Can we talk about solids?

[amrijane128]

I know that there is a whole argument for delaying solids and I'd just like to know some more info about it all. My DD didn't have any solids until she was around 10ish months, and I had the hardest time getting her to eat as she got older. Just this year at her 3 year well child checkup is she not on the very bottom of the charts. I have been told that delaying solids too long can make them a little more finicky with textures as they get older but would like to know if there's any basis behind this.

My DS just turned 6 months old and has so far only had breast milk. He's a big boy. A superman among babies of sorts lol. He brought my milk in within 12 hours after birth and just hasn't stopped nursing since. He hit the 20 lb. mark at 3 months and is just now starting to pack on the pounds a little slower... but is still the size of most 1 year olds we meet. He's also obsessed with food. He's been trying to grab for it for over a month now, making chewing motions with his mouth, etc. He knows what food is and he wants it! So tell me, what is the science behind giving him a little fresh avacado, bananas, etc. right now? Good, bad? Thanks!

[ann_of_loxley]

I have been told that delaying solids too long can make them a little more finicky with textures as they get older but would like to know if there's any basis behind this.

I don't think there is any actual scientific proof behind this theory. It is just a theory that may make sense to some people. Usually, most toddlers are picky eaters. I am honestly not even sure what the percentiles are for either...you have to look at the whole 'healthy' picture - not just where a child falls on the percentile. I know babies who are spoon fed jarred baby foods since they were only 12 weeks old and are very low on the 'percentiles'.... Your DD might just be small - petit. And, on a whole, I have found (from my personal experience with boy and girl babies) that boys tend to have more gusto when it comes to solid foods. Not always - but generally.

If your son has reached all the rediness signs for starting solids - there should be no reason to hold off (unless you have sever allergies in your family - if that is the case, many people prefer to hold off until the child is a year old but that is another topic really! - Though, realistically, I will add that most full term babies will be quite happy and healthy on nothing but breastmilk for the first year of their life. It is important to remember that solids before a year are just for exploration/touching/feeling/tasting/learning - not to fill them up or replace any goodness that your milk can give them because breastmilk has far more fat/calories/nutrience packed into it than any solid foods you could offer them).

A big baby does not neccissarily mean they are ready for solid foods earlier than a smaller baby (both my sons have been bigger - DS1 was 10 and a half pounds at birth and kept on his percentile and DS1 was 12lbs 4oz at birth and has kept on his percentile as well!). Though it does sound like your little man is eager. I don't know if he has reached all of these readiness signs - but he is 6 months old and that is one of them. If he were not at least 6 months old, I may add here that most babies, being human - and humans being the social creatures that we are - are just interested in being involved with mealtimes. You can offer them a bowl or spoon or cup to play with at the table whilst the rest of you eat. Some woman even find their babies enjoy playing with frozen cubes of breastmilk as well as a way of being invovled in family mealtimes but still only getting breastmilk if their bodies are not actually ready for other solid foods yet.

So tell me, what is the science behind giving him a little fresh avacado, bananas, etc. right now? Good, bad? Thanks!

Are you thinking of BWL (baby led weaning/baby led solids)? This is actually what is being recommended now (espeically for breastfed babies - at least here in the UK)...no longer is it a 'secret' amongst us dirty hippy dippy parenting types lol

The theory in a nutshell is, if a child is truely ready for solid foods - they meed all the rediness signs....then there is no reason why they can't pick up a piece of food (like avacado for example) and eat it themselves. There really is no need to puree and spoon feeding takes the control away from baby. Breastfeeding is baby-led...introducing solid foods in this manner also keeps any other food intake a baby has as baby-led as well.

If you google it - there are many websites. Here are a few:

http://www.babyledweaning.com/

http://baby-led.rhgdsrv.co.uk/

http://babyledweaning.blogware.com/

Prepare for the mess and have fun!