Emma is 5.5 months old and has been exclusively breast fed since birth. I tried to pump, but she wouldn't take a bottle. She's showing signs of teething - chewing on everything she can get her hands on. She's also nursing much more frequently, waking every hour to eat, and waking for an hour in the middle of the night. I'd like to wait as long as possible before I feed her baby food or smashed up strained peas or carrots or anything, but I'm beginning to think she's ready. Is it me? Am I anxious to begin the next phase, or should I start.
My question was when to start solids, and my responses ranged from 3 months to 13 months, which you can imagine, is why I asked. i went ahead and tried organic pears for 2 days. the first day em (5.5. months) seemed interested but not hungry or devouring. The second day her tongue reflexes kicked in and she sort of shuddered like "eww, gross mom!". so a week later i tried real bananas and b.milk. no go - two spoons and out it came, shudder and all. so a week later i tried sweet potatoes and guess what!? she's getting the hang of it. i continue to nurse on demand, and she hasn't wanted any less b.milk. i don't intend to stop nursing. emma cut two teeth last week and her baby gums are so swollen as if she's cutting more. i plan to continue with the sweet potatoes for (fun?) (practice?) - she actually swallowed most of it. it's truly child led - i'm sure i could have waited, but i'm glad i didn't because i would worry - should i? so, emma will get one food a day for a while. probably applesauce then peas and so on. thanks again for all your advice. there certainly is a range of opinions out there - the best advice - go with what your baby seems to want and your intuition.
FYI, my exclusively breastfed daughter had almost NO interest in solids until she was 13 months! She didn't start eating 3 meals a day until she was 17 months.
More common than you think with breastfed babies.
C.-
I agree with Tara. As an AP-minded mom whose second baby wasn't "ready" for solids til 13 months, I can tell you that I went through what you're going through now two times when baby had growth spurts and was "calling in" more milk- so I just sat back and nursed every 30 minutes, it seemed! Once it took me about 2 weeks to build up supply but we got through it and I am so glad we did, because at 7 months big brother got whooping cough and I think a 100% breastfed diet really helped my little guy have the amazing immunity to not catch it (and it is extremely contagious- so it rather defied all odds as neither are vaxed).
Just support yourself with an herbal mother's lactation tonic and eat lots of good fats (I found fish oil supplements always made my milk more filling to baby) and when I got really stressed from the "growth spurt" neediness of my baby, I would have a pale ale (1/2 to 1 bottle- the hops are relaxing and improve milk supply) at my midwife's advice.
If little Emma is watching you eat and it seems like you can't keep up with her feedings...shes probably reading for solids.
Its funny this is #2 for me and the first time around you are waiting for the day the doctor tells you to go ahead with solids. But really, if you watch your daughters intake of milk and if she is watching you eat, like she would want some of what you are eating. Then go ahead and give her some cereal. Remember babies don't all react them same when introduced...some devour it and can't get enough of it, some need a little sample on the lips until they realize what it is and that they want more of it! Remember too, it will be alittle messy and confusing for them...since this is their first time eating! Have fun.
Good morning C.. I too was 37 when I had my Emma ..... She was only breast fed until about 5.5 months and then I started her on solids. There is a book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron ....... GREAT BOOK!!! For Emmas first food she had a puree of breast milk and avocado..... about the consistancy of heavy cream. This is really a great book and gives you the time table for foods and the best way to make and store. You will do great....... no one knows Emma better then Mommy ...... do not forget that!!!!
Hang in there! She is going through her 6 month growth spurt! Introducing solids now would just mess with the natural flow of building your supply. Just keep nursing and be available to her when she wants to nurse so that her demand for more milk will be met. You are right to wait as long as possible. Breastfed babies dont need solids up to the first year, and the sooner you introduce them, the more chance you have of disrupting her virgin gut. You're doing the right thing! Most babies, when left to lead their own solid intake, won't even begin taking a real interest in solids until around 9-10 months. I introduced my baby around 8 months, but it wasnt until 10 months that it took off. Trust your gut! Great job Momma!
