6 mo solids question/concern/frustration =S

Re: 6 mo solids question/concern/frustration =S

• TheAnalyticalMommy member

  July 2014

  I feel that solids is a very personal thing. If you're baby isn't ready... don't stress about it. He'll just spit it all out anyway if he's not ready. 

  
  

  If you're dr. suggested pumping to see how much you get ... well then she probably doesn't know much about breastfeeding!

  
  

  As for how to get him more full... well, i noticed that most of the time i pumped, i didn't get much hind milk so i upped my pumping time from 15-20 minutes and that helped me get more fat in the milk which made the bottles more filling (i'm not a dr. or scientist but this is what seemed to happen). Maybe that's worth a shot for the times when you do pump?

  
  

  As for the growth chart. Which was she using? I've read that the growth charts are based on FF babies and that breastfed babies seem to take a dive after 6 months based on the charts. So it sounds like that your LO experiecned might be normal.

  
  

  Good luck!! 

  Rachel (a.k.a. The Analytical Mommy.com and @analyticalmommy on IG)
  I'm just trying to make sense of things :-) 
  

  Report3 Reply
• Loading the player...
• vvvvvfee member

  July 2014

  i don't know what to say about the growth curves, but i thought that babies' growth slowed in the second 6 months of life. if you are nursing on demand, and your LO has plenty of wet/poopy diapers, i wouldn't be too worried about your LO not getting enough nutrition.
  
  kellymom has some great articles on introducing solids:
  is my baby ready for solid foods?
  how do we get started on solids?
  
  if your LO is developmentally ready (see 1st article above) why not try baby-led weaning? you can offer your LO food to experiment with once a day (after he has just breastfed). he will not be taking very much in to start, but if nothing else it's a fun opportunity to explore something new.
  here's an intro: https://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blwleaflet.pdf
  more in-depth info: https://www.naturalhealthquincy.com/uploads/pdf/971.pdf
  
  

  Report3 Reply
• Guennie member

  July 2014

  theresat858 said:

  There are several questions and concerns in your post, so I am going to address them one by one:
  
  1) Should I introduce solids at 6 months?  Are solids necessary for a BF baby?
  
  The answer to this is actually YES.  While "food before 1 is just for fun" is a common mantra, it isn't actually true...it is not possible for babies to get all of the iron they need from breastmilk alone after ~6-9 months, and solids are required to fill in the gap.  I guess you could stick with BF only and give an iron supplement (I'd rather introduce foods), but if baby is still not eating iron-rich foods by 9 months, an iron test should be done to make sure baby isn't anemic.  Iron deficiency can cause serious developmental issues if not detected.
  
  Another reason to introduce solids at 6 months and not later is allergies.  Recent research shows that earlier introduction of most allergens actually reduces the incidence of allergies later in life. 
  
  Baby's growth is not, however, a good reason to introduce solids.
  
  2.) Is my baby having growth problems?
  
  Without the numbers it is hard to say, but my gut says no.  Which chart was your doctor using?  How much has his weight gain been since his last appointment?  If he has gained at least 4 ounces/week (0.5 ounce/day on average), then you do not have a supply issue or a feeding issue and his weight gain is within the realm of normal. 
  
  Your child can be "big and strong" without being at the top of the charts...and it sounds like he is still well above average in both height and head size.
  
  3)Is my doctor an idiot with regards to breastfeeding?
  
  Yes.  Suggesting a mom pump to get an idea of her supply is terrible advice.
  
  4) Can I introduce solids without shoving them down his throat?
  Yes. Just
  offer them.  Don't force feed.
  
  
  

  This This This.
  
  

  Me:41, DH:41 Positive for MTHFR mutations- one copy C677T, one copy A1298C. One daughter born on Thanksgiving in 2013. Six losses.

  Report0 Reply
• lukeiamyourmother member

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  Thanks ladies!  For the advice, and for not laughing at me for using advise instead in my original post  )

  I know they were using the WHO growth charts.  I'm pretty sure the WHO growth chart represents both breastfed babies and formula fed babies.  Is that correct?

  I definitely think BLW might be the way to go for us.  It sounds appealing to me.

  I do feel like he's very active.  He is never content being still and is in constant motion.

  I don't think I'm so much concerned with him eating to much, more so that he'll eat solids and be full for 4 hrs instead of 2 and then my supply will tank in response.

  teresat858, thanks for that info.  I really didn't know that solids were a necessity, I really thought it was just for practice.

  Looking back at his charts, at 4 mo. he was 17 1.5 and now at 6 mo. he is 17 15.5.  That is 1.75 oz. a week.  Knowing that, I guess that I really may be having supply issues. ahhhh!  So where do I go from here?

  Report0 Reply
• mysticl member

  July 2014

  We started solids at about 6.5 months.  We had company at 6 months and I didn't want to have my son dealing with two new things input.  The first couple of times we gave him food he ingested none of it, spit it right back out with a very offended look on his face.  At 7 months he was eating approximately one baby spoonful of food per day.  I'd say he was about 9 months before he ingested any significant amount of food but he was a year before we got to an amount of food that impacted his nursing.  

  
  

  We also started BLW after about 2 weeks of solids because he didn't respond well to mush so I decided to try something else and it worked for us.  

  Report0 Reply