Continue with just mama milk or add some food? - Page 2

[Asiago]

The more I read and learn, the stronger I feel that it's wise to go with your instincts.

 The expert age reccomendation has changed numerous times over the past century so it difficult to fully depend upon it, but it should probably be factored in. Before the 1920's babies often didn't start solids before one year of age, whereas by the late 1920's the age was 7 months, fast forward to the 1950's and it was 4-6 weeks! The current one will inevitably change too.

I tend to feel that if a baby can reach out and grab food, chew/gum it, then move to the back of the throat and swallow, then baby is likely ready.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by Asiago 

The more I read and learn, the stronger I feel that it's wise to go with your instincts.

 The expert age reccomendation has changed numerous times over the past century so it difficult to fully depend upon it, but it should probably be factored in. Before the 1920's babies often didn't start solids before one year of age, whereas by the late 1920's the age was 7 months, fast forward to the 1950's and it was 4-6 weeks! The current one will inevitably change too.

I tend to feel that if a baby can reach out and grab food, chew/gum it, then move to the back of the throat and swallow, then baby is likely ready.

Pretty much this-- not to mention that the Internet being the Internet, you can find research, and "research," to support or to decry whatever you want.

[MamitaM]

Does anyone have a link to info about the gut not being ready yet for solids? I'd like to send it to a friend who gave her 3 month old watermelon a few days ago.

[bbrandonsmom]

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

  That's a wonderful resource for breastfeeding matters.  There is info there on delaying solids and why-everything from allergies to gut issues.  It's pretty simple and easy.  I can provide more complicated information. 

  I'm a little dumbfounded on the whole, crap diet breast milk is the same as breast milk from a mom w/ good nutrition.  I will not get into a debate here, because that's not what the op is asking.  But an undernourished mother's milk, is just not the same as a mom who eats well.  Nor is it the same as a mom who does eat well.  There was research done on cats, where they gradually fed the cats crappy food, and with each generation, the offspring had more health problems and infertility problems.  After 3 generations, I think it was, they reversed the food, to increase more raw and real food, and less processed food, eventually ending up no processed food.  With each generation, the offspring became healthier, fertility problems went away etc.  It's not far fetched to assume the same with people.  

[crystal_buffaloe]

I vote Mama Milk

Honestly, I'm glad we waited until 6 months just because BFing is so easy. We're doing BLW and at 6 months plus, your LO will be able to feed himself and really play with/explore the food.

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

My DD is a Sept babe too and we're holding off.  She's super interested in whatever it is we have, but like others have posted there are just too many good reasons to wait.  I'm still holding out for things like sitting unassisted, pincher grasp and losing the tongue thrust reflex. 

[Chloe'sMama]

DD2 is 4.5 months old and we plan on waiting till at least 7 or 8 months.  DD2 is grabbing at our plates when we hold her at the dinner table, but she also grabs at anything she can and puts it in her mouth.... I doubt it means she wants to eat it, just something babies do.

DD1 had an immature gut until 9 months, and since there is no rush, I prefer to wait and give DD2 pure mama's milk for a few more months.

[AislinCarys]

This is the only big study on breastmilk and iron, and came to the conclusion that extra iron not necessary (for healthy full-term babies) before 6 months:

K.G. Dewey, et al., Iron supplementation affects growth and morbidity of breast-fed infants: results of a randomized trial in Sweden and Honduras
Journal of Nutrition 132, no. 2 (Nov 2002): 3249-55.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/11/3249

Contents: 4-6 month old infants on breastmilk but allowed tastes of vegetables, control group supplemented with iron, result: extra iron un-necessary.



And the gluten stuff is rubbish. It is based on something that happened in Sweden in the late 80s or early 90s, I think. Doctors wanted to try to induce gluten intolerance/allergies as early as possible, so a decision was made to trial really increasing the amount of gluten in välling (a sort of gruel, consisting mainly of wheat and milk which babies in Sweden are fed in bottles instead of follow-on formula, often for several years), and baby porridge. At the same time, but not connected, the recs for intro of solids changed to 6 months (or possibly 4-6 months?), from 4 months. The result were massive, as many more children developed gluten allergies/intolerances. Around the same time they decreased the gluten in these things, the rec for food intro went back too. Unrelated. And research has been done since, and the major rec for gluten intro is based on this: Introduce gluten as late as possible, as slowly as possible and, most importantly, under the protection of breastfeeding. In Sweden, most breastfeeding mothers stop breastfeeding between 6 and 8 months. Thus the far to common advice to introduce gluten at 4-6 months, or 6-8 months, to "prevent gluten intolerance" or "prevent allergies".

I'll see if I can find links to studies and stuff for this.

[whozeyermamma]

I don't have studies to point to - but just my experience - with older DD - we started solids at 4 mo - oatmeal cereal in an attempt to get her to sleep better. She wasn't particularly into it, but it didn't help her sleep. She wasn't really into food until she could eat "real" food - pretty much BLW on accident.

With this DS he's been dying for solids for two months - reaching for our food, grabbing at what's on our plate with his mouth open, etc. I started him on some oatmeal at 6 mo and he loved it - gobbled it up BUT it made him crazy gassy and seemed to really bother his tummy. (He'd  be up at night, arching his back, crying, farting, stiff belly, etc.) Switched to just mashed food - prunes, bananas, green beans. Same thing.

Who knows?

I'm going to just  bag it for now and wait a few months and try more BLW ideas.

[SeattleRain]

I think you have to listen to the baby. My baby loves anything off a spoon. The kid loves to eat. At 4.5 months he seemed to really like little tastes of things so we started giving him 1/3rd of the stage one jar of food every morning and it became a really lovely time for us to spend with each other. He eats 3 times a day now at 6.5 months. Seriously, its my favorite time of the day feeding him food. I love the Earths Best jars but I also love to make my own purees. I love the whole process of shopping for delicious produce, roasting the veggies and purreeing it and seeing the look on his face of joy when I give it to him.