Starting Solid Foods Early

Hi H.-
I started my son right at 4 months. He was actually hungry & breastmilk was not enough for him. I had brought him to his 4 month check-up and his pediatrician said he may be crying a bit more because he's hungry. I started him on rice that day and he was oh so very happy! My son has had no problems with allergies to anything. I haven't been able to find any information to confirm to me that starting solids earlier than 6 months causes allergies. I would trust your gut feelings and start when you feel it is right. Good luck.

HiHeather,

My son is 14 months old, and is still nursing. He is down to probably 3 times a day, usually when he is tired. My daughter nursed until about a year and a half old.

I started my son on cereal at 5 months old, only because his dad (this is his first child) was so anxious to start. He wanted to start at 4 months. He came home from the store one day with a box of mixed cereal, and was like, "Let's feed him!" I compromised with him for 5 months old, and baught a box of rice to start with. hehe.

Anyway, at my son's 10 week check, he weighed 16 lbs. he was perfectly fine with just nursing. He now weighs 20 lbs 14 ozs. He eats all the time, but just has a really high metabolism (like his daddy. I wish I had that problem!)

I am sorry that you are regreting your decision to start solids. I would say that your son doesn't really need them, and that you don't have to keep introducing more. Let him eat what he has had, and let that be sufficient. I am not a doctor, and I would suggest speaking with another doctor to get a second opinion. I haven't heard many doctors push baby food on infants so young. The ones who do, I have found tend to be uncomfortable with the idea of nursing to begin with. Not that I am saying your doctor is anti nursing or anything, just get another opinion. And go with your instincts.

My sister nursed both her kids for about three months, then switched to formula and cereal. She was staying with me when the baby was little, and kept telling me around the three month mark that I had to switch to formula and cereal, because William eats constantly and is starving to death. Then I brought him to the doc and he was 16 lbs and perfectly fine! I had told her to mind her own because I was doing what I felt was right for my child, just as she had for hers. I am glad I made that decision. Anyway, talk to another doctor. My opinion is not to keep pushing foods on the baby. Breast Milk is enough. Just make sure you are taking your vitamins and eating well.
Liz

I know plenty of moms who have started solid foods early. I also know that it *is* possible to revert to sole nursing. When I had my first child, he was a VERY solid 3 month old... he weighed in around 18 pounds and 95% for height (my second child who is 2 just now weighs what my first did at 6 months). Anyhow, with my first, the doctors suggested introducing solids around 4 months... I waited until 6 months to start, but after 2 weeks I stopped and continued sole breastmilk until 9 months and then only added rice cereal until he was 1. With my second child, I didn't even start solids until 12 months. Good luck! Either way, it sounds like you have a healthy little fellow there! :-)

If he's hungry a lot, it's likely a growth spurt. Babies don't NEED solids until after they are AT LEAST 6 months - some say a year. I nursed both of my guys and I didn't give them solids until they were each over 4 months. They are good eaters and neither is allergic to anything. There is an article here that talks about the allergies from early solid foods: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/125/116080. I tend to trust this, as it's from a leading allergy study group.

Please keep in mind that most pediatricians have had about 2 hours in all of medical school on breastfeeding/breastmilk. Most of them, as well-meaning as they are, don't know as much about breastfeeding as the average BFing mom. :)

Recently there was an article on how drs were using an OLD height/weight growth chart for ALL BABIES, both breast fed and formula fed. There is now separate charts because breast fed babies use the breast milk more efficiently and are not as 'bulky' as formula fed. So your dr might have been looking at the old chart... as most drs do. So their 'your baby needs solids to sutain him could be based on this. As others, I have never heard of a pediatrician reccomending food this early. Squash is a 'sweet vegetable' and a carbohydrate, yea, SUGAR, something sweet. I am amazed this was the doctor's reccomendation!
THe only thing I would suggest is to cut back a little what you give him, and as someone else suggested. let SOMEONE else feed him so it does not interfere with your nursing sessions.
My question though is when he gets cranky 'around the time he normally gets' the solids, have you tried just nursing him? He's cranky because he's hungry and if he doesn't see the 'food', he should be able to nurse quite nicely!

Breastmilk is TOTALLY enough food for any baby, his big size is indication that you have fed him WELL to this point! I wouldnt take away the food either since he seems to enjoy it...but you dont have to give him more for a while either. Maybe around 6 months (it will be here in a blink of an eye!) then you can expand his menu and know that he will probably enjoy it. Continue breastfeeding, thats the best thing for him, i dont think adding some cereal has compromised his health, esp. if you continue breastfeeding.
J.

