Who has waited beyond six months to introduce solids and why?

Hi everyone

I'm a bit unsure about when and why to introduce my bf baby to solids. The whole six month mark seems to be a bit arbitrary to me and I wondered if anyone out there had waited until a certain point beyond this and what that was.

How did you know when you and baby were 'ready' to start introducing solids? What signs did you look for? Did you face any pressure from others to introduce solids at six months when you weren't going to?

I recently heard of a 9 mth old who hadn't yet had any solid food, but his Mum said he was about ready to start as he was almost grabbing things off their plates.

And finally, is there really any need to introduce solids at 6 mths for nutritional purposes? Would I be depriving my baby of something she needs if I was to wait longer than that?

Any advice on this would be appreciated!!

I waited til my my middle dd was 7 months old. She was such a little fatty already and seemed so content just on boobie milk. My brother didnt have solids til he was 9 months old for the same reason.

Jo

Hi Jo

What made you start introducing solids then? Did you just feel she was ready and how could you tell? Sorry for so many questions!

I started my second DD at 7 months.. I just waited until I thought she was ready.

I have a friend who doesn't believe in solids before 12 months and has exclusively breastfed her 2 babies for that long before introducing solids.

I waited an extra 3 weeks, basically because that's what I was comfortable with. She started grabbing things and seeming interested before 6 months, but I think it was more just an interest in what her parents were doing than the food itself. I don't feed my DD a lot of solids now (she's 9 1/2 months old) but I give her enough to taste things - I have noticed the other parents at my parents' group seem to give their kids a lot more solids than I do. But as long as she seems happy and healthy I am pretty much planning to carry on as we are :) I am more interested in introducing her to a range of different flavours than making solids her main nutrition at this stage, IYKWIM.

Jen she actually grabbed something out of my hand and stuffed it into her mouth lol!!!

Jo

my understanding is that there is a greater risk of food intolerances and causing allergies if you introduce solids before 6 months. milk should be the main source of nutrition in babies under 1 year, food at this stage is just for 'experience', NOT nutritional value.(especially if bre@stfed, but still if formula fed...)
my dd one had solids at 5.5 months due to mis-information.
dd2 was around 9 months.

From what I understand, it is recommended to introduce solids between 4 and 6 months of age.

The guidelines are roughly -

Baby must be able to sit up (propped in a high chair is fine but neck control is a must).

Baby showing interest in your food and wants to copy you, perhaps making chewing motions in mimicry.

Introduce plain and not so sweet vedge or grains first before fruits and sweeter vegetables in order to not give them a sweet tooth from the first mouthful. Meats can come into the picture later as little kidneys can't process that much meat in the beginning anyway.

Introducing solids to early can lead to allergies and food sensitivities and as well as that, little babies don't have the control of their head and neck muscles that they need to sit up and swallow so may end up inhaling more food than is good for them.

It's thought to be important to introduce solids not too late as moving the food around the mouth and coordinating the lips, tongue and all the rest of the mouth is a step towards the control a child will learn for speaking. It's also believed that waiting too long may leave you with a fussy eater as an older baby can be a lot more controling of the situation and aware of whats going on.

Appropriately timed solids also help to develop the mouth and prepare the oral environment for the first teeth (my Mum's a dentist -that bit is her advice to mums of babies).


I feel I should add that although I'm new here at this site and I don't yet have kids(TTC), I worked as a proffesional nanny for 5 years and am educated on the topic.

I've given kids their first solids, seen umbilical stumps drop off, watched first steps and heard first words...I am just yet to try the pregnancy, giving birth and breastfeeding thing!!!

Oh, another thing I read recently is that unless the baby was attatched to the placenta until it stopped pulsating, they start to run low on iron by about 4-7 months. -This low-grade anemia is one thing that can trigger babies to start seeking nourishment from elsewhere.

Babies who are not clamped until the full 'transfusion' occurs almost without exception have enough iron to ensure they will not become anemic in their first 12 months.

The recommendation now is actually 6 months.

Jennifer, I know of a little bub that was 10 months before he started on solids. The reason they started then was because he had previously slept through the night, but was waking up 3-4 times overnight because he was hungry.

We'll be waiting as long as possible and taking it VERY VERY slowly! We've tried Seth on Formula 3 times in instances where I couldn't take him with me and we didn't have any milk in hopes that he might take it for emergencies sake, I even tried again yesterday as I will be out tonight! And it ends the same each time. he gags so much then vomits and continues to vomit until he has only bile in his stomach :( Very distressing, I thought until yesterday that it might be the distress of the bottle causing the tummy upset but he didn't get distressed with it yesterday and it still ended badly. So looks like I have a little man with a very sensitive gut which means solids could be just as fun (not!). So I definitley won't be rushing into it.

*hugs*
Cailin

Starting Solids - When is My Baby Ready?.

Early solids has been linked to obesity (they dont understand full at this age), gagging, a new study linked it with diabetes among other things like allergies and insensitivities. These things obviously dont always show up right away.

