Can we talk about starting solids as Vegitarians?

[Xavismom]

I'm trying to do some reading in preparation for starting solids. We arent starting for another month or two, but I like to be prepared!

I read this off of Kellymom this morning:

For breastfed babies, some nutrition experts suggest skipping the carbohydrates (cereal) as a first food, since breastmilk is already high in carbohydrates, and concentrating on meat or other protein sources.

I am personally not comfortable giving DS carbs as his first foods, so I agree with this, but we dont want to give him meat either. DH and I are pescatarians (we eat dairy, and fish only). I think I read somewhere else (cant remember where now) not to start LO's on eggs or fish until after 12 mo? Anyone know further information on this?

We are also uncomfortable with giving DS dairy, even though we consume it. So I guess I'm just really unsure what 'first foods' to go with here, if meat/carbs/fish/dairy is out...

Our Ped wants us to have a 'plan' for solids to discuss at the 6 mo WBV. I just have no idea where I am going with it. I do like the idea of BLW, but I still need to research that some more...

Ped has also already stated that she wants DS's first food to be iron fortified cereal, but I dissagree with this... From what I am understanding so far, BF babies are absorbing more iron already from BM bc of bioavailibility? That his gut would not be able to process much of the iron in a ceral anyways, and it would interfere with the absorbtion of the iron from the BM?? Anyone have any help here I would very much appreciate it...

I am so overwhelmed. BFing is so EASY, and this just seems so complicated and scary. Please Mamas help me feel better, and formlate a plan...

[omelette]

With my first I started with avocado, yams, sweet potatoes, peas, blueberries.
I didn't do cereal to start and when I did I gave him quinoa which is high in iron. He did not eat any meat until he was well over a yr. I started giving him egg yolks shortly after he turned 1 and he didn't do any dairy. He's growing great!
Don't feel pressure to go by what your ped. says.

[half-pigeon]

wow, a plan for starting foods. really? i would laugh at my ped if asked for a plan for any way we are raising our son. i have only been a parent 9 months, but i realize that you really can't make plans for another human being. you kinda have to follow their lead.


that said, i am a vegetarian & am raising my 9 month old veggie. although he hasn't taken much to food yet, i will share with you what we have given to him so far. we skipped the iron fortified cereal. figure whole foods are healthier & more natural than iron fortified cereals. we started off with some banana, sweet potato & avocado. also have given oatmeal, apple, pear, applesauce, peas, rice, lentils, cheerio type cereal & teething biscuits. last week at his 9 month wbv visit, the ped suggested hummus & egg yolks are ok at 9 mos.

hope that helps some.

[Xavismom]

Yes, I totally totally agree whole foods are so much better than the iron fortified cereal.. I just feel really against that. I *mostly* like this Ped, it was hard to find one here that was Ok with no vax and having my son intact. Some things she says though.. I just think, really lady?!?

How to do lentils with a LO? Do you mash them?

And why egg yolks? I'm assuming the whites are a no-no then?

Thanks for the replies Mamas!!

Any experience, info on giving LO's fish? When to start, what kinds are best, etc?

I do remember reading somewhere along the way that the US is one of the only places big on starting out babies on carbs first, vs fruits/veggies and protiens. I really think there may be something to this.

[tzs]

my friend's mom is a ped and also agrees not only with skipping cereals but on not giving carbs as a first food. she thinks whatever your first food is will turn out to be your "comfort food" so why would you want it to be carbs?

that said, if you are skipping cereals like, actually, alot of people do, it shouldn't make much difference as to being a vegetarian. most great first foods are fruits and veggies. then, later if you want to add iron or protein there's always eggs, beans, fish, spinach & broccoli for iron.

i hear the egg thing is really more of concern if you have a history of allergies. even my mainstream ped said that they used to feed really young 2 mo babes eggs to increase hemoglobin. and i even read in parents mag of all places that eggs at 7 mo are ok with no history of allergies. or you can err on teh side of caution and only do yolks.

fish we do cod b/c we have it around but there's tons of other plain fishies out there. i saw somewhere to hold off on fatty fish for a while and i'm kind of wondering about canned tuna and salmon for mercury although my 7mo has had a little.

beans are easy. we just ate chili for lunch with chickpeas (those i did cut in half although i might have overreacted) and kidney beans. it might be smart to hold off until well into fruits and veggies just for gassiness. i dunno.

dairy like yogurt and cottage cheese are ok. no question like other cheeses and babies love yogurt. mine likes cottage cheese when it's baked into pasta.

i think quinoa is an amazing idea. we used to serve cinnamon quinoa for breakfast at the preschool i worked at.

that said, i do have earths best oatmeal on hand, mainly to thicken stuff that's really runny like soup and i figure great if she's getting extra iron.

[MsVyky]

We are vegetarians here as well- my husband is vegan and I am transitioning back to vegan from being ovo-lacto.

We started with fruits and veggies. DDs pediatrician says you can start with anything you want- except for the top 8, which come after 1 year. He said I could take her home and start her right on fruits or veggies.

So we started with applesauce simply because we had an open jar in the refrigerator. She had some squash after that and has had some potato and blueberry.

[KistheMum]

We started our DD on solids after she turned 8 months.

Thanks to an awesome post-partum expert I talk to once in a while, we started her on fruit, then veggies (including lentils), and it's just now we give her more mixtures like fruit/oatmeal, fruit/yogurt, brown rice/veggies.

We're planning on no meat until 5, and then she can decide if she wants any. Maybe we'll get off our tushies and quit the meat by then. I love my chili, though, and it's mostly meat with a little beans and veggies thrown in.

Anyhow, we will do dairy and eggs, but no meat.

She's growing just fine and a healthy weight, so all is well! People tend to think she's too skinny, but I think breastfed babies are usually not quite as chubby.

[half-pigeon]

re: lentils. we were having them for dinner so i took some out & squished them & gave it to him.

egg whites are the protein so when there is an egg allergy is it usually to the egg protein. starting with the yolk is supposed to be safer.

[scottishmommy]

I was so overwhelmed about solids that I just threw my hands up and decided to wait until dd was 12 months. It was like magic, right around 12 months she would cry and grab at the food I was eating. When she was 6 months or so she showed interest in putting food in her mouth, but then again she put EVERYTHING in her mouth at that point. At 12 months she would throw a fit if I didn't let her eat some of my food. Now at 16 months I just give her a bit of whatever I'm eating, and I still nurse her at least 6-8 times a day. I am a big advocate of waiting on the solids.
Some fringe benefits of waiting are:
Ecological breastfeeding (still not fertile at 16 months pp)
No stains on baby clothes
Less clean up
Easy breastfed poop
No worries about nutrition!
less risk of choking

You don't have to worry about solids...you don't have to introduce them until 12 months. Your baby is getting the best nutrition from your milk.

[Xavismom]

Originally Posted by scottishmommy

I was so overwhelmed about solids that I just threw my hands up and decided to wait until dd was 12 months. It was like magic, right around 12 months she would cry and grab at the food I was eating. When she was 6 months or so she showed interest in putting food in her mouth, but then again she put EVERYTHING in her mouth at that point. At 12 months she would throw a fit if I didn't let her eat some of my food. Now at 16 months I just give her a bit of whatever I'm eating, and I still nurse her at least 6-8 times a day. I am a big advocate of waiting on the solids.
Some fringe benefits of waiting are:
Ecological breastfeeding (still not fertile at 16 months pp)
No stains on baby clothes
Less clean up
Easy breastfed poop
No worries about nutrition!
less risk of choking

You don't have to worry about solids...you don't have to introduce them until 12 months. Your baby is getting the best nutrition from your milk.

I love that you posted this. I was thinking this last night, that I wish I could just keep breasfeeding and not mess with the solids, because its easier and I love it so much.

I have heard that if you delay solids too long, then that can cause allergies too, is this fact or a myth put out there to get people to give babies solids early? I did hear this from women IRL that also give me other bad information, so I dont know if I believe it or not. They also told me to give rice ceral to my (then) 2 mo DS to get him to sleep longer when I told them he sleep-nurses all night and that breastmilk has no nutritional value after 6 months... seriously!!