All children are different. Both of my girls started eating the cereal around 3 months then a week later I started fruits and veggies. I gave them about 5 days to try a new one. They responded great and had no problems at all. My older dd will be 6 in 3 weeks and my yungest dd is 18 months. They love all foods and both eat and love salad. Now, my brothers sons-have food allergies-no red dye-they had milk allergy-My sister in law breast fed them over 6 months and gradually worked in solids. So, all children react differently. My littlist girl sucked on strawberries from 3 1/2 months-never had an allergy to them. Do what you feel is best for your son. Take care and good luck!

I started both mine on solids around that time--especially my 1 year old as he was 13 pounds at 2 weeks old. I also have a 3 year old and neither of them are allergic to ANYTHING food related AT ALL.
I know what it is like breastfeeding a big baby. It's like ALL you ever do is feed them. It didn't make him like breastfeeding any less, and give yourself kudos that otherwise you ARE breastfeeding and you ARE doing the best you can for your baby.
Good luck, H.

24 year old SAHM to 2 boys, 3 and 1 and an Angel Baby,7/13/06,
Vermont

Hi H.,

My son is 8 months old now and much like your son, he is and always has been a big boy. When he was born, (3+ weeks b-4 due date) he weighed 7lbs 13oz. By his due date he was already over 11.5 lbs and now he is 8 months and weighs 23 lbs! He is also a breastfed baby. I think that the articles your read are more of a guideline to help moms have feeding goals and some type of idea as to how much to feed their children. But I'm sure that it does not have to be followed to the T. That's also not to say that these articles should be ignored. On the contrary you should absolutely be aware of these recommendations. However, you have to stay in tuned with what your child's needs are and follow his cues together with his pediatrician. That goes for anything. Just because you start you child on solids before 6 months of age, it doesn't mean that he is going to have allergies or other health proplems. It does however, mean that the earlier you start your child on solids, prior to 6 months, the higher the risk of having such problems is. So you have to becareful by introducing new foods far apart( at least a week apart) and have your child closely monitored for any signs and symptoms. Although this is my first child, I have been working in child care for many years and have gone to school for Child Development. And the one thing we were always taught as professional care givers is that each child is different and although there are charts and graphs that tell you what milestones each child should reach by each month or each year... You have to consider each child individually, because there are so many factors that effect each child's growth and development. Anyway, let me tell you about my son... My son started to sleep through the night at about 1.5-2 months old, so when suddenly at 4 months old he started to wake up at night wanting to eat, I knew something had changed. There were no teeth coming and the only thing that worked as feeding him 2-3 times at night. And he was already breastfeeding more than any other baby I knew his age through out the day. After a few days of this and hearing my mother tell that he needed to eat more than just my milk, I decided to speak to his pediatritian. So the pediatrician recommended me to start him on cereal, but cautioned me to be ware of the fact that cereal was not meant to substitute my milk since it did not provide much nutritional value on its on, but instead it wss to be given as a supplement to my milk... So I began to give him cereal, and at first he did not even know what to do with it then he slowly started to eat it. It took a few days maybe even a week or two but eventually he started eating the cereal and then sleeping through the night again. I just made sure that at the feeding where I was going to give him cereal or any solid, I breastfed him first, so that most of his meal would still be breastmilk. And we still follow that routine today. His breakfast, lunch, and dinner are solids, but I still nurse him beforehand. As for his snacks, they are all breastmilk. He is now 8 months old and he is still breastfeeding successfully (every 3 hours during the day), even though he is experimenting new things like cherios and bread, and turkey and chicken. Despite all of this, he is a healthy boy that is in the 95th percentile for height and wheight and loves his mother's milk. Basically, every child is different and you and your pediatrician know what is best for YOUR child better than any article. And keep in mind that the next child you have will be different than the first, and maybe s/he will breastfeed exclusively until 6 months, or 5, or 7. Just remember these suggestions you read about are just guidelines.

H.,

Babies don’t have digestive juices to digest food properly until the 8th month. Most books say you can start feeding at 6 months. According to Dr. Sears " Solid foods are not nutritionally needed under 6 months of age." (The Baby Book). Dr. Mendelsohn (How to Raise a Healthy Child) states "..the enzyme needed to process rice cereal is not present in quantities adequate to digest it". At 12 weeks a baby's primary source of nutrition is still breast milk. If you continue feeding solids have someone else do the feedings so not to interfer with your nursing sessions (he may loose interest in nursing and just want you to give him food). Avoid feeding solids after breast feeding as the food my hinder proper absorption of nutrients in your milk.(Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child) There are many books to teach you how to make you own baby food. Avoid canned jars and commercially processed or refined cereals. Dr Sears says starter foods at 6 months should be bananas, rice cereal, pears, and applesauce. Sweet potatoes are listed under the 7-9 month foods.
This country is seeing a large amount of obesity in children, and I believe it starts by overfeeding babies. I hear many moms say their doctors tell them their baby is under weight and they need to be feeding them more. If your son is happy and content he is getting all he needs. If you start giving him food now he will just continue to want more and his body is not benifiting from it.

