Why is Rice cereal SO BAD? - Page 3

[MJB]

Originally Posted by asraidevin 

I started my daughter on solids at 4 months and I regret it. NOt because she has allergy issues, which most people say now days can't be prevented by delaying foods. But becuase she didn't gain weight after starting on solids. I also weaned her at a year, which I regret becuase she gained even less after that. Breastmilk has all the nutrition needed for baby.

I started my sons on solids at 6 mos. My middle son only gained 3 lbs. between 4 and 12 mos. (from 18 to 21 lbs) I started my daughter on solids at 4 mos. Not surprisingly, her weight gain also slowed at 4 months. It's a common growth pattern for breastfed infants that, IMO, has nothing to do with the introduction of solid foods.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by mom2happy 

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 

My only suggestion to the new moms on this forum (and everyone else reading) is take all of the "statistics" stated in this thread with a grain of salt. Do your own research, and file this thread away under anecdotal information. Because that's all this is.

The scientifically proven facts on what, when, why, why not a baby should have this or that keeps changing anyway.

My advice is to think logically and follow your own instincts about what your baby should eat.

I was mainly referring to this statement made by Alegna:

Originally Posted by alegna 

At a year 75% of nutrition should still be breastmilk.

This information is not backed by a credible reference, but is instead a personal opinion phrased as fact, when in actuality it has the potential to be dangerous to families with individual dietary needs that differ from Alegna's. What works for one family will not necessarily work for another. For me personally, at one year postpartum my body was NOT capable of supplying 75% of my daughter's dietary needs and she would have presented with FTT had I insisted, based on a forum members PERSONAL ADVICE, that she ONLY have 25% solid food in her diet.

Presenting opinions as "facts" without citing a reference can be deceiving, and I think it's worth noting that before anyone takes dietary advice from the internet that they do some personal research.

[North_Of_60]

Just for grins and giggles, I did some quick googling.

Depending on where you look, the recommended caloric needs of a one year old range from 1000-1300 calories per day.

http://preventdisease.com/fitness/nutrition/articles/eatyourage.html

http://www.drpaul.com/nutrition/calories.html

According to Kellymom (http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/change-milkfat.html), there is an average of 22 calories per ounce of breastmilk. 1000-1300 calories is equivalent to 45.5 - 59 ounces of breastmilk. So in order for a 1 one year old to consume 75% of their 1000-1300 calories per day, they would need to consume 34-44 ounces of breastmilk per day.

I don't know about anyone else, but at one year postpartum I am 100% sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my body was NOT capable of producing up to 44 ounces of milk.

The remaining 25% does NOT translate to a lot of solid food. This is just a few examples of  toddler appropriate snacks:

Half a banana = 100 calories

10 grapes = 34 calories

Half an avocado = 161 calories

Half a cup of sweet potato = 90 calories

5 Saltine crackers = 63 calories

1/4 cup whole wheat pasta = 43 calories

So.... half a banana, a quarter of an avocado, 5 saltine crackers and 10 grapes is roughly 277 calories. A whole banana and a handful of pasta is 243 calories. My daughter ate WAY more than that in one day, and quite honestly, withholding solid food from a 1 year old to force them to nurse more is rather cruel, in my opinion.

[Hannah32]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 

Originally Posted by mom2happy 

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 

My only suggestion to the new moms on this forum (and everyone else reading) is take all of the "statistics" stated in this thread with a grain of salt. Do your own research, and file this thread away under anecdotal information. Because that's all this is.

The scientifically proven facts on what, when, why, why not a baby should have this or that keeps changing anyway.

My advice is to think logically and follow your own instincts about what your baby should eat.

I was mainly referring to this statement made by Alegna:

Originally Posted by alegna 

At a year 75% of nutrition should still be breastmilk.

This information is not backed by a credible reference, but is instead a personal opinion phrased as fact, when in actuality it has the potential to be dangerous to families with individual dietary needs that differ from Alegna's. What works for one family will not necessarily work for another. For me personally, at one year postpartum my body was NOT capable of supplying 75% of my daughter's dietary needs and she would have presented with FTT had I insisted, based on a forum members PERSONAL ADVICE, that she ONLY have 25% solid food in her diet.

Presenting opinions as "facts" without citing a reference can be deceiving, and I think it's worth noting that before anyone takes dietary advice from the internet that they do some personal research.

