[lovetimestwo]

I have heard about how babies really do not "need" solids before a year. With my dds I did decide to introduce at six months. They displayed the cues described by mainstream medicine/parenting info.

I just spent some time tonight reading threads on the bfing forum about waiting beyond six months... following baby's cues.

Has anyone waited with twins? Since my boys were small at birth, so much attention has been paid to their size and weight gain. I have had to fight so much pressure to supplement and introduce solids at 4 months that I imagine it could be hard to further delay solids. But my boys are approaching six months and still can not sit unassisted which was one of the cues I waited for with my dds. My first dd did not take to solids at first and I would say it wasn't until 8 months or so that solids really added to her nutritional intake.

My ds' six month apt. is approaching. I ignored my ped's recommendation to start solids at four months even though my boys were still in the low percentiles for weight. They are happy babies who are meeting all their developmental milestones and do not seem like they are lacking nutritionally. I am seeing a different ped. at the next appt. and am wondering what he will say about my desire to at least wait until the boys can actually sit in a high chair before trying foods.

Sorry for rambling. Any out there who can share experiences waiting to introduce solids?

 

[emomama]

i started letting my little guys "taste" stuff at around six months... they were big babies though (right now they're each pushing 24 lbs) and started displaying an active interest in food pretty early. so whenever i was eating and they showed interest, i would share. i made sure to have stuff made that was appropriate for them like pureed pears, organic yogurt, etc. they didn't really start having full meals in their highchairs until they could sit up, which was about at seven months. now we do lunch which is usually their big meal of the day and dinner which tends to be lighter. they aren't good with breakfast... they'd rather nurse. (and i do too... gives me a chance to snooze!

) some days they eat more and some they nurse more. i just kind of go with it.

i would wait for their cues... i don't think there's any reason to push it. if they seem interested, i'd let them try some pears or whatever you feel would be best and then just let it evolve on its own. but that's just me. my ped is really cool... he did not have a problem with me delaying solid food... pretty much does not have a problem with anything i'm doing, just asks a lot of questions. i like him a lot. i'm curious to see what your ped will say... be sure to let us know how your appt goes!

 

[Fleurette]

With my dd we started somewhere around 5.5 months. I will be waiting to feed solids to my sons because they just don't seem interested at all. They are now starting to watch me eat, but that's it. They can't sit up unassisted yet either. They were a good size for twins (6 lbs 12oz and 7 lbs 7oz) at birth and are gaining fine. I don't see a reason to start until they seem more ready. My doctor suggested 6 months or later. Sounds good to me!

 

[laralou]

We started to offer some tastes at 5.5 months, until I realized that it wasn't the food they wanted but more that they wanted to mimic dh, ds, and I "eating". So we ended up delaying until they were tested for anemia and were anemic. My options were to start baby cereal (which is just junk) or to do vitamin drops. I don't like forcing them to do vitamin drops so I finally stepped up and did some foods. We followed kellymom's suggestions. But by then they had teeth so they started on soft (cooked for the most part) table foods. They pretty much ate what we ate with minor modifications.

My kooky cousin said, "OMG, you didn't do baby food? But it's so easy!" Um, how is preparing a separate meal for a child easier than just feeding them off your plate? They ate all kinds of cooked veggies, beans, cheese, oshaped cereals, bits of chicken, brown rice, fruits, pasta, etc. Even now people are amazed that they are such diverse eaters.

If I had another child, I would delay solids until they were ready to eat table foods and could moderately feed themselves. That just seems natural to me. Unless of course their iron stores are low. I doubt a full term singleton would have the same problems with iron as twins born two weeks early.

 

[toepea]

My first thought is ---trust your gut........ YOU are their mom--YOU know them best.

AND, yes, my boys didn't start eating 'til they were at least a year. I tried them a couple of times on some rice cereal and some squash but they weren't in to it, and in all honesty it was easier to nurse them. So, when they started showing some interest in food they started eating the food off my plate, within reason. Truly they pretty much skipped the "baby food" phase-phew! They were both at around the 50% on their weight, and probably still are? They are 4 1/2 now and eating isn't an issue...............

