Let's talk about introducing solids to baby

[plain jane]

My youngest is going on 7months and I have not yet introduced solids. My hesitation is due in large part to the bazillion (or so it feels like some days) food intolerances/allergies my other kiddos have and also to my own selfish (yes, I know, please don't flame me) desire to hold on to these baby days just a while longer. I'm not eager for the transition from bre@stfed baby poop to ... :ack2:.

 

Sigh.

 

But, my little one appears to be ready all of a sudden.- Watches us with great interest when we eat, lunges for food, etc. All this has happened in the last 10 days or so, so it's not like this has been going on for ages. :)

 

So, I guess I have to do it, huh? Start mixing up that rice cereal and take the plunge into the busy world of making my own baby food, of watching baby like a hawk for reactions to food, stressing over poops (and constipation) and allergic reactions.

 

Oy. How did this happen? I'm sure it was just yesterday we were driving home from the hospital. :001_huh:

 

How long have you waited to introduce solids? What were the first few foods you introduced?

 

Can anybody else commiserate with me or am I the only one who sheds a tear when this first turn around the corner of babyhood is made? :crying:

[Farrar]

We tried around 6 or 7 mos to introduce all kinds of things, but my kids never took anything from us. Around 10 mos, they finally got the pincer grasp down and went straight to feeding themselves cheerios, peas, wild blueberries and so forth. It was such a relief to have them not glued to the breast (and me pinned to the sofa!) 24/7 that I don't relate to feeling sad or bittersweet about it, but HUGS if you do!

 

My understanding is that the leading wisdom now is that you shouldn't start with rice cereal, but instead with things like sweet potatoes or avocados.

[Mama Geek]

Dd wasn't getting enough milk from bfeeding so we started her on solids between 4 and 5 months. We never did rice cereal. We did do avacados, sweet potatoes with some butter, bananas, etc. I read somewhere to introduce the 8 or 10 common allergens between 8 and 12 months I think. We introduced 1 every 2 or 3 weeks and waited on the gluten and shrimp since dh has problems with both of those. She still gets mommy's milk twice a day. For a long time we fed her mommy's milk before feeding her solids so that she would continue to get all the good from it.

 

It is hard to believe that my little baby is almost 16 mo. she walks, runs, talks, understands alot of what we say, she is dancing. Where did the time go?

[Joanne]

:iagree:

 

I never did traditional baby food. I did solids when my babies were ready and gave them real food from the first bite.

 

I didn't "feed" them, either. I let them self feed bites of fruit, whole wheat bread, veggies, meat, etc.

[Sevilla]

I loved Baby Led Solids ('baby led weaning' in the UK). Google "Gil Rappley Weaning" and some sites will come up. It was liberating to not have to spoon feed my second child and to let them enjoy finger foods (and self-regulating their intake) from the beginning. My BLW solids child is a far better eater and self-regulator than her siblings who had a more traditional approach to food.

[Momof3littles]

:iagree:

 

I never did traditional baby food. I did solids when my babies were ready and gave them real food from the first bite.

 

I didn't "feed" them, either. I let them self feed bites of fruit, whole wheat bread, veggies, meat, etc.

:iagree:

 

I tried a little rice cereal w/ my oldest and it was a no go. He did best with finger foods starting around 9 months.

 

I used a baby led weaning approach with my 2nd and 3rd child. Real food, no purees, finger/self feeding. I don't believe rice cereal is very beneficial or necessary and I skipped it entirely with baby #2 and baby#3.

[Gailmegan]

My oldest was crazy for food at 5 mos - grabbing it off the plate and wanting it so badly. I got one of those food mills and made my own baby food for him.

 

The next two didn't want baby food. AT. ALL. They both refused any offers until 8-9 mos when they were able to eat little nibbles of whatever we were eating.

 

Either way I took my cues from them and what they were ready for. I know the pediatricians say cereal first, but mine were never big on cereal. Ripe bananas, sweet potatoes, bits of chicken, and avocado made the best first foods for them. Watching them try to pick up slippery avocado is always good for a laugh too. ;)

[BrookValley.]

