When to start introducing food to a breastfed baby

[mbfl450]

Today at Mommy and Me, most moms were saying that they have already introduced food (purees and baby food) to their babies who are all under 6 months. When do you introduce food to a breastfed baby?

[Bokonon]

6 months.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ay-solids.html

[PrincessAnika]

also check out http://www.mother-2-mother.com/samplemenus.htm

[zensven42]

I introduced foods when the children started trying to grab the food from me, which was from 5-7 months old with mine

[ewe+lamb]

There are certain things I like to look out for when introducing solids to a baby;
they can sit unassisted for a reasonable amount of time, they can pick up small objects with the fore finger and thumb, they seem interested in solids, they no longer have a tongue thrust which spits the food out of the mouth, some babies will be ready earlier than others but these are the main points that, personally, I feel are important to look out for. Another point is introducing solids is just that an introduction, a journey of discovery in tastes and textures and not really 3 full meals a day, baby's main source of nourishment should really be breastmilk, many mothers don't necessarily give purees there are lots of things we can introduce such as avocado and sweet potato which baby can eat without mushing everything up!

[PatioGardener]

After 6 months, and

They can sit unassisted
They have lost their tongue thrust
They can reach for and pick up food

And solids only after nursing/breastmilk for the first year.

I also agree with Ewe+Lamb's elegant description of the journey "introducing solids is just that an introduction, a journey of discovery in tastes and textures and not really 3 full meals a day, baby's main source of nourishment should really be breastmilk, many mothers don't necessarily give purees there are lots of things we can introduce such as avocado and sweet potato which baby can eat without mushing everything up!" So well said.

[staceychev]

I love what Dr. Greene the pediatrician/author has been saying about introducing solids in breastfed babies. His argument is that early feeding is not for nutrition (which I think we'd agree with) but to introduce and develop a sense of tastes. In a breastfed baby, the child is getting a wide range of flavors in the breastmilk itself, based on what mama is eating. For this reason, he advocates waiting until 6 months at least for breastfed babies, but talks about introducing foods with a variety of flavors earlier in formula-fed babies.

I think a lot of mamas push eating solid foods because it's kind of a rite of passage, and it can make the babe feel like more part of the family, because s/he can start eating something more like what we eat.

[Shanny2032]

We skipped "baby" food and went right to solids at around 7-8 months - a very slow introduction that took about 2 months before she got anything of substance. She has always fed herself and at 15 months is the best eater (and nurser) I have ever seen. I highly recommend skipping the jars of mush!

[star*mora]

6mths seems to be generally accepted

i waited until 7mths with ds1, and may do the same with ds2. not because anyone said it was better, i just went with my gut feeling on it. need another month or 2 before more of the local produce is available so i may base it on that. ds2 will be 6mths in just over a week and i don't see starting solids then.

[frontierpsych]

6 months is the norm. I introduced solids to my son around that time, but did not push. He was not ready to eat them at all until 13 months, and only now at 18 months is getting into foods other than purees (we tried baby led weaning, where you skip purees, but he took no interest in that.) He is perfectly healthy though, so don't let anyone lead you to believe that they HAVE to be on solids by a certain age. Breastmilk can provide everything they need for a lot longer than you'd think!

[curiouscanadian]

don't let anyone lead you to believe that they HAVE to be on solids by a certain age. Breastmilk can provide everything they need for a lot longer than you'd think!

Yes, yes, YES! In hindsight I think I started solids with DS waaay too early at 6 months. Maybe some babies are ready for it/do need it, but we just ended up having a miserable time with it. I would've LOVED for even one professional to tell me it was okay to wait a month or two, I was so worried about DS's iron stores when in retrospect I should've just asked for a bloodtest to see if it was even an issue. I think your LO will give you clear signs when they're truly ready...

[mamadelbosque]

DS1 was ~7.5 months DS2 ~6.5 months. Definetly *NOT* before six months, IMO.