We just took our two month old to the paediatrician yesterday. The paediatrician took me to task for not feeding her on a schedule (every 3.5-4 hrs) and the fact that she is 'overweight'. Our daughter is 100% breastfed and I just feed her whenever she's hungry or wants comfort. She often has a quick 'snack' only an hour to an hour and a half after her last feed.
My husband and I are both of Northern European background and quite tall - so of course our baby is big. I've looked on the internet and it seems that in other countries they don't advise limiting breastfeeds and breastfed babies are never considered 'overweight'. Is this one of those weird Italian medical things like telling pregnant women not to gain more than 12 kgs? Has anyone else had this experience with Italian paediatricians?
If you want me to put your mind at rest on the weight issue let me have her exact age in weeks and her weight in kilos and I'll look her up in my daughter's book that we are given in the UK with all the weights and centiles etc. I still use it now to track her height and weight at 4 years. These are designed for North Europeans so it will give you a good idea of her centile.
Yes! That is definitley an Italian thing...they have quite a rigid schedule, at 3/4 months baby MUST start eating this and that etc etc
You are doing the right thing, nothing can be better for your baby than your own milk, I too nursed my children fully until 15 to 20 months or so. I tried introducing some foods to my oldest at 9 months and he refused! He nursed happily until around 11 months or so. And then went straight to eating food while continuing to nurse a bit more.
Don't feel guilty, you are doing the right thing. And don't forget that nursing makes babies fatter, when I stopped nursing my 22 month old a few months ago, he lost weight. It's normal.
a good American style doc who was trained in the US is Roberto Albani, he does not have Italian attitudes...
My first ped was like that but not the others. Basically, there are doctors who believe in the old school ways, timed feedings, etc. and then there are doctors who have a brain Your baby is your responsibility not the doctors and as you are doing something wonderful for your child, ignore the doc. If he doesn't like it and gives you grief, find another doc. I BF my oldest for 15 months and except for the first doc who told me to quick at 2 months, my other peds thought it was great and pushed me to continue as long as I or my child wanted. I only stopped before 2 years because I got pregnant with number 2 and the idea of BF while pregnant sounds good, the pain from sensitivity was too much and the flavor of my milk changed so #1 self weaned.
My next door neighbor, a doc, BF exclusively for 8 months then gave some food but still BF until the child was 3. And this was a woman who when pregnant thought she would not be able to BF because her mther "couldn't". I gave her info from LLL and she followed the advice and also helped many other doctor friends who had babies and patients who were pregnant.
Cristina
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I was often told off here (not by the paediatrician - i went around a few to find a 'modern' one) for breastfeeding on demand. I didn't listen to anyone and continued as i had. Interestingly, most of these (women) who said that also had problems BF their own kids 'my milk dried up' or 'my milk wasn't nutritious enough' and it made me angry they were trying to tell me what to do when obviously their way hadn't worked.
Luckily i had the first 2 months overseas under the supervision of a great (free, public) midwife and I was well versed in feeding on demand physiology etc. I also have growth schedules for there and my daughter was normal according to them.
In fact, for height she is still only at the 25% percentile but here in Sicily everyone comments on how tall she is!
I'd say if you and your husband are both large and she is happy and healthy feeding on demand then all sounds NORMAL to me. I'm sure on the internet you can find northern european (or even australian) guidelines to compare her to if you are worried. Keep up the good work!
Ignore them and do what's best for you and your baby!
If it makes you feel better, our first Dr. here in the US said something simmilar...yes, yes, an Italian thing...but you find 'em all over :-)
Do your own reading and find what works for you. (and don't bother with the UK charts!!! MY US kid spent some time as a baby in Ireland and he was WAY off the UK charts! some kids with different backgrounds are just bigger - he's 7 and as tall as most of my elderly Italian neighbors...and my Irish mother-in-law! go by US charts if it makes you feel better...but, I find it best to ignore them all!!)
Thanks. The doctor also told me I have to start introducing solids at 5 mos which seemed odd since all my books say 6months. There's no way I'm sticking to any kind of schedule- she didn't mention that.