Yeah, I'm another one that skipped the rice cereal. I suppose it's recommended so often because rice is usually easily tolerated/non-allergenic, but rice cereal is so devoid of nutrition...and there are plenty of other foods that are easily tolerated/usually non-allergenic! My little one's first food was avacados, followed by sweet potatoes, then I think bananas. I never fed him rice cereal, we went straight to oatmeal when I felt he was old enough. I think he started solids somewhere around 7 or 8 months. Like previous posters, we just went with the flow and followed his cues.

[Rosie_0801]

No rice cereal! That stuff smells like wall paper paste! :ack2:

 

Rosie

[LidiyaDawn]

Wow, some of you wait a long time! Around here it's generally anytime between 4-6 months that people start introducing foods, and it's nearly always started with rice cereal. I don't know anyone who has waited until 9 months of age! [i'm not saying that's a bad thing - just that I've never heard of it]

 

I do know *one* person who made her own baby food though…

[duckens]

I never did traditional baby food. I did solids when my babies were ready and gave them real food from the first bite.

 

I didn't "feed" them, either. I let them self feed bites of fruit, whole wheat bread, veggies, meat, etc.

:iagree:

 

We cut up food into the size of a pony bead for starters, although our 10mo now gnaws off larger pieces of banana, pear, cracker, etc. Baby feeds herself with a pincer grasp for the stuff we still cut up.

 

We never did rice cereal either. It seemed so processed to me, but I know it is the right choice for many other parents.

 

And it is okay to delay solids; especially if baby is getting a healthy amount of breastmilk! Most of the first year (until 12 months) is all experimental eating anyway. If baby takes 2 bites, that's awesome! If not....no worries as long as baby is a good nurser. I know that you and your doctor will monitor baby's growth and development to ensure baby is getting what they need.

 

The research I have read says that delaying solids can also delay chances of food allergies by giving baby a better chance to outgrow sensitivities. I don't know from personal experience; it's just what I have read.

 

I also know that feeding child foods they may be sensitive to can be detrimental to baby's growth and development. Dd1's best friend went 9 months with a milk allergy that the pediatrician suspected but did not share with the parents. Once a secondary pediatrician diagnosed Baby E, she grew 4 inches in the next 6 months!

[Momof3littles]

Wow, some of you wait a long time! Around here it's generally anytime between 4-6 months that people start introducing foods, and it's nearly always started with rice cereal. I don't know anyone who has waited until 9 months of age! [i'm not saying that's a bad thing - just that I've never heard of it]

 

I do know *one* person who made her own baby food though…

It is pretty common in folks who do baby led weaning as discussed up thread.

 

My DS1 had zero interest in purees. He ate half a jar of baby food (a small jar at that) on one occasion. I started at 6 months. It was very stressful; I felt like a failure because he wouldn't eat. I thought all babies enjoyed being spoon fed and would open wide with excitement. DS1 absolutely hated being fed. As a first time mom, the whole experience was very difficult, and we had a ped who was shocked he wasn't eating more and kept urging us to push solids. I don't know what she thought I was going to do-force feed him? He just needed time.

 

He did much better once he could finger feed, and he fed himself small quantities but a nice variety. He really didn't start eating larger amounts of solids until he was over a year. He was still nursing like a champ.

 

With baby #2 and #3, I did more reading and decided to skip purees entirely. DD started with solids around 8 months, and DS2 was 6-7 months. Neither of them had any purees.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Momof3littles

[tabrizia]

:iagree:

 

I never did traditional baby food. I did solids when my babies were ready and gave them real food from the first bite.

 

I didn't "feed" them, either. I let them self feed bites of fruit, whole wheat bread, veggies, meat, etc.

 

:iagree: We are doing this now with number 3. We did the same with numbers 1 and 2 as well. DS wasn't interested until around 8 months, DD was ready at 6 months and gobbled everything up. DS2 has been playing with food for about a month now, and enjoying it, he didn't really get anything into his mouth for the first week or two, but now he happily chows down on what he is given. We just give him a little of whatever we are eating, so broccoli spears, sweet potato in fry shapes, banana slices (in fry shapes), etc.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Have you heard of Baby Led Solids? Some YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=baby+led+solids&aq=0&oq=baby+led+so

[plain jane]

I wanted to wait until baby was able to self feed but this one is lunging at my food and eyeing me eat with an evil eye. ;) I get those puppy eyes and a longing look every time I take a bite of food. :lol:

 

I'm not thrilled with rice cereal either, but rice is practically the only food that everyone in my family tolerates. :001_huh:

 

I have some that have OAS to bananas, avocados and other "typical" first foods so I'm leery to go that route too.

