question about breastfeeding and starting solids

[loving-my-babies]

ok, first I want to say we're not starting solids for a good while, even though ds is 6 months now (I can't believe it, he's still 6 weeks to me! :LOL) he's not ready, but anyway, I was wondering about this today. when babies ARE ready to start solids, how is a breastfed baby supposed to start them? once a day? only a couple teaspoons a week? (I have had experience with solids but my dd was ff from 3 months so it was different, this time I need to be careful because I don't want to affect my bf'ing) does the solids meal replace a nursing session right from the start? how does this work?

thanks for your imput

I am excited, to star making my baby's yummy homemade babyfood, I miss that! that's all my dd ever had (no jarred ever) and I'll do the same this time! I'm SO excited! (but at the same time, very careful to not let my "excitement" get in the way or influence his solids readiness signs)

[Peppamint]

With my petite dd (bf until 20mo) we started some solids at 6mo... I remember at her 9mo checkup the doc said she was allowed up to three meals a day and I was surprised because she was only eating one "meal" per day. However, by 20 months she weaned and did not drink milk and was eating anything and everything!

My ds is 15mo and mostly just snacks. He may or may not eat much all day... but he does like to snack on fruit or organic cheerios. Sometimes he'll eat a bit of tender harvest. Mostly he wants his momma milk.

I would just watch your baby's cues. Slowly introduce new things and let your baby choose how often he eats. The easiest thing is to offer a bit of food when you're eating too, IME.

My two kids have been pretty different and I've done things pretty much the same way, so it just goes to show that every baby is different!

PS- Someone here has posted the cues for knowing when baby is ready for solids: sitting up, at least one tooth, no gag reflex etc.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

Originally Posted by loving-my-babies

does the solids meal replace a nursing session right from the start? how does this work?

most often they say to let baby nurse first, then the solids, as they are more for practice and learning than for actual nutrition at this age.

[velcromom]

My ds was not really into solids til he could pick bits of food up and feed himself. He was slow to take to it, and was a year before he could eat a dry cheerio without gagging on it. Til then I fed him only moistened foods.

I always nursed before offering solids til ds was a year old. He still sometimes refuses solids in favor of nursing. (he's 20 months now) but generally he eats like a horse. In the first year, expecting to get to "3 squares a day" is unrealistic for some kids. My ds1 was eating everything I did by a year, but ds2 was still taking most of his nourishment from bf at that age.

Going by their cues is the way to go... don't let anyone pressure you to push them. You may have a baby that eats off your plate at 9 months or one that just isn't ready til later. Either way is fine and normal. But don't make the mistake I did with my first and let solids push bf out of their diet - especially around the 8-10 month mark when many babies take part in some kind of nursing strike. They get really busy with physical development at that age and may actually forget to ask to nurse or even reject your offers. It's temporary, and not a cue to wean. They'll regain interest in nursing more after the phase has passed.

One of my ds's favorite foods at first and still, was avocado. I mixed it with ripe banana to sweeten it, he loved it. It's really healthy for them, and now ds eats them other ways too.

[loving-my-babies]

velcromom- can you tell me more about the 8-9 months nursing strike? I have heard a lot of moms say their babies self-weaned at that age, and from what I have heard it's not possible. I remember seeing an article on kellymom about this,.. maybe I'll go surf over there. :thanks

[velcromom]

Kellymom is a great place for info about bf. Here's the page that discusses self weaning and explains what that means.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/babyselfwean.html

[Too Busy]

i just knew that my dd was ready a few weeks ago... she wouldn't be satisfied with any kind of distractions but food while we were eating. we just started giving her purees of the basics whenever we were eating- and always AFTER nursing, to ensure that she didn't replace nursing with solids.

At this point she eats a bit several times a day. Nothing regimented and we just give her what we are eating if she wants it, cut up into small bits.

Truly, follow your instincts on this. I was firm that we weren't giving her anything until 12 months, at least and I started ignoring her signals. We finally started giving her solids around 7 1/2 months and she has really enjoyed it.