Why be a Member of the NCT?

As a member, you'll have the opportunity to engage in your local NCT community, courses and events, but you'll also get extra special benefits - all for under £4 per month.

• Meet new friends through your local NCT branch – Wherever you live, we have a branch in your area where you can meet other parents going through the same life changes as you. Many of our members make lifelong friends through their local NCT branch, as they support each other through the most momentous time in their lives and in the years that follow.
• Early entry to NCT Nearly New Sales – To help you save on cash and resources, NCT Nearly New Sales are the perfect solution. NCT members get exclusive early entry to top-quality baby and children's clothes and equipment at bargain price!
• Partners join for no extra cost – You and your partner can have a joint membership at no extra cost, so you both have access to information, events and support through NCT.
• Receive a quarterly NCT magazine – Our nationally-recognised membership magazine is packed full of informative articles on everything from pregnancy through to early parenthood. You'll also receive 8 annual e-newsletters stock full of the latest parenting information and research. 
• Exclusive discounts from NCT shop  www.nctshop.co.uk   and also our new Eco Range  www.ecoutlet.co.uk to help you budget for baby. All profits are used to fund NCT’s work with parents.
• Free access to NCT's House Swap Register http://ncthouseswap.ning.com - Holidays are expensive, and finding suitable baby-friendly accommodation can be a hit or miss experience.  NCT’s Houseswap Register has been running for over 20 years and enables you to swap your home with other registered members.   You can enjoy a low cost holiday safe in the knowledge that it will be kitted out to meet the needs of your little ones
• Becoming a member is a way of saying YES to supporting parents – NCT represents the needs and priorities of parents across the UK, at both Government and local policy levels, to ensure continued improvements in parent services.  Your membership also helps NCT to continue to deliver services such as our busy helplines and to support disadvantaged parents through a range of practical outreach projects.  
• Being a member gives you the opportunity to give something back - You may be one of thousands of people that have benefited from the services of the NCT. Becoming a member is a way of giving back to that community, by volunteering or simply through your membership fee. This will help ensure that the NCT is there to help other parents in the future.

Not a member yet? Join Here

 

Member Exclusive - NCT House Swap

Free access to the NCT House Swap Register for NCT members

Holidays are expensive and finding suitable baby-friendly accommodation can be a hit and miss experience. The NCT House Swap Register has been running for over 30 years and enables you to swap your home with other registered members to enjoy a low cost holiday at a fraction of the cost safe in the knowledge that it will be kitted out to meet the needs of your little ones.

*Free sign up to NCT house swap for NCT members
*You could save easily well over £1,000 on accommodation and car costs per exchange, and you can have as many exchanges as you want.
*Make new friends. Exchanging homes has been in many cases the beginning of along lasting friendship.
*Live like a local while you are on vacation. You are not 'locked up' in a holiday resort or hotel, but you live amongst the locals
*The register is always growing so you will have more swapping opportunities the longer you are on the register.
To sign up please visit www.ncthouseswap.ning.com and click on the sign up button to start swapping.
NCT House Swap member, Trisha says, “each swap was a bonus as I asked myself where else can you go on a free holiday and be guaranteed all the right equipment for a baby or toys suitable for the various ages of your family members as they grew”

Not a member yet? Join Here

A Year without Dairy and Cheese - a tale of food allergies and itchy skin

Isobel, now 13 months, is allergic to dairy products, eggs, lentils, beans and also has a slight reaction to tomatoes and occasionally salmon, tuna and grapes. She also has mild eczema (dry, red, itchy patches), which is exacerbated by the food intolerance. It never once occurred to me when Isobel was born that our little one would be heading down this route, although my husband's family does have a history of intolerance to egg, peas and cheese. Arrogance? Unshakable faith in my genes? No, simply that food allergies and eczema were just not something I had ever encountered within my family and I had absolutely no frame of reference for. Believe me, I have irrationally raged against my husband's family genes! If only this wasn't happening to us! Why me? As if bringing up a little person wasn't hard enough anyway, let alone having to do it with an unnatural obsession about meal times! This is how Isobel's story unfolded.

Eczema was the first to surface - newborn milk spots that lasted ages (weeks 3-9), a course antibiotics for infected neck skin very early on in her little life and red blotchy skin that was never calmed or cured by the string of Health Visitor emollient products (or the small mountain of herbal salves and potions I had purchased in desperation!). Eventually after quite a few visits our Doctor referred us to the Paediatric Dermatology clinic at the West Suffolk Hospital where the consultant diagnosed classic atopic eczema and immediately prescribed a fabulous emollient product and hydrocortisone cream. Before we had attended this appointment however the food allergies surfaced.

