Hoped to EBF to a year but now DS has dropped on the weight curve--Add solids or not yet?

[SandiMae]

Our little guy--now almost 8 months old--was born near the WHO growth chart's 85th percentile and stayed there for the first 6 months. (DH is 6.5' tall.) When we went for a well-baby checkup a few weeks ago, DS was close to the 50th. Our schedule has been different lately, so I chalked it up to less frequent nursings, and tried to nurse more often since then. He also has been sick with two colds, has 'sprouted' his first 4 teeth, and may have even had the flu during the time from age 6 months-8 months. When we returned to the pediatrician last Saturday to be sure that his 'goopy' eyes were simply a cold symptom and not pinkeye, he had actually lost a few ounces in the time that he should have gained. (Yes, it was just the cold, not pinkeye.)

On the earlier visit, his pediatrician encouraged us to feed him some solids "to help with language development and textures," which seemed a veiled attempt at covering her concern over his growth curve drop off. We are hesitant to introduce much in the way of solids at this age, though, since he is adversely affected by a long list of foods if I eat them: wheat, soy, corn, oats, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, goat's milk, sheep's milk. His reaction is usually spitting up, frequently with a vomit-like smell--not just old milk smell, about 4-8 hours after I eat the offending item. Let's just say, I enjoy a lot of rice right now! (Rice milk, rice cakes, rice bread, rice cheese...)

In the past week, we've given him some smashed cooked carrot, a little avocado, the lick of my finger dipped in baby food green beans, and a raw carrot to ease his gums and introduce the flavor. Today, I found carrot remnants in his dirty diaper, which makes me think we're right in not feeding him many solids, since it didn't appear to digest at all anyway.

Since Saturday, I've been even more conscious about feeding him/offering milk often, but our scale shows a loss of 1-1.5 ounces since Tuesday! Argh. Today, DH and I are watching the clock closely, and I'm offering to nurse DS just 20 minutes after the last session finished each time. He often goes for a little snack, and I can tell he's getting let-down pretty regularly, but I'm wondering what thoughts you other milky mothers have--any suggestions on getting him to gain weight without rice cereal and avocados?  

I can't wait to hear your ideas (or your own stories of EBF babies vs. solids, for that matter!) Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and write back! And I'm not only interested in opinions of 'no solids.' If you think we should start them, please tell me what items and why 

[FaithHopeLove29]

I'm not really telling you I think you *should* do anything - do what seems right to you. I just answered the poll as I did with my son, 8 1/2 months old now. We put finger food in front of him, and let him eat what he wants. He loves sweet potato, squash, pear, peach, carrot, lots and lots of fruits and veggies basically. He has no teeth, he nurses before and after he eats (and on demand day and night). He dropped off to 15th percentile for weight at his 6 month checkup, probably b/c he's so mobile (he's been crawling since 5 months). I don't know if solids will help with weight or not, especially if you are avoiding so many foods (sounds tough!) but baby led weaning made sense to me so it's what I'm going with. Good luck mama!

[Springshowers]

I think it is very normal to see food in the diaper when they are first getting used to foods. I saw it with both my kids. I could never have held off on solid so long with my son he loves food. My daughter seemed to prefer breastmilk. But both stated solids around six months. We used baby led weaning yoo and loved it.

Is he showing signs of readiness for food? I would think at that age he would be. And do you have a problem with avocado? Both my kids really enjoyed it when they were little.

You might also want to check his growth curve on a chart for breastfed babies. That might show something different.

[zapzipzee]

Have you checked into Baby Led Solids at all?  Does he seem interested in what you're eating?

We started with chunks of avocado with the peel on so she could pick it up, and then did banana, again with part of the peel on so it could be picked up.  I closely watched to make sure none of the peel was eaten.  We started earlier than 8mos as DD showed interest in foods we ate before then.  I would not with hold food from a baby who was interested in food just because I wanted to continue EBF (not saying that you are doing that though).  There's a list somewhere of what foods their bodies are ready for at what age, and if he's interested, he'll pick them up and taste, if not gobble them right up.  At 8 mos, DD was definitely consuming some of the foods she was given, but she was still breast feed prior to getting any solids, and I did not notice a change in her nursing patterns at all.  Breast milk is the best food for the first year... solids are just for fun.  They're "in addition to, not a substitute for."

Unless he continues to LOSE weight, I really wouldn't worry about it.  His body will let him know when it needs something....  

ETA:  Make sure you stick with one food for several days before adding another new food.  Anything can be an allergy... and giving several new foods at the same time you wouldn't know which one caused the allergy....

Also, DD still gets chunks of undigested foods in her poops and she's 2.5!

[SandiMae]

Thank you three very much for your responses! I really appreciate it.

FaithHopeLove29, thanks for your ideas on which foods your little one likes. I picked up some sweet potatoes (thinking of myself, really) today, and hadn't thought about how much LO might enjoy them. Maybe we'll try them soon.

 HappyMonkey, I appreciate you asking about avocado. My original post may have sounded like I was bashing them, but I really don't mind avocado and think it's a really nutritious food. I gave our son a tiny bit one day recently and he seemed to like it... Yes, he seems to want the foods we're having and shows other signs of readiness for food, so maybe baby-led weaning is the way to go. And thanks for asking about the growth chart; I'm rather certain that the WHO charts are generally recently compiled, of breastfed infants from 5 or so developed nations, and that it's a longitudinal study (as opposed to the CDC chart, which I understand to be a snapshot of American babies primarily fed formula from many years ago).

zapzipzee, you are very kind in your message. Thanks! All of your info was helpful--but the most helpful was the little fact about undigested food in your 2.5 y.o.'s diaper! Thanks for sharing!