I think thats a common misconception too Jillian, that those fussy developmental milestones are mistaken for 'not getting enough.'

That's why I love the Wonder Weeks book - magnificent!!! Explains and shows all those stages and has a graph you can whack on your fridge to see that it is a developmental milestone or not... and how you can help.

Thanks guys, that article in particular was great, Kelly. (Why didn't I find that before?) I will now definitely wait until she is indicating that she is ready. I like the point on just grabbing foods off the plate and putting them in her mouth is not enough of a sign - already Lucy grabs whatever catches her eye and puts it straight into the mouth and vegemite toast has piqued her interest (probably because of the dark colour)! I don't think she has much of a concept of eating.

Plus, from what some Mums have said introducing solids means a whole lot more mess and fuss too.

So what do you tell people who think you're depriving your child?

Good question Jen.. my mum keeps asking when we're going to give Tallon food. I keep saying 'another month to go' but I don't want to do it unless I feel he's ready. I have a feeling he might be by then tho.. he really does look interested. We could try a couple of spoons of rice cereal with breastmilk and see how we go. But yeah.. not looking forward to the extra work of solids.. he's so portable at the moment! hehe

Kelly - the links at the bottom of that article are dead.

Wow this is so intersting, glad I came across this thread. I always thought you should start at 6 months (don't know where I got this from really), but now know that if Lucy isn't seeming interested once we hit 6 months that I don't need to push it.

I had started Luxxe on solids, well one small meal a day, but stopped after about a week.

She was eating what I gave her, but I don't think she was that interested. I juststarted because I was getting abit of pressure ans the magical 6 month mark arrived.

We've started going to a really great naturopath too recently and she advised that waiting til the baby can sit up on their own was a good indicator. Shows their core muscles are strong and this means their digestive system will be stronger too. Also - teeth are a good sign.

I get the "feed her - she's starving!" thing quite often from my aunties etc. One aunty started my cousin on solids at 6 WEEKS!!!! I told her i'd probably have been reported to child welfare if I did that now a days.

I've read in a few different books that any kind of meat should be introduced after 12 months and same goes for dairy.


if only babies came with an indicator light that would start flashing when they were ready!

Laura I have read too that teeth are also a good indication..makes sense in a way.

Jo

Hi, we were advised to start solids between 5 and 7 months, even if just a spoonful a day by our child health centre nurses. In Townsville over the last couple of years there has been a steady decline in parents starting their babies on solids before 10 - 12months old, with parents coming up from down south being told that breast milk only is best for the first 12 months. Our nurses are constantly telling us about babies who at 12 months are having jaw problems because they didn't learn to chew/eat earlier when their jaws were developing. I'm not sure how much of that is true as alot of GP's have been giving lots of conflicting information lately. It's one of the main reasons though that we have started our daughter on fruit/vegetable purees. Olivia was ready for solids though and absolutely loves anything we give her, lol. (touch wood, she's always this good an eater, lol)

I gave Maddy her first taste of solids about 2 weeks short of being 6 months old. She'd been exhibiting teething signs since at least 4 months old and was sitting up on her own well before 6 months old. She really wasnt all that interested, so I didn't push the fact. Just fed her a teaspoon or so once a day for the first week and wasn't bothered if she spat it out or if she completely refused to eat it.

Maddy's slowly building her appetite up and I still booby feed her on demand. She doesn't eat 3 meals of solids a day just yet but she's getting there slowly even if she doesn't like vegies or meat (aside from mashed potato!) *L*

My boys were big boys, and were on solids (just rice cereal) from 10-12 weeks (i know i got in trouble, but they were fine.) They were 9 and 8 pound at birth, and are both still big for their ages, they just needed more than milk in their stomach. Anneliese will be diff, being a prem... just wondering, do you go by corrected age to start solids??

There is a lot of mis-information around on this topic. I also found the blanket "6 months" rather arbitary. Then I went to a seminar with a very qualified dietician who said to watch out for the signs - losing the tongue-thrust reflex (where the tongue pushes things out of the mouth), getting teeth, and reaching for food that others are eating. The first two are more indicative than the third. She also said that (and I have read this since too) that iron is best absorbed from breast milk, so people who tell you that they need iron are not necessarily correct. In fact a baby will absorb more iron from breast milk than from iron-fortified baby cereal.

Jack was very slow to take to solids and has really only eaten well since turning 1. But he is healthy and always put on weight so I never worried (he was still bf until 14 months). And apparently they really only need food from 12 months, prior to that it's getting them used to it so that once they need it they are getting it. Lots of bf babies I know of have been much slower taking to solids. I believe this is a sign that they are getting what they need so have no need for the food. I would say go with this and read the cues.

Sorry Simone, I don't know the answer to your question but my guess would be use the adjusted age.

