What are solids actually?

[cokule]

My baby is 4.5 months old and in the bottom 10% of the weight. I am 5,5 and her dad is 5,11. He is on the thin side, I am not.

I am now concerned that I will have to supplement with formula since I don't think I am producing enough milk. She has been exclusively BF so far.

I am being told conflicting information as far as introducing solids, some say 4-6 months and now more and more 6 months.

I don't know what to do, since I hate the idea of using formula, but I am also thinking of starting the cereal if she is failing to thrive.

If I start with solids, just rice cereal is what is recommended at this age. Forgive me but I thought solids were fruits, veggies, meat. Then what do I do? Do I mix rice cereal with pumped breast milk or with water and for how long? And how many times per day do I give this to her. Then what comes next, for example, if a baby is supposed to get a banana, is the banana being spoon fed? I don't know if she is mature enough not to spit it out.

These questions seem a bit naive, but the book that I have "What to expect the first year" does not go into details, and those I need. Please don't laugh at me, this is my first child.

Or if you can recommend a web site with this information.

One other thing, a friend of mine who is very old fashioned said that her boys ate whatever the family ate, it was just processed in a food processor.

Thanks for your answers!

[mum2ar]

try wholesomebabyfood.com...great instructions and recipes

[wyattsmom]

First, is she gaining weight on a regular basis? If at each doctors visit she is putting on some weight than I would not worry. The percentages are not set in stone and do not take into account genetics. Some babies are just small. So as long as she is gaining weight, I would not worry. At her age she should be gaining about 3 ounces a week. But it may be 2 one week and 5 the next. This is also normal.

Second, why do you feel that she isn't getting enough milk? How often is she eating? Do you hear her swallowing when she nurses? Do you let her nurse until she stops? What is her diaper output like? You want to watch for 6-8 wet cloth diapers or 5-6 wet disposable diapers in a 24 hour period.

Solids are anything except breast milk or formula. You will find a lot of different opinions on starting with rice cereal. Some moms use it and have no problem. Some moms skip the cereal all together and just start with fruits and veggies. And some moms make their own cereal.

Rice cereal is usually recommended as a first food because it has a very low rate of being an allergen. Very few babies are allergic to it. But, it also has very low nutritional value and is fortified with lots of extra stuff that can lead to constipation.

Whatever you decide to do, you want to make sure that if you do feed her solids that she is not pushing them out of her mouth. This tongue thrusting is a good indicatior that she is not reading for solids yet.

When you move on to other foods you can do one of three things. You can buy jarred food and give her that. You can do the baby led approach (which is skipping the pureed foods and only offering chunks that she can chew and swallow) or you can do the pureed and make your own.

There are some guideline for what foods baby can have and when. These are a good idea to follow. I posted some links below for you to check out. If you have any other questions please feel free to pm me!

Hope this helps and good luck!

Check out this link to make sure she is getting enough milk: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/enough.html
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...ight-gain.html

Solids:
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/solids.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMayJun99p86.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...olids-how.html

Baby led:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedseli...uidelines.html

[@llli*andrea.wolford]

your breastmilk has more calories and is beter for baby then cereal hands down.
There are lots of things you can do to up your milk supply.
the easiest way to start is just by feeding baby more often.
A LLL leader can tell you some other things that will work with milk supply.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
the kelly mom links are wonderfull check out the one that has reasons to delay.
I'm one of thoose table food moms also. And I wait to start untill baby is about 9-12 months old and has teeth to chew.
You'll figure out whats best for your baby.

[@llli*anne.ferguson]

Very few things have more fat or calories than breastmilk. Formula and cereal DO NOT! Check out this link:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vi...dcalories.html

So... has your baby always been 10th percentile or did she recently drop? If she's consistently been small then I don't think it's a concern. Trying to get her to take more breastmilk would be the first thing I would do. Either just have a whole day in bed with lots of nursing or do some pumping and give your milk in a bottle if she will take it.

Most organizations do say 6 months now, not 4-6. Solids will replace breastmilk in your baby's diet and you're giving an inferior food in the place of a superior food. Hope this helps.