I am Still confused about feeding my 7 month old!

[Snapdragon]

7 and a 1/2 month old now.
The bottom line of my question right now is this:

Is it nutritionally adequate for my baby to only be having breast milk at this age, or does he "need" food?

Quick synopsis of our history w- this-
-started various solids from 6-7 months
- baby got very constipated and hurt belly, couldn't poop for a while
-about 3 wks ago or so we did some suppository to get thigns gong, and atarted prune juice and stopped all solids- went to only breastmilk (and prune juice on some days)
-got some regular pooping
-now baby has only had breast milk mostly for 3 weeks or so
-hasn't pooped in 5 days but he doesn;t seem bloated, hard belly, uncomfortable like he did when he had solids and no poop.

So he is nursing more frequently lately- partially because he has two teeth working their way up.
So I am just wondering if breast milk is enough or if he needs more food to be satiated and full?

It has popped into my mind to offer rice cereal, which I know isn't for nutrition but more to make sure he is getting enough to eat.

What are opinions out there on this? is it fine to continue giving my 7 and a 1/2 month old only breastmilk? Or does he need food?

Also, I am really not comfortable with giving him anything that would have any potential for gagging or choking.
So I think that means only purees. SO I would like to also hear from others who don't do baby-led-weaning - just for perspective on what you feed your baby.

It's funny because 3 wks ago when I stopped solids I remember thinking- oh man, I should have known that he only needed breast milk- why was I rushing all those solids? And now I am back to the self doubting on that, thinking- am I giving him enough food? He seems satiated and happy after he nurses, so that is good. But if he needs more than just breastmilk at this point then I want to know that and offer it to him!

[blessedwithboys]

Originally Posted by Snapdragon

7 and a 1/2 month old now.
The bottom line of my question right now is this:

Is it nutritionally adequate for my baby to only be having breast milk at this age, or does he "need" food? Yes, it's all he needs. No, he doesn't need any other food.

Quick synopsis of our history w- this-
-started various solids from 6-7 months
- baby got very constipated and hurt belly, couldn't poop for a while
-about 3 wks ago or so we did some suppository to get thigns gong, and atarted prune juice and stopped all solids- went to only breastmilk (and prune juice on some days)
-got some regular pooping
-now baby has only had breast milk mostly for 3 weeks or so
-hasn't pooped in 5 days but he doesn;t seem bloated, hard belly, uncomfortable like he did when he had solids and no poop.

So he is nursing more frequently lately- partially because he has two teeth working their way up.
So I am just wondering if breast milk is enough or if he needs more food to be satiated and full? BM is enough at this age.

It has popped into my mind to offer rice cereal, which I know isn't for nutrition but more to make sure he is getting enough to eat. Why feed such a young child empty calories? Isn't the point of "getting enough to eat" to actually nourish oneself? All that you would be doing is filling his tummy so that he had less room for BM, which is really the only food he needs right now. It's the perfect food for a child this age.

What are opinions out there on this? is it fine to continue giving my 7 and a 1/2 month old only breastmilk? Yes. Or does he need food? All he needs is BM.

Also, I am really not comfortable with giving him anything that would have any potential for gagging or choking. Why do you feel that way? Do you know how the tongue-thrust reflex works? If he is ready for food, he should be able to pick up little bits of soft banana, avocado, or sweet potato with his own hands and get them down his throat without trouble. If a baby can't do that, they shouldn't be having food at all, including purees. (Not including children with different needs like apraxia...)

So I think that means only purees. SO I would like to also hear from others who don't do baby-led-weaning - just for perspective on what you feed your baby.

It's funny because 3 wks ago when I stopped solids I remember thinking- oh man, I should have known that he only needed breast milk- why was I rushing all those solids? And now I am back to the self doubting on that, thinking- am I giving him enough food? He seems satiated and happy after he nurses, so that is good. But if he needs more than just breastmilk at this point then I want to know that and offer it to him!

Of course, some babies are more than ready for solids at 7.5 mos. But your LO seems to not be ready. In that case, it's fine to wait as long as even 12 mos. And when you do start over with solids, be sure to start with a nutritious food, not rice cereal. That stuff is not only empty junk, it's actually damaging to a baby's intestines!

[Knitting Mama]

I recall reading somewhere that a baby can go until 2 years of age on just breastmilk and grow perfectly normally. After two, their growing bodies need more than breastmilk can give exclusively, so at that point, they need solid food. Before that, they actually could grow on track with just what you make. So why push a 7 month old who is not ready for eating yet into eating empty calories? Not worth it, in my opinion.

Also, please understand the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging will occur no matter what with learning to eat. It will happen when the baby self-feeds, whether that is tomorrow, next month, or next year. It's part of learning how to eat. Choking is very different (and also very rare).

edit to add my 7 month old plays with food and hardly ingests anything. I don't see any need for eating large amounts at this age!

[alegna]

Another to say just milk is fine. Neither of mine were eating enough solids to get any nutrition at that age.

-Angela

[Asiago]

Yes, breastmilk is the optimum nutrition right now for your baby but as mentioned by pp there is a studied and sure advantage regarding lifesaving benefits to introducing solids by two years of age.

More info: http://tinyurl.com/2cangh5

[Asiago]

Yes, breastmilk is the optimum nutrition right now for your baby but as mentioned by Ceceliasmom there is a studied and sure advantage to introducing solids by two years of age.

More info: http://tinyurl.com/2cangh5

[Adaline'sMama]

DD is 7 months and she still gets about 95% of her nutrition from breastmilk. We play with solids almost everyday, but the amount she ingests is actually very little.

[Nicole730]

like pp said - we are about 98% bm at 8 months of age. i usually offer food once a day. we do some purees and some soft pieces of food. she will eat more if it is in puree form (so far squash and carrots - oh and appleseause)

[skyewriter]

ditto ditto!

mine never touched "food" till a year old... DS off the growth chart (110 percentileish) so breast is def best.. Anyway, they don't make the stomach acid for solids till after 9 mo