Why start solids at six months

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

So I'm a total know it all wet blanket. I'm owning that up front. When to start solids is one of the areas where there's a big disconnect between what research and organizations like aap say and what individual hcp advise. Many doctors haven't updated their recommendations or hand outs to match the most current research and recommendations from their professional organizations.

So that being said, here's an article on why to wait until six months (at least) to start your kid on solids. You should also look for signs of readiness like sitting unassisted and holding their head out from their body (like they start having a real actual neck, if that makes sense).

Also read up on rice cereal before you choose to start with that. I'll post some links on that in the comments.

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/delay-solids/

Thank you now I won't feel like I have to say something on every thread.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

Here's the dr Greene rice cereal stuff I'm always posting about. Note that he's talking about white rice cereal. Using brown rice is a big improvement.

https://www.drgreene.com/whiteout/

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

Agreed. We were told to start solids at 14weeks with DD1. She was able to sit up alone and unsupported. She had also lost the tongue thrust reflex. But I still wish we hadn't done it. I really want to go full on BLWing this time. With all our reflux problems I'm terrified DD2 will aspirate.

LittleLady77 · July 2014

We are delaying solids too. I'm amazed my pedi told me it's okay to start now. We are also skipping rice cereal but will probably do some oatmeal down the line.

MamaFantastic · July 2014

If we do cereal at all, it will be multigrains a bit down the road. We start at six months with avocado, then sweet potato, then butternut squash.

heybulldog52 · July 2014

My pedi also believes in and has recommended starting solids before 6 months. I, however, do not agree. We will definitely be waiting until baby is ready (sitting unsupported, has lost tongue thrust, etc)

avidkeo · July 2014

I'm planning on BLW, so looking at around 6 months as well. Funny, I never expected to be this hung up on something but EBF for 6 months is something I'm just not willing to let go!

Also I'm cheap and see BLW as an awesome way to save money by not buying all the crappy processed baby food. Note the variety here is no where near as good as what you get there. Same reason I use CD, purely to save money! lol.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

The health care provider we had with my daughter (who was an amazing nfp but since retired) was so adamant at every appointment about waiting until six months! So it's always weird to me to hear that there are doctors who say start earlier.

Andrewsgal · July 2014

Thank you so much for posting this. This is one thing I think is really important to be educated about. Also no baby needs baby food or rice cereal to be full before one. Food before one just for fun.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

Yeah that was a good mantra for me, too!

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

@acers what's the name of the book?

Calla123 · July 2014

Wait..so what is baby led weaning? I was under the impression that it was whole foods that you essentially let your child feed themselves (take food to mouth on their own). So basically like cooking squash and giving them a whole piece.

With our 3 year old we started out with cereal that I made myself (quinoa, rice or oatmeal) and then we fed sweet potato and avocado I believe. After a while we made the food chunkier and chunkier and never really pureed (mashed up avocado etc.) but I did make my own apple sauce and apricot sauce which was pureed. When my daughter was on this for a couple of months we started just giving her what we were eating but I would mash it (lasagna chopped, soup, meatloaf bites etc.) Anyway...she is now the absolute BEST eater. She will eat anything and everything we make (except onions but she picks those out). Because of how great she is I think we will do the same with Lilah (even though I know every child is different).

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

A cook book I do love is feed yourself feed your family from llli. It's regular recipes but it has all kinds of information about how much and what they should eat at different ages and stages, too.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

I'm so glad to hear he's the real deal!

AcaAwkward · July 2014

We are also BLWers! Love, love, love it - it's fun and requires little extra effort. Our pediatrician is also in the Wait 6 Months camp, and she's not super fond of cereal.

mrscrcalli · July 2014

Everything is going by so fast.. I just want to keep him in my lap as long as possible.

Boob food for as long as I can.

Solids will be fun but I'm in no rush for the poops that come with that either!

Tferr02 · July 2014

The dr told me at G's 4 month appt to start solids, I just smiled and nodded but I'm not going to do it. I'm too lazy to start that yet, I'm too cheap as well, he's still happy with boob milk, I don't want DH to miss any more things than he has to miss and I'm not ready to give up my weight loss from breastfeeding yet.