I really agree with this. There's just no way my milk is capable of meeting all my son's nutritional needs and he's only 7 months. He nurses at least 5 times per day and gets bottles, between 6-8 oz while I'm at work. I figure I get between 2-5 oz in per feeding, so he's probably getting his 24 oz or so per day of breast milk. However, my baby never stops moving. He'd be really hungry if he only got that and a few nibbles. 

So we do baby food and avocados. He'll eat a whole avocado in a sitting, or two jars of food sometimes. I think he takes in around 900 or so calories a day. He's not a chubby guy at all. He's hanging out around the 25% or so (this is where he was at birth). Up from 10% when I started solids. 

How much a baby moves is a relevant factor. Active babies need more food. 

[karen1968]

When thinking about how much milk your body can and can't produce, remember that breast milk production truly is limited by demand. At 1 year, my DS was nursing up to 12 times a day still, and my body WAS capable of providing all the nutrition he needed, if he had needed it to. The more solids your baby eats, the less breastmilk he demands from your body and it is entirely feasible for your supply to drop.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with Alegna's assertion that 75% of nutrition should come from breastmilk at one year, but a mama who has been feeding by demand and nurses before offering solids could supply 35+ ounces of milk in a (24 hour) day.

How much a baby moves is a relevant factor. Active babies need more food.

So true!  True of adults, true of kids, true of babies. Plus, every person has a unique metabolism and needs differing amounts of calories just to get by.

[AislinCarys]

I'd have to agree that in my opinion, yes, a mother probably CAN supply enough milk to cover her 12 month old's complete nutritional needs (except possibly for some specific things like iron). I wouldn't be surprised if I could now, and DD is nearly 3. I'm quite sure I could even push my supply up if she would decide to exclusively breastfeed!

I read somewhere that during the first six months supply is regulated a lot by hormones (though demand matters too), but that after 6 months the hormones play less of a role, making it entirely about demand.

We had supply issues at first, by 6 months I had finally managed to, painfully slowly, push my supply up to what my baby needed. Every tiny increase in my supply took forever. But in the year after 6 months I found that all I needed was a day when DD feeds like crazy (teething, a bit of a cold, unsettled for other reasons), and by next day I'm engorged. It still happens, occasionally (ha, I was never engorged when she was tiny!).

It took a long time before DD actually ate a lot of solids regularly (she loved meals but wasn't that interested in ingesting much), but her weight gain shot up after 6 months, and she's now growing like weed. So yes, while I couldn't provide all she needed at 3 months, I'm quite sure I could at 12 months.

For this to work, though, you need to have a cooperative baby who wants to breastfeed, and who likes to spend time pushing the supply up!

[Anastasiya]

Well, all I can say is that these baby food threads always used to amaze me, because I had children who refused any types of solids till well past 11 months! So I never pureed, purchased or pre-chewed baby food until my latest one came along, who loved baby food.

My third did not willingly accept any food till he was 14 months, so I must also say that yes, the supply and demand of breastfeeding can keep up and fully nourish a baby into his/her first year, assuming there is nothing there to take its place.

Anyway, carry on! :)

[asraidevin]

Originally Posted by MJB 

Originally Posted by asraidevin 

I started my daughter on solids at 4 months and I regret it. Not because she has allergy issues, which most people say now days can't be prevented by delaying foods. But becuase she didn't gain weight after starting on solids. I also weaned her at a year, which I regret becuase she gained even less after that. Breastmilk has all the nutrition needed for baby.

I started my sons on solids at 6 mos. My middle son only gained 3 lbs. between 4 and 12 mos. (from 18 to 21 lbs) I started my daughter on solids at 4 mos. Not surprisingly, her weight gain also slowed at 4 months. It's a common growth pattern for breastfed infants that, IMO, has nothing to do with the introduction of solid foods.

My son had consistent 5-7 oz weight gains/week from birth until we started solids. He's sllowed not as much as she did, but he also uses the breast as a pacifier and has a greateer intake of milk. She also slept 8 hours by 8 months, he's 10 months and is up at least 3 tims a night.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by Anastasiya 

Well, all I can say is that these baby food threads always used to amaze me, because I had children who refused any types of solids till well past 11 months! So I never pureed, purchased or pre-chewed baby food until my latest one came along, who loved baby food.

My third did not willingly accept any food till he was 14 months, so I must also say that yes, the supply and demand of breastfeeding can keep up and fully nourish a baby into his/her first year, assuming there is nothing there to take its place.

