On Starting Solids

So many opinions and ideas you could go crazy. I feel like I kinda did.

If ever there was a topic that you just have to go with your gut, this is one of them. I had some serious anxiety about starting solids with my little one. I had a whole list of questions to ask my pediatrician and I was reading a ton and asking my mom and a bunch of other moms what they did and I got lots of conflicting information, enough to drive you batty.

At first, I thought I was going to do what my mom did. I'm not sure at what age she started us on solids, but I know that the method was very regimented. First thing offered was rice cereal, then bland veggies, then sweet veggies, then fruits, then meats. Dairy was offered after the age of one and nuts after two. Each food got offered for 3-5 days before trying the next and the most common form was pureed, although, I didn't really get a sense of when to try other textures...

Other stuff I read starts with purees in any variety of foods, veggies, fruits, meats for babies around four months, and then when they are about six months they can try blends of foods and mushed foods that are not quite as fluid as purees.

Still other places I read would tell moms that there was no reason to feed baby cereals as they don't need to extra carbs and there is little nutritional value aside from carbohydrates. I've also heard from moms that rice is one of those foods that can cause constipation. Several places I read that the iron added to baby cereal can cause constipation.

One site I read, as well as listening to some moms that breastfed made sense to me and helped to clear up a lot of the confusion, but I was still anxious. This site was http://kellymom.com it is a site for breastfeeding and they go over all kinds of breastfeeding topics including starting solids. for babies that were breastfed.

The AAP (American Association of Pediatrics) recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six months before starting solids. I have no clue what that means for formula fed babies. After that, according to kellymom and a doctor that teaches breastfeeding information (as sent to me in a link from my lactation consultant mother-in-law), since iron stores start to deplete at six months, meats and other foods high in iron are good choices to give babies. They also say start with sweeter foods, since breast milk is sweet. One more thing they've mentioned, as well is that once babies are six months of age, they don't really need to be given pureed foods. They can handle thicker textures.

I've even heard from a lactation consultant (and a few other sources) that a baby's nutrition from 6 mo to a year is mostly from breast milk anyway and that foods are more about experiences and getting used to new textures and flavors (although, breast milk changes flavors with whatever the mom eats, so the baby should already be used to differing flavors). Aside from that, as long as they are introduced to something between 6 and 8 months, they shouldn't have problems with variety later in life.

So, all of this information made me really confused. I had no clue what to do. Did I go with the way my mom did it all those years ago? I still know people that feed this way. Do I follow some of the other places? I wasn't sure. I had planned on cooking my own baby food, pureeing it, freezing parts of it and going all out, but with all of the conflicting information, I started to question what I was going to do. I had a whole list of questions for my pediatrician when we went in for the baby's six month visit.

At our visit my pediatrician said one thing that made my anxiety melt away. He told me that the baby was doing well and if I continued to exclusively breastfeed until he saw him again at nine months that would be ok. He wasn't worried about the baby's nutrition.

So, I finally forgot it all. Ok, not everything, but the whole stress, and regimentation of feeding I could live without. I decided on a simple path. Give the baby whatever struck my fancy, be it something random or something we were eating. I had the ok to only breastfeed if that was my choice so whatever else he ate or didn't eat didn't matter. According to my pediatrician, the only things I needed to avoid were berries, citrus fruits, and egg whites until nine months; dairy until a year; nuts until much later. He wanted me to keep track of what things cause what diaper issues - in other words, give new foods one at a time so you can see how the kid reacts - and that was it.

My baby likes to play with the food and it wasn't until 7 months or so that he actually would put it to his mouth on his own. Some of it he eats, most of it ends up on the floor, on his tray, or on his clothing, but no matter. He's having fun and exploring. I don't bother much with feeding it to him on a spoon or anything. I figure he'll spit out the same amount if I put it in his mouth or he does. I also don't want to cause both of us stress by shoveling food in his mouth and making it a negative experience. I'll pop a piece in his mouth here or there, but otherwise, I leave it up to him.

So far at eight months he has tried the following foods: banana, chicken, sweet potatoes, ground turkey, broccoli, potatoes, rice, green peas, grapes, apple, and ground beef. There is, of course, a lot more to come in the near future and probably some things I've forgotten, but oh well. I'm not stressing. It's all about the experience.

In the end, it is what you are most comfortable with. All moms have to do what they think is right. My method may cause people to get upset or angry that I'm doing it wrong, but it is what I've decided, besides, I figure if at this point I had continued to not give him any food and he was still exclusively nursing, that's still ok according to the pediatrician - his health is not in jeopardy, so anything  he does get it just the cherry on the top. Good luck with your feeding experiences and read a lot, but do what feels right to you.