Baby Led Solids Chatter #3

[MantaRay]

Oh and one other thing. It is not recommended that you put anything in a bottle other than liquid. This is considered to be a choking risk.

[SamiH]

MR - thanks so much for your post - it made me feel much better

I am continuing to BF at the moment, and I am now feeling a bit disgusted at the info the MCHN gave me - she was subtley suggesting I introduce 1 bottle a day - which I just ignored and he was in desperate need of iron and somehow I was doing the wrong thing.

You know, after feeding two kiddies already, I just cant believe she made me doubt myself, my instincts, and my gorgeously healthy looking baby boy.

Sunny side up, I made some soup yesterday - cream of vege - swt potato, broccoli, pumpkin, tin of creamed corn cooked in stock for 20 mins, 2 tbls of cream and whizz it all up - my kids love it - and Zander actually ate 2 tblspoons too - I nearly cried

So I am just gunna continue to offer him foods when we eat still and listen to myself again

[beckoes]

sami, isnt it a horrible feeling when someone like that makes you doubt yourself, when your just trying to do your best! i was told to introduce a bottle when grace was about 6 months...what great advice from MR....i know that ignoring that stupid doc that gave me the same advice as yours gave you was the right thing for us to do....grace now shovels whatever she can get her hands on in and some days after a meal she will look at me and bang her table like 'whats next'!? so dont worry....it will come!

[Georgi]

SAMI MR is right, that BLS is the better option for you. That's why we're doing it. BJ was refusing the spoon so obviously I couldn't force him. I thought we'd go BLS & if he didn't eat anything, well he wasn't eating anyway. You're right. Just keep offering. Thank god for BB hey!

[MantaRay]

I'm glad you are feeling better Sami. It's amazing how health professionals can make us doubt ourselves so easily! You might all be surprised to know that even I had a confidence lapse and nearly gave DS2 formula at one stage!

The nurse that you saw probably has not read a medical journal in the last 20 years! It used to be believed that bf babies lacked iron, as bm is low in iron. But we know now that bf babies have much better iron levels as nearly all the iron in bm is absorbed, whereas only a very small amount of iron in food and formula is absorbed (which is why there needs to be so much in there!). Many people are surprised to learn that around 95% of iron in bm is absorbed, whereas less than 5% of the iron in iron fortified baby cereals is absorbed. Sadly some people are still advised to give babies cereal to keep their iron levels up, and in fact it has the opposite effect if the bm intake drops as a result.

[belfie]

well I'm still going with BLS, have been offering him avocado & sweet potato. Today he gagged on some avocado... and yup... big spew everywhere. I'm so disheartened. Solids are the only thing that ever made him spew... and I thought I was doing the right thing with BLS, but I guess now I wonder when he spews like that. Plus he really doesn't like it when he gags, goes red in the face, coughs... I do feel like it distressed him. Does that mean he's not ready for his?

When I spoon feed him he doesn't spew, he spits a fair bit out but he will at least take some. But then again, maybe I'm just keeping it all too mushy so he won't learn to deal with lumps. I just don't know. Maybe I should just do a bit of both? Everyone seems to think cos he's such a big boofy boy (9.5kg) that he should be wolfing down the solids

[nagromeyk]

Belfie - dont be disheartened about the gagging. I read somewhere that it is actually really good if they gag cause naturally its what the body should do. If it's any reassurance to you, K was the same up until about a month ago. He would especially gag on potato and bread but I just kept offering it to him bit by bit and eventually he got used to the textures. Still has the occasional gag now and then but is handling it alot better than he used to.

I put it down to being just one of those things that they just 'grow into' you know just a developmental thing but once you get past this stage I'm sure it will all be fine.

FYI K is a big boy too - 11.5kg dont feel pressured to do one or the other - go with what you feel comfortable in doing. I did a mix for a while i.e spoon fed K and offered BLS but now if I offer him food on a spoon - he just gets sh*tty, grabs the spoon and feeds himself so have given up on the spoon feeding. K makes such a mess at each meal time but I guess that's all part of learning and I'm following the whole 'food is fun until theyre 1' now

[SamiH]

Well I am still here - what a tease

Gave Zander some of my homemade vege soup - and he actually ate a tablespoon of it again - it is tasty of course cos I made it. And then he had some fingers of toast with avo on it and just mushed it all up. A friend came over tongith and bought some dip and breadsticks - he screamed until he got some breadstick flavoured with herbs - so I gave him some thinking no way he would suck on it - too strong - he proved me wrong - he will have exotic tastes later in life

Belfie - I experienced that with Riley cos he was a very chubby bubby that people assumed I was feeding him so much - he was like 9kg at 6 months without solids! With the gagging, I agree, it is the bodys natural way of dealing with it - so that is good. If he cried afterwards and got upset - I am sure you are very calm and deal with it and that is the best way - get him out of the highchair or whatever and maybe give him a bath or something he enjoys. Wish Z could grab a bit of X's grams LOL. Oh well, at least now I have had one at the top of the scales DS1, bottom of the scales DD, and in the middle with Zander!

[belfie]

thank you both for the reassurance... but should he really spew that much? sorry I sound like a broken record.

But I just think, gagging yep that's ok... it's just the huge spew that bothers me. Or maybe it's seeing all that milk being wasted but it's like he loses his entire feed... i nearly had to change his nappy today cos the spew had soaked through 2 layers of clothing. And he's not a chucker otherwise, maybe that's why I'm having trouble dealing with it?...

lol at the exotic tastes of Z tho - that's awesome!

