I don't AP but I have a question if you don't mind...(long)

azzyberry

I was watching The Doctors a few weeks ago and they had Mayam Bialik on.  I'm sure most of you (if not all) know that she is a big APer and she wrote a book.  When she was on she had stated that she EBF'd all her kids and delayed solids until after a year and that babies can survive and thrive on nothing but BM for the first year.  I became very curious about that since my DD is having some issues.

I won't go into great detail about my DD because that will take too long so in a nutshell:  She is very small for her age, has been consistently in the 5th percentile, that is until her 12 month visit.  She had only gained 4 oz from her 9 month visit to her 12 month visit and had dropped off the weight charts only weighing 14 lbs, 1 oz.  She has some low muscle tone and is delayed in her gross motor skills. She has been seeing PT since she 10 months old and has made great progress - mostly in the last 3 weeks.

She is EBF. We started solids at 6 months as recommended by the AAP and her pedi.  She ate purees immediately with no problems. The trouble came when I tried chunky food/table food.  It was a struggle for months to get her to eat table food and to be able to get her to eat meats/proteins.  I finally broke through that barrier about 3 weeks ago and she will now eat everything I give her.  Also in the last 3 weeks she has made huge improvements in her gross motor skills and I'm happy to report that as of her weight check today she gained almost 2 lbs in the last 4 weeks and is back on her growth curve.  All the specialists she has seen  have all made statements about how meat/protein is really important to brain development.  Whether or not her jump in development directly correlates to eating more meats/proteins I don't know but Mayam Balik's statement really struck a chord with me just because of my struggles with my DD and what an important role solids/meats/proteins seemed to play in her development and growth.

As I said I'm not an APer.  I don't actually follow any specific parenting method.  I use mostly instinct and I pick and choose different parenting methods depending on the situation.  I like to learn about different methods and I was just curious if anyone delayed solids for a year or more and if you wouldn't mind sharing your experience or if you had any knowledge on the subject.  Also, is there a know benefit to delaying solids longer or is it just personal choice? 

Thank you if you got through this and for any insight you have  

 

3003girl

We did not delay solids, but started with baby-led weaning at 6 months. (finger foods, skipping "baby foods/purees" although we did things like applesauce and some homemade purees, but mostly table foods and things DH and I were eating)

That being said, LO did not really become interested in eating until she was 15 or so months. She will sometimes eat 3 meals a day, but not always, at 23 months. She still BF's a lot for an almost 2 year old. 

Your LO sounds like she is low on the charts anyway, but make sure you are looking at the WHO charts, which are more accurate for BF babies. My LO is low on the charts too, hovering around 20% on the WHO charts, but below 10% on the AAP charts. 

 

 

anna7602

I think it's really important to go with your instincts as a parent. I really wanted to hold off on solids as long as possible, but the truth is that we introduced them at just over 5 months. DD was literally lunging at my food if I ate in front of her and just seemed ready. She was sitting on her own, didn't have a gag reflex when she put food in her mouth, etc. Her first taste of banana brought a look of absolute joy to her face, so I don't regret it. I still breast-fed her until the age of 25 months, so I don't think feeding her solids on the early side negatively impacted our nursing relationship.

I just made sure that I didn't replace breast milk with food at such an early stage, or for a long time. I've seen a lot of friends assume that once you start solids, you should breastfeed less (assuming, for example, that if you used to nurse at noon, you should just give some solids at noon and not nurse a 6-month old at that time at all). Then they're exasperated and disappointed to see their milk supply tank. I think the rule of thumb is that eating solids is "supplemental" to breast milk for a long time in early development. That said, the solids themselves can be important to development and should be considered even more carefully in cases of anemia, etc. Since anemia runs in my family, I made sure to give DD lots of lentils, leafy greens and other iron-rich foods before she was even a year old.

All of this said, at moments when DD was teething or when we were traveling to places where I wasn't sure if she would get a balanced diet, my pedi reassured me that if I was still BFing her, she would be absolutely fine. In fact, we traveled for a week to a place where I couldn't find much in the way of fresh veggies and where snacks were contingent on what I had packed in my bag when DD was 22 months old and my pedi assured me that it would be fine. It was. I just nursed DD whenever she was hungry if I didn't have any other food at hand and this seemed to satisfy her.

celiabwatson

First I want to say that we didn't delay solids because my babies have both indicated readiness and I generally follow a "watch them and meet their needs as expressed" style of parenting, with obviously a good dose of boundaries thrown in. So both babies have started solids around the 5 month mark when they started being fascinated with our food. 

However, I have a different experience that might answer your question better. I was still nursing my son infrequently when my daughter was born. He has always been towards the top of the growth charts for height and average for weight. Anyway, when my daughter was born he stopped eating altogether and just nursed. For about 3 months he was barely eating anything. Sometimes I could get him to snack on chips or something but usually not. Anyway, about 2 months into his eating strike we had his 2 year old appointment and he was still doing just fine. That made me feel better and I decided to stop pushing him to eat and just wait it out. He's now back to eating more than nursing but still doesn't eat much. Moral of the story: breastmilk is enough but adding food is good too. 

boogerbearoriginal

I've read different information about when BM no longer has ALL the nutrients necessary, but most things seem to be closer to age 2 rather than age 1. Everything I've read says that any solids should be complementary to BM before age 1. Studies find that earlier introduction of solids, particularly before 6m, actually cause growth to falter.

Not to discount your experience, but it's impossible to know if the increase in solids and weight gain were coincidental or related. It could be that your daughter hit a growth spurt and was also more interested in eating because she got older. Remember - correlation does not equal causation.

We waited until 6m to introduce solids but it really wasn't until LO was closer to 9m that he got interested in eating. We also skipped purees for the most part, although he's had things like applesauce, but he loves finger foods and self-feeding. There have been days that I didn't offer solids for whatever reason and he's perfectly fine, growing, and consistently at the top of percentiles. 

Another thing to think about besides proteins, fat is very important for brain development and BM has about 11g/cup.  The list of nutrients in BM is huge and that's just the stuff scientists know about. Scroll down to appendix G for a list of the nutrients in BM: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n34.pdf. 

TiffanyBerry

Honestly, it sounds like the PT is the important part here. Motor delays affect eating as well, and it is quite possible to have a baby who doesn't nurse as well as he/she needs to due to motor skill issues.

azzyberry

Thanks everyone for the great feedback.  I didn't know if delaying solids till after a year was common AP practice and given my DD's difficulties it was just something I was curious about.  Thanks again for all the info!

redheadinlove

Firstly, I think that your comment that you follow your instincts halfway brings you to being AP. But that's besides the point

I do think that babies for the most part can thrive on breastmilk for the first year. However, everyone is different and clearly your baby has thrived with the addition of protein to her diet and therefore that's the right thing for your child.

I think it's largely a personal decision but personally I really believe in baby lead weaning, meaning I won't shove anything down my child's throat and I will wait for her to show me she's ready for food. So I'm not sure of the health benefits of delaying solids, but to me I think it's a mental development benefit. I'll be giving my daughter the self confidence to follow her instincts and the confidence in me that I will listen to her.