C. i am a mother of 5 and a grandmother of 2 and am 38 years old. i started feeding my babies at 5 months i boil potato carrots and a egg smash it up and feed it to them .. my the time they were 6 months i gave them rice noodles , also one good thing to give them its the small venna sausage the ones that come in a can and are very soft .. i feel as long as yor watch them at all times of feeding and the food is soft there is no problem in starting them on table food , thou a doc would never aprove of it ..
Hi C.,
Ask your ped - she/he will be in the best position to let you know when to start solids. Each baby is different and has different needs.
Good luck!
Dear C.,
I would check with your pediatrition before starting any foods. I think Emma is probable ready for some cereal and fruit. Especially at night so you can both get some sleep. She shouldn't be waking every hour at this age, she should be sleeping through the night. If she doesn't take a pacifier she is probably used to nursing to fall asleep. There is nothing to be anxious about watching our children grow is a natural progression and if you are anxious your baby will be anxious. The worst thing that can happen is maybe a little gas or she doesn't like certain foods, but you will not know until you try.
i say just give it a try and see how she reacts. i thought my daughter was ready at 6 months old, but she rarely opened her mouth, even after tasting a bit from my finger. i'm still waiting for her to be ready...she'll be 7 months in a couple days.
other than that, i'm still exclusively breastfeeding and she's still thriving.
good luck!
I couldnt wait any longer with my daughter at that age either. THey will let you know when its time and you dont have to follow the books. Just start with simple cereal and go little by little from there. Im sure she will love it!
definitely check with your pediatrician but cereal/fruit is probably ok at this point. i started my son on gerber oatmeal with banana at 5.5 months, i mixed it with the breastmilk that i pumped. My baby also never took a bottle, and i nursed him every 2-3 hours round the clock till he was 10 months old. regular "food" such as carrots/peas/chicken/yogurt etc can wait at least till 7 months. I made all my own baby food from scratch by boiling everything in a pressure cooker then puree and my son gobbled up every single thing i ever made! good luck hun
Hi C.!
It sounds to me that you're doing everything right so far and are a great and caring Mom!
My 1st baby was strictly breastfed until 9 months and I believe my 2nd was the same although I can't remember! haha
The only advice that I can give is to use your own instincts. If she's only 5.5 months then at least you know that you don't HAVE to do anything different if you don't want to. Just go with your gut.....every baby is different.
Good luck and enjoy every second! :)
Of course you and your pediatrician know best. I exclusively breastfed my son and introduced mashed bananas first (I used the mesh feeder for his first time, with frozen banana for the teething), at 5.5 months. His doctor said I should see if he was ready and he certainly was. I started my daughter at 4 months but went more slowly. I would say, go ahead and try it, and if little Emma is interested, go from there.
Don't worry about your breastmilk supply - if you are exclusively breastfeeding and continue to nurse on demand, your supply with maintain itself no problem. Introducing solids did nothing to help their sleeping patterns though. If you are doing attachment parenting and cosleeping, your sleep patterns probably won't improve much for a long time. We had to get our kids into their own rooms and use an early bedtime (6pm) to have good sleep patterns. I still nurse my daughter on demand during the night. She gets pumped milk at daycare.
My pediatrician said I could start solids at 4 months, which I did with all three of my sons. My youngest is 4 1/2 months and has started sleeping much better at night. He has been eating solids for a week. Start with rice cereal, then go through the other cereals (two days each to see if there is any allery) before the veggies. Ask your doctor what he/she suggests.
My daughter had most of her teeth by 6 months and I still
nursed her until 18 months ( when she wanted to quit). The
extra nursing is her comfort in the teething process, also
when they nurse more often it is because she is trying to
bring in more milk. I did not give anything but breast milk
until 9 months and my daughter is now 31. It was the best
experience of my life. She bit down on me hard once and it hurt so bad that I flicked her nose as a reflex and then talked to her to not bite me again and she never did. She was
about 4 months old when that happened. Relax and enjoy the
process...it will be one of the most memorable events of your
life. Don't rush anything...they grow up way too fast.
Hi C.,
You can start giving her baby food, it will eleviate some of the breast feedings.
All the best.
C.
