[Amber Lion]

DD has been showing signs that she's ready to start solids for about a month now (sitting unassisted, pincer grasp, little to no tongue thrust, interest in our food, etc.) and her 6 month b-day is coming up next week. We'd planned on giving solids a try a la BLW, but as the day draws nearer I'm getting cold feet. It just seems too weird to be giving her anything but the boob, but that may just be my hang up about my LO growing up. Just wondering if there is any benefit to waiting even if she's showing the readiness signs?

 

[ChampagneBlossom]

I don't know, but neither of my kids would allow me to delay solids further - it was all I could do to get to six months without them freaking out every time they saw food. They had the readiness signs (except for teeth) so, why not?

 

[meemee]

imho even tho those signs are there... it means they are getting ready to eat - not that tehy are going to. my dd would grab stuff from my plate at 6 months and then spit them out. i figured she was curious about taste. she didnt start eating till almost 9 months old.

the thing is though if your child wants to eat i am not sure how you would keep food away from them. i am not sure how i would have done that with my dd.

i do not know about the benefits.

 

[taramoon13]

we really wanted to hold out with our ds for as long as possible too. he started showing some readiness signs at about the time yours is, but a lot of the time he wasn't really that into eating stuff once we actually gave it to him.i think he just more wanted to touch it. he didn't really start eating til about 1 year. he still nurses plenty though at 20 mo, which was/is always my concern so that he gets plenty of nutrition. there are still lots of times that he wants to nurse before he has a meal.

 

[Lynn08]

There are benefits having to do with the development of the digestive system (I don't remember everything exactly, just the generalities - sorry). But right now it's more about introducing flavors and textures than actually "eating".

Although I understand what you mean about her growing up. We've been slowly giving more solids to our dd the past week or so and just tonite when I changed her diaper I almost cried because her the consistency is changing.

Dh had a good laugh over me getting upset about her poop.

 

[liliaceae]

Don't know how accurate this is, but I found this on kellymom:

Quote:

...the researchers concluded that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 7 months (and were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals) had significantly higher hemoglobin levels at one year than breastfed babies who received solid foods earlier than seven months. The researchers found no cases of anemia within the first year in babies breastfed exclusively for seven months and concluded that breastfeeding exclusively for seven months reduces the risk of anemia.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

 

[XanaduMama]

I don't know if there's any benefit, but there's certainly no harm in waiting.

 

[snowgirl]

Breastmilk is more nutrient dense that food at this stage. And perhaps do self feeding, instead of feeding dc.

 

[Amber Lion]

Thanks for your thoughts.

liliaceae, that is super interesting about the anemia b/c I've struggled with it so much in my life and especially when I was pregnant, so it's something I've been thinking about a lot recently.

I like the point that some of you have made that it will probably be more about texture and playing at first than actual eating. I guess a good way to tell if she's really ready is to see what she does when we give it to her, huh? She already grabs for everything off our plates and is inconsolable during most mealtimes. But maybe she just wants to touch it? This idea makes it seem more manageable to me.

I guess it's just a trip thinking about her eating FOOD already.

 

[alegna]

Yeah, follow her lead. I "started" with both at 6 months. Dd wasn't really interested until around a year. Ds is a foodie

-Angela

 

[sapphire_chan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaduMama I don't know if there's any benefit, but there's certainly no harm in waiting.

I thought babies who started later than they indicated they were ready had more trouble with larger pieces of food? At least, it seems to happen to older babies who have only had purees, so I thought it was something that happens to all babies who don't get a chance to practice with textures when they want to.

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan I thought babies who started later than they indicated they were ready had more trouble with larger pieces of food? At least, it seems to happen to older babies who have only had purees, so I thought it was something that happens to all babies who don't get a chance to practice with textures when they want to.

I bet it's more an issue of babies who are just fed purees.

-Angela

 

[XanaduMama]

:

 

[Yiskah64]

I know some women who like delaying just because of the hassel. You have to worry about what food to bring instead of just how many diapers to pack.

I agree that I don't think there's any harm done by waiting (if babe lets you).

 

[LianneM]

Also, starting solids doesn't mean you start offering 3 meals a day, or even one!

For us, starting solids after readiness signs (which was about 7mo for both of my kids) meant letting them taste things here and there. They probably ate about a Tbsp of food TOTAL each week, and certainly not daily solids.

I just followed their lead, and matched that with what I had around - if DS was eating a banana, I'd save a little for DD to play with. Same with sweet potato. If we had chicken for dinner, I'd pull off some and mash it with my fingers so the baby could have some. Whatever. No big hassles, no cooking special food, no spoon-feeding, just letting them play be with food and going at their own pace.

DD is much more into food than DS was, so she eats more, but that means maybe 2 Tbsp per week

I've scrambled an egg yolk for her, but that's the extent of the special food. Neither of mine was interested in being spoon-fed either, so no purees.

Cheerios are a big hit

and what a nice thing for me to have something that makes DD happy so I can eat

 

[Chloe'sMama]

I held off solids until 7 months and she had some bad reactions, so we held off until 8 months and still some bad reactions. Re-introduced at 9 months, chunks of food and she loved it! I have to say that my friends that have been doing puree are having a hard time getting their dc to eat chunks of food now that they are 10 months. My dd will eat just about anything too, so I am glad we held off until her digestive system was ready....

She still only eats a little bit of solids and mostly bm

 

[Dahlea]

I'm not sure if there's a good reason...but we are. We've given him like 2 peas, which he hated; a piece of avacado that ended up under his butt...he's not even interested!

 

[Hallielynn01]

I wanted to wait till 6 months or older, but at 5 months DD1 was taking food from me and putting it in her mouth! So, we started slow!

Remember, the recommendation is this- 6 months only BF (or formula) then after that for the next 6 months food is suppose to be a suppliment to the nursing, not to take the place of feedings.

Ive read that when babies self wean before a year, its often because they are getting most their hunger needs met from food. But for a child under a year, their nutrition needs require Breast milk or formula. I always nursed first, then would do some solids. Or small snack in between. You'll get a pattern that works for you and your growing baby!

 

[meemee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alegna I bet it's more an issue of babies who are just fed purees.

yup at almost 9 months we did not do any purees. tiny pieces of avocado. then boiled but not mashed lentils and rice. we added food pretty fast too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hallielynn01 Remember, the recommendation is this- 6 months only BF (or formula) then after that for the next 6 months food is suppose to be a suppliment to the nursing, not to take the place of feedings.

yeah i nursed first and then offered solid food.

also my dd prefered bm to solid food till she turned 2. her main nutrition till she was 2 was bm.

 

[dawncayden]

Here's a great website: http://babyledweaning.com