Breast or bottle refusal can be a distressing occurrence for both mother and baby. Often the baby has previously fed happily, then for some reason, begins to refuse a feed. Causes may be apparent such as: an alert baby being easily distracted, over-feeding or force-feeding, gastric reflux, illness in the infant or if breastfeeding, oral or nipple thrush, mastitis, medications and hormonal changes (e.g. ovulation, menstruation), or mother becoming ill. There may also be issues

Part 2 of Fussy Feeders In the previous article I discussed some of the behavioural reasons behind fussy feeding. This month I would like to take a closer look at those children who are plainly not comfortable while eating or are literally starving themselves. These babies are often labelled ‘Failure to Thrive’ babies. They are babies and toddlers that are not gaining weight they should or are under weight. Having worked amongst many babies and toddlers who either fuss

Having worked amongst many babies and toddlers who either fuss at the breast/bottle or are refusing or fussy with their solids I would like to discus some of the reasons I have found are quite common causes of this fussiness. Fussy feeders covers quite a large age range from newborns through to childhood and can be due to various reasons and therefore should be looked at closely to decide if or not is behavioural or is there some other more sinister cause. In this article I

Basic equipment needed for bottle feeding We advocate breastfeeding and suggest that if you are having problems or doubts about breastfeeding it would be best to talk to your parenting coach about your concerns. If on the other hand you choose to bottle feed possibly because of a bad experience or there is some other reason you can’t, or you have just chosen not to breastfeed this chapter will help you with the next best thing. Bottle feeding. If you are expressing and gi

In the past World Health Authorities advised not to start solids before six months of age this was due to the unhygienic conditions and child mortality in third world countries. WHO also thought it may contribute to the increasing problems of childhood obesity in the west. Breastfeeding is still encouraged till six month or longer as it contains all the nutrients a baby needs to grow and be in good health. Today parents are encouraged to start their babies on solids by four

Usually by three or four months your baby will have given up one night feed naturally and be sleeping eight hours. Those who have not been waking their baby for the last feed before midnight (usually between 9 and 11 pm) your baby may be having their long sleep earlier in the evening, which means she will be waking you for a feed during the night. Those who have been waking their baby before they go to bed will find her long sleep will naturally fall after this last feed whic