We started weaning Isobel at the magic Health Visitor preferred age of 20 weeks. She was a joy to wean and progressed really well from baby rice to pureed veg. A vehement bottle refuser Isobel was 100% breastfed and at the point where I wanted to try things like Weetabix, expressed milk was become increasing hard to obtain. When the Health Visitor suggested I could use normal milk instead of expressed milk for mixing with cereals I was overjoyed ñ Yippee I thought, no more mid morning battles with the pump- easy life. How wrong I was to be. The first time I mixed milk with Isobel's cereal she broke out in red patches with raised white bumps a bit like a nettle sting within about 10 minutes of ingesting it. The patches were on her hands where she had touched the milk and over various parts of her body. The red patches were hot to the touch and she was sad and crying. A cool bath and 20 minutes saw the reaction subside, leaving Isobel fine, albeit a bit itchy where it had made her eczema flare up, and me decidedly wobbly. Thankfully it never affected her respiratory system. We experienced a similar reaction with Ω an egg yolk mixed with veg puree, although this reaction was a little more violent and targeted every single pulse point on her body ñ eyes, ears, armpits, groin, behind knees etc. Our final pair of reactions were less severe, appeared after a delay of 2 hrs and were to lentils and canellini beans.

I was now a bit unsure about how to proceed and nervous of progressing her eating experiences and expanding the variety of foods. Thankfully the Paediatric Dermatology clinic appointment was imminent but the advice, unsurprisingly, was to avoid all those foods until we returned to the clinic for some skin prick tests. This appointment of course was many months down the line and whilst there could not have really been any other advice offered I don't suppose, my heart sank. I saw before us more months of struggling through weaning, envious of other mums for whom the basic task of feeding their little one wasn't a big deal. Sometimes it was hard enough accommodating and tempting Isobel's ever developing tastes and skill level, let alone when many of the easy and obvious food options were forbidden. I felt the specialist needed to offer advice better balanced between the practical and the ideological ñ he had obviously never weaned a baby!

    As a precursor to the skin test appt they suggested a blood test to test for wheat, dairy and egg allergy. I was shocked to experience the phlebotomist attempting to take blood from a ten month old, as you would do an adult ñ in the arm using a tourniquet. Needless to say it was extremely distressing for all involved and no blood forthcoming for testing. A Practice Nurse has since ventured the opinion that hand or foot are good alternatives, but at the time I was told there was no alternative to the arm. 

I naively thought that the skin tests under the Paediatric Dept would therefore be more baby friendly (air syringe type arrangement where many suspected allergens could be tested for simultaneously). The test actually involves placing drops of the liquid allergen onto the inner arm and holding the arm still whilst a scratch is made through the liquid. Isobel did not react well at all to the looming consultants and the peering and pulling at her body. At the point where she was purple from screaming I questioned whether the appointment was worth it ñ surely I could have just fed her the danger foods at home and watched for a reaction?! I am seriously considering this course of action for the review test next year. In defence of the Allergy Clinic Isobel's shy nature coupled with her traumatic blood test memories made the testing a distressing ordeal. I do know of a one year old who was so fascinated by the procedure when he had skin allergy prick test that he stayed still and quite for the whole thing! For the two things they managed to test for (any more drops of liquid would have been impossible!) there was positive reaction and we were told no dairy or egg for another year and not to be tempted to try as it can delay the natural growing out of the allergy. My heart sank - another 12 months feeding Isobel without all these foods! One of the most disappointing parts of the appointment was the lack of advice and interest on the practical implications of this verdict to Isobel's health and development. Perhaps if Isobel had taken to the procedure better some of the foods on my suspected list could have been explored/discussed. However, instead I am now about to embark on a home test programme to identify conclusively foods on our suspected list. Hopefully she will now have grown out of them, but if she hasn't I will have one hot, red and itchy sad little girl to dunk in a cool bath!

Luckily the Paediatric Dietitian Clinic has captured us and here I have found a source of advice on the more practical aspects of Isobel's food allergies. I say luckily for the contact came about accidentally when our Dermatology nurse suggested a prescription only 'milk free' milk formula (obtained via the Paediatric Dietitian!!) Had this not been the case I would have felt decidedly despondent and unsure of where to turn for advice. I shudder to think that we only had contact with the dietitian through this accidental and indirect route. The Paediatric Dietician has since given us a RDA of calcium for Isobel, which is wholly provided for by the infant formula, and the aspect in all this I was most unsure and worried about.

