now or later....

:hello: everyone!

So DD is 4 months old, or 18weeks, and im wondering if its time to start her on solids...

im going to be trying a bit of BLS and some puree's at the same time..
im a bit onf a control freak so i figure with the puree ill know she is eating some and the BLS will help her co-ordination, hopefully it wont confuse her thought! :lol:

but what im wondering is if i should start now or wait a bit longer?

i know there is a lot of talk about starting as early as 4 months but im not sure why its a issue??

and im also not 100% sure if she is ready?
she is paying a lot of attention to us now when we eat, everything goes in the mouth, she has started a chewing like action with her mouth and she pushes her bottle around a lot with her tounge... i dont know if they are any indiactors as to whether she is ready or not?

being a first timer i have no idea about solids at all, all i know is my MCHN keeps saying to wait till 6 months but if DD is ready im not going to make her wait just becasue ive been told to!

any advice/tips/ whatever u can give me is going to be helpful!

thanks crumpet xx

Its best to wait til 6 months as their digestive system is still very immature. She doesnt actually need food at this stage to help her grow, only her milk will do that at this stage. Listen to your mchn, they're not all bad!

I caved to peer presure of MIL and DH family and started at 4 mths, then at 5mths BIL saw it fit to feed DH hazelnit pav!!!(whole other thread!!) DS is now nearly 8 mths and still hates food since the pav I wish i had waited to 6 mths and will be next time (i hope there is a next time)

I would wait.
And also look for clues for her to tell you she is ready :-D
As Ubba stated, at this age Milk is her food and it carries all the nutrients she needs, food between the 6-9month mark is just a play thing/trying new textures and getting the feel for things, it's around the 12m mark that food will become more then milk, I hope that makes sense. xoxo

Here's some info from kellymom that might help :)

:

Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it's best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. There has been a large amount of research on this in the recent past, and most health organizations have updated their recommendations to agree with current research. Unfortunately, many health care providers are not up to date in what they're telling parents, and many, many books are not up to date.
The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization
UNICEF
US Department of Health & Human Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Dietetic Association
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Health Canada

Most babies will become developmentally and physiologically ready to eat solids by 6-9 months of age. For some babies, delaying solids longer than six months can be a good thing; for example, some doctors may recommend delaying solids for 12 months if there is a family history of allergies.
Reasons for delaying solids
Although some of the reasons listed here assume that your baby is breastfed or fed breastmilk only, experts recommend that solids be delayed for formula fed babies also.

Delaying solids gives baby greater protection from illness.
Although babies continue to receive many immunities from breastmilk for as long as they nurse, the greatest immunity occurs while a baby is exclusively breastfed. Breastmilk contains 50+ known immune factors, and probably many more that are still unknown. One study has shown that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 4+ months had 40% fewer ear infections than breastfed babies whose diets were supplemented with other foods. The probability of respiratory illness occurring at any time during childhood is significantly reduced if the child is fed exclusively breast milk for at least 15 weeks and no solid foods are introduced during this time. (Wilson, 1998) Many other studies have also linked the degree of exclusivity of breastfeeding to enhanced health benefits (see Immune factors in human milk and Risks of Artificial Feeding).
Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.
If solids are started before a baby's system is ready to handle them, they are poorly digested and may cause unpleasant reactions (digestive upset, gas, constipation, etc.). Protein digestion is incomplete in infancy. Gastric acid and pepsin are secreted at birth and increase toward adult values over the following 3 to 4 months. The pancreatic enzyme amylase does not reach adequate levels for digestion of starches until around 6 months, and carbohydrate enzymes such as maltase, isomaltase, and sucrase do not reach adult levels until around 7 months. Young infants also have low levels of lipase and bile salts, so fat digestion does not reach adult levels until 6-9 months.
Delaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.
It is well documented that prolonged exclusive breastfeeding results in a lower incidence of food allergies (see Allergy References and Risks of Artificial Feeding). From birth until somewhere between four and six months of age, babies possess what is often referred to as an "open gut." This means that the spaces between the cells of the small intestines will readily allow intact macromolecules, including whole proteins and pathogens, to pass directly into the bloodstream.This is great for your breastfed baby as it allows beneficial antibodies in breastmilk to pass more directly into baby's bloodstream, but it also means that large proteins from other foods (which may predispose baby to allergies) and disease-causing pathogens can pass right through, too. During baby's first 4-6 months, while the gut is still "open," antibodies (sIgA) from breastmilk coat baby's digestive tract and provide passive immunity, reducing the likelihood of illness and allergic reactions before gut closure occurs. Baby starts producing these antibodies on his own at around 6 months, and gut closure should have occurred by this time also. See How Breast Milk Protects Newborns and The Case for the Virgin Gut for more on this subject.
Delaying solids helps to protect baby from iron-deficiency anemia.
The introduction of iron supplements and iron-fortified foods, particularly during the first six months, reduces the efficiency of baby's iron absorption. Healthy, full-term infants who are breastfed exclusively for periods of 6-9 months have been shown to maintain normal hemoglobin values and normal iron stores. In one study (Pisacane, 1995), the researchers concluded that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 7 months (and were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals) had significantly higher hemoglobin levels at one year than breastfed babies who received solid foods earlier than seven months. The researchers found no cases of anemia within the first year in babies breastfed exclusively for seven months and concluded that breastfeeding exclusively for seven months reduces the risk of anemia. See Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary? for more information.
Delaying solids helps to protect baby from future obesity.
The early introduction of solids is associated with increased body fat and weight in childhood. (for example, see Wilson 1998, von Kries 1999, Kalies 2005)
Delaying solids helps mom to maintain her milk supply.
Studies have shown that for a young baby solids replace milk in a baby's diet - they do not add to baby's total intake. The more solids that baby eats, the less milk he takes from mom, and less milk taken from mom means less milk production. Babies who eat lots of solids or who start solids early tend to wean prematurely.
Delaying solids helps to space babies.
Breastfeeding is most effective in preventing pregnancy when your baby is exclusively breastfed and all of his nutritional and sucking needs are satisfied at the breast.
Delaying solids makes starting solids easier.
Babies who start solids later can feed themselves and are not as likely to have allergic reactions to foods.

