Laurie wrote:


What I'm wondering is exactly why the recommendation has been changed from 4
to 6 months. I know all the reasons for waiting, and the signs of
readiness. As I said, I know that he's not ready now and will NOT push it.
However, 2 more months of this is going to be hell on my family if things
don't get better. I'm wondering if maybe 5 months is a feasible time frame
if he seems to be ready. Has it been found that allergies are more likely
before 6 months, vs say maybe 5? Is it that baby's gut is more ready at 6
months than at 4 or 5? How likely is it that baby will have problems if
food is started a little earlier than 6 months, but well after the former
recommendation of 4 months? Christopher's 4 month appt is next week and
I'll talk to his MD about it then, but was wondering if you all have any
thoughts.


I'm probably a little more easy-going on the time to
start solids and would rely more on the child. They used to
wonder if breastmilk was adequate for nutrition, which I
think led them to take the earlier time over the later
time. Plus, there's been an evolution where time for
starting solids has moved later and later. While waiting
longer does seem to reduce the incidence of allergies
somewhat, an awful lot of the studies compare four months
with earlier rather than six month with earlier.
So all in all, I'd prefer to wait until six months,
but I wouldn't stress out particularly between 4 and 6 months
*IF* the baby was ready, willing, and able to eat solids.
Both my boys started a bit after four months. They were
just desperate to have some food--not so much because they
were starving or anything. I think they just wanted it.
They were trying to grab food off our plates or intercept
it on the way to our mouths, etc. When we tried them with
a bit of cereal or banana, neither had any tongue thrust
reflex and neither had any tongue thrust reflex or tried
to spit it out. In fact, both gobbled up whatever we'd
give them greedily--no getting half of it all over their
faces or having to coax them to eat. I think they were
ready and they sure wanted it. Did it increase their
risk of allergies? Perhaps. There are certainly allergies
in the family. Neither has any food allergies. Adrian
has some very mild asthma and both have mild seasonal
allergies.
With Genevieve, I'll once again try to wait until
six months. If she's not in danger of impaling herself
on my fork, we'll wait. But if she's as eager and ready
for solids after four months, I'll do it again and not
fret too much.
In your case, if Christopher has all the
readiness signs and takes to solids well, I wouldn't
worry too much if he starts a bit earlier than six
months. It sounds like it would certainly help if
he's refusing bottles.

Best wishes,
Ericka