Cristina- she was supportive of breastfeeding and didn't try to make me stop. She just thought that after the first few weeks you need to start scheduling feedings 3.5-4 hrs apart otherwise they get too fat. I've been trying to do this today (my husband seems to trust the doctor) and it seems to be impossible to hold out on a hungry baby. I don't know how Italian mums do it!
persoannly, I don't know how correct that is. I don't hear much about fat breastfed babies! (but, been a few years since I've researched any of it) I always fed my baby when he was hungry and never stuck to any scheduale. He turned out fine and is a healthy, happy, very athletic, not-overweight kid. It is not life or death whatever you choose really! As for introducing solids - I think each baby is different (!!!) there is not one age you MUST introduce solids! That's just silly. Pay attention to your kid and you'll figure it out. (they tried to make me feed my baby soilds in Ireland too when he was 6months - totally not right for him and he had stomach pains...so I ignored them and did it when he was ready! of course, they also were still believing in giving babies sugar water...seriously...go with your gut and do your own reading)
I agree with Musetta, that info doesn't sound right. If anything, breastfed babies tend to be long and lean.
3.5-4 hours is much too much time in between feeds for such a little baby! Breastmilk is easily digested, in about 90 mins., I think, and that's why breastfed babies need to eat more often than formula fed. I actually had dd on a schedule (mostly because she tended to nurse for an hour or more at a time and I needed some time without her attached ) but she never went that long between feeds. She doesn't go that long even now (except at night- she sleeps right through) and she's nine months old! She'd freak out if I made her wait 4 hours.
One thing to consider, when babies go through growth spurts, they nurse more often to help mom increase her supply. If you stick too closely to a schedule you could wind up with undersupply problems. so if you do decide to schedule, for whatever reason, maybe 2.5-3 hours at most would be less difficult for her, and just be flexible about it and ready to alter it if that's what she needs.
Also, be careful about going too long between feedings for your health, too. You could get plugged ducts or mastitis after a while.
Do what YOU think is best for your baby. Babies are supposed to be chubby! Look at the weight charts only if you feel the need to. If your dd is healthy and happy, you're already doing the right thing.
Edited to add: I think many mothers are able to put their babies off so long because they use pacifiers. I've seen very few babies without them here, and people always ask me why my daughter doesn't have one.
Disclaimer: the content of this post is specific to my personal experience of Italy and may differ from received opinion about the bel paese.
My ped who is italian, but very up-to-date with everything in the rest of the world and not just in Italy, told me that a breastfeed baby does not get fat. She also told a friend of mine (a new mom) to breastfeed when the baby was hungry...not to do it on a schedule.
As far as the pacifier, I remember seeing other moms give the babies a pacifier when they were still in the hospital... so like not even 3 days old! DH and I waited to see if we would need it or not (hoping that we would not), but our son was too attached to sucking his finger which is worse than the paci. For this, I was glad to finally get him on the paci at 3 months.
I too found that people here in general think infants need to eat on a schedule. My 4 mo old put herself on a schedule pretty early on and consistently wanted to eat every 3 hrs. Occasionally, she needs to eat every 2 hrs and sometimes every 4 hrs. I give her what she needs. Every baby is different and they even differ from their own norm from day to day (like someone mentioned if they are going through a growth spurt).
As far as the weight is concerned. I am hearing it too. Because my baby doubled her weight at 3 months instead of at 5 mo, she is considered very big. I much prefer her to be big and healthy than the alternative. I think it's a testimony to how healthy you are helping her to be by bf and if she continues to do so well on bm alone, than there is no need to start her on solid foods before 6 months.
BH no sorry, Albani is not part of the ASL, but if you have regular health insurance it's possible to get reimbursments. This was one area we decided we didn't want to take chances on and so we're splurging with a private doc.
Ok, so I am not in Italy, but thought I'd chime in. I took a lactation educator course, and have breastfed my two sons so I know a bit about this subject.
You're absolutely doing the right thing; babies need to be fed on demand. Ignore the silly doctor.
