growth spurt and solids
alliejoe
member
This is probably going to be long- DH is out of town w/o decent cell reception and I'm not sure what I think about the advice pedi gave us yesterday.
So LO had been dead on in the 50% percentile at basically every appointment- his head size has been a little a bigger at couple- but no biggie. At his 4month appointment (yesterday) he's jumped to 75 for head/length and dropped to 40 for weight. He grew 2 inches in the last month. Crazy.
Anyway- his motor skills are awesome. He's been rolling for a while, everything goes in the mouth, grabs at our food, he can sit by himself for about 10-15 seconds at time, etc.
So, pedi ( who I LOVE) said go ahead and give him solids. She said he's ready and it will help give him a little extra in terms of calories and should not e/affect the BFing.
I was really planning on waiting for any solids until 6 months. My mom came with me to his appointment and is totally gungho about giving him solids and went out and bought some purees.
I don't know if I should go ahead and start solids now or wait. I feel like he needs them (but this might be my mom's excitement getting to me). She keeps saying the pedi told me to give him solids and I guess since his weight percentage in comparison to his height/head is so low, now I'm feeling like he needs more.
Ugh. I don't know. I just feel so conflicted about this. For whatever reason, I'm starting to feel like I'm starving him if I don't give him solids?
thoughts?
(and thanks for reading all this- I just sort of need a sounding board!)
Re: growth spurt and solids
What were your reasons for wanting to wait for 6 months?
Is there any way to breastfeed more often during the day or send more ounces for him to drink if you're at work?
For me, I'm waiting on solids because it makes life simpler. If he needs more, he's stuck with more milk for a while longer. I do also have the health reasons to wait - even if his motor skills are ready to eat, I don't think his digestive system is ready (from what I've read).
It's not like there's a right and a wrong at this point; it's about what you (and DH) want to do for your baby.
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I agree with both PPs. From what I've read, it seems like it's best to wait on solids until LO is sitting up well and exploring with hands, lips, and tongue. If your LO is already doing those things and you feel comfortable with it, then go ahead. But I would wait until your DH is back in town - I would be sad to miss that milestone, myself.
We're planning on waiting until six months. If DS needs more nutrition, he can get it from my breast milk until them. I'm waiting for the ease of it as well as DS's abilities: he's not quite sitting up yet, and I don't personally feel like he's ready.
totally waiting till DH is home to actually give them, but I was sorta feeling like a hideous monster for even considering solids early.
I feed on demand now and will keep doing that- I just feel cinfkucted I guess.
But, realistically, the worst that will happen is non water-soluble poo, right?
It does sound like your DS is showing signs of readiness. And many pedi's these days still recommend giving solids at 4/5 months. My DD is also showing a lot of readiness signs and my pedi is more comfortable with the 5 month mark as far as the digestive system is concerned. I was adamant about starting my DS until exactly 6 months. Really rigid about it, and I promised I wouldn't do that again because I believe he was ready before 6 months, too. So, we'll probably start her sometime in early October.
If you want to wait for bf'ing purposes, go ahead. However, solids should not affect milk intake. We are talking 1-2 tablespoons of cereal/puree a day and the rest of their nutrition comes from bm/formula. Just watch for your baby's cues and if you feel he isn't ready, it's okay not to follow the advice your pedi has given you.