 

I just don't know what to feed this kid. :(

 

:willy_nilly:

 

FWIW, i'm big on child led weaning too. All mine have nursed for years. ;)

[plain jane]

Either way I took my cues from them and what they were ready for. I know the pediatricians say cereal first, but mine were never big on cereal. Ripe bananas, sweet potatoes, bits of chicken, and avocado made the best first foods for them. Watching them try to pick up slippery avocado is always good for a laugh too. ;)

 

I have kids who have either allergies or OAS to all these foods. :(

[Momof3littles]

I wanted to wait until baby was able to self feed but this one is lunging at my food and eyeing me eat with an evil eye. ;) I get those puppy eyes and a longing look every time I take a bite of food. :lol:

 

I'm not thrilled with rice cereal either, but rice is practically the only food that everyone in my family tolerates. :001_huh:

 

I have some that have OAS to bananas, avocados and other "typical" first foods so I'm leery to go that route too.

 

I just don't know what to feed this kid. :(

 

:willy_nilly:

 

FWIW, i'm big on child led weaning too. All mine have nursed for years. ;)

Baby led weaning in the context used above is about intro to solids. We do "child led weaning" from breastfeeding, but the "baby led weaning" as used above is about introduction of solids, not stopping breastfeeding. Confusing terminology but I guess in Britain and elsewhere "weaning" is used to describe the intro of solids, even if the child continues to BF. Clear as mud? :001_huh:

[plain jane]

Baby led weaning in the context used above is about intro to solids. We do "child led weaning" from breastfeeding, but the "baby led weaning" as used above is about introduction of solids, not stopping breastfeeding. Confusing terminology but I guess in Britain and elsewhere "weaning" is used to describe the intro of solids, even if the child continues to BF. Clear as mud? :001_huh:

 

No. I'm sooooo tired ATM. :lol:

 

But I will do more reading on it. Thanks!

[Momof3littles]

No. I'm sooooo tired ATM. :lol:

 

But I will do more reading on it. Thanks!

 

THe terminology confused me when I first started hearing about it. I kept thinking...but I want baby to keep nursing. Here's one BLW site:

http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/

 

Gail Rapley's site:

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

 

Rapley's paper:

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html

[plain jane]

THe terminology confused me when I first started hearing about it. I kept thinking...but I want baby to keep nursing. Here's one BLW site:

http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/

 

Gail Rapley's site:

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

 

Rapley's paper:

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html

 

Ah. I get it now. It does sounds like what we're ATM because little one keeps grabbing anything and everything off my plate and trying to eat it. :001_huh:

 

I've not been ready to start the whole process though and have not allowed baby to eat anything yet. But, perhaps baby is far more ready than I am.

 

My doc recommended starting with rice cereal. After that I tend to do pureed carrots/peas and then on to self feeding.

 

It's pretty scary for me to introduce solids because I just never know which food they're going to react (and often violently) to.

[Annie]

THe terminology confused me when I first started hearing about it. I kept thinking...but I want baby to keep nursing. Here's one BLW site:

http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/

 

Gail Rapley's site:

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

 

Rapley's paper:

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html

 

This is the method we used, and it worked well.

 

I just wanted to post to say that my sister and I were exclusively breastfed until nearly a year. Other than the occasional taste, we weren't really started on food until 11ish months. We're both fine. :) I'm of the, "food's for fun until age one" camp.

[Ellie]

That your baby watches you "with great interest" doesn't mean she's craving solids. It means she's watching you with great interest. :D

 

I don't think babies should have solids until they are able to get food into their mouths by themselves. IOW, you put baby in a high chair, put whatever you're feeding the rest of the family on the tray, and let baby have at it.