[Georgi]

BELF Hmmm, wonder why he spews. BJ gagged alot at first. I found it quite stressful, but within a few days he had the hang of it. Maybe just give him a couple more days & he might settle down. BJ never gags now

SAMI MMMMM, that homemade vege soup sounds yummy!

MANTARAY Thanks for that info re iron. I still give BJ rice cereal sometimes thinking the extra iron will help. I'm still BF so that's great to know

NAGROMEYK BJ will now take yoghurt from the spoon. He does reach out & grab it most of the time, but he will open wide for a couple of mouthfuls

[Nettie]

MantaRay - I probably should clarify. Our DS was born with a cleft palate - which meant introducing solids was tricky. We were advised by speech therapists to put a bit of the cereal in his *special* bottles (Habermann Feeders) to help him get more nourishment.

You're probably quite correct - in a normal bottle, this might be risky. If so, I apologise. I'm just sharing my own experience.

[MantaRay]

Sorry Nettie - I didn't mean to have a go at you, and I totally understand what you are doing in your situation. I just get concerned about other people reading things like that and maybe doing something dangerous. Thank you for clarifying hun.

[Nettie]

No problem! No offence taken. I just forget that our situation is different to most other peoples and that what we do might have risks for others.

I needed your comment to see it from that perspective - so thank you.

[Moi]

Sami - I'm so glad to hear that Z is eating now. It's just his exotic taste that's been preventing him.

beckoes - It's nice hearing that there are other bubs out there who don't put on my weight. My girl is so tiny and just doesn't put on weight. I keep worrying myself about it though. But she seems to like eating solids and had a recent good weight gain. But for some reason she doesn't put on weight with my BM alone.

belfie - Maya is gagging a lot less now, though it still does happen. I think it is something they need to go through and then they learn how to eat without gagging.

Well.. I also saw a MCHN recently who scared me into thinking I need to get more iron into Maya. She also said that Maya probably has an iron deficiency already and that's why she's so tiny! And she said that she might end up being developmentally slow with all the weight she has lost (when born she was on the 90th percentile for weight and then dropped and dropped and dropped and is now on the 3rd percentile). The nurse told me I need to offer her more fatty foods and iron-rich foods. She suggested I give her chocolate and sweet biscuits!! Really?? I just would never consider doing that.

It did scare me enough to try offering her some beef in a casserole I made, which she seems to love. So even if the iron deficiency isn't true, well I found some more food she likes.

ETA - Just remembered something else the MCHN said. She said that I should be upping solids and breast feeding less.

[Georgi]

TANYA OMG, I can't believe a MCHN would say that. That is terrible. What on earth is wrong with these people???

[nagromeyk]

Tanya - OMG telling you to give M chocolate and sweet biscuits, thats a bit retarded??? she's 7 months old for god's sake - but hey I guess there are some kids out there that are given biscuits and at a younger age than M
That kind of stuff doesnt belong in their diet until they're 10 LOL I hope she aint meaning chocolate biscuits! that really does sound very strange!!

Belf - re: the spewing K did a few spews in the beginning too. One morning he threw up his whole breakfast cause the toast must of hit the back of his throat right where the gag reflux is so I can understand why you having trouble 'dealing with it'. K would get all upset which in turn would make me get upset, it is horrible to see them like that!

[Jennifer13]

The nurse that you saw probably has not read a medical journal in the last 20 years! It used to be believed that bf babies lacked iron, as bm is low in iron. But we know now that bf babies have much better iron levels as nearly all the iron in bm is absorbed, whereas only a very small amount of iron in food and formula is absorbed (which is why there needs to be so much in there!). Many people are surprised to learn that around 95% of iron in bm is absorbed, whereas less than 5% of the iron in iron fortified baby cereals is absorbed. Sadly some people are still advised to give babies cereal to keep their iron levels up, and in fact it has the opposite effect if the bm intake drops as a result.

Tanya, just in case you missed MR's post earlier - re iron levels.

If your DD has not had a blood test to determine her iron levels then the MHCN really has no basis on which to claim she has low iron levels. Remember too, that while dropping in the percentiles can be an indication something is wrong, there is also the fact that at birth her weight is determined by the function of your placenta (you obviously cooked her well!) and by now genetics have taken over. So if she is a slim slight child and takes after you or your DH, she is unlikely to have remained on the 97th percentile! If she has dropped gradually over time then I would say the latter is the case.

At 7 mths there is no way I would be cutting back bfs to introduce more solids, bm is still nutritionally the best thing for her at this age. If you take out bm for the sake of 'eating' more solids you could be doing the wrong thing. It may be something to worry about if she was 14 mths, but not 7!

[Astrid]

At 7 mths there is no way I would be cutting back bfs to introduce more solids, bm is still nutritionally the best thing for her at this age. If you take out bm for the sake of 'eating' more solids you could be doing the wrong thing.

Got to agree with this one. I have a friend who did just this 8 years ago with her DD, her DD lost weight and her supply dropped, then she was put on formula. Barb Glare has a wonderful demonstration to show how had this advice is.
Take a serve of say mashed pumpkin, work out the calories, then compare it to the calories in a milk feed. There is no way the pumpkin can even compete calorie wise, let alone nutritionally. Just looking at it visually, a small jar of food compared to a bottle of of EBM it is very obvious that dropping a bf for a solid is not the way to go. Solids are meant to supplement the feeds. (Sorry if not clear, very tired atm)