Lindsay808 · July 2014

Just wanted to ask about those who have experience with BLW...I'm hesitant with the whole "spoon feeding is unnecessary" because I have a friend with an 18 month old who is stressed out because her baby doesn't know how to eat from a spoon. Not sure if this is a true concern, something that commonly happens with BLW...FTM and was all for BLW until she advised me to still use a spoon.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

Lindsay808 said:
Just wanted to ask about those who have experience with BLW...I'm hesitant with the whole "spoon feeding is unnecessary" because I have a friend with an 18 month old who is stressed out because her baby doesn't know how to eat from a spoon. Not sure if this is a true concern, something that commonly happens with BLW...FTM and was all for BLW until she advised me to still use a spoon.

We did spoon feeding and my 26 month old still sucks at using a spoon. I think the key should be Them (the baby) using the spoon not You shoveling it in.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

mamrotu73 said:
If anyone asks me why we are waiting, I tell them how we are moving soon and feel it will just be easier to start after the move (which will conveniently be at 6 months). Don't want to be puréeing foods on the road when I have boobs at the ready. They see the practicality and I don't have to bother with their outdated ideas.

I'm totally stealing this idea

AcaAwkward · July 2014

We did the same thing ^^^ -- we preloaded the spoon for foods an adult would normally use a spoon for (yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal), hand it to DD, and she'd feed herself.

Honestly, she's still not a rockstar with a spoon at 2.5 because she's started flipping her utensils over right as she gets to her mouth. Doesn't matter so much with a fork but at least half her food falls if she's using a spoon. I don't think this has anything to do with BLWing -- she just needs more practice.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

I think most 18 mo aren't great with a spoon. "They'll never learn to use a spoon" is a common lament (just like they'll never learn to walk if you carry them too much) but of course they will. And even if it happens a few months later than it would've who cares?

JessieAlbin · July 2014

FFWC.. I'm having an extra sensitive couple of days, but my first reaction to this article is to be butthurt over not being able to give my kid breastmilk. "If you do anything but EXCLUSIVELY BREASTFEEDING your child, here is all the ways you are doing him/her a disservice. Oh and delaying solids is good for formula fed babies too. Generally. But we won't go into that. Breastmilk!!"

The Dr. Greene stuff is pretty universally helpful though.

Andrewsgal · July 2014

My BLW five year old uses a spoon just fine. A typically developing kid will not go to kindergarten not knowing how to use a spoon.

strawberrytree · July 2014

I used a spoon with my BLW baby who is now 2...I'd pre load it and give it to him and he was feeding himself that way starting at 7-8 months. He's always been far ahead of his purée fed peers wrt utensils...we're working on cutting with knives right now. I think the big thing with spoons is that they need to self feed, so if they can manage the spoon themselves, you're good.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

Sorry @JessieAlbin‌ that was sincerely not my intent but I should've considered the possibility more when I was linking to Kelly mom, which is very breastfeeding oriented.

ashcole28 · July 2014

If I waited for DS to sit unassisted before solids he wouldn't have ate until he was over a year.

cjpell0 · July 2014

I think in most cases it's great to wait and we just had our 4 month appointment with our Ped who said normally it doesn't really matter if we wanted to wait until 6 months to start but because of the auto-immune diseases in our family (T1DM) he wants us to start gluten based foods asap. So with that info, we will be starting solids tomorrow. Here's a link to the summary on the NIH website. The ped also mentioned that AAP is also considering changing their recommendations on waiting until 6 months b/c preliminary findings on newer studies haven't actually shown much of a benefit.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23836309

AmberLiz99 · July 2014

BLW or purée, all kids will learn how to use utensils. I wait till 5-6 months personally. Honestly I don't care how or when (within reason) you feed your kid their first solids. We are all mothers, have hopefully all done out research, and can make educated choices for our individual children.

Maybe this goes without saying, but I'm in a crabby mood today

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

If I was worried about iron I would give vitamin drops rather than rice cereal. Especially given the amount of good my kid actually injested at the beginning.