 

Most doctors will recommend some sort of cereal because they don't know any better, bless their hearts. La Leche League recommends vegetables first, and cereal last, after the fruits and proteins; cereal is very difficult to digest (which is why some babies sleep longer when they are fed cereal--their little tummies are trying to digest the stuff), and babies do a better job of digesting the stuff when they are closer to a year old.

[nd293]

Ds was in hospital for surgery when he was 8 months old, and when they told me he could go home when he was eating solids normally I realised that he really wasn't. I offered it now and then, but it wasn't enough part of his diet for it to class as "eating normally". The advised "rule" for solids in now "not before 6 months", so 7 or 8 months is perfectly reasonable, by my interpretaton.

 

I would say ds was not really depending on solids for most of his nutrients until after 1yr. I didn't start with rice cereal - pureed veggies, I think, probably butternut, as it is sweet, as is breastmilk. Possibly stewed pureed apple.

[plain jane]

That your baby watches you "with great interest" doesn't mean she's craving solids. It means she's watching you with great interest. :D

 

 

:D Love this!

[plain jane]

Thanks so much, ladies. I feel a lot better about not having started solids yet. It sounds like we're not too far out of "normal".

[HS Mom in NC]

I gave mine chocolate cake as their first solid food on their first birthdays. No formula, no milk, no juices, no water, just 100% breastmilk for the first year. Even though they had rolls of baby fat, were happy, healthy (I never had sick baby under a year old) and active some people would still say, "Whaaaaa? How do you know they're getting enough?" Sheep.

 

No, you don't have to introduce solids if you don't want to. If you want to, go right ahead.

[Annie Laurie]

:iagree:

 

I never did traditional baby food. I did solids when my babies were ready and gave them real food from the first bite.

 

I didn't "feed" them, either. I let them self feed bites of fruit, whole wheat bread, veggies, meat, etc.

 

 

This is what I do. I thought it was funny when my 10 month old was at the pediatrician recently and she starts telling me he should be eating stage 3 baby food now. He's always just eaten what we're eating. Tonight at dinner he had chicken, black olives, artichokes, and tomato sauce over orzo like the rest of us. I cut it up small of course. He loved it.

 

My babies varied with food- my 7 year old was almost a year old before he was interested, but my current baby has been sitting up and using a pincer grasp for some time and has been eating well for a couple of months.

[Stayseeliz]

Sounds like our LO's are around the same age. DD3 will be 7 months week after next. I gave her a bit of banana one day and she was up screaming in the middle of the night. That was enough to firm up my decision to wait even longer. There's no rush here. I'll admit that I hate baby food plus it's just messy. Bleh. One more thing to clean up! I'll wait a big longer!

[JulieH]

I started my babies on solids way young..like 2-3 months for a little rice cereal..and 4-5 months for fruit. By 7-8 months, they were eating little finger foods and little bites of peanut butter and jelly sandwich (gasp!) They all did great! No problems, no allergies.

 

My son was 11 lbs 5 oz when he was born, ..he was a HUNGRY little boy and loved his cereal. :) The two girls were almost 10 lbs. Breastmilk alone just wasn't cutting it.

 

I've never been one to really follow all the guidelines. I just went with what I felt was right for each child at the time, and sort of was taught about feeding them by my mom and grandmother.

 

I always say do what works for you and baby and what your instinct says to do. :)

[ktgrok]

I started my babies on solids way young..like 2-3 months for a little rice cereal..and 4-5 months for fruit. By 7-8 months, they were eating little finger foods and little bites of peanut butter and jelly sandwich (gasp!) They all did great! No problems, no allergies.

 

My son was 11 lbs 5 oz when he was born, ..he was a HUNGRY little boy and loved his cereal. :) The two girls were almost 10 lbs. Breastmilk alone just wasn't cutting it.

 

I've never been one to really follow all the guidelines. I just went with what I felt was right for each child at the time, and sort of was taught about feeding them by my mom and grandmother.

 

I always say do what works for you and baby and what your instinct says to do. :)

 

At two months mine still couldn't get the boob in her mouth without help, how on earth do you feed solids at that age? Not judging, just seriously wondering how on earth you do it? Mine was 9lbs at birth, and a chunky monkey, but didn't start solids until about 7 months I think....and yes, it was finger food, sandwiches, etc. Baby food is too messy! I think of it as an expensive treat. My pediatrician doesn't advise it either.