 

[Elyssia]

i decided i wouldn't even think about it until they were sitting up really well and then i just waited for signs, grabbing at my food, pincer grasp, etc.
then i mostly gave them recreational stuff, snack stuff like cheerios, tiny pieces of orange and other fruits, saltines, peas and carrots and green beans
some days they still nurse more than they eat
we just do whatever they want
i actually did more baby food w/ these guys than i did w/ my 2 singletons
especially away from home when i didn't want to tandem nurse
and just feeling like i was ready to NOT be nursing 24 hours a day
(tho' the little jar of prunes or pears here and there did not really make a difference)
they do well now - 13 mos. old
in fact i always suspect that they are starving and not i'm not feeding them enough, it's hard to keep up w/ how much they want to eat and keep finding healthy foods that don't take too much prep
(i'm way busy)

i would follow your instincts and do WTF you want to do
they are your kids and if they are healthy
there is no reason for a doc who doesn't know them very well
to impose his ideas on your day to day routine
. . . the attitude probably b/c i am now dreading taking my babies to the doctor, they have been once in their lives, at 5 mos. just to meet the doc and have a file
but now i think i am ready to start their vaxing -tetanus and i am dreading taking 3 little kid to get shots
putting off making the appt.

 

[3 little birds]

My girls weren't terribly interested in solids before a year, mostly they wanted to nurse but we gave them fruit and some veggies if they wanted it. They were 5lbs 4oz and 5lbs 11oz at birth and 19 and 20 lbs at one year. They have always been small for their age, but very healthy so I don't worry. Unless their was a specific deficiency to worry about (low iron, etc) I would just listen to the doc's advice and then do what I feel is right.

 

[librarymom]

I agree with trust your feelings. You can always just tell doc that they have started and don't like it, or tell him you are waiting.

My boys were interested in a mimicking way as well (around 7 months or so), and I was very happy to have them both in high chairs for ten minutes so I could eat with both hands.

A small break in the day. I figured all their nutrition was from b/f--anything extra was just experience.

 

[Tigerchild]

My boys weren't interested in solids until they were able to pick up and eat finger food bits (at around 10 months). They had no interest in being fed from a spoon.

I too had incredible pressure to supplement and/or push solids early...I got real good at smiling and nodding and totally ignoring that advice. We had some low-iron problems (I think due to their coming early, as it wasn't a problem with my daughter and she never had solids before she could do them herself either), so we put the boys on an iron supplement for 3 months. Other than that, the only food they had prior to them feeding themselves was breastmilk.

I don't consider this a *delay* of solids, but rather a refusal to *push* solids prior to readiness. I think sitting well is a good measure of when they're ready, but not always...my guys didn't sit well until 11 months, but they were very interested in picking things off their trays and eating them the month before.

You will likely get pressure. Depending on how much you like arguing, I wouldn't say anything. Just do your thing.

If you start to have specific concerns (based on actual test results, like lower-than-breastfed-normal hemoglobin, ect. NOT some doctor's vague developmental chart), then address them specifically with your provider. But I consider solid food introduction parenting advice, rather than medical advice, and I don't pay my pediatrician for her parenting advice.

 

[lovetimestwo]

Thanks for all of your replies. I feel renewed faith in my own instincts and will be able to hold my own against the doc (if necessary, I have liked this ped. in the past).

 

[twopeasinpod]

Our boys got really interested in food around 7 months, but we watched to see if it was just "interest" or readiness....

Dr. Sears' site had some good advice on readiness and "delaying" solids.

They started really loving them in between 9-10 months, when they could feed themselves.

 

[lexbeach]

Luke and Jaz didn't start eating solids until 13 months. By then they could really eat whatever we were eating, so it was really easy. They still aren't big eaters most days, though every once in a while they surprise me. They still nurse ALL the time, and I wonder if they would nurse less if they were eating more. . . They were good-sized at birth (6-4 and 8-7 at 38 weeks), but have since dropped down on the growth charts. Jaz is only in the 10th% for weight now. But, they are healthy and happy, and meeting milestones, etc. (they don't look too skinny, IMO).

BTW, they were sitting unassisted at five months, had their first teeth by six months, were reaching and all that, drooling over our dinners, but still didn't actually want to EAT the food. They just thought it was fun to play with.

Lex

 

[lovetimestwo]

Had the twins' six month check up yesterday and just have to say..Love my doc! It went very well. I was armed to defend my stance and that was completely unnecessary. He asked if I had started solids and I told him that I was waiting until at least six months like with my dds. He said, "Well they are six months now tho not really." (36 weekers) I said I was now thinking of postponing further until they sit unassisted. He agreed. He said being able to sit in the high chair is one of the cues he likes to see first.

The boys are still small. Not quite hitting the charts yet at 12lbs 12 ounces and 12lbs 6 ounces. But they are on their own curve and their curve directly parallels the growth charts, just is tracking just underneath. I kept harping on it until my doc finally looked at me and said, "There is not a problem here. They are robust, healthy boys."

So I am holding off for now. I will probably start when they can sit and see what happens. With my dds I continued bfing for over a year and the solids were more for experience and entertainment. I started at 6 months with my oldest and she didn't take to it so stopped and tried again later at 8 months. Will watch my boys for their reactions and decide from there.

Thanks again for the support here!