Where are we now? We have products to keep her itchy skin at bay and this makes it easier to spot possible food troublemakers. I always have a feeling of doing things differently to other Mums and not sharing quite the same experience of parenting. I spend too much of my time making endless chicken and meat casseroles, which are still relatively chunk free, worrying about the lack of variety in her diet. I do this so I can hide good fortifying ingredients such as spinach within in a vain attempt to compensate for the lack of calcium from other sources. Although as the dietitian said she would have to eat a huge plateful for leafy greens to make any significant contribution! I fret and struggle about how to progress her eating habits (a meat and veg diet doesn't lend itself very easily to tempting finger foods it seems. one day she will eat a boiled floret of broccoli I'm sure!). They expect her to grow out for the dairy intolerance in the next couple of years and the egg one by the time she's five (She'll probably hate eggs the first time she tries one at that stage!). As to the other foods we know and suspect there is an intolerance to, well, fingers crossed for my home feeding trials. Allergy spotting is not an exact science though. Is an itchy neck and head with speckly eyes (Isobel's trademark problem areas) caused by food, environment, teething, just being a one year old, temperature? The answer, I suspect, is sometimes a combination! I can drive myself insane looking for triggers and patterns to the flare ups and eventually have to just administer a dose of Piriton to control the itchiness and move on. 

    My best advice is to write things down as they occur and get specialist/medical help and support as early as possible. It is often difficult to tell which home solutions work ñ was it the herbal cream or the food which made things worse?? You drive yourself crazy and probably never identify what it was. Having specialist support eliminates much of the uncertainty. Time lines quickly blur too and it is difficult to recall what happened when. We now keep a food diary recording everything she eats with accompanying notes about skin in a hope to try and spot the food culprits or recognise a pattern. I frequently kick myself for not having done this food diary along time ago. You read in books to make a note of when new foods are introduced in the weaning process. Who really does that, I thought? How I wish I had! Once captured by the medical profession the allergy story is one you will have to tell over and over again to different people, each keeping their own separate record! Try recounting the story with an unhappy child on your knee and details soon become muddled!

Finally here is our list of hit products that have helped us: -
-    1% and 0.5% Hydrocortisone cream for very bad eczema patches - prescription only. (Do not be tempted to buy off the shelf Hydrocortisone products.)
-    Pure Potions Skin Salvation (a beeswax herbal product), which I use on all areas of her face and body when the patches are not too bad. www.purepotions.com
-    Epaderm moisturiser (like Vaseline, but easier absorbed and less sticky). Available to buy from a chemist, but also on prescription.
-    Neocate Infant formula - a prescription only milk free formula.

Finally, finally keep your eyes peeled in the next mag for a tried and tested egg and dairy free cake recipe!

Sally H

Below is Maria, also weaning without dairy.

 

Baby's parents demand rickets death hospital inquiry

Rohan Wray, 22, and Chana Al-Alas, 19, of London, were accused of abusing baby Jayden but his fractures were later found to have been caused by rickets. They told the BBC that the Great Ormond Street and University College hospitals should have diagnosed the disease. The hospitals have defended their care of Jayden before his death in 2009. Mrs Justice Theis concluded that more research was needed on the impact of vitamin D deficiency and rickets on babies aged under six months. The couple's daughter, who has been in the care of Islington since her birth in October 2010, has now been returned to them.

bbc.co.uk 20/4/12

It could be YOU that's keeping baby awake: Babies more likely to have sleep problems if mothers are depressed

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University found that mothers with greater symptoms of depression and worries behaved in ways that disrupted their babies' sleep. The depressed mothers were more likely to pick up their sleeping babies and move them into their own bed to silence fears about whether the child was hungry, thirsty or comfortable, the study published in journal Child Development found. They were also more likely to respond to baby sounds that don't necessarily require a response.

The MailOnline 18/4/12

Extreme maternal weight causes pregnancy risks

New maternal and newborn health research conducted by the University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada has shown that obese and underweight females can encounter problems both during pregnancy and once their child is born. Published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, the findings indicate that overweight ladies are at risk of developing diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Meanwhile, those deemed to be too thin are prone to oligohydramnios - which is a reduction in the amount of amniotic liquid. Their children are also likely to be underweight.

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetricsfigo.org 23/4/12

‘Five S's’ ease babies' pain during vaccinations

Some physical comfort and a soothing voice may make routine vaccinations a little easier on babies without resorting to painkillers like acetaminophen, a new study suggests. Researchers tested the so-called ‘5 S'’ approach - a method of soothing a fussy baby popularised by paediatrician, Dr. Harvey Karp, in the book, ‘The Happiest Baby on the Block’. The ‘S's’ stand for swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging and sucking. The study, published in the journal, ‘Paediatrics’, included 234 two- and four-month-old infants having routine vaccinations.

