My kids are much older, but I remember how much they changed. The difference between 5 months and 12 months is astonishing. And one of the thing that changes is that they begin to express their own preferences.

I was going to wait until 6 months to offer solids, but my 5.5-month-old started grabbing for food while we ate dinner, and (having done my research) we started letting her try out solid food. (Like other babies, she still primarily got her nutrition from milk until a year or so.) On the other hand, a friend was excited to try solids at 6 months but her DD showed very little interest until after a year. Both are now happy, healthy teenagers.

Yes starving your kid.

OP I know you're going to talk to your ped but just wanted to echo others in saying it is important to introduce solids now. Baby needs to learn to chew and swallow. Look up baby led weaning as an alternative to gerber jars of purees if you prefer.

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you introduce peanuts right now, but the rest doesn't really matter. Some babies really like food before one and others are just into breastmilk.

If you enjoy breastfeeding, just go as long as you want. I loved nursing so much and found it so easy (after the first 2 weeks). No need to pack anything other than diapers when I went out, just nursed on the go. Easy to comfort babies too. I nursed until my first was 18 months and she decided she was done. The second needed extra time and was done at 26 months. After 12 months or so, you're really only nursing in the morning, nap and night. It's different than when it's their only source of food.

+ 1

As they grow older, they are not using it for nourishment. I loved breastfeeding. It was my special time with the kids.

Op, you're going to hinder your child's development if you refuse to let them have solids until they are a year old.

I EBF my kids and introduced them to solid foods when they were 9 months old. We are Hindu and my mom is an ayurvedic practitioner. We did the following ceremony - https://www.babycenter.in/a1016889/annaprashan-first-rice-eating-ceremony but in reality giving them full on solid food started after 1 year.

I nursed both my kids for 3 years each, so breast feeding is not an issue. They are naturally inclined towards solids. I also fed them cow's milk as they became older and wanted to drink from a sippy cup/bottle.

Most of the solid foods were homemade and I was basically mashing up real foods and reducing spices etc. My kids love to eat and are adventurous eaters. Stick to organic foods, especially in dairy, eggs and meats.

Make sure you introduce peanuts right now, but the rest doesn't really matter. Some babies really like food before one and others are just into breastmilk.

If you enjoy breastfeeding, just go as long as you want. I loved nursing so much and found it so easy (after the first 2 weeks). No need to pack anything other than diapers when I went out, just nursed on the go. Easy to comfort babies too. I nursed until my first was 18 months and she decided she was done. The second needed extra time and was done at 26 months. After 12 months or so, you're really only nursing in the morning, nap and night. It's different than when it's their only source of food.

You absolutely have to introduce earlier than a year. They need to develop the oral skills to be able to eat solids. You will end up at an OT if you wait that long.

Your baby is going to naturally be interested in the food you are eating. You don't have to go all in,but it's developmentally appropriate and necessary to let your kid practice feeding himself as well as trying different textures.

I think you will have a hard time keeping your baby away from solids until then. They will probably want to grab things off your play and experiment with chewing.

But I mean, you don't have to go all-in on solids - like forcing oatmeal on them 3 times a day. You can sit them at the table and just see what they're interested in.

Also, I'm not an expert, but my sense is that they do need to start practicing using those chewing muscles and experiencing different flavors. And it can be a lot easier to introduce new flavors and textures to an infant vs. a toddler.

Anonymous wrote:From an allergy perspective it is also important for children to be exposed to certain foods (eggs, peanut) early on to help prevent allergies.

This was why I introduced solids even though breastfeeding was very easy (and so much cleaner!) for us. You don't have to take them seriously until a year, so they're mostly just a different kind of playtime and I think the tactile experience and opportunity to play around with taste is nice.

You should talk to your pediatrician, but I would strongly guess that the baby will not get all the nutrients needed just from breastmilk. For example, I believe that babies are born with a fair amount of iron that they take from their mom's, but that there is very little iron in breastmilk, so by the time they're getting solids, they're a bit depleted. That's why iron-fortified cereals are often recommended as an early food. Additionally, if he never get the chance to work on eating solids, he'll be missing out on major motor development.

Another month, sure. But then he needs to start eating food, would be my strong suspicion.

From an allergy perspective it is also important for children to be exposed to certain foods (eggs, peanut) early on to help prevent allergies.

The muscles used to BF and the muscles used to swallow solid food are different/used very differently. This is why you see babies mostly pushing food out of their mouths when you first introduce it. My concern with waiting that long is that it might be harder to make the switch/learn to use the muscles differently if you've been using the bf muscles exclusively since birth. But that's not coming from a medical professional, just a gut-level response to the proposal.

I can say that there are not any proven benefits to EBF for a whole year. The known benefits of breastfeeding are only studied/proven on the early side (fourth trimester, mostly).

Ive been EBF for 5 months and really loving it. Baby eats like a champ and is in a high weight percentile. Is there any downside to not introducing solids till he’s 1? Conversely are there benefits to EBf for 1 year? I’ll ask my ped this at the next visit as well but wondered what dcum thought