Breaking My Own Rule

When I started blogging regularly last summer, I decided that I was going to stay away from negativity.  Not today.  This post is going to sound a lot like one long complaint, so I apologise in advance.  

I feel compelled to say something though, because this has been all over the news today.  [I chose to link to the BBC story merely because it's the news website I use.]

I'd just like to state first of all, regarding this new research coming from the Great Ones Who Know So Much More Than Us Parents, that I don't care a bit what anyone in the Matrix Medical Establishment has to say about breastfeeding.  Their general track record when it comes to encouraging mothers to feed their babies themselves is appalling; they've attempted pitifully to catch up in the last thirty years or so in order to redeem their preceding sixty years of ignorance.  

I've breastfed all my babies exclusively for the first five and a half months.  The Boys started having solids then, a decision which I now regret; they were definitely not ready though exhibiting the so-called "signs". Because I hadn't learned yet to trust my own instincts with them, instead hanging onto the word of the exalted health visitor who told me they "needed solids because they're sharing the breastmilk" [hello, my boobs were definitely making enough for two?!],  I began to encourage them to try solids even though they choked and gagged on every spoonful of flavourless rice porridge.  After keeping this up for about three weeks, they finally learned to swallow the gunk, even though they seemed miserable at replacing a breastfeed with a session of baby food.

In contrast, Mr J and Coo happily chose to wean themselves onto solid food [not the rice porridge - real food!] when they were ready, both [coincidence? I think not] around the time they cut their first tooth.

As for the "signs", apparently this includes "grabbing for food", "chewing on toys", and "putting objects into their mouths". 

These are also signs of teething!  I did try to feed both Mr J and Coo when they first exhibited these signs, but they were not remotely interested, spitting out food at the first try.  It was only after I could see a tooth [seven months with Mr J and eight months with Coo] that they actually welcomed food and tried to eat it.   

Food allergies?  Apparently this is one of the reasons why we shouldn't breastfeed exclusively beyond six months.

Not in this house.  My kids are allergic to absolutely zilch.  My five siblings and I were also breastfed exclusively past six months with no food allergies to be seen.  It will be interesting to see if any of us suffer in the future with IBS and all those other intestinal difficulties that so many of our generation and our parents' generation seem to be plagued with.  

It saddens me to think that the mothers who still hang onto whatever the doctor/health visitor says about breastfeeding will yet again be scrambling to follow their advice to the letter and start shoving pureed baby food into the mouths of tiny tots whose bellies aren't ready for anything but milk.   

My disclaimer is this: you're the parent, you choose what to feed your baby.  I'm not going to pass judgment on anyone for their choice to formula feed or give solids before six months.  I understand that every new mother's situation is different.

However, I am curious, just for interest's sake, which formula and baby food companies threw funding behind this new medical research.  (see note)

I'm also interested in hearing what any of you have to say.  Any sign of food allergies or iron deficiency in your babies who've been exclusively breastfed past six months?

Back to happy blogging tomorrow.  Big love to any of you non-parents out there who actually finished reading this!

Note: As commenters have pointed out, this was not "medical research" but the opinion of experts from three child health institutes in London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh after "reviewing scientific research on feeding babies".  They were writing about their opinion in the British Medical Journal.  It's important to note that the review itself is quite extensive and the press have been very selective in their reporting, focusing almost exclusively on the breastfeeding negative factors.  Here's the information about funding, and the other side to the story for those of you who are interested, from Baby Milk Action.  [Thanks, Olivia!]