uk.reuters.com 18/4/12

Birth defects more common in IVF babies

Babies conceived through certain fertility treatment techniques are about one-third more likely to have a birth defect than babies conceived without any extra help from technology, according to a review of several dozen studies. However, the researchers - whose findings were published in the journal ‘Fertility and Sterility’ - did not determine why fertility treatments are tied to a higher risk of birth defects or whether the technology is even responsible. It's possible that the same reasons people have trouble conceiving and seek out fertility treatment could influence their increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect. It's also possible that the IVF techniques themselves, the jostling and handling of the embryos, or the drugs that go along with fertility treatment, could be involved. A third theory is that birth defects only appear to be more common in babies conceived through fertility treatments because they're monitored more closely than other babies. For more than 124,000 children born through IVF or using ICSI, in which a single sperm is injected directly into the egg, the risk of having a birth defect was found to be 37 percent higher than that of the other children.

uk.reuters.com20/4/12

Home births are cheaper than hospital for the NHS: research

Home births are around £300 cheaper to provide than hospital deliveries for women at low risk of complications, it was found. For women who'd had previous children, planned birth in an obstetric unit was the most expensive option at £1,142 per woman, with planned birth at home the cheapest at £780 per woman. But for first time mothers, even those assessed as at low risk of complications, there were more problems for the baby if they gave birth at home compared with a delivery in an hospital with obstetricians, a study published in the British Medical Journal found. They were up to three times more likely to suffer a stillbirth, birth injury to the child including broken bones, brain damage and respiratory problems associated with stress during birth.

The Telegraph 20/4/12

Child Health Profile for Cambridgeshire

Child and Maternal Health Observatory, March 2012 (www.chimat.org.uk)

Child Poverty*: better rate than the England average

13.9% of children aged under 16 years living in poverty in 2009 (21.9% England)

*Poverty: % of children in families in receipt of either out of work benefits or tax credits where there reported income is less than 60% median income

Child Obesity: lower rate than the England average

7.6% of children aged 4-5 years (reception class) were obese in 2010/11 (9.4% England) while 15.8% of children aged 10-11 years (Year 6) were obese (19.0% England)

Breastfeeding initiation rates: much higher than average

In Cambridgeshire, 81.3% of mothers in 2010/11 initiated breastfeeding when their baby was born (74.5% England). By 6-8 weeks after birth, 58.4% of mothers were still breastfeeding

                                                                                                                                                                               

Rates of smoking in pregnancy: lower than average

11.0% of mothers in 2010/11 were smoking at the time of delivery – lower than the England rate of 13.6%

Levels of Children’s Tooth Decay: Similar to the England average

At age 12, the mean number of decayed, missing of filled teeth in Cambridgeshire children was 0.5 – slightly lower than the England average of 0.7 (2008/09)

Percentage of Children Achieving a Good level of Development at Age 5: Similar to average

60.0% of five year olds  achieved a good level of development within Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in 2011 (59.0% England)

Immunisation Rates: Similar to average

In 2010/11, 88.9% of children had received their MMR immunisation by age 2 (England 89.1%) while 96.2% had received immunisation against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis and Hib (England 96.0%)

Participation in Sport: Worse than the national average

48.7% of school-age children participated in at least 3 hours of sport/PE per week in 2009/10 (55.1% England)

Beansprouts, brown rice and lentils

Maggie Berney, Wokingham & District branch

I suppose that if there is a preconception about veggie diets it's that it's all beansprouts, brown rice and lentils.  In fact, until I became pregnant, my diet wasn't anywhere near that healthy: too many pies and chips and not enough veg, which, unsurprisingly, lead to recurrent bouts of anaemia.  Anyway, that all changed once the blue line appeared in the window.  My diet became healthier, I took vitamin supplements and I ended up with iron levels that were healthier than your average non-pregnant meat-eater!

I have been a vegetarian for 14 years and my husband has been one for even longer and, to be honest, it never entered out minds to feed our children meat.  On the whole, family and friends also took it for granted that the children would be vegetarian and it was never really discussed.  The people who did take issue with our decision were those who didn't know us very well and, in telling us we were bad parents, usually managed to demonstrate their own level of ignorance, the most memorable comment being, "You can't raise that child to be a vegetarian.  It's not healthy.  Where's he going to get his calcium from?"  Well, milk actually...

The health visitors that I spoke to were supportive of our decision, but I think it was fortunate that I didn't need their advice as their grasp of vegetarian nutrition did seem a little limited.   Luckily, when I started my maternity leave, two of the girls at work bought me a copy of Carol Timperley's book of ‘Baby and Child Vegetarian Recipes’ which promptly became my food-bible!

When my son was born his diet obviously wasn't an issue for the first six months.  He was initially breastfed, but fairly quickly we moved on to mixed feeding.  I decided to introduce solids at five months, and for the first month there was nothing unusual about his diet – the usual fruit and vegetable purees.  When he got to six months we began to broaden his diet and started introducing lentils and cheese as protein sources followed eventually by beans and tofu and, much later, nuts, quorn and seeds.