RedDawnsRevenge · July 2014

MaciC said:
I'm lurking from May 14- but had my LO early....quick question on this. I have read some studies that show babies runout of iron between 4 and 6 months. Therefore, cereal can have a nutritional value since it is iron fortified, especially if EBF. I'm going to bring this up with my pedi at our next appt, but is anyone concerned about waiting until 6 months and the lack if iron in traditional first foods (alvocado, sweet potatoes, etc)? I was planning to wait until 6 months and skip cereal, but now I am second guessing myself. Also, the studies show that low birth weight babies runout of iron sooner. My LO was 5.11. However, to even get the amount of iron suggested, it would take two full servings of cereal each day. That seems like a lot for a EBF 4 month old. Maybe an iron supplement would be better and hold off on solids until closer to 6 months? Sorry I can't link to the studies- I'm mobile and can't figure it out. However you can google it. Some sources suggest cereal at 4 months, especially for smaller babies just for the iron. Anyway, I am curious as to others thoughts on this!

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron/

The bioavailability of iron in breast milk is great. No we are not worried about it. It's an outdated thought that began because of "sickly formula fed kids". This is why formula companies now add so much iron, because early formulas had none. But like most supplemental vitamins the bodies ability to process them is poor. The iron in breast milk while not as high as formula is better processed and therefore more is absorbed.

ashcole28 · July 2014

LalaMama81 said:

ashcole28 said:
If I waited for DS to sit unassisted before solids he wouldn't have ate until he was over a year.
Do you mean he couldn't sit alone at all until after a year? Like if you sat him in a sit he couldn't hold it? That's unassisted sitting. They don't need to be able to get into it on their own completely. Most kids, ime, do that when they're crawling.

If you put him in a seat that made him sit up yes but actually sitting on his own no he couldn't until after he started crawling which he didn't do until after a year.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

And if you wait until six months there's no need to hold off on iron rich foods like red meat (appropriately chopped or shredded).

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

(And sweet potatoes are not low in iron at all)

strawberrytree · July 2014

It is actually now recommended (by Health Canada at least) to start with foods that are naturally rich in iron, like meats, instead of the cereals.

JessieAlbin · July 2014

Egh, nbd @Rrrrrachel‌ I knew your intent was purely to be informative and not bf/ff snarky, like I said I'm real sensitive. I decided to just try to find research on it for formula fed babies. From what I can find this morning, there isn't a ton of research done for FF, only that starting solids before 4 months for EFF babies has an increased risk of childhood obesity. I did read one article that said all babies tend to have an easier transition to solids around 6 months when they can eat chunks with their hands, but the vast majority of nutritional reasons cited are "because breastmilk!" Sullivan's at 3 months and it obviously isn't coming up for a while so I probably should just put it aside for now and quit hitting that sore spot for no reason if I'm gonna be so sensitive and let myself feel so defeated.

Rrrrrachel · July 2014

I think the writers focus on bf because it's a site devoted to breastfeeding.

Mustardseed2007 · July 2014

Regarding the rice cereal, the brown rice does have better fiber content than the white, but around the same time we were starting DS on solids, there was a thing about brown rice and the level of arsenic in it. So when we did do carbs, we did oatmeal or barley and just avoided rice all together.

Just an FYI on that. We didn't do a carb as a first food at all, though.

ETA: We did purees also and while my DS is good at using a spoon and even a fork, he really prefers to use his hands. I don't think it effected his ability or desire to use a spoon or fork at all.

zoopsiedaisy · July 2014

@Acers‌ Care to share your mushroom barley soup recipe? Pretty please!

zoopsiedaisy · July 2014

Acers said:

Heidiman said:
@Acers‌ Care to share your mushroom barley soup recipe? Pretty please!
------
Of course! I looove this soup, and can't believe there was a time in my life I hated mushrooms. I hope mushrooms aren't a baby no no? Anyway, I sometimes cheat and only do two types of mushrooms, or even all portabella, and it's still good. But I made the recipe exact the first time and it's easy and delicious.

https://islandeat.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/triple-mushroom-barley-soup-hot-hearty-healthful-fare/

Sounds delicious!! Thank you!

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