Need reassurance re: delaying solids

dana316 · March 2010

My Mom is giving me such grief about delaying solids. She thinks that the reason Caroline has been 'grumpy' lately is that she is not satisifed with breastmilk alone. I don't buy it. I think Caroline is going through her 4 month wakeful period and is not napping enough during the day.

For instance, today, we visited my brother, and my Mom joined us. Caroline was having a crappy day...she fell asleep in the car twice, and once in Target, but wasn't able to really get a good nap...so she was grumpy. She cried, pretty unconsolably, at my brother's for awhile. Of course, as soon as we got in the car, she passed out and slept all the way home...and woke up a happy girl.

My thinking: whatever fixes the problem was what was wrong. She didn't want to nurse, she wasn't wet, she'd had Mylicon and still cried...she took a nap and felt better...i.e. she was crying because she was tired, right? Moms, help me out here...Mother keeps saying she's not 'satisfied'...but she is EBF on demand...I let her nurse all she wants whenever she wants. If she weren't satisfied, whatever that means, wouldn't she just nurse more?

So, give me your best sources about delaying solids...so I can email them to my Mom and she can maybe be just a little bit supportive. I am going to google and try to find what I can...but I need the big guns here. THANKS!!

cjsbdl · March 2010

She does not NEED solids. The AAP is your best source...they say six months.

jamalynn · March 2010

DD's ped said they recommend bf for the first 6 months, no solids, so that is what we did and she was just fine. I ended up nursing her for 15.5 months when she self-weaned. I think she is fine.

Tryingtogetpregnant · March 2010

cjsbdl:
She does not NEED solids. The AAP is your best source...they say six months.

Our pedi has told us that we can start solids at 4 months if we want, but she really doesn't recommend that you need to until 6 months. Your mom is misinformed.

cjsbdl · March 2010

FWIW, it's definitely a generational thing. My MIL couldn't understand why I wouldn't feed Henry solids and kept insisting that he would sleep and nap better if I gave him cereal (his sleep habits didn't change one bit when we started him on cereal). She even brought out a picture of her feeding DH cereal when he was 3 WEEKS OLD!

I just smiled and nodded and said, "That's cute. Times sure have changed, haven't they? It's amazing how much more the medical community knows now about how mature an infant's digestive system really is."

LVBlvd · March 2010

I waited until si. Months to try, and Paige refused. We tried again at 8.5 months, and she took to it right away! Every baby is different. You will know when your LO is ready. You can't rush these things! I just told people, "thanks for the advice. I have discussed it with her doctor and we have decided to wait."

LVBlvd · March 2010

LVBlvd:
I waited until si. Months to try, and Paige refused. We tried again at 8.5 months, and she took to it right away! Every baby is different. You will know when your LO is ready. You can't rush these things! I just told people, "thanks for the advice. I have discussed it with her doctor and we have decided to wait."

my iPhone typing sucks, despite all the practice I get! We waited until six months.

laura&dan05 · March 2010

I'm sorry your mom is giving you a hard time. My mom, MIL, and grandma all gave me a hard time about delaying solids. They would constantly ask when I was going to give dd rice cereal. My grandma brought it up the most. When I finally did give her rice cereal a week before her 6 month b-day she puked all over her crib twice! So we skipped that all together and started with veggies at 6 months. It was hard to stick with my plan with them questioning me but I'm glad I didn't cave and did what I thought was best for my daughter (not that I thought their intentions were bad). If you are bf dd on demand she is getting all she needs. I remember 3 - 5 months being tough with Hannah's sleep schedule.

https://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

I think the kellymom article links to other organizations that support delaying solids.

mrspresley · March 2010

yeah, MIL was told by her pedi to give DH rice cereal at TWO weeks!!!

you can start solids at 4 months but pedi's recommend waiting until 6 months if there is any family history of food allergies b/c they are more likely to development them if you start earlier.

aside from the AAP i don't have any real sources for you...but i definitely do not think that C is fussy b/c she is EBF...if that were true, wouldn't A be the same way too since we haven't started solids either??

RoxBride · March 2010

mrspresley:

yeah, MIL was told by her pedi to give DH rice cereal at TWO weeks!!!

you can start solids at 4 months but pedi's recommend waiting until 6 months if there is any family history of food allergies b/c they are more likely to development them if you start earlier.

aside from the AAP i don't have any real sources for you...but i definitely do not think that C is fussy b/c she is EBF...if that were true, wouldn't A be the same way too since we haven't started solids either??

Actually, my pedi and pediatric allergist did say the opposite with a child in a family with food allergies - they advised starting foods at 4 months given our certain set of food allergies....so not all pedi's obviously agree.

Christakim · March 2010

I guess I don't see it as "delaying" solids. Ella didn't like her solids when we introduced them at 6 months, and I went in to the pedi and talked to her about it. She said that it was fine, that she was getting everything she needed from breastfeeding at that point. She never really ate solids frequently until she was 9 months old and she went right to table food.

firsttogo · March 2010

RoxBride:
mrspresley:

yeah, MIL was told by her pedi to give DH rice cereal at TWO weeks!!!

you can start solids at 4 months but pedi's recommend waiting until 6 months if there is any family history of food allergies b/c they are more likely to development them if you start earlier.

aside from the AAP i don't have any real sources for you...but i definitely do not think that C is fussy b/c she is EBF...if that were true, wouldn't A be the same way too since we haven't started solids either??

Actually, my pedi and pediatric allergist did say the opposite with a child in a family with food allergies - they advised starting foods at 4 months given our certain set of food allergies....so not all pedi's obviously agree.

Interesting that there are so many differing opinions. My Pedi GI, allergist, and GP all told us to wait until at least 6 months, with all children, but especially with Linc and his food intolerance issues.... I love hearing all of the schools of thought.

dana316 · March 2010

Thanks all. I'm digging in my heels on this one. She got to start solids with me and my brother whenever she wanted...and since Caroline is my baby, I get to do what I want, and that's just how its going to be.

I sent her the kellymom link...and she replied that the links didn't work for her and the references were several years old, lol.

So I sent her some AAP info...I'm sure she'll pooh pooh that too...Oh well. Tough noogies...

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