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So I have a question....My sister-in-law has a 6 month old baby boy. At his last doctor's appointment, the doctor said that they should only give him 3 meals a day of table food and nursing right after and no snacks throughout the day. His reasoning was because of obesity in America. What are your thoughts? Does this seem crazy or like good advice? How often to you feed your babies? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
5 comments:
I think doctor's are just trying their best to figure out the best way to reduce obesity, and that every few years they decide to try something new. Even between my boys who are 2 years apart a lot of the advice changed.
I also think that, unless obesity is a problem in your sister-in-law's family, that the baby should eat when hungry. If possible, nursing should be continued for the health benefits and the antibodies in breastmilk.
Doctors want to give parents something they can do. Feed the kids snacks, don't feed them snacks, only nurse a certain amount of time, nurse on demand, it's all the same. Does it matter? No. What matters isn't how often you feed them but WHAT you feed them. Kids have their own bodies and will learn to tell when they're hungry and full. All the YOU need to do is provide them with healthy choices to meet their nutritional needs and kick in the part of the brain that says they're not hungry anymore. Obesity is not caused by eating too many healthy foods, it's caused by eating junk like coke, goldfish, and GMO-filled corn that are devoid of nutrients and filled with chemicals that mess with the body's signals and tell us/them to eat MORE MORE MORE because they're not getting enough of what they need and therefore they need to eat MORE of SOMETHING to get the quota. Sure to snacks, sure to breastfeeding any time of the day. Just make sure the snacks are health-filled and varied, and that YOU are eating enough nutritional foods to give your breastmilk the nutrients and healthy fats it needs. It's QUALITY and NOT QUANTITY that matters.
That is just crazy! Stats say that older babies and toddlers receive 75% of their nutrition from snacks! They are growing so fast and have such a high metabolism that they need food frequently. I think what's important is to recognize their cues for when they're full and not try to make them overeat. Our Dr. said he'll stop when he's full. As long as the food is healthy, I say let them eat as much as they want! Obesity, when it's not exactly in the family, comes from overeating, and eating unhealthy things. That's how our kids are getting fat! They're eating fruit snacks ALL the time, drinking too much juice instead of water, eating out all the time, etc. They need fruits and vegetables, meats, and healthy items to stay healthy...it's the same as adults! I'm not against eating out or fruit snacks cuz by all means we do both....I mean limit the sugar and unhealthy food and make healthy food the main staple. Every kid is different and sometimes you can't go by the books as far as schedule/habits go.
I agree on most of the above comments. I am a registered dietitian so I think I know a little more than most about nutrition. The schedule of how you feed a baby is more up to the baby and mother. Children have great intuition about the amount of calories they need each day. They eat when hungry and stop when full. Most children do NEED to eat more than 3 times/day, so definitely make sure your sister in law is feeding him more if he is hungry. Babies have small stomachs and need frequent feedings in order to get the nutrition they need. I hope her baby is nursing more than 3x/day, because milk/formula is the important food source right now. Milk is the food that will help him to grow and develop. The solid foods and snacks are simply there to help him learn how to eat rather than provide necessary nutrients.
I think this is absolutely absurd!! It's the biggest load of crap ever and I would have told that Doctor off. A child is born with the natural ability to cry when hungry, if your baby cries when hungry... feed him. At 6 months my children were all nursing many times a day still. I swear that Doctor needs a slap. And all babies come in different sizes and shapes, I have one son that was 25lbs at 6 months, he was such a little cute porker... he's not 6'1" and has a gorgeous athletic build... I have a daughter that didn't even double her birth weight by 1 year.. ALL children are different. The best advice I ever got as a new mother... "You are the mother, YOU know what your baby needs".
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