Posts: 27 | Location (City & State): Seattle, WA | Registered: 04 September 2008
Thanks for all the support! I'm now back to feeding her whenever she seems hungry and all is well. She gets hungry every couple of hours but sleeps for 8-9 hours at night without feeding!!! I guess we're very lucky that she does this at 10 weeks but unfortunately my breasts get very full so I wake up at 5am anyway.
I've had so many Italian women tell me that they did not have any milk or that it dried up- I wonder if this silly advice is to blame?
I just wanted to add, as someone who had to bottle feed for various reasons, you can bottlefeed on demand too, it isn't just for breastfed babies. My daughter was on demand by bottle from about 3 weeks after consistently not putting weight on when solely breastfed( or not, as I was producing next to nothing).
Oh -I hope I didn't imply that if breastfeeding did not work out it is the mother's fault! (like us mothers need any more guilt in our lives!) I know that breastfeeding can be very difficult for some mums despite all efforts. I was just wondering if the advice which a lot of Italian doctors give compounds the problems which exist naturally.
I concede it's possible, but then the main proponent of putting baby on a schedule is Gina Ford! And the number of Bfing mums I knew in the UK who stuck her regime come what may, including the very early bedtimes for baby and the afternoon naps for mum! Great if you have a baby that will take such instruction!!
Ramona- I think your ped should take some pointers from you...clearly you are doing something right if your baby is sleeping 8-9 hours at night! Congratulations!
My baby used to do 6 hours from 2-4 months and I was thrilled, but now she's regressed and is waking up numerous times wanting to eat...I hope it's a phase!
Originally posted by Perri: Ramona- I think your ped should take some pointers from you...clearly you are doing something right if your baby is sleeping 8-9 hours at night! Congratulations!
My baby used to do 6 hours from 2-4 months and I was thrilled, but now she's regressed and is waking up numerous times wanting to eat...I hope it's a phase!
Teething maybe? Babies find sucking helps the pain of the teeth moving around in their gums. A friend told me the teeth can move up and down many times before finally breaking through. Sounds painful! Try some homeopathic granules, my friends swore by them, or maybe a drop of baby calpol (paracetomol Liquid) before bed might help. My health visitor told me that lying down when they are teething increases the pressure in the jaw and also the teething pain, if it is this.
I thought I wasn't producing enough milk, so my friend recommended a lactation specialist (this was in Berkeley, Calif.). She talked to me for a long time and during that period she witnessed my son breastfeeding. She came to two coclusions: 1. I had enough milk and 2. My son is a snacker, so I produce a little milk constantly to keep up with his eating rhythm. She also said milk is just like anything else a body produces or doesn't produce enough of,so some women just simply do not produce enough, but that only a fraction of women who think they do not have enough really don't. According to her the tell tale sign of "not enough" is whether the baby gives a frustrated and hungry cry after he/she is done breastfeeding- almost a rageful cry. She said my son seemed relaxed and satisfied. Its been awhile (10 years!), but I would say if you have breastfeeding worries try a lactation specialist as it was such a postive and nurturing experience for me!
Expats in Italy Forum 
Your baby is your responsibility not the doctors and as you are doing something wonderful for your child, ignore the doc. If he doesn't like it and gives you grief, find another doc. I BF my oldest for 15 months and except for the first doc who told me to quick at 2 months, my other peds thought it was great and pushed me to continue as long as I or my child wanted. I only stopped before 2 years because I got pregnant with number 2 and the idea of BF while pregnant sounds good, the pain from sensitivity was too much and the flavor of my milk changed so #1 self weaned.
) but she never went that long between feeds. She doesn't go that long even now (except at night- she sleeps right through) and she's nine months old! She'd freak out if I made her wait 4 hours.
I'm now back to feeding her whenever she seems hungry and all is well. She gets hungry every couple of hours but sleeps for 8-9 hours at night without feeding!!! I guess we're very lucky that she does this at 10 weeks but unfortunately my breasts get very full so I wake up at 5am anyway.