When does a baby need solids?

[SomethingAnonymous]

At what point is breast milk alone not enough for them? I've heard 12 months. What happens at 12 months? And what is it that they need in addition to breast milk?

[karika]

I'm sure it varies widely from baby to baby, temperament, how long mom lets baby stay on breast at a time, activity level.... many mds would suggest feeding solids at 6 mo. I believe in something else entirely. When my girls were ready for solids, they let me know. Not just staring at us eating and acting interested, but have them in your lap when you eat and when the child begins taking food from your plate and actually eating it, they are ready. This will not happen before they can sit independently, have a pincer grasp and are at least 6 mo. The longer the child waits for solids, the less likely food allergies develop (though I believe food allergies are exclusively related to vaccines and mother's environmental and chemical exposures). dd1 was 10 mo before she really ate food. I did try to give her some earlier than that (a few bites of cereal at 6 mo as suggested by ped), not realizing I was messing with the delicate gut flora. Since she had teeth already at that age, I never had to do purees.... her first foods included avocado (I just used a spoon and gave her little bits), cooked carrots, cooked and raw broccoli, peas, raisins, yams, potatoes, apples, all types of fruit and veggies, lots of things... and meat I would just chew up a bit for her first, then give it to her. dd2 was a bigger baby all the way, and she wanted food at 8 mo in earnest. Since it was before her teeth were in good, I did use some purees... I still prechew her meat except the tender chicken breast and tiny bits of hamburger meat because she does not have any molars yet. I give her tiny bits of walnuts, pecans, we eat dates... spinach.... we are a gluten free/ casein free/ soy free/ corn free family also... I like to use my juicer also and they both love that. I am rambling, time for bed. Here is my favorite starter resource and their page about introducing solids http://kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

as long as baby is healthy... solids can be a year or later. I have heard once of a 2 yo that barely ate solids, but that could just be the mother's perception.... I am a small woman and my supply tends to drop a bit at a year, my children were both eating well by then. My 16 mo eats almost the same amount as me now and nurses all day and all night sometimes too....

[PatioGardener]

Depending on the birth (and when the cord was cut) a baby may need more iron than is available in breastmilk sometime after they turn 6 months old. Fortunately there is a pretty good test for iron in the body (hemoglobin) so we can tell if baby needs more iron than they are getting from breastmilk alone.

[SomethingAnonymous]

Thanks for the link. So I found out that sometime after 1 year they start to need more iron and zinc.

Our baby is 7.5 months old. Anyone know of a good list of what you can and should not feed a baby?

We want to know what he is able to digest at this age besides fruits and vegetables. I read on Dr. Sears about rice and barley cereal- is mushy stuff like that ok?

[PatioGardener]

Meat is a good source of iron and zinc if you aren't vegetarian/vegan.

Here is kellymom's list of iron rich foods:
http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitami...ml#ironsources

[SomethingAnonymous]

So after more research- it looks likes grains are just not that good for anyone. Do you wait until your baby can chew pretty good for meat? Do you pre chew it and just let them try? What kinds of meat? Do you cook them plain, with no spices?

[annettemarie]

Moving to Life with a Babe

[tzs]

Originally Posted by karika

This will not happen before they can sit independently, have a pincer grasp and are at least 6 mo.

not totally true. my babe was attempting to stuff her face with my food somewhere around 5 months. i started just before 6 months after she pulled the entire meatloaf tray towards us. so i pureed but turns out she prefers and excels at soft chunks, stuff from what we're eating, including soft meats like soup chicken, ground beef etc...


that said, i guess that doesn;t address the original question. i'd be really interested in the answer as well.

[tzs]

....oh, and we don't give her special unspiced stuff unless there's nothing from our plate for her to eat. like, if i'm eating a caesar salad or something (you know, just lettuce) then i'll give her something from my back-up "babyfood" supply (some steamed sweet potatoes, a banana, an avocado...something like that)

[ShwarmaQueen]

I can imagine our caveman ancestors didn't feed their young solids until they had all the necessary teeth to eat the available food, so I would guess that wasn't for at least a couple of years. Just take your time.

[SomethingAnonymous]

Originally Posted by ShwarmaQueen

I can imagine our caveman ancestors didn't feed their young solids until they had all the necessary teeth to eat the available food, so I would guess that wasn't for at least a couple of years. Just take your time.

I agree. I was just wondering when we actually do need to do something. lol

[ElliesMomma]

Originally Posted by SomethingAnonymous

I agree. I was just wondering when we actually do need to do something. lol

i think the caveman ancestors didn't follow "rules" and rather did what seemed to ensure survival.

all the necessary teeth?? that will be a looong wait. my baby is 6 mo, has NO teeth and is able to gum out some squash, bananas, etc. he's even worked on a piece of meat. he is not necessarily swallowing much of the meat, but he's working on it, and getting some of the essence of it, the flavor, and probably very tiny bits.

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by ElliesMomma

i think the caveman ancestors didn't follow "rules" and rather did what seemed to ensure survival.

all the necessary teeth?? that will be a looong wait. my baby is 6 mo, has NO teeth and is able to gum out some squash, bananas, etc. he's even worked on a piece of meat. he is not necessarily swallowing much of the meat, but he's working on it, and getting some of the essence of it, the flavor, and probably very tiny bits.

I'm just differentiating between when we 'need' to give our babies solids vs. when we 'can' if we so desire.

[Norasmomma]

I am from the school of thought that babies will tell us when and if they are ready. I think that not only is it a digestive maturity but a neurological one also, which can vary widely from child to child. That said BOTH of my kids have wanted food around 4.5 months. My DD ripped a sandwich from my hand and started gnawing on it, my son stuck his hand in a jar of pb then stuck his hand in his mouth, both were crying at dinner and the boob was NOT what they wanted(both would only cry if we were eating). With DD I was concerned of doing things wrong, with DS I just have gone with it. I feel that babies can tell us when they are ready, be it 4 months or 10 months, I know many may disagree with me, but I go with my mama gut on this one. Both my children are very happy and healthy so I'd guess we're doing something right.

[PrincessAnika]

dd is 8mos - we feed her nearly everything. no cows milk (to drink or ice cream), no honey (risk of infant botulism if given before a yr old), no PB (waiting till after a yr, diff recs range from 6mos - ie don't need to wait - to 5yrs), no chocolate/candy, no hard foods like chips, no hot dogs, no fresh strawberries yet (waiting till abotu 10mos or so), not really any deli meat aside from tiny tastes of ham. we are holding off on cheese/yogurt until at least 9mos, maybe 10, but she was MSPI until about 4mos when she outgrew it, and i don't want to risk triggering anything. other than that, she eats most of what we do....