when do you offer meat/egg yolks/other protein foods?

[nukuspot]

nak

just wondering when other mamas started giving these foods. so far dd has only had veggies and fruits (she's 7.5mo). i'm waiting on grains until at least 9 months...but i think protein food, especially iron rich organic meat, would be good soon, but i don't want to offer it too early.

and also how did you offer it? mashed egg yolks? meat purees? strips of meat to chew?

[MamaOf3Cuties]

Egg yolk was actually one of my daughter's first foods. It's very good for brain development. I didn't offer meat until she had tried and tolerated pretty much everything else. As long as she was getting lots of nursies she was getting what she needed.

[fruitfulmomma]

I would hold off on egg whites until around 1 year, other than that I think any of that is good as soon as baby is ready for solids provided she has no allergies and can physically eat it (isn't going to choke).

My 3yo was started on egg yolks at around 6mo and she loved them. My lo is almost a year and has a lot of intolerances so meat, dairy, and eggs are about all she gets besides breastmilk. She can not handle any of the typical first foods like banana, apple, etc...

[elmh23]

We held off on eggs until closer to 10 or 11 months, but we have food allergies in our family.

We start meat pretty much right when they start eating. Just giving them stips of chicken or a couple pieces of ground hamburger. I think ds actually had prime rib or brisket (can't remember which) as his first meat, but we were at a restaurant when that happened.

As long as your baby is nursing or on formula, then they will be fine protien wise, so don't fret about it.

[MadiMamacita]

Originally Posted by nukuspot

nak

just wondering when other mamas started giving these foods. so far dd has only had veggies and fruits (she's 7.5mo). i'm waiting on grains until at least 9 months...but i think protein food, especially iron rich organic meat, would be good soon, but i don't want to offer it too early.

and also how did you offer it? mashed egg yolks? meat purees? strips of meat to chew?

bolded: why 9 months? we're holding off on grains till closer to two because of amylase.

we started meats and proteins pretty much right away. my lo started on ground lamb, pulled chicken or turkey breast, etc. he loves egg yolk- i either make a medium fried egg and peel the white off, seperate the yolk while raw and make a yolk scramble, or do a medium boiled egg and give him the yolk.
we dont have any food allergies but i'm still not giving him egg white (or shellfish) until after a year.

[wombatclay]

We follow a BLW approach so the kiddos start out with whatever the rest of the family is having, minus any major allergens (the top 8 plus honey). DD1 has celiac so we follow a gluten free diet, and we don't eat red meat/pork/fish, but other than that they can explore whatever is on the table.

Some cultures have meat as a first food, and the LLL actually suggests this as well. They (the LLL website) have a nicely written article about meat and grains in the early days.

[Louisep]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

We follow a BLW approach so the kiddos start out with whatever the rest of the family is having, minus any major allergens (the top 8 plus honey).

Same. That said, I was a little cautious about egg and first tried it around 8 months. We introduced meat at this time - just giving him small bites of what we were having. No reason for waiting until 8 months, it just seemed like an appropriate time.

[evrimbilkur]

my son 7 months old and crawling all the time into our dogs food. he really tries to eat them.
is that may be a sigh that he wants to eat meat? or he is just curious to try

[Swandira]

I was giving my baby beans, shredded cheese, tiny bits of meat (I tore them into pea-sized pieces by hand) and scrambled whole eggs at that age. He had a pretty good pincer grasp at that point, so he did fine with it, especially since he was used to picking up berries and cereal bits and gumming/chewing them by then. He also liked (and still likes) to have crackers thinly spread with peanut or almond butter, which can be a good source of protein as well.

Nealy
mama to Thales, almost 7; Lydia, 3 1/2; and Odin, 12/12/08

[kdtmom2be]

Originally Posted by MadiMamacita

he loves egg yolk- i either make a medium fried egg and peel the white off, seperate the yolk while raw and make a yolk scramble, or do a medium boiled egg and give him the yolk.
we dont have any food allergies but i'm still not giving him egg white (or shellfish) until after a year.

You already have given him egg white if you are seperating the yolks before cooking. I worked in the egg industry in R&D for many years and the only way to fully separate the white from the yolks is the way you describe first, cooking, then peeling the yolk out or boiling the egg and popping the yolk out for them. Separating first, even if you "dry" the yolk, leaves SOME egg white still attached, plus the proteins in the yolk membrane are also allergens. May as well just feed him scrambled whole eggs now

[MadiMamacita]

good to know! thanks for the heads up.. sure will make my life easier!

[MadiMamacita]

Originally Posted by evrimbilkur

my son 7 months old and crawling all the time into our dogs food. he really tries to eat them.
is that may be a sigh that he wants to eat meat? or he is just curious to try

just in the putting everything in the mouth stage i'd say!

[evrimbilkur]

may be just he wants to put them in his mounth. it made me think that because he goes in to dog food all the time. we are blw and he really like eating. i really would like to leave it to his choice what he wants to eat. is he may be missing iron? how can i know? i am breastfeeding him still 10 to 14 times.

[birdword]

According to Sally Fallon author of Nourishing Traditions egg yolks are the perfect first solid. She recommends soft boiling eggs and then mashing the yolks with a little breast milk to thin them a little. Egg yolks have just about everything a baby needs; protein, cholesterol, fat, iron, and lots of vitamins. Also, if you get the kind with omega-3s they're extra good for brain development. Sally Fallon recommends introducing them anytime after 4 months based on the readiness of the baby.

[jillmamma]

I did it once they started using their pincer grasp to pick up pieces of food themselves (between 8 and 10 months?). We did shredded chicken, scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, small bits of ground beef or turket, stuff like that.