It is actually quite hard for young children to get insufficient protein in their diet, especially if they eat and drink enough dairy products.  My main concern has never been giving them enough protein but rather making sure that they get enough iron and other essential minerals.  I'm fortunate in the fact that both my children strangely enough love broccoli but from the age of 12 months I have also given them a vitamin tonic containing vitamins A and D plus iron, copper, calcium, manganese and potassium.

These days both children eat the same meals that we do.  Life is too short to cook two separate meals each day!  Their favourite meals include chickpea curry, lentil hotpot, spaghetti bolognese made with textured vegetable protein (TVP), or any kind of pasta with sauce but preferably sausage sauce (made with vegetarian frankfurters).

Eating at other people's houses wasn't initially a problem.  Most of my friends know that we're a vegetarian family and cater accordingly.  In the last year or so though things have changed and my son has now got to the stage of going to parties without me.   After a lot of thought I decided that it would be best to let my children eat what they like at parties.  After all, we eat vegetarian sausages at home which look just like the meaty ones served up at most parties - it's not easy to tell the difference.  I feel that at four years old my son is too young to be able to distinguish what constitutes meat and what doesn't, and I don't want him to get into the situation where he may start worrying about what he is and isn't allowed to eat and thereby getting hang-ups about food in general.

Taking this route has the benefit that when both children are older they will know what meat is and what it tastes like and so will be able to make an informed choice about whether or not to eat it.  We've had conversations about where meat comes from, the first of which was prompted by a hog roast at a family wedding: "What's that Mummy?" We've also explained that, although we choose not to eat meat because we don't like eating animals, most people don't feel the same way that we do.  Once they are older we will also explain about modern farming methods to them.

Once the children start having opinions on what they want to eat, I am prepared to let them eat meat if that's what they decide they want to do, although I know I will be disappointed.  The proviso will always be that if they want to eat meat at home then they will have to buy and cook it themselves.

In the meantime, they are two healthy, lively children who are average weight for their height.

Home made Lentil Patties

Yum!

Baby-Led Weaning - The end for purees or just the end of your carpet?

Emma McCarthy, Horsham & District Branch

This summer, as soon as our son, Dan, and his NCT buddies hit that magical weaning marker of six months, all talk seemed to centre on this next challenge in our fledgling careers as parents. Suddenly everywhere we looked we were surrounded by weaning paraphernalia; brightly coloured spoons, bowls, bibs, trays, pots and a multitude of books, chairs, foods and snacks. Health visitors were advocating a speedy transition to solids and the race was on to wean.

Looking down at my little son who was still breastfed on demand, I couldn’t help but think that he seemed very young for all this! My instinct was not to start feeding him pureed foods but to let him lead the way and learn to feed himself. I’d heard about baby-led weaning (BLW) but needed to find out more about it.

The more I read about BLW, the more it made sense - it really fitted with the baby-led way we had found ourselves parenting until now. The idea is that the child shares the family mealtimes and eats the same food as everyone else, so you don’t have to puree, spoonfeed or cook separate foods. BLW allows babies to explore, taste and play with food long before they really eat it or rely on it for all their nutrition. They can go at their own pace and gradually make the transition to solids, growing in confidence and experiencing a wide range of tastes and textures. I was convinced that this was the way for us.

We bought Dan a high chair that could be adjusted to allow him to sit at our table, with a tray that sticks straight onto the table top. Armed with good advice, I also invested in a large piece of plastic tablecloth to cover our beige carpet - more of this later! Dan had a selection of whatever we were having on his tray and we all got on with it.

Realisation quickly dawned that this was not for the faint-hearted! In those early days, we wept with pride as Dan ingested a bit of grated cheese or spaghetti bolognaise, little realising that the novelty factor was largely behind it. After a couple of weeks of curious munching, things seemed to completely stall. All food put in front of him was played with with interest and then swept to the floor. When you feel like you’ve spent all day worrying about what to give your child to eat, this is dispiriting to say the least!

Alongside me, the other NCT mums were reporting huge appetites amongst their offspring for pureed goodies and new taste combinations were being discovered every week. It was really hard at this stage to keep the faith and remember that we were at the start of a process and we really weren’t starving our baby! Some days he would eat, others he wouldn’t, and the amounts were very small, which can be hard if you‘re the kind of mum who needs to know how much your baby is eating.

I will say it was difficult to find other mums who were taking the same approach and you can feel a bit out on a limb and unsupported. Your mother-in-law will also think you are utterly, utterly mad! BLW does take time, and I just had to trust that, in the meantime, the breastmilk was doing its work. (It’s important to add that bottle-fed babies can also be successfully weaned this way).

