Conflicted about starting solids

[WindyCityMom]

I'm kind of confused and have conflicting thoughts about this.

My DD2 is EBF and turned 5 months old on May 22nd. So she's not 6 months until the end of June. I was planning on starting solids aroung 6 months, and our family doctor advised us to wait until then as well. I'm all for it! She has been lunging at our plates, and been very interested in food. I think she may be ready for a taste, but I'm not sure. I so want to wait until she's 6 months at least, but it's hard. Lately, she's even been crying at mealtime, she won't even nurse while we eat.

We're planning on doing baby led weaning... I just don't know when to start. Would it be extremely inappropriate for me to introduce solids to her now, or would we be okay? Of course, I wouldn't push them on her.. I'm just not sure of what to do and am looking for guidance.

FWIW, my 2yo started solids at 4 months, which was purees until 6 months.. she hated them but was anxious to eat. We found baby led weaning and she started devouring her food from then on. I should also add that she was formula fed.

[wombatclay]

Have you visited the Kellymom breastfeeding site? They have a great baby-led solids section...

From that site, the signs of readiness are:

•Baby can sit up well without support.

•Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.

•Baby is ready and willing to chew.

•Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.

•Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

Obviously your little one is interested in joining the family meal, but have you tried offering her a plate, spoon, empty cup, or other "meal time" item? Is she still lunging and unhappy if she has the "gadgets" of mealtime? Sometimes babes jsut want to be part of the action!

If you've tried giving her her own cup/plate/bowl/spoon and she is still unhappy, and she meets the other baby-led solid guidelines I don't think there is anything "magical" about the exact moment she turns 6mo old. The closing of the gut and other developments are gradual after all... a week or two is probably not going to be a significant problem one way or the other.

That said, I'd be very hesitant to offer a 5mo much... perhaps a bit of carrot from a soup, or some rice cooked in a plain broth, or a little mashed fruit on her plate. And I wouldn't expect her to eat much of it... we have used a baby-led approach with all of our kiddos and even though solid food is availabe to them starting around 6mo, each child has had a different reaction. DS is 9mo and really only started "eating" instead of "exploring" last week, dd2 ate almost no solids till nearly a year (they were available, she just didn't swallow much), and dd1 was a chow hound from the start. So even if your little one is ready and willing, she may be ready and willing to play, not eat.

[WindyCityMom]

Thank you so much for that! I do realize that any food given would be more of an exploratory thing for her rather than eating- I'm going to see if she'll be willing to explore a spoon or other meal "gadget" first. She's almost sitting up on her own, so I will surely wait until then. Thank you for the link also!

[Adasmommy]

I'm in the exact same boat as you--dd was 5 months on May 25th, and she is so eager to get at our food that eating in front of her feels like torturing her!

Luckily, with baby led weaning, I think you don't have to worry too much about waiting because they won't be able to get the food down until they are physically able.

In other words, I'm giving her some food and she can practice picking it up and putting it in her mouth and by the time she has the skills to put it in her mouth, and work it to the back of her mouth, she'll be developmentally ready to do so.

As long as you aren't putting it in her mouth for her, let her practice and make a mess with food and that will probably keep her happy at meal times.

By the way, I would be happy to wait until she was a year old to begin baby led weaning, since breastmilk is so perfect, but you've got to follow your children's cues, too!

[Llyra]

My DD2 was very interested in food at a young age. We wound up experimenting with "foods" made of breastmilk, to satisfy her urge to "eat" until she was old enough for me to be really comfortable with introducing other foods.

So we made breastmilk popsicles, and breastmilk slush to eat with a spoon (freeze it and then put the "ice" cubes into a baggie. Cover it with a towel and whack it with a hammer to crush it into a slush). We also wound up buying a yogurt incubator and making breastmilk yogurt, which was a big, big hit with all my kids.

If you have a frozen stash, or are able to build pumping into your routine, you might try a few breastmilk "treats" and see how she likes them. Most of it will wind up melting and making a mess, but the early months of solid foods are like that, anyway. At least breastmilk doesn't leave green stains on clothes and doesn't get stuck in baby's ears, the way peas and squash and stuff do.

[WindyCityMom]

Thanks!

Adasmommy (Diana)- Thanks, that's a good way to look at it as well. What kinds of foods are you letting her experiment with?

Llyra, I love the breastmilk slushie idea! We have frozen breastmilk, and she doesn't take any bottles, so that would make me feel less guilty about having unused breastmilk!

[LindsC]

We did the same thing with DD. She was lunging at our plates just shy of 6 months old so we gave her a spoon and sippy cup to play with and that kept her content for awhile. She didn't actually start "eating" any food until closer to 8 months, but once she did, boy did she ever chow done. This girl loves to eat.

I think that you were given great advice and as long as you follow their lead and cues and let them feed themselves, you should be fine.

