JulieBhosaleAchive

The phase of starting babies on solid food is currently one of hot debate with conflicting information. This is representative of the current climate of change in nutrition globally. The aim of this blog post is to shed some light on this, look at our current guidelines compared to other research and also show why I am strong opposed to starting babies off on baby rice or any other variation of infant cereal. Up until six months of age, babies obtain all the nutrients they require from breast milk or formula. Just as a side note here for those that do not know my previous challenges with breastfeeding you can read this here . Breast milk has low amounts of iron – when you look at the typical composition it is virtually none. However, babies are born with enough iron stores to last through to six months of age. Formula typically has a little bit more iron than breast milk – however it is low overall, again for the reason that babies have enough iron supplies at birth. Our current World ...

I am a mother. I am tired, broken and sore. I have lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits. I am a mother. I have created, grown, carried and birthed two gorgeous sons. I am a mother. I am solely responsible for the lives of two little humans, every single day and night, week in and week out and will be for the rest of my life (and maybe future #number 3 baby). I am a health professional. I work in an industry which is largely focused on the superficial. The how you look . Not how you feel . Not who you are . I am a mother. You too are a mother. You are also tired, exhausted, broken, sore, have lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits. You too live in a world which judges you on how you look . Not how you feel . Not who you really are and what you have sacrificed...and continue to sacrifice. You are beautiful, you are amazing, you are a mother.  You live in a society that pushes images at you every day of women who have given birth and just "bounced back" - great for them (truly, tha...

This blog has been quite hard for me to write and taken me a few drafts! I sincerely hope that it helps another mum out there feel at peace with their own choice of how they feed their baby. My First Experience This story really starts with my experience breastfeeding my first son (now aged 2). As a nutritionist and lecturer prior to having children I taught the importance of breast-feeding. I KNEW how important it was – but I had no idea just HOW HARD it could be. I thought I was prepared. I read books, practiced with balloons in antenatal class, but in reality I had absolutely no clue. By the middle of the second night after my first son was born, I already had raw painful nipples. My milk did come in but every feed was painful and getting worse, especially on my left side. I tried every cream on the market, every breast-feeding position, even my midwife struggled, we just could not get him to latch properly. I was feeding semi-ok on the right side so why could I not get the left sid...