Unpopular Opinion Thursday

Lisapyle

The "side eye" is completely ok with me. My baby and I are both happy as can be!

sbevmc09

b0710:

Mason&Mama:

While I do side-eye that pedi for recommending cereal at 6 weeks for satisfaction, I will play devil's advocate and point out that it is still common for doctors to suggest cereal in the bottle for severe reflux. I have always heard that cereal should never be given in a bottle for other reasons, but for reflux it is not unheard of. As far as helping with sleep, cereal in the bottle has been used for generations, but it is just an OWT that this works. 

I will add to this.  My son has mild reflux (enough to really bother him sometimes).  To avoid using medication since it seems manageable...per my dr recommendation, I have been adding a small amount of cereal to my LOs bottles at night (when he seems to spit up the most).  Every time I read the comments about no cereal, especially until 6 months, it breaks my heart a little bit because I'm doing what I need to for reflux.  I felt this was better than a medicine, as did my doctor.  It does help my son with nighttime spit up (since he's more flat obviously than during the day); however, it does not help him sleep longer, nor was that ever the point. I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Maybe this is a second UO from me, but I will continue to follow my doctor's advice and give DS small amounts of cereal for his reflux, as opposed to Zantac or Prevacid or whatever else there is out there (no offense at all to reflux mamas....I totally understand why you need and use the meds!).

I will say, reflux is a completely different situation.  You really are stuck between a rock and a hard place because none of the choices you have to deal with it are really good ones.  It is what it is.  I am sorry that you had to deal with reflux at all, but I am glad you are able to manage it  

If it makes you feel any better if your child would exhibit symptoms of leaky gut down the line (not saying they will, but it is something that can happen with anyone) there are ways to heal it.  It's not an easy undertaking IMO, but it can be done and I would certainly do it for my child if they were exhibiting troubling symptoms.  

But try not to worry.  Hopefully everything will be fine and you're doing what you have to do now.  TOTALLY different situation than people doing it because they think it will help their baby STTN or because they think they're hungry and need something bulkier in their tummy, etc.  

zonagirlie

Allycat11:

I definitely need to think of something to add but I definitely agree with you on 2 points: nbsp;When DD wakesnbsp;nbsp;up frequently at night, I consider it normal and don't expect her to STTN any time soon. nbsp;I also think angel care monitors arenbsp;unnecessarynbsp;for most families. nbsp;

Totally.

zonagirlie

hansonam446:

sbevmc09:

Lisapyle:

sbevmc09:

Lisapyle:

MelissaRae1525:

Lisapyle:

Okay.. Here's mine.. I'm from the south so most of the kids around come out eating table food... That's just how it is.. I have been giving my LO cereal since he was 6 weeks old and I'm fixing to start baby food pretty soon.. He was almost 10 pounds and the child acts like he is starving so I'm going to feed him. My mom did it to me and I turned out just fine! :
P.s my pedi said he was cool with everything I have been giving him!

6 weeks? Are you serious. I'm from the south too. That's no excuse. That's insane. And the my parents did it so its fine is the most bull shitt excuse I have ever heard. My mom rode with no car seat with my grandpa smoking while holding her. Is that cool too?

Yes you read it right I said 6 weeks. He was a big baby and formula doesn't always fill him up. So I will put like half a teaspoon it his bottle. It isn't going to hurt them. That's why I have never posted this on here because I knew some people would *** there pants.

How do you know it isn't going to hurt him?  If you're making this choice, I get the impression that you're probably uneducated on the topic.  I don't think anyone who really understands how important it is to NOT introduce grains to an underdeveloped system would be pooh-poohing the risks of unnecessarily giving their baby cereal.  In a bottle.  ::face palm:: 

Sorry, I just can't get behind this.  At all.  Your baby is fine eating just breastmilk/formula.  They don't need any additional food.  If you think their food needs aren't met with BM/formula you're reading their cues incorrectly.  I feel extremely confident in making this determination even without any additional information from you.  

At the end of the day it's your child, but why anyone would want to increase the likelihood that their child will have to deal with auto-immune disorders, diabetes, obesity, chronic inflammation, allergies, etc. is just absolutely beyond my comprehension.  If you want to argue starting at 4mo, I don't agree, but at least there's a better chance the outcome will be fine.  But seriously?  6 weeks?  I just can't. 

When you know better, you do better.  Just because earlier generations didn't have access to the information that we do doesn't mean it's okay to continue the ignorance.  

I didn't do it to get him to sleep through the night. It doesn't bother me to get up with him. And no it's not that i am uneducated about the topic. I talked to his pedi about this. I would give him 6 ounces of formula and he would just scream after he was finished because he was still starving so I would give him 6 more and after it was finished he still was hungry so the pedi told me to put a little bit in his formula so that's what I did and he seemed satisfied. I don't do it with every bottle but when he acts like he isn't getting enough I put a little cereal in there. I would rather listen to my dr then would some random research on the Internet said. My baby is perfectly health. Everyone will have there opinions but in the end it's my decision on what I want to feed my child.

You're right.  It certainly is your decision.  

 

Gotta get in on this gem. 

 

This young food doesn't really have nutritional value. Solids are just a way for LOs to experiment. Even when they're introduced you're supposed to continue BFing/Formula. And like PP said it can damage their digestive system, set them up for allergies, etc. Sure, it's your decision but I side-eye the sh*t out of you.

Yep.

DCKate

Ok, here are mine...

I think CIO is sad.  It's not for my family, and I totally get being super sleep-deprived and how it works for some.  Just not for me.

I hated, HATED breastfeeding.  And don't tell me I wasn't doing it right.  Had an entire staff of LCs come to my room at the hospital, after we got home, etc.  I just didn't produce enough.  I'd been made to feel so bad about it that I was afraid to give my daughter formula EVEN THOUGH SHE IS MY KID.  ANd almost cried with relief at her first pedi appt when the doc said it was completely fine to give her formula.  

Finally, co-sleeping scares me.  Aren't you going to roll over on your kid at some point in the night?