:

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

We often state that a sign of solids readiness is when baby exhibits a long-term increased demand to nurse (sometime around 6 months or later) that is unrelated to illness, teething pain, a change in routine or a growth spurt. However, it can be hard to judge whether baby’s increased nursing is related to readiness for solids. Many (if not most) 6-month-old babies are teething, growth spurting and experiencing many developmental changes that can lead to increased nursing – sometimes all at once! Make sure you look at all the signs of solids readiness as a whole, because increased nursing alone is not likely to be an accurate guide to baby’s readiness.

My MCHN told me at the 4 month check that it was time to start solids and that I had to do BLS or 'Family Foods' as mush was no longer recommended and not necessary.:rolleyes:

I told her that this is my third child, she was not ready for solids and I would still offer mush as I saw fit as this is what I am comfortable with.

Picture ensuing heated conversation.

Anyway, Miss P has become very interested in what we are eating and has started reaching out for our food so I offered her a little bit of rice cereal yesterday... and she quite liked it!

Go with your gut instinct, you'll know when she is ready. I also intend to do a mixture of BLS and purees... old habits die hard!

ETA : Lol... I will be doing a combination of puree's and finger foods! My kids have always made it very clear when they have had enough puree and would not accept more being spooned into their gob? I never tried spooning more in when they became disinterested or were clearly giving signs they had had enough.

BLS is more than giving baby finger foods. Being baby led is having trust in your baby that they will eat what their body needs. Feeding a baby purees makes it more difficult for a child to recognise when they have had enough and parents may keep spooning it in after the baby has given signs that they have had enough.

You can do a combo of purees and finger foods, but that is not doing baby led solids.

This question get asked a lot hun, so I've put together some articles on it that might answer your questions and help you to decide:
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...solids-158404/.

thank you all for ur replies!

and for all of the links and information, im off to do some reading to see if i can figure this food business out a bit more! :lol:

I just wanted to add a bit about doing BLS and Purees at the same time.

From what it says in the BLS book, doing a mixture of the two is confusing for your baby. You're telling them, on one hand, that you trust them to feed themselves but then, on the other hand, sometimes YOU are the one to feed them. It can be detrimental to their BLS development to do a mixture. I know that lots of people do it this way but there's really no need.

I'm the worlds biggest control freak and this is one part of what we do with DD that I struggle with - however, seeing my 11 month old eating a bowl of yoghurt with a spoon HERSELF just proves to me that we're doing the right thing.

BLS is awesome fun too. :D

So in answer to your original question, I'd wait until at least 6 months.

I am an advocate for waiting. There is no benefit or reason to begin earlier than 6 months so might as well wait and give them the best oppurtunity for being ready in my opinion.