[Sandy in Indy]

My last two didn't start solids until they were 8 months. I think the first thing my youngest had was small bits of the bagel I was eating. He went straight to "people" food. :-)

 

I think you know when they're ready, and I think you'll know what to give your little one. Trust your mom instincts.

[raceNzanesmom]

Baby cereal is nasty- yuck.

 

We start with really ripe banana and/or avocado, baked sweet potato or squash, and other soft table foods that can be smashed. You can always thin with a little breastmilk if needed. Once they get that down, we start them on half Cheerios, organic yogurt, etc. My oldest never ate any "baby food", my youngest had a bit of homemade (freeze in ice cube trays) because he went to day care from 4-14 months. Oldest started table food around 10 months (his choice), youngest around 7- 7 1/2 (also his choice).

[JulieH]

At two months mine still couldn't get the boob in her mouth without help, how on earth do you feed solids at that age? Not judging, just seriously wondering how on earth you do it? Mine was 9lbs at birth, and a chunky monkey, but didn't start solids until about 7 months I think....and yes, it was finger food, sandwiches, etc. Baby food is too messy! I think of it as an expensive treat. My pediatrician doesn't advise it either.

 

LOL I don't know..I don't remember. He's almost 10. Maybe it was a wee bit more than 2 months..maybe 3? He was STRONG and he sat in his bouncy seat kicking like crazy...and I put the bib on him, and the first rice cereal was more soupy, and I fed him with a baby spoon. Just little bits at a time. It was messy..got all over his face..it was a riot. He LOVED it. He immediately started opening his mouth wide for it. I don't mind messes. We'd just stick him in the tubby if need be.

 

He was not a good nurser and I gave up nursing him at about 4-6 weeks and went to formula..which he also loved,and quite frankly, I loved too because he seemed like a happier baby.

 

I always started the rice cereal under a little bit of pressure from my mom, but you know? It worked for me. His formula was still his main meal. After he was eating cereal, we introduced bananas, which he really really REALLy loved. Then applesauce, etc.

[jenangelcat]

All three kids started between 10 and 11 months. They still had the tongue thrust reflex up until then. Interest in food and your utensils doesn't mean a baby's digestive system is ready to eat.

 

When we did start it was with lightly mashed fruits and vegetables. I think avocado with our first and sweet potato for our second. We don't do rice cereal because it's just empty calories. Nothing at this point is going to be more filling or nutrient dense then breastmilk so don't worry about it. My chunky monkey is 14 months and his diet is still 80% breastmilk.

[Joanne]

I started my babies on solids way young..like 2-3 months for a little rice cereal..and 4-5 months for fruit. By 7-8 months, they were eating little finger foods and little bites of peanut butter and jelly sandwich (gasp!) They all did great! No problems, no allergies.

 

My son was 11 lbs 5 oz when he was born, ..he was a HUNGRY little boy and loved his cereal. :) The two girls were almost 10 lbs. Breastmilk alone just wasn't cutting it.

 

I've never been one to really follow all the guidelines. I just went with what I felt was right for each child at the time, and sort of was taught about feeding them by my mom and grandmother.

 

I always say do what works for you and baby and what your instinct says to do. :)

 

 

There is considerable research suggesting that the above is not the way to go. That research was available 10 years ago, too, when "6 months" was the recommended time to start solids.

 

Weight of the child is not correlated with their need for solids. My youngest was born over 9 pounds and "breastmilk alone" was fine for months.

 

Clearly your situation turned out ok, but I felt it needed to be said that your old school approach isn't backed by biology.

[LidiyaDawn]

There is considerable research suggesting that the above is not the way to go. That research was available 10 years ago, too, when "6 months" was the recommended time to start solids.

 

Weight of the child is not correlated with their need for solids. My youngest was born over 9 pounds and "breastmilk alone" was fine for months.

 

Clearly your situation turned out ok, but I felt it needed to be said that your old school approach isn't backed by biology.

