When to start solids?

[berryblondeboys]

Originally Posted by megs0927

Thanks for all of the replies. I am really enjoying the Happy Baby book and its philosophy and introduction schedules. Kellymom also has some great information about reasons to delay and then how to introduce when appropriate. I plan on making a lot of my own baby food. I am just excited to start but will be patient!

We made our own baby food - so easy to do and tastes a gazillion times better. I wouldn't want to put most of the baby jarred crap in my mouth, so why would I expect my baby too?

As I said, my oldest always loved food. Well, we moved when he was 10 months old and so I didn't have the homemade stuff since we moved cross country. I bought a few jars of the whole foods stuff and he put it in his mouth - jar after jar of different foods and he spat them ALL out and would not eat them. So, I had to chop/mash my veggies from my plate to feed him.

That's the other nice thing about making it yourself - you can gradually increase texture, (we never strained it) and mix different things on a whim. I would make two weeks of food in two hours, storing them in ice cube trays. SO easy.

[bohohobo]

Food allergies are not very common though you need to keep an eye out for them. Biologically there's not much difference in introducing food at 4 mos, 6 mos, or 9 mos. If a baby is allergic at 6 mos, chances are he'll be allergic at 5 yo, 10 yo, and possibly for life.

However I'd say lay off cow's milk and everything derived from it for now because babies do not have the ability to break down cow proteins until around their first birthday. It's not lactose intolerance nor allergy but more akin to poisoning. This was told to me by a Gerber nutritionist when DS had an adverse reaction to their mac n cheese.

Originally Posted by berryblondeboys

I want to scream every time I see a little one with strawberries or corn.

What's wrong with strawberries & corn?? They're in Gerber stage 1 & 2 food surely if deemed unsafe Gerber wouldn't offer them for past decade?

Originally Posted by berryblondeboys

With simple foods first. I would personally skip rice as it's constipating, go for oatmeal cereal instead.

Where did you get this info ? Coming from a country and culture where rice is the staple food, I can vouch that it's not constipating otherwise everyone from greater China down to the islands off Australia coast can't go to the bathroom. Unless it's Gerber Rice Cereal that's fortified with iron, where iron is an additive and not naturally occurring? Yes that product is constipating because iron is. Regular rice is not.

[metroelle]

i'm not sure why you think there's nothing biologically different at 4 months vs 9 months. there's a LOT that is different.

Quote:

Baby's intestines need to mature. The intestines are the body's filtering system, screening out potentially harmful substances and letting in healthy nutrients. In the early months, this filtering system is immature. Between four and seven months a baby's intestinal lining goes through a developmental growth spurt called closure, meaning the intestinal lining becomes more selective about what to let through. To prevent potentially-allergenic foods from entering the bloodstream, the maturing intestines secrete IgA , a protein immunoglobulin that acts like a protective paint, coating the intestines and preventing the passage of harmful allergens. In the early months, infant IgA production is low (although there is lots of IgA in human milk), and it is easier for potentially-allergenic food molecules to enter the baby's system. Once food molecules are in the blood, the immune system may produce antibodies to that food, creating a food allergy . By six to seven months of age the intestines are more mature and able to filter out more of the offending allergens. This is why it's particularly important to delay solids if there is a family history of food allergy, and especially to delay the introduction of foods to which other family members are allergic. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

also.. there is no history of allergies on both sides of my and DH's family, but just knowing that i could prevent the slight chance that DS could have allergies by waiting a few months to introduce solids was worth it. and i think if most parents were informed about how a baby's gut matured, they wouldn't take the chance. IMO it's really irresponsible of peds these days to suggest it at 4 months when WHO, AAP, and every other organization stress waiting till 6 months.

[Fishfood]

The BEST person to chat with about starting solids is your Lactation Consultant if you're breastfeeding... they're very helpful gals, or your local La Leche League. They SPECIALIZE in eating and real experience, unlike peds that are sort of a jack of all trades.

[Brasilian_Babe]

I started my DS on solids after 6 months on the advice of his pedeatrician who pretty much cited the same reasons as Swanky.

[berryblondeboys]

Originally Posted by bohohobo

Food allergies are not very common though you need to keep an eye out for them. Biologically there's not much difference in introducing food at 4 mos, 6 mos, or 9 mos. If a baby is allergic at 6 mos, chances are he'll be allergic at 5 yo, 10 yo, and possibly for life. However I'd say lay off cow's milk and everything derived from it for now because babies do not have the ability to break down cow proteins until around their first birthday. It's not lactose intolerance nor allergy but more akin to poisoning. This was told to me by a Gerber nutritionist when DS had an adverse reaction to their mac n cheese. What's wrong with strawberries & corn?? They're in Gerber stage 1 & 2 food surely if deemed unsafe Gerber wouldn't offer them for past decade? Where did you get this info ? Coming from a country and culture where rice is the staple food, I can vouch that it's not constipating otherwise everyone from greater China down to the islands off Australia coast can't go to the bathroom. Unless it's Gerber Rice Cereal that's fortified with iron, where iron is an additive and not naturally occurring? Yes that product is constipating because iron is. Regular rice is not.

You're asking me where I got my info? how about yours? First, food allergies are a HUGE problem. Walk into my son's preschool and on every door is a list of allergies for that classroom of only TWELVE children. My son's door only says peanuts and tree nuts for the afternoon class. Morning class: Wheat, soy and all nuts. The one across the hall is a doosy for afternoon: Soy, milk, wheat, all nuts, corn and something I can't recall, but it's a VERY common food.

Here's about rice cereal - brown rice is different, but rice is KNOWN to be constipating. http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipe...stipation.html

And do you believe Gerber's is the end all of knowing and doing what's best for babies? Have you ever researched their baby foods? They used to put sugar in most foods to get babies to like it - is that good? Here's on allergenic foods and when they should be introduced. These are things any pediatrician will tell you too:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/forbiddenbabyfood.htm

http://www.nutritionathome.com/allergies.htm

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041800.asp


Kellymom is a great source for so much. Here's her info on food introduction for babies:

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...rst-foods.html

[ShopGirl647]

I started my first one at 5 months but felt he wasn't ready yet. He kept playing with the cereal in his mouth so barely ate anything so I stopped and started again at 6.5 months. With my second one, I started him at 6 months and he was a good eater.

[Lady V]

I asked MIL and my own mother about this, and the two just tell me 'whatever feels right'. Then again, this is coming from the mothers that fed DH and I pasta when we were 2 months old! lol!!!

[twinkle.tink]

The controversy about allergies is huge. Different studies show different things. The last 2 studies I read actually said they do not believe there is a rise in allergies, only in reporting them. Which makes sense to me, as delaying food is relatively new, for hundreds if not thousands of years babies were started on solids at 2 months.

Let's face it nobody on this board in going to change anyone's mind.

With that said, I will tell you my personal experience. When my oldest son (21) was born, the standard advice was rice cereal at 2 months, fruits and veggies at 4 months, meat at 5 months and start finger foods by 6-7 months, off baby foods by 1 year.

It worked well with my oldest, so even though the 'standard advice' changed, I have done the same for all 3 boys and Emily (1).

I, personally, think it's bologna that it doesn't help them sleep them through the night. I firmly believe it does. I also think (and this is supported by current research) that the more foods you expose them to early, the less picky eaters they will be later. None of my kids are picky eaters.

[catabie]

6 month-coming from the doctor's advice.

i am a registered dietitian and i would say 6 month as well.