Anyway, carry on! :)

And assuming one's body is capable. The assumption that EVERYONE can and should is dangerous. An undiagnosed problem could, under the right circumstances, lead to a very unhealthy baby were a mother to with hold solids assuming she is among the group of people who CAN supply 75% of her baby's dietary needs through breastfeeding. Not everyone can. I know this from personal experience. I also know, through personal experience, what it is like to struggle to the point of self deprecation to succeed at something that is medically not possible. However, at the time, I didn't know that. I just kept reading posts about how it should be possible, and the first 2 years of my daughters life was miserable because I tried to live up to the expectations of a bunch of strangers.

I'm trying to let new mothers know that they needn't stress themselves out or make themselves miserable to do what others do. There is no room for peer pressure in parenting. Do what works for YOU.

[Anastasiya]

I agree. There are always exceptions.

I never said exclusive breastfeeding "will" work, I said "can", mostly in agreement with Karen and Aislin's posts.

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 

 

Originally Posted by Anastasiya 

Well, all I can say is that these baby food threads always used to amaze me, because I had children who refused any types of solids till well past 11 months! So I never pureed, purchased or pre-chewed baby food until my latest one came along, who loved baby food.

My third did not willingly accept any food till he was 14 months, so I must also say that yes, the supply and demand of breastfeeding can keep up and fully nourish a baby into his/her first year, assuming there is nothing there to take its place.

Anyway, carry on! :)

And assuming one's body is capable. The assumption that EVERYONE can and should is dangerous. An undiagnosed problem could, under the right circumstances, lead to a very unhealthy baby were a mother to with hold solids assuming she is among the group of people who CAN supply 75% of her baby's dietary needs through breastfeeding. Not everyone can. I know this from personal experience. I also know, through personal experience, what it is like to struggle to the point of self deprecation to succeed at something that is medically not possible. However, at the time, I didn't know that. I just kept reading posts about how it should be possible, and the first 2 years of my daughters life was miserable because I tried to live up to the expectations of a bunch of strangers.

I'm trying to let new mothers know that they needn't stress themselves out or make themselves miserable to do what others do. There is no room for peer pressure in parenting. Do what works for YOU.

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by CrunchyChristianMama 

Originally Posted by paulamc

Evie's Mama - I'd like to read more about this. Could you let me know the source for the information on grains? Thanks!

We're mostly Traditional Foodies, so a lot of my research comes from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and the Weston A. Price Foundation. Although I will put it out there right now that I DO NOT agree with a lot of what they say about feeding babies, I just agree with their research about food itself (which is where the info on grains comes from). For feeding babies, I prefer Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck.

Agreed..  we are in the same boat as you. 

I was a rice fed, soy formula baby and I have soooo many intolerance's it is pathetic. 

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 

Originally Posted by Anastasiya 

Well, all I can say is that these baby food threads always used to amaze me, because I had children who refused any types of solids till well past 11 months! So I never pureed, purchased or pre-chewed baby food until my latest one came along, who loved baby food.

My third did not willingly accept any food till he was 14 months, so I must also say that yes, the supply and demand of breastfeeding can keep up and fully nourish a baby into his/her first year, assuming there is nothing there to take its place.

Anyway, carry on! :)

And assuming one's body is capable. The assumption that EVERYONE can and should is dangerous. An undiagnosed problem could, under the right circumstances, lead to a very unhealthy baby were a mother to with hold solids assuming she is among the group of people who CAN supply 75% of her baby's dietary needs through breastfeeding. Not everyone can. I know this from personal experience. I also know, through personal experience, what it is like to struggle to the point of self deprecation to succeed at something that is medically not possible. However, at the time, I didn't know that. I just kept reading posts about how it should be possible, and the first 2 years of my daughters life was miserable because I tried to live up to the expectations of a bunch of strangers.

I'm trying to let new mothers know that they needn't stress themselves out or make themselves miserable to do what others do. There is no room for peer pressure in parenting. Do what works for YOU.

I agree with this as well....

It is important to consider what a traditional food diet suggests about rice.  I know from my own experience that it wrecked my gut along with all the freaking soy being introduced at day 2. 

[MacKinnon]

As I sit here with my 5 month old in my lap, I find this thread very interesting. I saw a great interview with Dr Greene today, this is a very multi-facted discussion with lots of good points.

I would like to remind everyone to please be respectful of each other as we post. It's great to learn more, and have new ideas presented, the discussion is worth having, so let's remember to disagree in a kind and appropriate manner!

[pregnant@40]

To North_of_60, amen! I totally agree.