Good luck,
Melanie

My second was and still is big, she was born 9.75 pounds but she has never been keen on solids since I started her at 6 months and has been pretty much exclusively breast fed besides having a 'taste' for her meals until recently (she is close to 16 months). She just recently started coming good then the last few days to a week has become fussy and seems sick of what was once her favourites. She has always had a sensitive gag reflex and isn't a good chewer but then considering she only has two molars so far which are for chewing I figure thats how it should be anyway.

She is very healthy, active and alert. Probably close to 14kg and a couple of months ago she was definately over 80cm (I think she was around 82cm when I measured her a couple months back but I don't know how accurate that was), she has always been almost off the percentile charts, so I doubt it is hurting her!

Hi. I didn't start my son JAcob on solids till 7 months but then he didn't actually start eating properly till 9 months. He wasn't ready. I offered them every few days but then when he was 9 months old he started properly. Jacob is already a big boy and I felt that he didn't need the extra food as at that time he was sleeping great and was very content when awake..

I guess you could look a few different thing.. IS bub sleeping the same and happy when awake or always searching for more food. Thats the one thing I have found with breastfeeding thats hard. the whole not knowing how much they are getting.

Even now my son is 1 tomorrow (wahwah) and he still doesn't eat alot. He has breakfats lunch and dinner but I don't even bother with snacks as he just isn't a big eater. Dinner time and Breaksfast are his main meal times of the day..

Good luck and whatever you decide to do will be the right decision for you and your baby :)

Thanks for all the suggestions girls!

I saw my GP last week (for me, not Lucy) and we weighed her while I was there. She's only 5.75 kgs, which means her weight gain has slowed down a lot. However, my GP asked me if she seemed happy, alert, active, was she still sleeping well. To all of which the answer is yes, in fact, as far as the sleeping goes she's extended herself by another hour until 5 am or later in the mornings (last feed at around 7-7:30 pm). So there's no need to introduce solids at this point, 'cause she certainly isn't hungry. She's still having up to 8 feeds a day as well.

The point about getting teeth and losing the tongue thrust reflex is a good one. Just a question, how can I tell if she's lost the tongue thrust reflex without actually feeding her solids?

I'm actually tossing up what to do here now. Tallon just doesn't stop feeding at the moment, and through the night he's waking for a full-on feed every few hours. I feel like I have a newborn again! It's going on longer than what a growth spurt usually does, which is what's making me think it could be that he's ready.

I really want to wait until 6 months, but I'm getting the feeling he may be getting ready :(

Jen - Tallon's weight gain has slowed down too.. altho no-one's said anything about it. I can't understand how it can slow down when all he does is eat! LOL. He weighed 7.25kg on Friday (clothed).

Might do some serious research about this starting solids thing. *sigh*.. stinky nappies here we come. LOL.

Oh.. as for tongue reflex.. not sure.. Tallon seemed to be a bit different when he had panadol on Saturday, and when he had a little taste off DH's finger a couple of weeks ago, he seemed to be tasting it correctly with his tongue.. not pushing it out or anything.

Oooo Ivana, how exciting. Sounds like Tallon is almost there!! You poor thing with the frequent night feeds. I think your instincts are right on here.

yeah.. i guess i shouldn't force him to wait the recommended 6 months. It's not like he'll have a LOT of solids to start with anyway. hehe.

Am going to read up on everything in the next couple of days.. and will go and buy a highchair too!

Jennifer, apparently you can try putting a spoon in the child's mouth (with no food on it) and see if the tongue pushes it out. You could probably do it with a finger or anything else as well. I knew Jack's reflex had gone but I can't remember how I knew!

Another good test of whether they are ready or not, I guess is if you think they are try a spoonful of baby cereal and see if they take it. I started Jack at 6 months but he didn't progress beyond a spoonful of cereal a day for a while and it was months before he was eating well (maybe at about 15 months from memory), so I think I could have started later.

Also, their growth rate will slow down, especially as they get mobile. Good thing too, Jack doubled his birth weight in 3 months. If he'd continued to grow at that rate he'd have weighed more than me by his first birthday!!

Good luck!
Melanie

Good tip on the spoon or finger, Melanie. Now that you mention it, I have been sticking my finger in to feel for teeth and she doesn't seem to be shoving it out with her tongue like she used to. Maybe she's starting to lose that reflex. She doubled her birthweight in three months too, but it wasn't much to double!

But I'm still going to wait until she either starts getting teeth or wakes during the night because she's hungry and I'm not enough!

OK the waking through the night thing... Tallon slept all night last night.. so I'm gonna put off solids again! yay! LOL. I really would prefer to wait until he's sitting unassisted. He can stare longingly at my food for a bit longer ;)

I started Tyler on Solids at 3 months, he wasn't taking his bottles at all so i thought i should try the 4-6 months food. He took to it straight away. He's not overweight, doesn't have allergeies (not that we've noticed yet) and overall a very healthly boy.
I have a few friends who have also started their babies b4 6 months and have had no problems at all, we all have healthy kids in the normal wieght range with no problems.
So like everyone else is saying it's totally up to you when you feel comfortable and when bub wants it.

ellie