Hope this helps,
Blessings,
K.

i would suggest reading www.kellymom.com
you will find that medical institutions - including the WHO (World Health Organization) do NOT support starting a child on solids before six months of age. breast milk has everything a child needs - and if he is not getting 'enough', your body will create more breastmilk to sustain him.
jarred food has preservatives. cereals have fillers and ingrediants i'm sure most of us can not pronounce. why would you substitute breastmilk for that stuff???
besides allergies - starting your child early will leave them open to more cases of obesity, food issues later on in life and digestive problems.
plus - the diapers are HORRID! :)

and not to contradict your doctor (since i'm not one, just a doula and a mom!) but if your breastmilk was not 'enough' - how did your little man grow to be so big and healthy?)

I started my son on baby food early and he is now 2 with no allergies.He was eating 4 jars by the time he was 5 months plus milk and he's fine now.Some just have a bigger appetite.

Congratulations on your baby!!! And on your decision to breastfeed! I have breastfed my 4 children, all different experiences. My youngest bf until she was over 2 years old and did not have solids until about 7-8 months. Every calorie that your baby consumes other than breastmilk is a calorie he does not consume of breastmilk. It is an even trade. The calories that he is getting from the solids are empty, undigestable calories, whereas the breastmilk is used to help growth and development. The allergy thing- my oldest did have solids early, and he is allergy free, as are all of my kids. It is not a given that a bf baby will have no allergies, and a baby that is given something else will. It is just more likely that introducing foods too early can cause them.
Not only should you look at age when deciding to start solids, but more importantly, you need to look at development. Babies are not ready for solids until they are able to sit on their own, no longer have the tounge thrust reflex (when the baby pushes something out of their mouth with their tounge as soon as it goes in) and have developed a pincher grasp. There are some other developmental mile stones, but these are three of the obvious ones.
If you really want to go back to solely breastfeeding, try to offer that instead of the food, or ween him off slowly, just like you introduced it. Try to change activities at that time to divert his attention.

Hi-
If your baby was growing so well with just breastmilk- why did you feel the need to add different foods?
It sounds to me like he was growing just fine while only consuming breastmilk. His nutritional needs were all being met and he was developing properly.
By adding solid foods- he isn't consuming as much breast milk. The food he is eating only add additional empty calories that he doesn't need! He'll be gaining more weight.
Stick to the breastmilk and wait until he is old enough to eat the solid foods!
Don't rush him to do things that he isn't supposed to be doing yet!
Good luck,
S.

H.,

Congratulations on your little one. And you should feel proud of your decision to breastfeed. As far as intruducing solids, several people here have given you some great information on why introducing solids early is not a good idea. There's even a great link for reference.

The most important thing you need to consider is that anything fed before 6-8 months is only providing empty calories to your baby and in your case, the breastmilk is what's giving your little one all the vitamins and minerals, and protien etc. that he needs to grow. He's obviously growing very well.

I personally know of a friend who's baby was so off the charts they enrolled him in a study for breastfed babies. He was exclusively breastfed until he was 8 months old and by then he was a line backer for the Eagles ... LOL!!! Anyhow, you do what you feel is best for your baby.

Blessings,
Rolinda

NEVER START YOUR CHILD on solid foods until at least 4 months of age! I am one of those moms who did, and we are now facing serious complications from this. He is a wonderful, and most of the time a very happy little boy, yet he is faced with two food allergies/intolerances. These include all forms of gluten and most dairy products. We started him on rice cereal when he was 5 weeks old, in his bottles for acid refllux. We took him off of this at 7 weeks, his reflux was worse on the rice cereal. Our pediatrician, at the time (we have changed since then), told us to start him on veggies. He was drinking 36 oz of formula a day! I was never able to breast feed succesfully. At christmas time in 2004 he started becoming very sick, it was not until July 2005 that he was diagnosed with his food allergies/intolerances, at that time he was also diagnosed as failure to thrive, and IgA deficent. He weighed barely 22lbs. He is now 31lbs and thriving on his special diet, and on 30mg of prevacid solu-tabs for servere GERD. His GI suspects that the gluten attacked his GI system and practically destryoed it. So, please to all the mothers out there, DO NOT FEED YOUR CHILD ANYTHING BUT BREASTMILK OR FORMULA FOR THE FIRST 4 TO 6 MONTHS OF LIFE!

I am a 26 year old mother of a 2 year and 9 month old son.