Gradually though, as the weeks went by, Dan grew in dexterity and interest. He got better and better at handling different foods and working out how to tackle slippery, soft or crunchy textures. I didn’t always notice the changes happening but other people who saw him less frequently did. He began to have a go at everything and we have yet to find a food that he won’t eat. It often looks as though he’s not consuming much at each meal, but you always have the most reliable indicator in the world - the nappy! How proud we were to see his first ‘human poo’!

BLW does create unimaginable mess though. Dan is particularly skilled at the ‘spoonful-of-yogurt flick’, sometimes achieving coverage in two directions before the floor-impact spatter. Other far-reaching substances include mackerel, peas and soup… Readiness is all; a damp cloth close at hand and a willingness to divest yourself of all pride in your appearance! Again, we have to trust that this will pass.

At nearly 11 months as I write, Dan has three meals a day with me plus as much breastmilk as he wants. This has meant that I’m breastfeeding longer than I thought I might be, and this choice has its implications too. Over time though, the balance will shift - hopefully before he’s ten!

He can handle tiny crumbs, whole apples, steak and everything in between. We’re thoroughly glad we stuck with it, as the whole process has generally been very relaxed - if Dan’s not hungry right then, he’ll eat later and there’s no stress.

A hidden benefit is that you might lose a few pounds as you go, as BLW forces you to think really carefully about how healthily you are eating! He has never choked or come close and we don’t worry about this. On the odd occasion he has literally bitten off more than he can chew but he has to learn how to deal with it (it’s not pretty!).

So if your baby can sit up on their own, reaches out for things and puts them in their mouth to chew and, more importantly, shows an interest in taking food from your plate, it could be time to give BLW a try.

Absolute essential reading is ‘Baby-led Weaning: Helping your baby to love good food’ by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett, which explains everything in a very accessible way and far better than I have. The clip on YouTube of a baby eating a whole chicken leg is also worth looking up!

We’re pleased that we’ve let Dan take control of the process and that mealtimes are fun and relaxed; hopefully he’ll grow up with a good appetite and a healthy relationship with food. 




Below, Arthur demonstrates that BLW can be messy, but fun! Luckily we don't have carpet where we dine, as this was his first attempt at dahl and rice!

They are what they eat

 Jodie Black, Peterborough branch

Jamie Oliver has done a great job in highlighting the inadequacy of school meals. However, the subsequent media attention devoted to children’s diets in general has left many parents worrying about what their children eat. I am no exception, and at one stage became almost obsessed with my son, Nyall’s, diet. I was writing down everything he ate and freaking out if he hadn’t eaten a portion of pulses on a given day.

I soon realised that this was an unhealthy attitude to have and I am now a lot more relaxed, but I still follow a few basic principles to ensure he eats a balanced and varied diet. My efforts have been rewarded as Nyall, now 25 months, will happily eat a wide range of different foods (though like all toddlers he has his moments) and I am often asked what my secret is.

I am not a nutritional expert, but I think that variety is important in order to ensure that Nyall gets all the vitamins and minerals that he needs. I cook a wide range of foods and am always on the lookout for new recipes and ideas. It helps that I am a vegetarian and my fiancé, Chris, is a big meat eater as it means that Nyall is exposed to a huge range of different meals. He is just as happy eating lentil bolognese as he is tucking into roast pheasant with all the trimmings and I hope that this is something that will continue as he gets older.

I also plan my family’s meals carefully; before I go shopping I draw up a meal plan for the week ahead, taking into consideration any commitments or activities we have planned. Not only does this reduce our food shopping bill, it also means that I am less likely to arrive home after a busy day with no desire to cook a complicated meal and end up getting a takeaway pizza! ‘Busy day meals’ in our house could be baked potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn and a side salad or a supermarket bought pizza base loaded with mushrooms, mixed peppers, tomatoes, pineapple, olives….

I accept that as a full time mum I have more time that some parents, but many meals can be batch cooked and frozen. Chilli con carne, shepherd’s pie and sausage casserole can all be cooked in advance, frozen and then defrosted as needed, and all three go down well in my household, especially in the winter months.

If you have a fussy eater, never underestimate the power of ‘hidden food’ to give their diet a secret boost! Homemade soup is a great way to get a variety of vegetables into fussy little tummies, and with a bit of careful blending they’ll have no idea that they’re happily wolfing down carrots, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes or whatever else you choose to add.

Finely grated carrot can be smuggled into almost anything including bolognese sauce, baked beans and grated cheese sandwiches – trust me, they won’t even know it’s there! Raisins and sultanas can be added to chocolate cornflake cakes, fresh fruit can be added to jelly, and mashed banana or pureed apple can easily be stirred into a bowl of Ready Brek. Potatoes and butternut squash mashed together always go down well in our house and stewed fruit with natural yoghurt is one of Nyall’s favourite snacks.

