We started at 6.5 months because that’s when she showed interest. So. Much. Interest. She will practically take her dada finger off for a piece of salmon. I would say, don’t force purée down his throat but don’t ignore these great developmental milestones—teeth, sitting up, pincer grip, wanting food— that tell you the baby is ready. Also there’s a socialization aspect—your baby will learn that eating is a family activity not a baby-and-mama-in-a-room activity.

Anonymous wrote:Continue to BF but why on earth wouldn't you let your child EAT???

Agreed, I'm super confused. I've ever seen even the most breastfeeding websites argue to do this. I've never seen anyone advocate this. Your pediatrician will be absolutely horrified.

Continue to BF but why on earth wouldn't you let your child EAT???

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1

Continue to BF, but don't limit your child

I wish we wouldn't put so much emphasis on EBF to the point people get upset about any other source of calories (FWIW I breastfed, but my son got some formula in the first week when my milk was slow to come in and when I had the flu and got super dehydrated). It's really not a big deal.

Also to be clear you would still be considered EBF even when you start solids! I would recommend taking the little class by Susan, I really didn’t understand how all this worked before I had my son either but breastmilk or formula is still main source of nutrition til one AND it’s essential that you start introducing solids once your child is ready (Susan goes over signs of readiness to look for, and she talks about both purées and more baby led leaning- type approaches so you get a sense of all the options)

I breast fed three kids for around 2 years each. EBF until solids introduced between 4 and 6 months. I sorta hate baby led weaning. After 18 months kids become very opinionated and basically narcissistic. I had so many struggles with my child that did not want to ever wean and felt like my body was just there to satisfy his wants, regardless of what I was doing. They are old enough to know what they want and pitch a fit but developmentally not old enough to understand that you also have feelings and needs that are separate from theirs. In retrospect, I wished I had weaned before 18 months.
Just something to think about.

Yes, serious downsides. It's okay to like breastfeeding but it's not okay to hold your kid back developmentally to breastfeed more (it won't work, either, your kid will not get enough calories).

Babies learning to feed themselves is also kind of delightful. They will rub sweet potatoes or yogurt into their hair at some point, you take a bunch of adorable pictures for the grandparents and give them a bath.

I’m just second and thirding everyone saying there are 100% significant downsides to not introducing solids and it can lead to true feeding issues in the future. Breastmilk will still be the main source of nutrition for your baby but it is absolutely necessary to start introducing textures to your child at around six months. You’ll feed at the breast first and then offer solids. Babies need to start to learn how to handle foods for all sorts of reasons - texture exposure, motor skills, swallowing, so many things.

Susan is a great lactation consultant who also offers great classes on starting solids. You are at the perfect stage when she recommends taking it and she has one in a few weeks. She will help on how to continue breastfeeding and start solids without too much stress

https://www.arlingtonlactation.com/copy-of-class-offerings

Why not do baby led weaning? You don't have to *feed* your child, but they can feed themselves. That's what we did. EBF until 6 months and then the baby grabbed some food off my plate and that was that, we did BLW.

Yes, there are serious downsides to not introducing solids until age 1. Your kid will need more calories as they get older, they should be learning toneat developmentally, and you risk allergies. Introducing solids doesn't mean weaning, you still breastfeed. But they 100% need to start eating solids before age 1.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I EBF’d both and loved it also. You don’t want to delay starting solids. Your child will miss out on a lot of hand-eye-mouth coordination from self-feeding, muscle development in the mouth, and palate development. They should be tasting a new food every week and exposed to a range of flavors to help them enjoy a variety of foods. This is definitely a foundation for the skills they need not to become a picky eater.

These are good points. I think there's something special about crossing the midline.

What is the midline?

Anonymous wrote:I EBF’d both and loved it also. You don’t want to delay starting solids. Your child will miss out on a lot of hand-eye-mouth coordination from self-feeding, muscle development in the mouth, and palate development. They should be tasting a new food every week and exposed to a range of flavors to help them enjoy a variety of foods. This is definitely a foundation for the skills they need not to become a picky eater.

These are good points. I think there's something special about crossing the midline.

Op you sound like a good candidate for baby led weaning. Read about it. It made the transition to food very easy. Mine kept breastfeeding until almost three, so that doesn't have to go away.

Also when you start introducing foods, you generally do one at a time to check for reactions. So even starting at did months, it still takes a while before they are eating a full diverse dinner plate.

I EBF’d both and loved it also. You don’t want to delay starting solids. Your child will miss out on a lot of hand-eye-mouth coordination from self-feeding, muscle development in the mouth, and palate development. They should be tasting a new food every week and exposed to a range of flavors to help them enjoy a variety of foods. This is definitely a foundation for the skills they need not to become a picky eater.