 

Her "old school approach" is pretty much exactly what is *currently* suggested by our paediatrician. A slight bit younger in her case - our ped says you can go ahead and introduce rice cereal type things at about 4 months if you wish - but pretty much the same. She (ped) very specifically said at our newbie's last checkup "you don't have to wait until six months" and shook her head.

[JulieH]

There is considerable research suggesting that the above is not the way to go. That research was available 10 years ago, too, when "6 months" was the recommended time to start solids.

 

Weight of the child is not correlated with their need for solids. My youngest was born over 9 pounds and "breastmilk alone" was fine for months.

 

Clearly your situation turned out ok, but I felt it needed to be said that your old school approach isn't backed by biology.

 

I believe I know what was best for MY child at the time and he was hungry. :)

 

But thank you for pointing out the er of my old school ways and I'm glad doing so made you feel better.

 

Breastmilk alone wasn't enough for my big little guy so I introduced solids early. Shoot me. :001_smile:

[Pamela H in Texas]

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

[Hedgehog]

That your baby watches you "with great interest" doesn't mean she's craving solids. It means she's watching you with great interest. :D

 

I don't think babies should have solids until they are able to get food into their mouths by themselves. IOW, you put baby in a high chair, put whatever you're feeding the rest of the family on the tray, and let baby have at it.

 

Most doctors will recommend some sort of cereal because they don't know any better, bless their hearts. La Leche League recommends vegetables first, and cereal last, after the fruits and proteins; cereal is very difficult to digest (which is why some babies sleep longer when they are fed cereal--their little tummies are trying to digest the stuff), and babies do a better job of digesting the stuff when they are closer to a year old.

 

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Rabbit and Pooh were weaned onto purees, Tigger and Roo onto finger foods when they were ready to hold them and feed themselves. They're also the ones who instinctively self-regulate their eating; the older two don't and could easily be overweight if I didn't keep an eye on them.

[LidiyaDawn]

Hmmm. People talk about reducing allergy risk as a reason to delay, right?

 

Look at this

 

CONCLUSION: Late introduction of solid foods was associated with increased risk of allergic sensitization to food and inhalant allergens.

 

This is gonna be one of those things where everyone has their own evidence, support for their stance, doc's suggestions, etc. [and I bet it varies by country too..]

 

As long as babies are happy & healthy, that's the important thing. :D

[teamturner]

We did do avocados, sweet potatoes with some butter, bananas, etc.

 

:iagree: These were our first foods as well. All are easy to make yourself. I think having real food over jarred help my twins be better eaters in the long run. My girls got more jarred food and they are pickier eaters than their brothers. The good thing about making your own food, besides being cheaper, is you can fix tons of it on the weekend and have it for the rest of the month. Now that your baby is so much older it won't be long before she can feed herself ;)

[Momof3littles]

Hmmm. People talk about reducing allergy risk as a reason to delay, right?

 

Look at this

 

CONCLUSION: Late introduction of solid foods was associated with increased risk of allergic sensitization to food and inhalant allergens.

 

This is gonna be one of those things where everyone has their own evidence, support for their stance, doc's suggestions, etc. [and I bet it varies by country too..]

 

As long as babies are happy & healthy, that's the important thing. :D

As soon as you intro solids it changes the natural flora in the gut, and other changes occur as well. I've read speculation that the early intro to solids being "beneficial" may be different if we separate out BF and FF infants (FF infants would have already had their gut flora changed by the intro of formula)

 

Rapley has a response to one of the papers suggesting early intro of solids (4-6 months) here:

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/

 

In terms of allergy research, I did not intro solids before age 6 months with any of my kids. I was more conservative w/ when I intro'd peanuts, eggs, dairy, wheat, etc. with my oldest, because the recommendations at the time (2004) were more conservative. Many allergists today advocate for an earlier introduction of allergenic foods. So while I don't intro solids until baby is at least 6-8 months old, we intro'd peanut butter, dairy, eggs, etc. earlier than I did with my oldest child.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Momof3littles

[JulieH]

Hmmm. People talk about reducing allergy risk as a reason to delay, right?

 

Look at this

 

CONCLUSION: Late introduction of solid foods was associated with increased risk of allergic sensitization to food and inhalant allergens.

 

This is gonna be one of those things where everyone has their own evidence, support for their stance, doc's suggestions, etc. [and I bet it varies by country too..]

 

As long as babies are happy & healthy, that's the important thing. :D

 

I completely agree!!:D

[Ellie]

There is considerable research suggesting that the above is not the way to go. That research was available 10 years ago, too, when "6 months" was the recommended time to start solids.

There was research available longer than 10 years ago, because I was told that when I was expecting Dancer DD, and she was born in 1978. Her doctor didn't tell me that, you understand; La Leche League did. :)

[NanceXToo]

I offered baby food at 6 months but my son wasn't interested. He preferred to just nurse, and around 9 months of age, he started eating bits of table food rather than baby food.

 

Btw I read on kellymom that rice cereal isn't even the best first food to offer- I forget what it said was though and it's too much hassle to look it up on my phone lol.

[Bluegoat]

I know what you mean by the staring at your food and lunging for it. I tend to take it that is the time to start giving them bits and bobs. I consider that part of baby-led weaning even if baby still needs some help getting it in - not all parts get coordinated at the same time, and moms will often give babies a bite here and there as they go about their business.

 

I usually just start by giving bits of what is on my own plate. Since they are not very effective eaters, it entertains them for a while.

 

With allergies that might not work, but there seems increasingly advice that waiting to introduce foods increases the likelihood of some allergies, so that is something to keep in mind/do more research on. The advice on this seems to have changed since my oldest was born and my little guy.

[Soror]

I always waited for baby to show all signs of readiness- interest, loss of tongue thrust, ability to sit up unassisted. They started between 7-9 months. The first 2 didn't eat more than a few 'Tbs until after 2 yo. My current babe didn't start until 8 months or so iirc but has always ate more, although she also nurses a ton as well. She is still petite- all my kids are small, as am I. I never did baby food- I let them feed themselves real food a lot of previous foods mentioned- well cooked soft meat, liver, egg yolks, banana, sweet potato, avocado, cooked carrots, other cooked veggies etc.

 

Fwiw I don't grow big babies but my friend does, she is maybe a size 2/4-AA bOOks(as some seem to thing size somehow affects milk production) her exclusively bf baby is now 30 pds at 7 months, he has yet to eat any solids- he is not showing readiness- for one thing he cannot sit up on his own. He is fine and continues to grow well despite all that.

 

I have kids intolerant to soy, dairy, and gluten. We avoid those in my family so naturally the baby avoids them as well. I don't think soy is healthy period and with our genes gluten doesn't seem like a good idea. I didn't generally do grains until around 18 months w/ the last one as we don't generally eat them here ourselves.

[PeacefulChaos]

4-5 months, green beans first.

the ped always said fruits first bc they were sweeter. I said veggies first. ;) So that's what we did with all of them - ran the gamut of all the veggies, about 2 weeks of one before moving to the next, then one fruit at a time the same way. Then mixing. My rule once they had tried everything was some formula and a little fruit with rice cereal/oatmeal for breakfast, some formula and 1/3 jar fruit at lunch, and some formula and 1/2 jar veggies at dinner. Then a full bottle in the evening. That was the going schedule around 6 months.

I used to give them just a little bit of apple juice (1 oz) + 1 oz water if they were constipated, but not very often. That's when they were 3 months and up. I did rice cereal first because it's what I was told. The kids did fine, no biggie. But we switched to oatmeal as soon as we could. I never made my own baby food, too much work. ;) I just bought beech nut or gerber, whatever.

At 9 months I stopped baby food all together, and they ate table food only. I HATE the 'baby food' stage. It's such a pain.

I started giving them some real (whole) milk - just a little at a time - between 11-12 months of age. Then I knew they'd be 100% ready to be done with formula when they turned 1. By that time, they'd had pretty much everything. I also took the bottle away at 9 months for all 3 and had them drink out of a sippy cup. I'm really strict when it comes to that - they don't need to be doing baby things when they aren't a baby anymore, at 1 (like drinking from a bottle, or - even worse - taking a pacifier. My kids didn't even have those in the first place.)

Anyway, that was my experience. Not the usual, I expect, but it's what we did and it went well for us. :)

Edited October 11, 2011 by PeacefulChaos