Can solids be introduced too early (even after 6 months?)

I have been having no end of problems with DD since I introduced solids just
after 6 months (she is now nearly 8 months). I felt that she didn't need
them, as she was still happy with the breast only, and was very settled.
But I bowed to pressure, and started. And she is now really unsettled, and
not as happy as she used to be. A bit of this was unsettledness was down to
teething. A lot of people said she was ready for solids, as she reached for
things and put them in her mouth, and silly me believed them. Next time,
I'll trust my own instincts. Right now, she is refusing all solids, so
it's not a big deal. Should I ease right back until she seems to want more
food? And I realise that her unsettledness could also just be that she is
still teething, and she is getting a lot more aware of herself and the world
around her, and wants to be out experiencing things. But could all these
problems have been brought about by me 'forcing' her to do something she
wasn't ready for?

Cathy

Cathy wrote:

I have been having no end of problems with DD since I introduced solids just
after 6 months (she is now nearly 8 months). I felt that she didn't need
them, as she was still happy with the breast only, and was very settled.
But I bowed to pressure, and started. And she is now really unsettled, and
not as happy as she used to be. A bit of this was unsettledness was down to
teething. A lot of people said she was ready for solids, as she reached for
things and put them in her mouth, and silly me believed them. Next time,
I'll trust my own instincts. Right now, she is refusing all solids, so
it's not a big deal. Should I ease right back until she seems to want more
food?

Ease back on nothing? Or is she getting upset when you offer? My DS didn't eat
much until he was about 7.5 months old, closer to 8mo. Then we had a lull just
after than, and some days now he eats much less than others.

If you're feeling guilty and unsettled yourself several times a day when you
offer solids, then yes, by all means, ease back to where you feel good about
feeding her, even if that's just putting her in her high chair and putting a dab
of applesauce on the tray for her to muck around in.

And I realise that her unsettledness could also just be that she is
still teething, and she is getting a lot more aware of herself and the world
around her, and wants to be out experiencing things. But could all these
problems have been brought about by me 'forcing' her to do something she
wasn't ready for?

My feeling on that is "no" unless you made a big horrible scene about making her
eat something. If you offer and she refuses, that's the end of it for that
session. If she refuses all the time, I'd offer a couple times a week instead
of daily. At some point, she WILL eat, and that will be that.

My DS is 11mo and wading into twoness ;-) already, with temper tantrums,
screaming at me, etc. I reckon it will get better when he gets mobile, as he's
really frustrated with that. I just simply cannot walk hunched over as many
hourse of the day as he would like me to, and he can't walk alone yet, nor does
he crawl. No mobility and no words make DS a snitty chap just now. It's gonna
get better. eventually.

Do you make a point of getting her out and experiencing?
HAve you tried the homeopathic Hylunds (sp?) that a few people here have sworn
by?
Have you thought about why you're so upset about offering solids to her? I
don't think it was too early to try, but if she's not interested, she's not. No
need to wander down the path of feeling guilty and responsible for her
discontent for that reason. Just offer, if she says no, say "ok, I guess you
don't want any right now" and that's that. No pressure.
(a friend today with a younger DS said that she opens a jar and immediately
freezes the unused portion in icecube trays so that she doesn't have to deal
with open wasted food, knowing her DS doesn't eat a lot. Maybe you need to find
a mini-cube tray and make really tiny portions that you can offer?)
HAve you tried offering "real" food instead of baby mush? (DS refused all
jarred foods I tried him on here, but ate well of other things like stewed
apple, oatmeal, etc, once he got going)

HTH
Dawn

Cathy wrote and I snipped:

HAve you tried the homeopathic Hylunds (sp?) that a few people here have
sworn
by?
I haven't heard of this. What is it, and what is it supposed to do?

Hyland's teething tablets ease the pain of teething.

-Patty, mom to Corinne [Mar-98] and Nathan [May-00]
and stepmom to Victoria [Apr-90]

Dawn Lawson wrote in message
...


Cathy wrote:

Dawn Lawson wrote in message
...


HAve you tried the homeopathic Hylunds (sp?) that a few people here
have
sworn
by?
I haven't heard of this. What is it, and what is it supposed to do?

Well, presuming I have the name right, they are a homeopathic "remedy" for
the
ills of teething, same as any homeopathic, diluted down to nothing,
basically a
tiny little "marshmallow" or "pill" that dissolves in the mouth. Lots of
people
have said they have helped, even those who don't really "do" homeopathy so
it
might be worth the $10 or whatever they cost in your area.

Seem fairly common, I can get them (tho haven't yet) at the local grocery
chain
in their health food section

Dawn

Sounds worth a try - I'll have to have a look and see if I can find them.
Sounds easier to 'apply' than teething gel, which DD hates, and I can't rub
it in to her gums anyway, as she squirms too much and gets it all over her
tongue instead.

Thanks,
Cathy