starting solids - new evidence?

[Miss E]

It's so hard as mums to know what is the right thing to do. I personally overloaded myself with research and still found it hard to decide so just went with the WHO and ABA recommendations.

Manta, I had thought that you should delay the introduction of nut based foods till after 12 months. By the sounds of things I must be on the wrong track (probably all that research I did months ago has left me confused). DH has been dying to give DS some peanut butter, I guess I should let him....

Lady Noor I tend to agree with what the other posters have said about introducing solids at 4.5 months, I definately didn't see any improvement in DS's sleep when I introduced them at 6 months, if anything his sleep actually deteriorated. Like your LO my DS was a fabulous sleeper until he reached the 4 month mark. Before that he would sleep through pretty much every night. I tend to think that at around 4 months they develop a much greater sense of awareness and the sleep issues are related to that. Are his weight gains good and is he having plenty of wet nappies? If he is I would take that to be a very good indication that he is getting enough iykwim?

[LadyNoor]

Thank you Gals for all the kind words.. At this stage it's hard to think clearly after almost 3 weeks waking up every 1.5-2 hours every night to feed him. I'm still hoping this phase will pass, it's very exhausting. I salute you ladies who have 3 kids and more!

Marcellus,
Now that's one statistic I've never come across before. So basically only 1% of the population start off with "an ideal start"..

Now Miss E, after you pointing it out DS does have good amount of wet nappies so you ladies are most probably right, he still is getting enough milk..

I don't really remember with DD, you're probably right SJ she didn't suddenly sleep after solids..

DD was breastfed until she was 15 months old, and I'm planning to continue breastfeed DS until around 12 months, that's the only thing I know for sure..

Thank you for all the inputs, I keep open-minded in deciding what to do with DS.

[Sammiejane]

Hi again,
LadyNoor - you doing a good job, waking every 1.5-2 hours will be exhausting for you, remember to get a est when ever you can and when your DD is at day care/kinda, make sure that you take time out for you to rest in the day - house work can wait!

Miss E - MJ had peanut butter at about 6 or 7 months, we went down the BLS track and started with veggies, fruit and toast with hommus and then moved to peanut butter (only cos this is what daddy was eating).
The only thing that i delayed was honey and that was because of the botulism risk - dont know if that is current anymore, but that was the only thing i withheld.
But you have to be comfortable in everything that you do, if you are concerned, wait until you are happy as your bubba will pick up on the way that you feel HTH

[LadyNoor]

It took me a couple of days to remember what website the ECHC's nurse quoted, it was from The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy - Home.

More research is needed to determine the optimal time to start complementary solid foods. Based on the currently available evidence, many experts across Europe, Australia and North America recommend introducing complementary solid foods from around 4-6 months. Solid foods should not be introduced before 4 months.
The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy - ASCIA INFANT FEEDING ADVICE

When asked when baby's digestive system is ready for solids, she only said every baby is different. Well that's probably why the experts will continue researching ...

[Sammiejane]

Exactly right, every child is different. But how do you honestly know if the digestive system is ready? I would rather wait a little longer and make sure that its is fully developed.

The other signs need to also be in place as well thou - decreased gag reflex, lost tongue thrust, good head and neck control etc

[onthefly]

On the question of when babies are ready. I reckon that if your baby can sit up, grab some food, put in their mouth and eat it, then they're probably ready.

[LadyNoor]

Found my good old Robin Barker's Baby Love (2005), page 356;

The optimum time to start solids changes every decade or so. In the 1920's it was nine months, in the 1970's it was six weeks, in the 1980's it was three to four months, in the 1990's it was four to six months and now it is six months.
Previous recommendations were mostly based on whim, fashion and whatever foods was around at the time; now they are mostly based on reliable research and greater scientific knowledge of nutrition, physiology and baby development (we hope). However, cynic that I am, it will be interesting to see what the story is in ten years' time.

She didn't have to wait for ten years now that experts' recommendation has changed again to 4-6 months... Very interesting, as she said, isn't it?

SJ & Marcellus,
My 4.5 month old baby has shown all the signs mentioned. He loves to chew anything in that regards!

[MantaRay]

Lady Noor, in fact the recommendations have not changed to 4 - 6 months at all, as per the previous posts in this thread. The quote from the allergists website is a recommendation only made by allergists - the official guidelines have not changed. The World Health Organisation and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and many other organisations, still recommend solids not be introduced before 6 months. And I have heard some leading international allergists speak and who agree with this!

There was one study done which suggested that delaying solids beyond 4 months "might" increase the risk of allergies, and that is the basis of the allergists association suggesting 4 - 6 months. However, many in the scientific community have concerns about the way the study was conducted and there are certainly some questions marks about it's validity. There are many other studies which show that there are several risks, not just an increased risk of allergies, to introducing solids before 6 months.

Another argument used to support lowering the age that solids be introduced (funnily enough the baby food companies are all in favour of this and very vocal about it), is that the incidence of allergies is still increasing despite the guideline age being raised to 6 months. Which would be logical if mums actually were delaying the introduction of solids until 6 months. The latest studies suggest that the vast majority of babies are still being given solids before 6 months. So this argument is fundamentally flawed.

The research is very clear that solids should not be introduced before 4 months. Whether or not a mum decides to introduce solids between 4 and 6 months is an individual decision and I am sure most mums make the best decision they can based on the information they have. This is why I believe it is important to get the right information out there - because there are many with a vested interest in putting misleading information out there. A friend of mine has a DD with severe food allergies (to several foods) and is devasted that she didn't know not to introduce formula or solids before 6 months. When the allergist told her that was a likely factor she was so upset that she hadn't known before, because she wouldn't have done it.