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How old was LO when you started solids?
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Anonymous
| How old was LO when you started solids? What signs did you use as the go ahead? What foods did you start with? Any tips or other thoughts? |
Anonymous
|
hi there. DC is 6 months three weeks and we are just starting. So far:
hates cereals of any kind so we've stopped bothering hates avocado puree or mashed hates cauliflower puree hates apple puree loves whole apples -- grabbed one while i was baking and i let him to see what would happen and he ate a few bites (swallowed it just fine!) ate soft sweet potato -- not sure what he thinks. He sits up and lusts for our food and tries to steal it off of our plates. He's been in an oral stage for a while but we can tell this is different than just putting anything and everything in the mouth; he's after the food. (But isn't too sure of it once he gets it). I've heard some babies never take to purees and think we may have one of those on our hands. I'm nervous about starting with finger foods but I think that might be what our demanding little guy will require! |
Anonymous
| we started at 4 mon and 2 weeks - i had heard that if you start too late, babies can develop aversions to having something in the mouth... DD loved oatmeal cereal and bananas from the get-go and has been a great eater ever since |
Anonymous
|
About a week shy of 7 months. We waited until after six months because of the "open gut" issue. By then he met all the developmental signposts like being able to sit up, etc. (kellymom.com and dr. sears' website have good discussions of developmental signs to look for before starting solids). So far he doesn't like rice but loves sweet potatoes, carrots and pears (all as purees).
If your baby is BF you don't have to start with iron-fortified cereal because s/he gets that from breastmilk (kellymom has a good explanation of this). Also I would wait until six months, personally, no matter whether the baby's hit the developmental signposts yet, because it takes about that long for the baby's gut to mature. Some doctors still advise 4-6 months but that's outdated--the AAP now says to start solids no earlier than six months. |
Anonymous
Can you explain what this is? |
Anonymous
| Yeah what is the open gut issue? Frankly, I think Dr. Sears and Kelly mom are full of it sometimes. Children used to start eating solids a lot younger and still do in a lot of different countries. I gave my son cereal when he was a little over 4 months because he was already 18 lbs byt then and formula and breast milk just weren't cutting it any more. |
Anonymous
| 5.5 months. He had excellent head control and could easily sit in his high chair. He was putting everything in his mouth and clearly interested in what we were doing when we were eating. We started with sweet potato puree. Then rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. In little over a month, he was all about feeding himself with mushy finger foods. |
Anonymous
| by the way, current research has shown that food allergies are more likely in babies in whom solids were delayed after 5 months... just something to think about. a 4 month old gut is definitely "developed" enough to handle solids; the reason many docs were advising against this was because of concerns over food allergies, which have now been disproven |
Anonymous
| About a week over 6 months. We started with baked, mashed sweet potato, then avocado, then banana. Check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com. It is very helpful and has tons of information on solids. Kellymom also has a helpful section (especially if you are breastfeeding and planning to continue.) |
Anonymous
LOL - glad you know more than the AAP! You should tell them about their mistake. AAP says 6 months. Is it okay to do so beforehand? Maybe. Better? Doubt it. Do what feels right for your child. |
Anonymous
| My son was almost a year old. |
Anonymous
Ditto. A 4 month old gut is not necessarily ready for the introduction of solids and that can cause GI distress and other problems. There is no harm in waiting until around 6 months as the AAP suggests. |
Anonymous
| We started rice cereal at 5.5 months (did oatmeal as well that month) and at 6.5 months started introducing solid food. By about 7 months DD had no interest in purees anymore and she has been on finger food ever since. |
Anonymous
| Started at 4.5 months. My doc gave me the green light at his 4 months check up, but we were about to go on vacation and thought it would be easier not to have to deal with solid sood while away so I waited till we got back, at that point DS was 4.5 months old. DS did not like rice cereal but loved vegetables. I don't think it was too early, he did not have any issues with the solid food, was pretty happy, he loves to eat. |
Anonymous
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"Open gut" PP here. Here's the kellymom page that explains this and other reasons to delay solids a bit:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html I tend to put a lot of stock in kellymom pages because I can almost always confirm her info w/ the BF Center (who I also have a lot of confidence in). We have severe food allergies in our family so I've been pretty conservative--waiting until past 6 months, waiting a few days after introducing each new food, and delaying intorduction of common allergens (although I realize the science on that last one is crumbling... if I had a "normal" kid I wouldn't delay allergens, but I'll keep doing it until they stop recommending it for high-risk babies like mine). |