairy is absolutely not essential to the diet of an adult or child. Many many societies on this planet have no dairy in their diet at all. The main perceived reasons for eating dairy are calcium and protein, and there are better sources than dairy for both of these things. There is nothing wrong with having some dairy in the diet, as part of a balance with other foods, although certainly in moderation, and I would always suggest organic, as non-organic dairy cattle are given large quantities of hormones and other drugs that can pass on to their milk and are best avoided.

Follow on milk is a highly processed cow's milk product, again, it offers nothing that can't be gained from a better source in a balanced diet. I would definitely avoid it, for many reasons, for one the first ingredient of follow on milk is vegetable oil, which is something that I wouldn't recommend in anyone's diet.

Some cow's milk is ok as part of a balanced diet, but I would hesitate before giving it to my child in large quantities, i.e. regularly as a bottle feed. Everything that is nutritionally beneficial in milk, can be readily found in the rest of the diet. Milk has been well promoted as a health drink by the dairy board over the past 50 years, however our digestive system is not designed to drink milk from animals (other than ourselves), and in large quantities amongst other things it can cause irritation to the intestine, can make it harder for our bodies to absorb iron, and can cause allergic reactions which can including ear nose and throat problems. Milk is not a health drink, and human's are not designed to drink cow's milk.

Jasmina - the reason for this is likely to be that the person leading the workshop does not have a full understanding of baby led weaning, and so does not have the confidence to share the benefits with parents. This is due to poor training of staff, not a comment against baby led weaning.

Well, I would ask the question of why you want to give either? If your baby is getting a well balanced diet from the solids that it is eating, why give either cows milk of formula? For a drink I would give water.

If he is eating well and has a balanced diet, my advice would be to give both of them a swerve.

Ironically, baby rice is in my opinion a totally inappropriate food for babies. Breast milk is nutrient dense, comprising of over 3000 nutritional elements (we still haven't been able to determine exactly it's composition), which means that for the volume (and their tummies are small remember), a baby can not get a more nourishing food source. Baby rice on the other hand, is essentially powdered white rice, which contains virtually no nutrients. So, by feeding baby rice you are displacing the more nourishing breast milk. Consuming artificially fortified vitamin's and minerals is far inferior nutritionally than receiving those vits and minerals from their source. The body does not absorb them as easily, and they are not of as good a quality. You are always better to eat a wholefood, than a refined/processed 'fortified' food.

Just to let you know, there is great inconsistency in weaning advice from the NHS/Children's Centre's, from borough to borough. Depending on the individual leading the training, you can get very different advice. The Infant Feeding Coordinator in Islington Borough for example strongly advocates baby led weaning, and this is reflected across their weaning advice, however not all boroughs are up to date with this. It is worth bearing this in mind when you do any weaning workshops, and also reading Gill Rapley's book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-led-Weaning-Helping-Your-Baby/dp/0091923808

Richard - would just say, that with the little ones, you might want to think about a suitable upper limit on numbers in the group. Too many and it would stop being comfortable and enjoyable for the children and mums. Sophie x

Hand foot and mouth seems to be going around like crazy at the moment, I know 4 friends' babies that have had it in the last month or so.

I have PMd you. Sophie xxx

Thanks Richard for such a great morning! See you next week!! And big high 5 to all the mum's!

I'm coming :)

Hi everyone - any recommendations for this? Anywhere not in central town with a good grotto? Garden centre or something? Thanks!! Sophie