Is my baby too little for solids??

[Bladestar5]

My baby is 3 mos old and I have a hard time believing everything doctors say. They say wait 4 mos, but my mom insists that her generation started earlier. I am exclusively bfing, but she shows a LOT of interest in our food...I gave her a tiny bit of applesauce and she seemed to want more!! Is she too young? Sometimes she eats frequently and I hardly get a break. At what age do they slow down and stop eating so often??

[kater07]

My DS moved into a 3-4 hour feeding schedule around 4.5 months. Three months really is too early for solids b/c of immature intestines and the thrust reflex.

The WHO advises Exclusively BFing for 6 months and continuing to BF for 2 years.

Babies should have good control of their head and be able to sit up unassisted. Some ppl even say they need to have their first tooth. Those are all indicators that they are "ready". Baby needs to be able to turn away when she's done eating.

My DS is almost 7 months and still exclusively BFed. He shows interest in ANYTHING he can put in his mouth. It's not just food.

I would, tentatively, say that if you are comfortable giving her food then go ahead, just be aware of her moods, and watch her for reactions. Rice cereal can cause constipation as can bananas and often apples. You might wanna get the Super Baby Food Book as it gives lists of foods and when the are appropriate. If she has any reaction to the food you give her, then stop for a month and try again.

Hope this helps.

[Bladestar5]

Thanks!

[katt]

I'm sure you'll get more posts with more info. But i thought i'd tell you what I know.

Each baby is different
6 mo. is about the time Dr. rec. solids.
A baby's digestive track isn't fully ready for solids until about 10 months. (research and studies indicate)
3 mo. is about time for a growth spurt and she is working on getting your supply up, will taper off in a little while.
Introducing solids too early can lead to upper respitory problems, dietary problems, and allergies.
Yes, people started feeding solids to very young babies a generation ago. They also feed Karo Syrup and milk as formula. Babies lived on it, but doesn't mean it was the best thing for them.
Each baby is different.

[merpk]

Agreed with the previous posters.

Just want to add that most babies show interest in "adult" food before six months, but it's to their benefit to wait.

And some babies, once it's put in their mouths, lose all interest and end up exclusively bf'd for ... longer.

Whatever makes 'em happy & healthy ...

- Amy

[DaryLLL]

Really, yes, 3 months is too young. Human babies are meant to nurse almost continuously in the early months. Our milk is very dilute. It is perfect food, and almost entirely digested and utilized by the body.

Sometime around the middle of the first year does not mean right on the 4th month birthday! Many babeis are not ready til 8, 9 or even more months. Sometimes over a yr, 14 mos. It can take 2 yrs before a child is really eating table foods as an impt part of theri diet. And this is normaland healthy as long as they are bfing.

A young baby such as yours will not be able to "digest" table food. it will simply pass thru her system, and out the other end, actually robbing her of calories to do the work of passing it thru. It can then cause constipation, gas, and parhaps an allergic reaction.

Women of an earlier generation fed their babies solids way to early. Drs knew how poor in nutrition those early artificial milks were. Condensed milk and Karo syrup. No extra vits or minerals. So they tried to make up the difference with table foods. Moms fed their newborns orange and tomato juice for Vit C! Then commercialism got on the bandwagon and the public believed all the PR.

We have so much more research available now. In fact, the very latest studies show that fully bfed babies, who do not start table foods until 8 months, have the best iron levels at one yr, when compared to other feeding methods (partially bfed, artificially fed, or early solids).

At the turn of the 19-20th century, drs told moms not to start table foods until one year, and to nurse for at least 2 yrs, as there were all kinds of diseases with no treatment except prevention thru bfing. Then, antibiotics were invented. Then, industrialization invented a safer rubber nipple and glass bottle. Etc. Downward spiral, cut to WW2, women going to work, suddenly artificial feeding was seen as *superior* to human milk!

Read: Milk Money and Madness. For all this info and more.

[Momtwice]

The advice given in the 1950's was really wacky and not good for babies. In the 50's some pediatricians recommended juice and solid foods IMMEDIATELY for newborns. And of course breastfeeding was widely condemned. They were wrong.

The World Health Organization and The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommend 6 months for solid foods.

There are good articles about starting solids here: http://www.kellymom.com and
http://www.askdrsears.com

If you are from a family with food allergies, many sources recommend waiting even longer than 6 months, if you do a search for solids at http://www.drjaygordon.com

Basically all those early solids in the past were an experiment on babies. Science has learned since that early solids can lead to food allergies (with symptoms such as rashes, stomach upset, constipation or diarrhea, eczema, asthma, chronic ear infections, etc.) and obesity later on.

I just read an article that found early solids were associated with lower intelligence! The article was about full term babies weighing less than 6 lbs. who didn't have anything but human milk for 6 months had IQ's eleven points higher, than babies who had solids or formula supplements before the age of 6 months. This really surprised me! I guess all those "good fats" in breast milk that build the baby's brain are even more important than I thought.

My dd didn't like solids until 9 months. The she started to love them. She's fine, in fact she's GREAT.

It is exhausting sometimes to adjust to how very, very frequently a 3 month old baby (or older) needs to nurse. But you are doing the absolutely BEST thing for your baby! And frequent nursing is normal and healthy....that's one of the pieces of knowledge we lost as a culture when bottle-feeding became the norm after World War II. There are so many times that a baby will nurse frequently for a while, then slow down, then increase feedings again, over and over. This is normal.

[Bladestar5]

Thanks for the resourses

[Momtwice]

I corrected my post above. It was full term babies weighing less than 6 pounds, not premies. Link:

http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/brea...ndersizeiq.htm