[mambera]

I think there actually is a 'window of opportunity' for allergenic foods (fish, eggs, strawberries, nuts) that is somewhere between 6-10 months, and the chance of allergies is higher if you introduce these earier or later than the window.

That said, how worried are you about this really? I hear a lot of talk about it on MDC but I don't have any allergies in my family so I can't say it's a big factor for me.

Our DD's first food (well her first intentional food, other than grabbing stuff off our plates and stuffing it in her mouth before we could stop her) was homemade rice/lentil porridge. It's a complete protein, cooks in 5 min and is still one of her favorite foods. Here's the recipe:

Wash and dry 1 cup rice (I use brown but white works too) and 1 cup lentils (we use yellow). Toast lightly in a pan to dry completely. Grind separately in a mixer/food processor until powdered. Mix briefly in the grinder and store in the fridge. Stays good basically forever.

To cook, mix 1-2 tbsp powder into 1/4-1/2 cup boiling water, stirring constantly. Add a pinch of salt, turn heat to low and keep stirring until you like the texture.

You can cook veggies in with it too (we usually throw in some spinach leaves). Sometimes I throw a little butter or ghee in it afterwards also.

I think the WHO recommendation for solids is six months, not earlier and not later. But honestly if your LO is gaining weight fine and is not showing particular interest in your food I don't see a strong reason to push it. Our DD grabbed food off our plates at 5.5 months so we figured she was ready. Also I have chronic supply issues so solids were a huge relief for me.

[Xavismom]

I am actually pretty worried about allergies. DH does not have any, but I do, and my entire side of the family has issues. I guess I am kind of stressed out about it. My side of the family also has a lot of gastrointestinal issues, like reflux, IBS, and crohns disease.

[aidanraynesmom]

Originally Posted by scottishmommy

I was so overwhelmed about solids that I just threw my hands up and decided to wait until dd was 12 months. It was like magic, right around 12 months she would cry and grab at the food I was eating. When she was 6 months or so she showed interest in putting food in her mouth, but then again she put EVERYTHING in her mouth at that point. At 12 months she would throw a fit if I didn't let her eat some of my food. Now at 16 months I just give her a bit of whatever I'm eating, and I still nurse her at least 6-8 times a day. I am a big advocate of waiting on the solids.
Some fringe benefits of waiting are:
Ecological breastfeeding (still not fertile at 16 months pp)
No stains on baby clothes
Less clean up
Easy breastfed poop
No worries about nutrition!
less risk of choking

You don't have to worry about solids...you don't have to introduce them until 12 months. Your baby is getting the best nutrition from your milk.

This is exactly right. Nothing is needing before one year. And delaying will not cause allergies, just the opposite. Not sure if we're allowed to post links to other sites so if you want me to back any of my claims feel free to PM me!

[mambera]

Oh if you want it here is a review of literature support for the 'window of opportunity' idea (it discusses recent research that has supplanted the older, non-evidence-based idea that longer delays are better):


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19685855
Breastfeed Rev. 2009 Jul;17(2):23-31.
Is 6 months still the best for exclusive breastfeeding and introduction of solids? A literature review with consideration to the risk of the development of allergies.

Anderson J, Malley K, Snell R.

Health professionals advising mothers on the introduction of solid foods to infants need evidence-based guidelines. A literature review on this topic was undertaken to examine the current international recommendations of expert bodies and evidence-based research published since 2003. Particular reference in this review is made to the timing of introducing food allergens and the risk of development of allergy in the child. Recommendations in developed countries of reducing this risk by avoidance of allergenic foods until the child is of varying ages past 6 months have been challenged by recent population studies. Where the risk of allergy is a key consideration, currently-available research suggests that introducing solids at 4-6 months may result in the lowest allergy risk. When all aspects of health are taken into account, the recommended duration of exclusive breastfeeding and age of introduction of solids were confirmed to be 6 months, but no later.