Solid Food Advice

My daughter is almost 11 months old, and she's never been a big fan of food either. She would much rather nurse than eat even now. I know this may sound silly, but I didn't think of it initially, until my older aunt called me on it, but are you warming the food up in the microwave (just a little of it in a bowl) just a little bit to take off the chill of the fridge? It's old school, but my aunt also had me to put a little bit of butter in it to help it to taste better. Now she's starting to eat with no problem. I wouldn't reccommend adding butter at your daughter's age, but maybe heating the food up will help.

All great advice!
Your sweet girl just wants her momma milk & isnt ready for solids. Try again in a week or so, but dont stress over it. My baby girl has a GI Dr & nutritionist (because of a medical condition) & they both said as long as she is breastfed for the 1st year, solids are just for practice =)
I DO take my girl outside daily a couple of times for 5-10 min for Vit D. AND her bloodwork/iron level is normal even though we JUST got her on solids (a little at least) around 8 mo!
enjoy your twins!

S.
www.shannonstair.myarbonne.com

It sounds like she isn't ready yet. She won't turn into a pumpkin if she isn't eating solids right at six months. I know from experience that it is a drag to not be introducing foods at the same time with twins, but I think she is telling you she isn't ready yet. Our b/g twins were the same way. Our boy had tummy issues and was on Nutramigen and was so so ready for solids, after that awful tasting nutramigen I couldn't blame him! Our daughter though really had no interest in solids when he did and started not too far behind him.

I didn't start solids with my son until he was strong enough/ big enough to pick up small pieces of food on his own. He hated mooshed foods, even though I made them myself with breastmilk, etc... I would say not to stress this early in the game. Just keep slowly trying, not pushing the issue, and when she's ready, she'll get there! Many babies are exclusively breastfed until a year or so. They really don't NEED it before then. Many doctors are just used to formula fed babies, and give advice based on that, IMO.

Try feeding her the same thing you eat for dinner. Maybe let her sit on your lap while you eat and then trying to feed her a little bite.

I think it is so sweet that she just wants to nurse. Enjoy it while it lasts.

All of my boys happily started solids between 5 and 6 months. My daughter wasn't even interested in playing with food (let alone actually eating it!) until she was 11 months old. They are always concerned about their iron, but we were on WIC and had to get her iron checked regularly and her iron was always perfect. There's only a small amount of iron in breastmilk, but it is a very easily absorbed form of iron.

Keep offering, but follow her lead. Babies eat when they are hungry. Seems your daughter knows where the good stuff is! :)

Hi there, Congrats on sweet babies!!! Well we didnt feed our son rice cereal untill 7 months and I would mix that with breast milk you can try that or just give her a lil spoon and let her try it out! But maybe she isnt ready yet continue breastfeeding and be patient!!! Congrats again!

try holding her when you are feeding her instead of in a high chair

Hi S.-
Don't worry or try to get her to do anything. At mealtimes, put her in her high chair- your son will be right there in his, of course, and place samplings of the adult food in front of both of them. Make sure that she is nursed and not hungry. Do not try to force-feed, or anything like that. I know it's a pain, but these things should not be hurried. She may have some food allergies right now which make food other than breast milk painful. At her age, she tends to know what is right for her. My son, whom I tried to wean at nine months, turned out to be allergic to cow's milk, goat's milk, and he was sick and lost weight on formula. I went back to breastfeeding, and finally was successful, weaning him at a year and a half using the methods I described above.

You'd probably like to be independent of nursing, but do what is best for her- I guarantee that you are going to miss this time of closeness with your child later.

Hope it helps- S.

I have noticed that Drs here are so concerned about not passing 6 months without solid food. Some say it is caloric requirements....others...nutrients. If your daughter does not like solids and you are nervous about just doing exclusive breastfeeding a bit longer, maybe you can compromise and do some liquid "food" like a shake texture.
I think the recommended cereals are a real bummer...I tasted some of the store stuff. Boring! Maybe something sweet or salty or spicy would be more appealing. (What did you eat while pregnant?...My daughter loves curry..I ate that quite a bit while preg).
Good luck!
PS: One thing to watch out for is getting enough vit D. The daily recommended allowances (USA) are too low...Canada recently upped theirs. Sun exposure is the most natural way. There are liquid and capsule supplements too.

First of all, good job on successfully breastfeeding twins!!

Second of all, Pediatricians have certain things they push, not necessarily because it's in the best interest of your child, but because they have to cover themselves from lawsuits. If your daughter is not interested in food yet, don't push her. She'll eat solids when she's ready. If you're still breastfeeding, she's getting all she needs from you for nutrients right now.
I would go to www.askdrsears.com for helpful tips and for more information on when to introduce solids. Our country pushes solids earlier than other country in the world.

If your son is eating solids, at least that is lightening the breastfeeding load a little bit. Another good resource is the La Leche League. You can find your local leader and group by going to www.llli.org. It's a great breastfeeding support group, and the leaders and members always have good advice on other things as well.

Hi S.,

Sorry for the late response. Are you using a spoon to feed her? Sometimes babies have a hard time with the spoon in their mouth, it is different from what their use to. Try mixing baby cereal (about 2 or 3 tablespoons) with about 4 to 6 oz. of breast milk,formula or even regular milk with first stage baby fruit. Put the mixture in a bottle feeder and let her eat by sucking it out of a nipple...this is more like mommie's breast. Try it! if it doesn't work, then it means she's just not ready for solids.

p.s. I've been there before, my twins are 8yrs old now.

Good luck!
R.

Honestly, if she dosn't want solids, don't force her. She IS eating real food, breastmilk IS real food, and it's all the food they need for the first year. Solids are just for experimenting, tasting. My son didn't start full-on solids until after he was a year old, he just wasn't interested in having meals of solids. He thrived in every way but just wasn't interested in table foods. Ignore the doc, sadly they know little about nutrition in their training (working for family docs in the past has been eye-opening, plus my own former ped tried to tell me my son needed 3 meals of solids a day plus his breastmilk! He was not having any of that). Follow your daughter's lead. Keep offering but if she wants to nurse, then give her that, she will not starve if she dosn't have solids at this age.

There are doctors who push this whole give them "real" food at 6 months thing and then there are others who tell you to take your time! My experience is to let her tell you when she is ready! Remember just because they are twins they are totally different people and although your son is a champ your daughter just might not be ready for the food thing. Our son started out on solids at 6 months and he did well. We were at stage 3 and table foods by 10 months old and he is still a great eater! Our daughter on the other hand is just now catching on to the food thing and was just 9 months old. She still doesn's handle the stage 3 foods well so we just give her the stage 2 for now with soft items while we eat. If I were you I would continue to let your little guy eat as he likes and give your daughter a few weeks and reintroduce the foods again she might be ready for it then. If not give it another week or two. Some people have their breast fed babies exclusively breast fed till they are a year old so you have a LONG time to go!
Good luck!

If you are really concerned try having a small bowl close by when you are nursing. Give her a little time on the breast then try offering her a little taste in between. She maybe a little concerned the closeness is not going to happen anymore if she starts eating regular food. It maybe a little messy but it is worth a shot.

Dont' worry & follow her lead. She is getting all she needs from your milk. Solid foods at this point are really just to practice eating. It all goes so fast so just slow down & enjoy her nursing & snuggling with you. She will be mobile & eating everything in sight before you know it. It gets really messy too once they start eating real food - doubly I guess with twins! So enjoy that aspect too. I know it's hard not to listen to your doctor but am glad you are asking other "experts". I try to gather all the info. I can about something than make my own decision. Books, doctors, the web, other moms, etc. Good luck & have fun!

Dear S.,
I hate to go against your doctors recomendation...however we saw a natropathic pediatrician for my son for his first two years and the advice he gave me was not to force feed him solid food. He said wait until he shows interest in it...which happens at different times for every baby. For may son it was at 9 months. Starting at six months I would offer him food and have him sit at the table with us whenever my husband and I had a meal. For a long time he would just want to play with the food and then one day he started putting it in his mouth and hes been a little eating machine ever since. Of course this means that you are going to have to breast feed for a little while longer, but for me it was worth it.
I hope this helps and good luck!
V. R.

Hi S.,

I suggest only offering your daughter food when she's not hungry. She really seems to like nursing and change isn't in her game plan yet:) The reason I say to offer her food when she's not hungry is because she will probably be less fussy and maybe more willing to put something different in her mouth. Some babies are more sensitive to textures and react strongly to the tastes of food. Remember to make it as less of a stressful thing as possible. Start out her eating in a positive emotionally healthy attitude and she'll start eating eventually. Plus, we try to feed our babies solid foods way too young anyway. If she is still nursing, gaining weight and is healhty and happy, the solid foods aren't really doing much for her now. What are you feeding them? If you just started solids, they probably are just on rice cereal or something like that? Are you using jarred foods or homemade baby food? If making your own food sounds like a huge deal, it really is quite easy. And it is SOOO MUCH TASTIER than the jarred stuff. Just google homemade baby food and I'm sure you'll get TONS of info on it. Maybe she'll like the taste of homemade food better.
This not need be a battle:) Just breathe in and breathe out, listen to your daughter, listen to your inner wise mamma and do what you intrinsicly know is best for your children.

Much good energy to you and many happy days with your children.

In Peace,
A.
mom of 4, Birth and Parenting mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com