[Asparagus78]

DS2 will be 7 months tomorrow, and we've been doing solids for a few weeks. We skipped purees and rice cereal. I don't "feed" him; rather I fill his tray with chunks and bits of food, and he goes to town. Of course probably half of it ends up everywhere except his mouth, but that's part of the experience, IMO. Some of what he's eating now (and many of these items were suggested by MDC mamas in another post):
-cooked lentils (although he is still struggling to pick them up, he pretty much just plays with them);
-egg yolks;
-clumps of cooked brown rice;
-organic rice puffs (individual puffed rice);
-very ripe bananas;
-avocado;
-sweet potatoes;
-very ripe pear slices;
-mangoes (by far his fave!);
-halved blueberries;
-cooked green peas.

I'm waiting on dairy, but I guess grated/shredded cheese would also be ok?

[Adasmommy]

Our 5 month old has been working on asparagus, kiwi, watermelon . . . a few others but some of them just frustrate her as they're too slippery for her beginner fingers. Asparagus was the best.

Enjoy this (I did):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzPT...eature=channel

[hapersmion]

My first baby got really interested in our food when he was four months old! (And now his three-month-old little brother is starting to grab at my plate...) We did the spoon thing, and also we'd sometimes give him tiny bits of ice. That kept him happy until he was old enough to start solids. The breastmilk slushy thing is a great idea.

[WindyCityMom]

We may begin to offer her solids very soon. The spoon thing isn't working anymore. She gets very, very frustrated at mealtime (even if we put her in the next room within eyesight to play). I let her gum a cold cup of water and she enjoyed that for a bit (likely because she's teething) but she quickly became bored with that and nothing is working anymore.

Adasmommy (Diana) that was an awesome video, I really enjoyed it.

We are currently trying to figure out a table seating solution. We're in a tiny apartment, and our table is 2'x4' with one of the 2' sides bolted to the wall with a leg post to the floor (think restaurant tables). It's also bar-height. My 2yo sits at a high chair w/ tray at the other short side and DH and I each sit at one of the long sides. I'm thinking of getting one of those clip on high chairs like in that video until my 2yo id able to sit on a tall chair like we do.

[astar326]

Originally Posted by Adasmommy

Our 5 month old has been working on asparagus, kiwi, watermelon . . . a few others but some of them just frustrate her as they're too slippery for her beginner fingers. Asparagus was the best.

Enjoy this (I did):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzPT...eature=channel

love this video! my ds is also a huge fan of asparagus, as well as green beans, zucchini, & banana.

[WindyCityMom]

I can't wait until I'm able to harvest my garden.. alot of what I planted is baby led solids friendly! Anyhow, I plan on giving her a bit of food to play with today.

[mojobin]

My babe will be 6 mos on June 22 as well. I fed her avocado off my finger one day as she was so interested. Then started whole heartedly introducing other foods. Well I have backed off of that. She just doesn't seem ready. Takes a teaspoon or so and turns up her nose. Too much work. We're both happy with nursing so I'm gonna stick to that for a few more weeks and try again. If I'm eating something she can eat I'll offer it, but otherwise just waiting.

[beebalmmama]

Originally Posted by Adasmommy

I'm in the exact same boat as you--dd was 5 months on May 25th, and she is so eager to get at our food that eating in front of her feels like torturing her!

Luckily, with baby led weaning, I think you don't have to worry too much about waiting because they won't be able to get the food down until they are physically able.

In other words, I'm giving her some food and she can practice picking it up and putting it in her mouth and by the time she has the skills to put it in her mouth, and work it to the back of her mouth, she'll be developmentally ready to do so.

As long as you aren't putting it in her mouth for her, let her practice and make a mess with food and that will probably keep her happy at meal times.

By the way, I would be happy to wait until she was a year old to begin baby led weaning, since breastmilk is so perfect, but you've got to follow your children's cues, too!

My ds just turned 6 months, but I agree with Adasmommy. I've been offering ds carrot sticks and sweet potatoes in french fry shape. He loves to chew and suck on them, but if he gets any bits off they come right out of his mouth. I know he's not ready to eat, but he's enjoying tasting and exploring textures right now.

[mom2happy]

This is just my experience-
I experimented with a few things at about 7 months with both of my babies and they still had some of the gag reflex. Every once in a while I would give them something off of my finger or a spoon with something on it, but they didnt really want anything. They both really didnt eat anything until a little after a year. They wanted real solid foods. Things cut up really small so they could grap them by themselves.
I was worried with the first one, becase annoying in laws were astounded that she was living on (God forbid, breast milk).
The dr. said that it was nothing to worry about because she was in the 90% and very healthy and that she would show me when she was ready.
The second one was the same.

I dont know if this is true or not- I read somewhere that the earlier they get teeth the earlier they will want food. Mine didnt start to get teeth till just before 11 months.
I also read that you shouldnt try solids until they can support them selves sitting upright.

[Abraisme]

Both of my kids started eating around 5mo because they had all the signs and showed a strong interest. I think BLW means that you follow your baby's lead. Some kids are ready to eat at 5mo and some aren't ready until they're 12mo+. I seriously doubt that our ancestors waited until some magical 6mo age to start feeding solid foods. You would simply go with your gut and your baby's need. Good luck.

ETA: Both of my kids started getting teeth around 4 months and both wanted to start eating on the early side. Now, at 10mo my DD has 8 teeth.