In order to ensure that Nyall’s meals are well balanced and that his energy levels are consistent throughout the day, I try to stick to at least one portion of protein (e.g. meat, quorn, cheese), one portion of carbohydrate (e.g. bread, pasta, potatoes) and two portions of fruit/vegetables for lunch and dinner. I apply the same principle to breakfast but aim to include at least one portion of fruit and vegetables rather than two. This isn’t as complicated or difficult to achieve as it sounds.

Breakfast could be porridge with dried apricot or scrambled egg on toast followed by a banana. Lunch could be soft cheese and grape sandwiches followed by a tangerine, or pasta with red pepper, peas and cheese, while dinner might be sausages with mashed potato, carrots and broccoli or grilled chicken with rice and stir fried vegetables.

In addition, Nyall has two snacks a day and, although I do allow him cakes and biscuits, they are an occasional treat and he doesn’t eat them every day. Instead, I try to steer him towards healthy snacks such as oatcakes topped with peanut butter, bread sticks, raw carrot sticks and cucumber strips with dips, dried/fresh fruit and natural yoghurt.

It may sound as though I am too strict with Nyall’s diet, but I am careful not to ban certain foods or label some food as bad and other food as good. I simply explain to Nyall that our bodies need lots of different types of food and that some foods are more important than others.

I know there will come a time when Nyall is asking for takeaway junk food, but I hope that by setting a good example at home, it will be easier to limit such food to an occasional addition to an otherwise healthy, balanced diet. 

Young Bumps - Antenatal Classes for the Under 21's

Nicky Srahan

NCT’s visionary strategy aims to reach and support 20 million parents by 2020.  To this end, NCT has been in touch with all Children’s Centres and NHS hospitals about increasing partnership working.  As of last year, there were 124 contracts formed with Children’s Centres countrywide.

We agreed to pilot an antenatal course with Ely Children’s Centre last year; the success of this has led to two more courses being commissioned this year for ‘Young Bumps’ antenatal classes – for under 21 year olds. The classes are free to the participants as the contract is agreed between the Children’s Centres and NCT.  Local midwives refer all pregnant women under 19 years to Lisa Langley, Young Parent Support Worker at Ely Children’s Centre (includes Littleport and Sutton Children’s Centres); she works closely with all these young people, trying hard to encourage them to attend the classes. 

The courses have all varied in format and duration as we have adapted to the parents’ needs.  I taught five antenatal classes of eight in the first course, and local health visitors contributed to three weeks of parenting issues.  There was a regular core group of four young people who came every week; they were able to bring birth partners, friends or parents with them, and this varied widely, but the contribution of several different people was valuable and enjoyable.  Several other young people attended sporadically.  Although I had developed a course plan, the agenda was negotiable depending on people’s needs. 

We had two young mums on the second course; one came with her dad, mum or school friend each week, and the other brought her boyfriend or mum; the session when both mums were together was lovely!  Owing to quite a wide gap in due dates between these two, we shortened the course to six weeks.

I am now in the middle of my third course; we’ve changed the plan again because all the potential young women are between 15 and 18 weeks pregnant now, so a little early for a full-blown antenatal course.  For that reason, we have just had two sessions thinking about the early days of pregnancy, looking after themselves and their babies, and thinking ahead to hopes and dreams for their babies and feeding.  Evidence suggests that women have usually decided how they are going to feed their babies before they reach 20 weeks pregnant, so it was important for me to have an early discussion about breastfeeding.  Encouragingly, they are all keen to breastfeed.  After Easter, we are re-joining for a more standard six week antenatal and parenting course.

Tips that I have learnt from working with young parents:

·       Treat young people as equals and examine assumptions, in the same way as I would older parents.  Young parents often get a bad press, but becoming a parent can be a strong, stabilising and positive influence in a young parent’s life.  (Professor Simon Duncan at Bradford University is a controversial academic who writes about challenging the problems that people may have with teenage parenthood.)

·       Congratulate them!  They may not have heard too many words of congratulations.

·       Venue and timing. Afternoon sessions are easier; they are unlikely to attend in the morning.  The Children’s Centre organises local taxis to collect them and take them home.

·       Group dynamics. Although this is crucial in any class, a group relationship is important for the success of the sessions. Ice breakers are very important for strengthening a group – as long as they are right!

·       Varied teaching methods.  I have developed many more visual activities for these groups.  I am keen that these sessions are not thought of as conventional education, or school, as some people’s experiences have been poor of school. Sophie King-Hill, an NCT teacher and experienced youth worker, suggests that sometimes we may have to go back to how they got pregnant, periods etc, as school sex education can be so poor!

