How did YOUR baby's journey with solids proceed?

[@llli*alphawoman]

An update-- mostly for your amusement.

DS had an 8-month well baby visit on Tuesday, and his pediatrician was swooning at his antics. Being uber-keen first time Mum, I inquired about solids and hemoglobin tests at the 9 month mark if we're effectively EBFing. Again, this cross referencing is largely because I'm nerdy (think: spreadsheets!) and keen.

DS' pediatrician was aghast and pulled the old-school gasp (literally!) and "your-child-will-keel-over-and-die" intimidation routine. She immediately whips out a tape measure to check his head circumference (50th %ile to his confirmed 40th %ile weight) and seems dismayed that her apocalyptic prophecy hasn't been fulfilled in the intervening four seconds.

Meanwhile, I am laughing in my head. Unbelievably, this is the considered opinion of a tenured professor of pediatrics at one of the best med schools in Canada. I decide to refrain from whipping out my iPhone with my bookmarked refereed journal articles on neonate nutrition. I also bite my tongue and decide not to point out her obvious sources of research funding--Heinz and Nestle, judging from their swag plastered on the walls.

Her recommendation? A one-size-fits-all template that is on the aggressive end of solids introduction for a 1 year old:

Breakfast: 2 oz cereal
Lunch: 2 oz meat + 2 oz veggies
Dinner: 2 oz fruit

As an experiment, I tried holding out nursing for 3 hours and feeding DS organic brown rice cereal (tasty, IMO!: I ate a bowl with him!) prior to nursing to gauge his maximum appetite. It was a scant tablespoon. He seemed only interested briefly, then gave his usual nursing cue.

Clearly one-size-fits-all does not. What witch doctory. I will be booking an appointment at a breastfeeding clinic in town run by a renowned pro-breastfeeding pediatrician--also a professor of pediatrics with this lady--at least for a second opinion and, at most, to switch doctors.

Wow. Just wow. This is what passes for first rate care, eh? I wonder how many of my tax dollars were wasted. (Note: in Canada, medical coverage is publicly funded). I am outraged at this patently ridiculous recommendation.

[@llli*alphawoman]

I realize that was looooong. Thanks if you stuck with me to read it.

[@llli*mommal]

By the second baby, you tend to give up on asking questions you don't want to hear the answer to. I never ask any of the pediatricians in the practice I take my kids to about nursing or solids. It's a lot more important to me that they be able to accurately diagnose ear infections and identify rashes, and that they offer same-day appointments.

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

By the second baby, you tend to give up on asking questions you don't want to hear the answer to. I never ask any of the pediatricians in the practice I take my kids to about nursing or solids. It's a lot more important to me that they be able to accurately diagnose ear infections and identify rashes, and that they offer same-day appointments.

I have become that mom who, when asked if I have "any other questions" at a well-check, just says "No, thanks! We're doing great!" with a grin.

[@llli*alphawoman]

I can appreciate your approaches, ladies. There's wisdom to be gained from your mellowness.

Nevertheless, there's merit in providing these formula-biased doctors with real time data on what breastfed babies' specific needs include. The only way medical practice is going to change is by re-educating the educators, even if retroactively!

[@llli*auderey]

yes, that's what i was thinking, alphawoman! if none of us with healthy BF babies tell our babies' doctors, they don't know.

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

To be fair, the advice I tend to ignore/not solicit is more the sleep advice. My doctors have actually been very supportive of breastfeeding, except that they all seem to believe in CIO sleep-training.

[@llli*alphawoman]

Warning to CIO enthusiasts: you won't like the following.

Ugh, CIO is a euphemism for callously ignoring babies. I find it interesting how detached from reality doctors can be in this regard, yet they still dispense "expert" advice on this unsolicited. My SIL's boyfriend is going on to do a post-doc in neuroscience specializing in narcolepsy at Harvard, and he believes frequent infant and toddler waking is developmentally appropriate.

But I bet none of us needed an "expert" to confirm this.

On a solids update: food is definitely a game at our house. We ate squash for breakfast--with giggles while my son played with his own spoon between bites. Lunch was a bit of rice cereal. I made myself an identical bowl with an identical spoon and we "fought"' to "steal" the other's food. I put little fingertip sized dabs of cereal on my son's spoon and he had a riot self-feeding with it. Quantities weren't huge- maybe half a tbsp each- but the attitude was on point. Dinner will be a bit of beef and avocado pieces. I'm thinking we can play "hockey" with the avocado.

I never want to grow up. This is too fun!

[@llli*alphawoman]

Okay, time for an update!

I've shifted my son's feeding entirely to baby-led solids (BLS) with great success. In case anyone is interested in how we've proceeded, there is some info below, as well as some recommended reading for the keeners.

Motivation

After buying Jack Newman & Teresa Pitman's "Guide to Breastfeeding", I came across the following lines which motivated me to make a change:

1. "I find many of these "non-eaters" have either not been part of mealtimes with the family, or have spent the whole meal being coaxed to eat." (pp. 287)
2. "...eight-month-old babies make a real show of independence. They will often not want you to put the spoon into their mouths, but will try to grab it out of your hand."

These two points confirmed what I had instinctively felt, but ignored, in my quest to spoonfeed: my son is extremely independent and needs to enjoy food in his own way. I had been not so subtly pressuring him to eat and the spoon had become an instrument of stress. We often ate at different times, and there was little conversation or social dynamic to his solids feedings. He began to whine when I put him in his high chair, which he previously loved. Clearly he was beginning to associate eating with stress. This is completely counter to my own food philosophy. I knew I had to make some changes.

The New Plan

1. All foods would be self-fed. No more spoons!
2. My son would eat what I eat- no special foods.
3. Meals would be a pleasurable social experience. I would serve my son a healthy selection and then we would chat about our day while eating together, with no pressure over food.
4. No staring at my son or visibly monitoring his eating.
5. No mid-meal fussing over any mess or tidying of his hands/face, etc.

Results: Spoons = Stress

My son loves eating! Previously, he wasn't protesting food so much as the modality by which it was fed to him. A spoon is a surprisingly aggressive tool for a young, independent-minded baby. Can you imagine having all your food thrust into your face with little ability to control your intake? I can't. After having tried it, I know it said to my son, "I don't trust you to make decisions for yourself. Your opinion doesn't matter." (Caveat: I know this isn't the case for all babies. The method of success of various feeding methods is likely personality dependent.)

He's still not actually swallowing much food yet, but there has been a marked increase in quantity and variety of foods eaten in the last few days since adopting the baby-led approach. More importantly, his level of enjoyment is sky-high. He's positively giddy when being placed in his high chair. This is good.

In the last few days, he's eaten: asparagus (a new favorite!), watermelon, honeydew melon, brown rice pasta, beef, carrots, broccoli, whole wheat toast, banana, and avocado.

Recommended reading
1. Dr. Jack Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding -- by Jack Newman & Teresa Pitman
2. Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods and Helping Your Baby Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater--by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett