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Breastmilk is all your baby needs until at least four months of age. Most
babies will do fine with exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age or
longer.
Why
start solid foods?
Because there comes a time when breastmilk no longer supplies all your
baby’s nutritional needs. (This does not mean, as some uninformed people
say, that there is no nutritional value in breastmilk after the baby is
six months old.) A full term baby will start requiring iron from other sources
by 6 to 9 months of age. The calories supplied by breastmilk may become
inadequate by 8 to 9 months of age, although some babies can continue to grow
well on breastmilk alone well past a year.
Because some babies not started on solids by a certain age (9-12 months) may
have great difficulty accepting solid foods.
Because it is a developmental milestone that your child passes when he
starts solid foods. He is growing up. Usually, he will want to eat solids. Why
stop him?
When
to start solid foods.
The best
time to start solids is when the baby is showing interest in starting. Some
babies will become very interested in the food in their parents’ plates as early
as 4 months of age. By 5 or 6 months of age, most babies will be reaching and
trying to grab food that parents have on their plates. When the baby is starting
to reach for food, this seems a reasonable time to start giving him some. There
really is no reason to start on a specific date (4 months, or 6 months). Go by
the baby’s cues.
In some
cases, it may be better to start food earlier. When a baby seems to be hungry,
or when weight gain is not continuing at the desired rate, it may be reasonable
to start solids as early as 3 months of age. However, it may be possible, with
help, to continue breastfeeding alone and have the baby less hungry and/or
growing more rapidly. But if the techniques used in the clinic do not deal with
the problem, adding solids can help. There is no advantage to giving artificial
baby milk (formula) and there may be some disadvantages. The baby who is not
satisfied completely at the breast may start to take more and more from the
bottle, and end up refusing to take the breast.
The
breastfed baby digests solid foods better and earlier than the artificially fed
baby because breastmilk contains enzymes which help digest fats, proteins and
starch. As well, breastfed babies have had a wide variety of tastes in their
lives, since the flavours of many foods the mother eats will pass into her milk.
Breastfed babies thus accept solids more readily than artificially fed babies.
Breastmilk is amazing stuff, eh?
How
should solids be introduced?
When the
baby is starting to take solids at about 5 or 6 months of age, there is little
difference what he starts with or in what order foods are introduced. It is
prudent to avoid highly spiced or highly allergenic foods at first (e.g. egg
white, strawberries), but if the baby reaches for the potato on your plate, make
sure it is not too hot, and let him have the potato. There is no need to go in
any specific order, and there is no need for the baby to eat only one food for a
certain period of time. Some exclusively breastfed babies dislike infant cereal
when it is introduced at 5 or 6 months of age. There is no need for concern and
no need to persist if the baby doesn’t want the cereal. There is nothing magic
or necessary about infant cereal. Offer your baby the foods that he is
interested in. Allow the baby to enjoy food and do not worry exactly how much he
actually takes at first. Much of it may end up in his hair and on the floor
anyhow. There is no need either that foods be pureed if the baby is 5 or 6
months of age or older. Simple mashing with a fork is all that is necessary at
first. You also do not have to be exceedingly careful about how much the baby
takes. Why limit the baby to one teaspoon if he wants more? You do not need to
waste your money on commercial baby foods.
Be
relaxed, feed the baby at your mealtimes, and as he becomes a more accomplished
eater of solid foods, offer a greater variety of foods at any one time.
The
easiest way to get extra iron for your baby 5 or 6 months of age is by giving
him meat. Infant cereal has iron, but it is poorly absorbed and may cause the
baby to be constipated.
There is
no reason to introduce vegetables before fruit. Breastmilk is far sweeter than
fruit, so there is no reason to believe that the baby will take vegetables
better by delaying the introduction of fruit.
Respect
your baby’s likes and dislikes. There is no essential food (except breastmilk).
If your baby does not like a certain food, do not push it on him. If you think
it important for him, wait a few weeks and offer it again.
At about
8 months of age, babies become somewhat assertive in displaying their
individuality. Your baby may not want you to put a spoon into his mouth. He very
likely will take it out of your hand and put it into his mouth himself, often
upside down, so that the food falls on his lap. Respect his attempts at self
sufficiency and encourage his learning.
What
if I am starting solids at 3 months?
At this
age, it may be prudent to go a little more slowly. Start with infant cereal or
easily mashed foods such as banana. Sometimes a baby will eat better from your
finger than off a spoon. Go a little more slowly with quantities as well. But as
the baby tolerates solids, both quantity and variety of foods can be increased
as the baby desires. Incidentally, why are you starting solids at 3 months? Many
grandmothers are keen that the baby start “real food”, but if there is not a
good reason to start at 3 months, don’t. (The most common legitimate reason to
start earlier than 5 or 6 months of age is poor weight gain not corrected by
correcting latch, using compression, switching back and forth, using
domperidone)
Solids
or breast first?
There
seems to be considerable worry when a child is starting solids about whether to
give the breast first or give solid food first. If breastfeeding and the
introduction of solid foods both are going well, it probably does not matter
much. Indeed, there is no reason that a baby needs both breast and solids
every time he eats.
About The Author: Dr. Jack Newman is a Toronto
pediatrician who has practiced medicine since 1970. In 1984 he established the
first hospital based breastfeeding clinic in Canada, at the Hospital for Sick
Children in Toronto. He now holds breastfeeding clinics in several Toronto area
hospitals. Jack has been a consultant with UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital
Initiative and has spoken at conferences around the world. He is the father of
three children, all breastfed. Dr. Newman is the author of
"The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers"
NOTE: The article above titled "Starting
Solid Foods" was written by Dr. Jack Newman and is the opinion of its author. "The New Parents Guide" does not guarantee the information to
be factual. Always use the guidance of your personal
doctor or your child's doctor over information you read on this site or elsewhere; your doctors know what is
best for you and your baby.
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