Pureed Food Unneccesary

[sangie]

Interesting article and yes I agree that having baby food labelled '4+ months' in supermarkets is confusing for parents.

I agree with Fiona on the baby-led idea. I have to say that although I look at the guidelines I go with my gut and do what I think is best for my DD - she gets a combination of finger foods, pureed foods and of course milk.....to be honest, guidelines seem to be constantly changing and what is recommended now will probably be 'shock horror' to the next generation. I look at what my mother did with me (solids at 4 months, cows milk at 6 months!) and she was doing what was recommended to her at the time.

[Tanya]

All my girls except for Bonnie started solids at 4 months MAX! They needed pureed/very smooth foods... really it was a pain!!

Bonnie has just started solids a couple of weeks ago (about 6 months). OMG it is so much easier starting at 6+months!! Foods don't need to be smooth, they can cope with lumps and less effort goes into their meal preparations!!

I can understand why some ppl don't want to wait to feed solids, but it's definitely worth waiting!!

[BellyBelly]

I think it's okay to follow guidelines from credible organisations though. As a population we now live longer and are healthier from what we have learnt about health. And I have stopped buying soy products as the Australian Cancer Council released a statement (which I posted on BB) that it can accelerate/contribute to cancer. So thank goodness we have organisations out there looking after our health and helping us make better decisions.

[meow]

I have stopped buying soy products as the Australian Cancer Council released a statement (which I posted on BB) that it can accelerate/contribute to cancer.

I thought that was in relation to high doses of soy- such as soy protein muscle building drinks... and that some soy can still be healthy. Everything in moderation right?

Pureed food leading to obesity and health issues is interesting... I guess I'll look even more into baby led weaning (more finger foods etc.) and weigh it up when we reach that point.

[Kitt3n]

[QUOTE=ren;1191713]I thought that was in relation to high doses of soy- such as soy protein muscle building drinks... and that some soy can still be healthy. QUOTE]

I think the main thing here is to ensure you are buying non GMO Soy - We (the adults in our house) drink organic non GMO soy - however, products such as up and go do not claim to be non-gmo, so this lead me to worry about all the up and go;s i used to give my little one as a quick drink/tummy filler when she was weening off bottles :/

[Astrid]

As someone who is into history and recreating some aspects of the past, I can totally see that baby led weaning would have been the way to go hundreds or a thousand years ago. Basically with limited equipment, supplies and just about everything requiring human labour to do, I just cannot see a viking women, for example, pureeing food when she has to get the weaving done, the geese fed and all cooking done over a fire. If a bubs cannot hold the food easily themselves, then I doubt someone would have had the time to spoon feed them and then deal with the washing that pureed foods create.

There are some cultures that do feed their babies something called pap from an early age, but I do not know much about that.

With regards to soy it is best consumed in the format that the Asians do (tofu etc), it is the westernised soy that is the main problem. This processed soy is added to so many foods these days, that we actually eat more soy than they do in Asia.

[bon]

what do they mean by 'pureed'. I mean, to me the pureed commercial baby food is a lot different to pureed home made food. Whenever I made my babies' food I would mash or blend it, so it was sort of pureed but it never looked anything like the thin watery stuff in baby food jars. I agree the ages on the commercial baby foods should be changed to reflect the new advice.

[River]

I am the same as Tan, my first ones were on solids earlier, but my 4th waited until about 7.5 months to keep any solids down at all. Only at about 8 months did she eat at all, and now at nearly 9 months she eats a bit. I only occasionally give her pureed food, and it's only usually a tin of commercial baby food when we are out or just stressed at home and cannot find anything suitable for her to self feed.

I posted this in another thread, it's a really good plain view look at it from a Mums point of view.

tribalbaby.org - a baby-led introduction to eating solids

(just on another topic, her article on Breastfeeding is awesome and inspiring tribalbaby.org - breastfeeding protects, supports and reassures your baby )

I think the labelling needs to be changed, amazingly one of the lables says not just 4+ months, but 4-6 months, indicating that by the time bubs is 6 months they should be well past the point of needing that 'baby' food.

Pureed foods have their place IMO, because its not always possible to have the situation of letting bubs feed herself, but it must be remembered the how much bulk of food you get into a puree, which is why they get constipated. If a baby were to eat the amount of unpureed food in a serve of puree, it would be an adult serve, so pureeing should be a now and then feeding tool I reakon.

As for the age of baby feeding, instinctively humans start feeding babies solids way later than is encouraged and practiced in our society. Babies are made to start somewhere closer on 12 months eating properly, its a societal thing starting earlier in their lives.

[fionas]

OK - this is one of the reasons I am suspicious of studies and experts. The original article mentions constipation. If I was asked to participate in a study on solids and was asked at what age I started DD and did she ever experience constipation, the truthful answer would be 4.5 months and yes, she did. For about two days until I figured it was the rice cereal and might be an idea to swap to something else. I presume most people would have a similar experiences. Now those answers could easily be used to prove an argument that early solids cause constipation whereas the common sense solution is if something is obviously not agreeing with your child then you stop it and swap to something else. In my case, I swapped to a wholemealy porridge thing with veggies/fruit. No more probs.

[sangie]

I agree Kelly, it is fantastic that we have organisations that are doing fabulous research and contributing to our health. Ha ha also because I am one of these scientists
But I also take such guidelines with some caution. For example the guidelines released by the cancer council regarding soy and possible associations with cancer contradicts other studies (published in world renowned medical journals) that found soy can decrease the incidence of breast and cervical cancer and be beneficial to women of menopausal age. So I think that moderation is the key

Fiona agree with you again! It is important to know how the guidelines were developed, how many people were questioned etc etc.