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I'm being told by my GP and child health nurse that missy should be on solids by now. I have started her off with some baby porridge (the tiniest amount - a teaspoon) and she seems to like it, sometimes she takes it sometimes she doesn't.
But here I see that 6 months is best for solids. I'm confused as to what to do. Do I stick with it or just leave it until closer to 6 months?
What would you do?
Thanks
Sue xxx
Personally, I think that the baby's digestive system isn't ready for solids at 4 months, so I don't start mine on solids until they are 6 months.
But everyone has a different opinion, so do some research on both sides and see which one you think fits best with you and your baby :)
unless there was a specific medical problem that required your DD to have solids, i wouldn't go for it just yet. we left it till DS was almost 6 months - he actually grabbed some bread & started sucking/eating it when he was a couple of weeks short of 6 months. we still didn't push it at this point & only offered a few times till he reached the 6 months & seemed ready as well (tongue thrust reflex etc)
my personal opinion (which is limited to just one baby!!) is that you really do know when they're ready.
we chose to do mostly BLS (and my council/health nurse promotes this as well) & it went pretty well. we did also incorporate some spoon feeding.
She's watching us eating all the time, I almost feel guilty eating in front of her LOL.
But when I feed her the rice cereal, she just kind of throws it around her mouth, sometimes swallowing, sometimes not.
Ugh, it's so hard to know what to do for the right thing. She is such a hungry little thing, gaining heaps of weight on boobie alone. I think I'll just leave it for now and maybe try her once a week and see how she goes.
Thanks everyone.
Sue xxx
Awww can you believe we are talking about solids already...our babies are growing up soooo fast Sue :)
I have given Ryan a try on solids and he loved it, i haven't given it to him everyday but when i do he loves it. He has been watching us eat for what feels like a few months now so i thought i'd give him a go at it.
Will have to catch up soon :)
Take care xx
My little one is just starting to watch me now when i eat, but it's more a kinda "what are you doing?" look than a "i want some of that" look IYKWIM :rolleyes:. She can't sit up by herself either so i'm not looking to start anytime soon. I am planning to go for Baby Led Solids rather than spoon feeding, and her hands aren't that co-ordinated yet either! Reading back, it sounds like i am picking on her. I'm not really, i think these are signs, so when she can do this stuff, she might be ready to start. TBH, I am actually quite happy to only have to pack my boobs for a bit longer. Will have to get more organised when she starts solids;).
It's hard to know what to do when everyone has a different opinion. I think it's good to read widely and take in all the different ideas, but ultimately be guided by your baby.
In addition to the question of whether she's ready to eat (and remembering you can't actually see what her digestive system is doing right now), I think you need to consider whether she needs to eat right now. For most babies, breastmilk provides all they need till at least 6 months. And when you introduce solids early there's a tendency to replace milk with solids, but the sorts of things that are introduced early on (like that cereal) don't provide the same sort of nutrition as milk.
Have you read anything about baby led solids? I like this philosophy because it allows babies to lead the way in what and when they eat, so you have greater confidence not only that their innards are ready, but that they need the food - they eat when they're hungry. It's also easier than cooking and pureeing separate meals, as you just give them access to things that you are also eating.
The choice is yours and you'll figure it out with your baby. If you're really not sure, I'd suggest taking a BLS approach and letting your DD decide for herself. She probably won't be eating for a while yet if you do that.
Oh, and just in case - don't feel bad, ok? It's fine to change your mind when you get different information.
I do really like the sound of BLS, I think we might give that a whirl!
To be honest, I was going to start solids really really slowly anyway but might just tell DH that we have ditched that idea for now. I really didn't want to replace ANY breast feeding with solids though, and have been very aware of how many b/fs she has had since starting the baby porridge - she hasn't replaced any with the porridge thankfully.
Haha, much to the disgust of my mother - according to her missy should be eating 3 meals a day, have ditched boobie and be sleeping through the night by now.... *sigh*
Thanks
Sue xxx
Ah well, everyone has their own ideas about things.
I was looking at my 'baby book' from the hospital and when I was born, and mum was instructed to get me on to juice from birth, watered down, and gradually increasing to full strength by 6 weeks. Seriously :o
OMG!!
Yeah, my mum had me on solids from six weeks and I constantly hear the "well it never did you any harm".
Doesn't make it right though hey? :)
Goodness, there are soooooo many variations on EVERYTHING to do with babies. I go out of my mind sometimes......
Thing is, how do we know there's no harm? If everyone does it, and the outcomes are pretty much standard, then you aren't to know if something is wrong. Just for eg, tummy upsets with the early introduction of solids might be considered "Just what happens when you start solids" if that's what everyones experience is. Do you know what I mean?
Anyway, I'm just thinking aloud. :D
But it's true, at the end of the day there are as many variations as there are children
Totally know what you mean and I totally agree.
I can't imagine starting a baby on solids at 6 weeks. Jeez, we were still trying to get breast feeding off the ground!!
Sue x
Sue, there has been some really interesting research done not long ago where they have been able to tell by ultrasound how much milk a baby drinks. The really surprising thing is that they found from this that babies don't change the amount of milk they drink from the age of 1 month, until solids are introduced at 6 months. They drink the same amount every day - not increase the amount they drink as they get bigger as we used to think. They also found that the milk drunk does decrease as solids are introduced - every bit of solids displaces some milk. Even if the baby doesn't drop a feed, they won't take as much milk overall in 24 hours. Really interesting, isn't it!
Another thing you will find when you look more into BLS is that meat is a really important early food as it is high in both iron and zinc which are critical for brain development. Other foods have iron, but very little of it is absorbed by the baby (iron-fortified cereals for example have iron in a form where next to none is absorbed).
All the best with your journey. Solids can be fun, although I always felt life was much easier (and cleaner!), when all I needed to feed them was my breasts!
That's really interesting!
Boobs are definitely way easier and tidier. I think DS was at least 9 months before I had to start actually carting food and drink around for him. So often I'd stop and think, oh damn, I forgot again... ah, no, it's ok, I've got milk.
Both my boys started solids shortly after 4 months. I wasn't really in any great hurry, they were just trying to take my dinner. :) I did BLS with DS2 and it was really good, I just gave him a few pieces of meat and veg to chew on while we ate dinner to keep him happy. I didn't worry about how much he was actually eating until he was 6 months.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about solids unless bub is telling you they want it.
That is really interesting MantaRay.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be quite happy to feed her just breast milk until the cows come home. I was just getting it from all angles "when are you going to start that baby on solids". I mistakenly thought it was just a natural progression to spoon feed baby - had no idea of this baby led solids malarkey! LOL Ah the pressure!
It's funny, we are the only couple out of all of our friends who have babies that didn't buy the big fancy nappy bags to fill with stuff you don't need and lug around everywhere - we have this old little bag that I used to use as a handbag with some nappies, wipes and a change of clothes. I really don't have room in my tiny bag for a whole bunch of solids LOL
It's so much easier just to get a boob out!!! Heheheeee.
Chatted to DH about it and he is happy to go with the flow and be led by little one. Today we went for coffee (hot chocolate for mummy) and missy kept trying to swipe daddy's coffee cup! Was totally licking her lips and looking at us as if to say "where's my babycino?". Too cute.
Thanks for the info guys.
Sue x
Hehe, that sounds so cute Sue.
Awww how cute ... can't wait to catch up on Tuesday for a coffee.
Oh and i can assure you Evie won't be the only one licking her lips :smile: