Solid Food Questions for Babies

[ZoeyZoo]

Cross Posted in Nutrition and Good Eating

I have a 4 month old. I noticed Weston Price recommends starting cod liver oil, egg yolks, and meat (preferable organ meats) at this age. His site also says that there are benefits to offering food at an early age - especially egg yolks. This goes against most of the advice on the main boards about delaying solids until the baby is clearly ready.

I'm nervous about starting for a few reasons:

1. Even though DD has a few teeth she is not showing any clear signs that she wants solids. She is exploring things with her mouth but doesn't seem to have much interest in food.

2. I have read articles about how introducing early solids has health consequences. This includes blocking nutrient absorption. I want her to get as much nutrition as possible to fuel her growing brain and body. This goes against Weston Price's quoted study about eggs leading to better baby health.

3. Curious as to why starting with meat and egg yolks is not recoommended on any other baby source. The good ones (like Dr. Sears) usually recommend veggies and fruits first.

[dogmom327]

I personally don't agree with this particular WAP recommendation and wouldn't start a baby on any solids until they were at least 6 months old and showing all signs of readiness. Breastmilk is the original traditional food and is by far the best source of nutrition. I just don't buy the argument that babies need anything else at 4 mo.

Once the baby is at least 6 mo and showing all signs of readiness (which in DS's case wasn't until almost 10 mo), I agree with starting them on fat rich foods such as egg yolk, avocado, etc. Although of course fruits and veggies are really convenient. I ended up mixing fruits and veggies with coconut oil to give them some healthy fat.

[Attached Mama]

The WAPF is skewed because Sally Fallon had trouble breastfeeding.

Babies don't actually need solids at all prior to their first birthdays or so in my opinion. Breastmilk is the most traditional food for babies that there is. It's the perfect food. No other food is as nutrient dense or calorie rich or gives them all the nutrients they need in perfect balance.

Prior to blenders and produce being available year round, breastmilk was the primary food given to babies until they had a mouthful of teeth. Tastes of soft foods, stewed meat, eggs, fruits or soaked grains already on the mother's dinner plate would have been given to the baby, but I doubt there was much in the way of special foods prepared just for them when breastmilk was so readily available. Sometimes moms would pre-chew a few bites for their babies. But mostly a baby that was full on breastmilk wouldn't be eating much in the way of solids at mealtimes.

Many moms end up thinking around 6 or 8 months that their baby is not getting enough milk - but it's just like the 3 mo growth spurt - increase time at the breast for a few days and you will have more milk for the baby again. Our dd didn't eat many solids or even eat them on a daily basis til past her first birthday. She was chunky and healthy! We didn't know about TF then so she did get some grains, but it wasn't much. It just made sense to me that it wasn't natural for babies to eat a lot of solids.

[Leilalu]

I just recently started a tiny bit of solids with ds2. I thought he showed all signs of readiness, though I was in no hurry. He sees his brothers and sisters eating and it became very hard to not let him try anything!

I think what is natural is that moms give their older babies a bite or two here and there to let them taste. And we've always had a nurse first rule. So my kids don't even get to try solids without nursing first.I'm in no hurry for them to wean.

I did start giving ds a tiny bit of CLO every other day or so. I think it helps him when his siblings play at parks and come down with all sorts of bugs(though mild) but it helps nonetheless. Eggs, not so sure yet.

edited to add: I would most definitely wait for signs- and nothing until then!

[joybird]

I agree with dogmom, although I would actually wait a bit longer to start solids unless baby was going crazy for them.

I also disagree with the egg yolk as a first food, just because it is so highly allergenic. I would start with soft meats, vegetables and fruits.

[ZoeyZoo]

I appreciate all the suggestions.

While I agree that BM is hands down the best and most complete food (and more TF), I too had BF issues and am using formula. That is why I was taking a little more stock in the suggestions since I know there are a lot of nutrition gaps in formula.

I do think I am going to start HVCLO but hold off on any further solids until DD shows me she is ready.

[homewithtwinsmama]

Originally Posted by Attached Mama

The WAPF is skewed because Sally Fallon had trouble breastfeeding.

Babies don't actually need solids at all prior to their first birthdays or so in my opinion. Breastmilk is the most traditional food for babies that there is. It's the perfect food. No other food is as nutrient dense or calorie rich or gives them all the nutrients they need in perfect balance.

Prior to blenders and produce being available year round, breastmilk was the primary food given to babies until they had a mouthful of teeth. Tastes of soft foods, stewed meat, eggs, fruits or soaked grains already on the mother's dinner plate would have been given to the baby, but I doubt there was much in the way of special foods prepared just for them when breastmilk was so readily available. Sometimes moms would pre-chew a few bites for their babies. But mostly a baby that was full on breastmilk wouldn't be eating much in the way of solids at mealtimes.

Many moms end up thinking around 6 or 8 months that their baby is not getting enough milk - but it's just like the 3 mo growth spurt - increase time at the breast for a few days and you will have more milk for the baby again. Our dd didn't eat many solids or even eat them on a daily basis til past her first birthday. She was chunky and healthy! We didn't know about TF then so she did get some grains, but it wasn't much. It just made sense to me that it wasn't natural for babies to eat a lot of solids.

I concur with the above. 3 of mine didn't have eating readiness until nearly one year old. Currently I have a six month old trying to steal food from my mouth so she is going to start this week. Vegetables/fruits, not raw egg/meat/grains. I like to start with mashed avocado, blueberries, and peas. SF really has some BAD advice to breastfeeding and young baby mamas. I am all for WAP beyond the baby period. Until then, use caution and good mama judgement.

[pampered_mom]

Dd is 8 mos old and for the most part still pretty much EBF. We dabbled in baby food purees (wanted to get some meat in her for a good source of highly absorbable iron - just for extra insurance), but she was less than thrilled. I don't think she cared for the puree part of it. Since then we've offered her soft bits of whatever we were eating - seasonings and all. So far it seems like her favorites are small tastes of a marinated tender steak, chicken, and pickles (homemade LF ones and the "kosher" crispy ones at the store). She's also had small tastes of cantalope, banana, pear, apple, the insides of a grape, and peach. Some of those she seemed to enjoy, but she'd much prefer the meats. As for quantity we're talking about a teaspoon worth (maybe) and on a very sporadic basis. We're purposely holding off on grains for awhile.

tbh, from what I remember from ds when it comes to solids I always understood that what you started with didn't really matter. Veggies, fruits, grains, meats, or whatever it didn't really matter. My understanding, though, is that for a bf baby it'd be wise to err on the side of meats for the iron whereas for the formula fed baby you could start with the fruits/veggies.

I would actually really like to give dd an egg yolk just because it really is so chock full of nutrition, but since my dad has a sensitivity to both egg whites and egg yolks we're holding for for awhile.