·       Be flexible and laid back.  Be prepared to respond to the young people’s needs and not stick to a plan!

·       Work with anyone who comes!  If a young person brings a new companion each week, welcome them and work with their knowledge and contribution.  Value everyone’s support.

Research suggests that engaging young people antenatally increases the likelihood of them continuing that engagement postnatally.  Young people are traditionally reticent about attending local mother and baby groups, but the Children’s Centre offer ‘Little Monkeys’ and PEEP for babies and toddlers; all of which are well attended by young parents. 

Although this work can be challenging, it is also very rewarding and refreshing.  There are differences between working with young people and older parents, but many of the issues, worries and concerns are the same for every age group.  The love they feel for their children is the same as mine.

Sources of Weaning Advice

Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett

(Laura Leach)

As my son approached the age of 6 months I hadn’t given weaning very much thought.  I dutifully pureed the odd bit of leftover carrot and played about with some ice cube trays in preparation. I started with some baby rice which Thomas happily ate… on one condition- he must hold the spoon and put it in his mouth himself.  If I put it in his mouth he was not going to play along.  I realised that we could be at the start of a battle of wills that could last for years so I decided to look again at baby led weaning which I had heard of on the internet.  

Published in late 2008 in response to a growing number of families taking the alternative path to purees, Rapley explores the theoretical and practical reasons why feeding babies a diet that is roughly the same as that of the whole family can be a good alternative to spoon feeding.  She explains the background of weaning techniques and dispels the myth that babies need to learn to move pureed food in their mouths and swallow it before they are ready for any proper solid foods.  

The general idea of baby led weaning is that you don’t give any purees and the baby only has foods which he can pick up himself. One of the main draws of the book is the mix of both theoretical and practical information.  Although you can start the baby eating most things that the family eats, Rapley gives lists of suggestions for the sorts of food a six month old can manage, such as sticks of cheese or steamed vegetables. She also discusses how to go about reducing milk feeds as the baby eats more. 

Rapley addresses the two main concerns many families have about baby led weaning: choking and not knowing how much the baby has eaten. Using both a scientific basis and a more anecdotal series of family case studies, she explains why choking is actually less likely with babies who are given finger foods at 6 months because the gag reflex moves back in the mouth as the baby gets older.  She also discusses why it doesn’t matter if the baby only eats very little initially as the main source of nutrition is milk until about a year.  

Thomas is now three years old and we are still reaping the benefits of baby led weaning. I think that it has made me much more relaxed about mealtimes and about what he eats.  I'm sure a lot of it is luck but we have not had any meal time battles at all and he has a good appetite and will eat most things. While we have rules about manners at the table and he will not be given an alternative meal if he doesn't fancy what I have cooked, I will not insist that he eats everything that is on his plate. 

We now have a ten month old, Elizabeth, who has also been mainly weaned with finger foods. Meal times are great fun and we are able to watch her fine motor skills progress quickly and watch her enjoying being part of the family by eating the same meal as us at the table.  Rapley’s book is simply written and clear. By reading it I gained the confidence to wean my children without purees – the single best parenting decision I have made so far. 

The website is also good

 

Megan

I've got Gill Rapley's baby led weaning book and was given an Annabel Karmel one with my first but, to be honest, they're both a bit 'purist' for me. I kind of prefer the idea that actually I'm just feeding my baby and want to get on with it. I got lots of good advice and ideas from  And I like the River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook. Sensible and food you'd actually want to eat.

Gillian

Annabel Karmel's book was great, I found it the other day and had totally forgotten it had lots of toddler meals too so am giving it a go again.  I also joined a BLW forum which was very supportive and gave me lots of ideas.

Nancy

I have two weaning books. They both date from before baby-led weaning, and when health visitors advised weaning at four months. The first is Annabel Karmel’s ‘New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner’, the other is Lorraine Kelly’s ‘Baby & Toddler Eating Plan’ (co-written by a nutritionist, Anita Bean). From the titles, they sound quite similar, and both books combine recipes with charts telling you what to feed your baby and when (in terms of at what age, and also on a meal-by-meal basis). I found the charts of limited value except, I suppose, with my first child when I lacked confidence and paid a lot more attention to what I ‘should’ be doing. As in life, the Annabel Karmel is a lot flashier than the Lorraine Kelly, with colour drawings throughout and more exotic ingredients required, compared with no illustrations, and more down-to-earth recipes. Both books contain some great recipes, but I tend to favour the Lorraine Kelly ones. My favourite is ‘Cheesy Lentil Savoury’, and my seven-year old still loves the ‘Home-made Chicken Nuggets’. 

Sarah