starting solids/cereal

[@llli*irishmom]

My son is 4 months old and developmentally ready for solids and seems interested since he watches us intently while we eat. We got the OK from our pediatrition to start solids whenever we want to. I have done research about starting at 4 months vs 6 months and I will most likely start before 6 months. Also, blw is not for us. I am just curious what other breast feeding moms are doing or did. When did you start solids and/or cereals or when do you plan on doing so? What is your reasoning?

[@llli*mommal]

You asked what other moms do/did, so I'll tell you even though it seems to be the exact opposite of what you're planning.

We skipped cereals. They're more or less nutritionally void- plain starch ameliorated by the addition of some vitamins/minerals, all of which can be gained from healthier, more nutritionally complete, more flavorful solids.
We started around 5 months, offering tiny tastes once or twice a day. A fingertip-sized dab of sweet potato. A lick of a peeled apple. A lemon wedge to taste. We stuck with the recommendation that solids should "complement" breastmilk in the baby's diet, but not replace it.
During family mealtimes, the baby got a bowl, cup, and spoon to play with. Young babies aren't so much interested in solids as food- they are interested in the chance to play with all the stuff the big people are using. So giving a baby some implements can make them feel like they are participating in the meal.

[@llli*blue2000]

At 4 months, our DS was very interested in following food from my bowl to my mouth. We waited til 6 months -- I had a very firm goal of exclusively breast milk until then, and had read a bunch of studies showing that even though he was "interested" in regards to following it with his eyes, that interest was more related to what I was doing, rather than the food itself. At 6 months, we started with purees and some baby led solids. I didn't make my own food; was working full time and just didn't have it in me to do it. Even then, two months after he looked "interested" he really took in minimal amounts of food, even if it was spoon fed to him. Maybe a teaspoon or two of purees (we started with veg, and added slowly over time) for several months after that. We didn't do cereal because it didn't seem to have any real nutritional value and I am (was) obsessed with avoiding constipation. He was falling off the growth chart at that point (50%ile to 9th) so we often added fat to his veggies, so that whatever nonbreast milk he was getting would be high fat.

[@llli*minigingerbread]

May I ask, why is blw not for you?

[@llli*zaynethepain]

We started around 5.5 months. We used store bought purees for about a month. ds HAD to feed himself and would throw the spoon on the floor after each bite. It didn't take long for him to refuse the purees. He wanted what we were eating. Plus I got tired of throwing so much away. He never are the whole container in the three days they're good for. So I'd give him tiny bites of our food or large chunks of fruit to gnaw on. I used the rice puffs or cheerios for snacks, which seemed to help with his fine motor skills. I'll do things a lot differently with the next one.

[@llli*sherice]

My DD is 21 weeks on Saturday and so far we've wrestled with what to do. She has gnawed on a carrot, bit a grape but didn't break the skin, it was cold as well as the carrot, because she's teething. Lets face it rubber teething rings don't always cut it and I don't always feel like being Paci. She would too, 24-7. So I think we have finally concluded we are waiting until 6 months, I've made it this far and there is no rush. She's chubby, she's happy, mostly she's curious. I gave her a bowl and spoon (you can find the video on YouTube, I put it up for grandparents, Maizey eats and she was totally happy! I gave her a few drops of water and that was amazing to her! She just wants to play and explore. I firmly believe it isn't about food, it's about the action. She's never had "food" so she doesn't know what she's missing. She only knows she wants to do what we are doing. Another reason parents need to be careful what their children see and hear. Just throwing that out there, I know it's off topic.

Babies are amazing little creatures and not really that hard to figure out. We just need to follow their cues and they will tell us what they need. I think we want them to eat "food" more than they need too. If I could help myself, I would go the year without any "food". But let's face it, it's like Christmas. I want her to experience something I love, food is a bonding mechanism. We eat dinner on Sundays, we sit as a family, we cook with our kids, that's grandmas recipe, these great aunts dishes, that's moms apron. These are things we do as a family and we want LO included. I'm not rushing or pushing, I'm letting her let me know. Ill present it to her at 6 months, more edible "foods" if she eats great, if not, better luck next week.

[@llli*djs.mom]

BLS at 6 months. No rice cereal at all ever. Because it's totally processed and has no real nutritional value at all other than the iron they fortify it with and even that is not nearly as absorbable as the the iron he could get from real whole solid foods. Which is all I ever wanted him to eat. I didn't start sooner because there is a real risk of the gut not being ready to process food before that point. And I wasn't willing to risk it. I wasn't going to roll the dice when there was no reason to. My milk was sustaining him perfectly. Why mess with perfection to put him at risk? Because he was interested in food at 4months? Reaching for it? Please. He was interested in EVERYTHING at 4months! He would reach FOR EVERYTHING. Reach for a soda can. Not ready for soda. Reach for Keys. LOVED keys! Was fairly OBSESSED with Keys! Not ready to drive. 4month olds don't know what food is. They don't associate it with anything. Even if they sit there and stare at you, they are missing NOTHING. You can't miss something you never had. They think food comes from you. They just want to do what you do. Even AFTER we started solid foods he didn't actually associate food with hunger until WELL after his 1st b-day.

[@llli*auderey]

BLS after 6 months, maybe a couple weeks after, when DS stopped nursing and grabbed a piece of bread out of my hand and ate it. i figured that was about a clear a cue as he could give. i'm also curious about why "BLS is not for you". i found it SO much easier, in addition to the developmental benefits i see.

[@llli*irishmom]

I am not trying to start a discussion on baby led solids which is why I put it that way, but since a few posters asked. I completely understand the reasoning for it and respect people's decisions to do so. I did some research on it out of interest and to see if it was something I wanted to do. After doing the research and speaking with my husband we decided it wasn't the way we wanted to do things. We feel as though babies should learn how to use the food utensils and learn about textures prior to finger foods. We think that they are more exploring with the purees (and thicker than purees, etc) and learning about food, learning about eating, learning about tastes, learning about utensils, etc. We want to do this first before adding in finger foods. We also think that sometimes picky eaters have problems with textures and hopefully introducing different textures this way and along with starting with cereal, this will help. And really this is all opinion based after doing research. I think that there are so many different ways of approaching solids so I am trying to get as much info as I can before starting.

I think I might try giving him a spoon an a bowl to play with either at the table, in his bumbo or just during play time. As a previous poster stated, I am also concerned about constipation as well. Actually, we talk about poop and gas a lot in our house. He has a milk intolerance and with that goes a lot of GI issues. We are at a good point with occasional issues and I am afraid of messing with that which is why I plan to skip rice at first and go right to oatmeal. Are there any foods that you have found to be more constipating than others? I wait for the ones that tend to be more constipating till after 6 months or longer.

[@llli*djs.mom]

I also would never start solids until my child could sit unassisted. So if he couldn't do that until 7 months, I wouldn't have even looked at it until then.