Starting Solids and Breastfeeding Resources and Advice

Hi B.-- Your pediatrician should be a lot of help when the time comes. Make sure to ask lots of questions, and good for you for doing some research ahead of time.

Keep in mind that all babies are different. We can make all the plans in the world for them, but they're going to want (and NEED) different things at different times. Go with what your baby is telling you she needs and not what other people tell you you should be doing based on their children. You're the parent and you know what's best for your baby. :-)

That being said, here was my experience:
I exclusively breastfed my two boys for 5.5 months. We ended up falling into a very good schedule around 3 months of nursing every three hours during the day (give or take depending on what they needed) and I would set alarms to wake me up so I could wake them up to nurse at night (7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm, 3am, 7am...). This ensured that everyone had a good night's sleep and that we got to go to bed pretty consistently every night. Even if they weren't "requesting" milk at three hours they were always VERY happy when it was offered and ate quite well (still do, actually...).

At 5 months our pediatrician advised it was time for solids. I protested that I wanted to wait until 6 months but she was pretty convincing with her explanation that our babies are not always going to do what we want them to do... :-) We replaced the 10am nursing with rice cereal mixed with expressed breast milk. It took about a week for them to catch on, but I was amazed how quickly after that they LOVED eating the cereal. We also cut out the 3am nursing and the boys slept through the night without any issue (again, I was waking them up at 3am anyway). At my next appointment with the pediatrician we added another "meal" at 1pm, ALWAYS mixing their food with expressed breast milk. My Ped. said that that wasn't necessary since I was still nursing, but it made me feel better and they liked the taste so I went with it.

A lot of people are going to tell you how great fruits (like bananas) are as first foods because your kids will LOVE them. Well, that's because they're sweet and who doesn't like sweet foods? For that reason, we waited over a month before giving our boys ANY fruit (and still haven't given them juice). We started with green veggies and even now make a point of giving them at least 1 green veggie with lunch and dinner (if not every meal). They love their vegetables and gobble them up. Bananas were their first fruit and are a staple in their diets as well.

My appliance of choice for making the first foods was a blender. You're going to want to puree their foods-- I would just slightly overcook frozen vegetables and then blend away. My boys have always liked a little texture (they never liked watery foods), but texture and grit are two very different things. Infants can choke and gag on gritty or chunky foods, so make sure they're smooth. The key is not adding too much water to the blender. You can always add it as you go along and then your purees won't be too runny.

My last piece of advice would be to stay away from seasonings for a while. That way your daughter will LOVE plain veggies and the seasonings that come along later will be a treat. I've spoken to other mothers who are finding it nearly impossible to get their children to eat fresh veggies, etc, because they want "flavored" foods instead. That goes for water vs. juice, too.

Best of luck!

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With my first son, I tried cereal around 4 1/2 months, but he really didn't get interested until about 6 1/2 months. At the time, I was breastfeeding him four or five times a day, and when it got so he was eating an entire serving of cereal, I moved that into one of the bf slots (mid-morning first, I think) and cut back on one bf/day. He also got snacks (Cheerios, graham crackers) in his high chair while we ate dinner at about that same age. (Again, once he showed an interest. He sat with us at the table from the beginning - first in his infant carrier, then in a high chair.) I bf him until he was 14 months old.
With number 2, he was interested in food from the get-go, and so he was eating cereal at 4 months (adjusted - he was 7 weeks early), and snacks when we ate dinner, etc. BUT, since he was a preemie, I kept up ALL the bf until he started with a cup (which was about 7 or 8 months). He was also a biter, though, so on his first birthday, I began weaning, and he was done bf by the time he was 13 months old.

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Hi, B..

Someone recommended the Super Baby Foods book. It is such a great resource, especially if you are concerned about making sure your baby gets the most nutritious food possible. I started with avocado, sweet potatoes and butternut squash. My son is now 10 months old and loves his veggies. Especially if its off my plate. Its very easy to make your own purees and so much better to give your child fresh foods.

Good luck.

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i got many ideas from wholesomebabyfood.com.

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B.,
More info is coming in that advocates waiting until 6 months. That being said, my ped'n is still saying 4 months. I waited until 6, then 6.5, then 7, and he still didn't like rice, so I just gave him his own time. We started all the stage 1 around 7.5. He is doing fine - eating well.

The only problem we have is finding foods (jarred) that don't introduce more than one new food at a time. We are being very careful with that. (I've seen anaphylaxis, and have NO WISH for my son to ever have to endure that or worse).

You can keep up the breastfeeding as much as you like - it's still good for her! I feed my son when he wakes, before his solid meals (gives him a good start on digesting and not getting constipated), after his meals, at night and when he is thirsty.

I also pump for his cereal. I feel better about that than water. He likes it too.

Good luck,
M.

if there is a local Leleche League(Nursing protocol) in your area, attend a meeting or two. They can be very helpful on this. it costs nothing to begin. They are usually listed in the events area of your newspaper and they also do telephone assistance if you need it.

Feeding was one of my big hot button concerns. I found this great book on the late side, When my son was 13mo. But he was such a late eater it was still helpful.

"Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellyn Satter and actually am entering a new phase and may check it out from the library again.

Note: Kids won't let themselves starve. As I've been reminded many times! She's going to start "real" food more and more and will maybe go through my son's five day phase of "I only eat bananas" Now at 18mo he is a big fan of eating table food and has lots of opinions about what he will and will not eat!

You could start now if she can sit in a high chair and her tongue-thrust reflex (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about) is gone. Definetly start with the rice, then barley, then oatmeal. After that I would suggest doing all the vegetables one by one first because they're less palatable then the fruits. I used Gerber and it was fine. If you have the time and patience to puree you're own food, then more power to ya but I don't see the point.