BF and introducing solids

Hi there,

interested to know regarding introducing solids and breastfeeding.. ihave successfully made the 6 mnth mark with exclusively breastfeeding and have begun introducing solids to my 6 mnth old.. i have begun rise creal.. 2 tea spoons with boiled water.. usually my DS is due for a feed around 5 or 6 so have been giving him solids at about 5 then breast at about 6 or 7 when its bed time and this is working well..
i still do a dream feed at 10 pm so nothing has changed..
just wondering if i should be feeding him then giving the solids.. just i find feeding him when its time for bed the best wind down for him!

would love some tips or ideas???

Good on you for 6 months of exclusive bfing. You have done a great job. Starting solids is one of the most confusing times for a new mum so you are certainly not alone!

For the first few months of solids, the food is more about your little one getting used to the textures and tastes, so breastmilk should still be offered first. Solids will replace bm to a certain extent, and as bm is still the most important source of nutrition, you want to minimise the amount of bm which is displaced at that age. Many mums don't offer solids in the late afternoon or evening as it can cause sleep distruptions, but if it's working for you then there's no problem with it. You might find it better to do the bf at 5 - 6 as you were, then offer solids, and then a top up at the breast to settle before bed.

Another thing that you might be interested in is Baby Led Solids. This means that instead of pureeing foods or making up cereal and spoon feeding, you offer your baby finger foods, ideally from the family meal plates, right from 6 months. This introduces babies to family foods earlier, and allows them to set their own pace in terms of food intake. At first, much of the food will just be played with, then tasted, and then when the baby is ready, he will start to eat more of it. Some early foods that work well are steamed vegies, pieces of fruit, egg, and toast. Meat is also now known to be an important early food as it's the best source of iron and zinc for brain development. At first you can give big chunks of steak to chew/suck on, safe bones (smooth and big enough) to suck on, or scrape the meat with a knife into a pulp.

With Baby Led Solids (BLS) some mums worry about choking, but studies have shown that giving a baby control over what goes into their mouths actually reduces the risk of choking. If you are interested in more information you can google Baby Led Solids or Infant Led Weaning, or check out this thread - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ed-solids.html and this chatter thread - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...atter-4-a.html

Congrats on reaching 6 months !!!


I always feed, then give solids...was told to do all this within an hour, nothing strict about this suggestion, just something i read somewhere, so i stuck to this, and it seems to work.
My DS is 7 months, still b/f having 3 meals a day, and still waking for the 11pm feed...soilds has not reduced his night time wakings, just FYI.

Why not try adding some pureed fruit to the rice cereal ?? I was lazy and bought the apple tins first, to see if they like. Mix a little with the rice cereal. They seemed ot enjoy it more - have you tasted the stuff ?? its awful. None of mine enjoyed it.

Pumpkin, sweet potato, and banana are great first foods too.......

Hey there thanks sooo much for your input! makes it so much easier talking to other mums rather than fmaily that think they should just feed babies as a novalty!

xavier is doing well.. tonight i gave him 2 tea spoons of rice cereal and one tea spoon of sweet potato.. seemed to love it.
i also love the suggestion of the steamed food as an option! did u find your little ones grasped the concept of eating sooner than those who were pureed fed? just a question....

i am sticking with breast feeding first then feeding.. maybe i shall move it eariler.. xavier is a reflux bub so is upset sometimes of a night any wayt.. i would prefer the night feed because my hubby is very much wanting to be involved but works.. obviously once he is ready i will intoduce a second meal maybe breakfast or lunch!

i really appreaciate the advise and hope soon one day i can spread some words of wisdom to a new mum nervous like me!!!

thanks again! any more suggestions please throw them my way! xox