It's not worth getting angry over!

This morning I logged into my old support group of moms due the same time
as I was.
Their babies are younger or around the same age as Alena. Almost all of
them are feeding their babies rice cereal already!!!! Their pediatricians
told them not until 3-4 months, but they're doing it any way!!!
I'm not getting angry, but I am remembering why I'm not there anymore.
What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

--
Lina
Alena born July 1st, 2003
www.maternalinstinctscanada.com

"Lina" wrote in message
news
This morning I logged into my old support group of moms due the same time
as I was.
Their babies are younger or around the same age as Alena. Almost all of
them are feeding their babies rice cereal already!!!! Their pediatricians
told them not until 3-4 months, but they're doing it any way!!!
I'm not getting angry, but I am remembering why I'm not there anymore.
What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

Hi, Lina--no, you are not wrong. The current recommendation, according to
the WHO, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and, I believe, Canada's
equivalent of the AAP (IIRC, you're Canadian?) is to bf exclusively until 6
months. Four months is a *bare* minimum, and posters here from various
countries have pointed out examples where their national guidelines have
switched from 4-6 to 6 months as a recommendation.

Belphoebe

Belphoebe wrote:

Hi, Lina--no, you are not wrong. The current recommendation, according to
the WHO, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and, I believe, Canada's
equivalent of the AAP (IIRC, you're Canadian?) is to bf exclusively until 6
months. Four months is a *bare* minimum, and posters here from various
countries have pointed out examples where their national guidelines have
switched from 4-6 to 6 months as a recommendation.

Health Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society, and Dietitians of Canada
recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first 4 months of
life, then introduction of solids at 4-6 months.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dca-dea/publi...trition_e.html

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 17:56:37 GMT, "Lina"
wrote:

I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

In Australia, they recommend 4-6 months. However, I do know moms who
started early, which I think is wrong.

I waited until DD was 6 months old before she started solids.

--
Daye
Momma to Jayan
"Boy" EDD 11 Jan 2004

Belphoebe wrote:
"Lina" wrote in message
news
This morning I logged into my old support group of moms due the same time
as I was.
Their babies are younger or around the same age as Alena. Almost all of
them are feeding their babies rice cereal already!!!! Their pediatricians
told them not until 3-4 months, but they're doing it any way!!!
I'm not getting angry, but I am remembering why I'm not there anymore.
What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?


Hi, Lina--no, you are not wrong. The current recommendation, according to
the WHO, the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and, I believe, Canada's
equivalent of the AAP (IIRC, you're Canadian?) is to bf exclusively until 6
months. Four months is a *bare* minimum, and posters here from various
countries have pointed out examples where their national guidelines have
switched from 4-6 to 6 months as a recommendation.

Belphoebe



The AAP still says it's OK to introduce solids at 4-6 months.

Clisby

my personal opinion is to watch for signs from your baby. my first nursed
constantly, i started him on cereal (not in a bottle, with a spoon) at about
3 months.he took it just fine and he was much happier after that. he did not
start on "gerber" type solids until almost 6 months. my second was the same,
i felt like he was showing signs, and started him on cereal at 3 1/2 months
and "gerber" at 5 months. he also has been more content and still nursing
regularly, but he's not nursing my little boobies off.
i think the AAP is a great thing, however i do not feel that you can lump
every baby in the world into the same guidelines. every baby is unique and
needs unique care. you do what you feel is right for your baby and family at
the time. same goes for moms who don't start solids till baby is almost 8-9
months, do what you think is right.

ashley
ds#1 05/08/01
ds#2 03/16/03
"Lina" wrote in message
news
This morning I logged into my old support group of moms due the same time
as I was.
Their babies are younger or around the same age as Alena. Almost all of
them are feeding their babies rice cereal already!!!! Their pediatricians
told them not until 3-4 months, but they're doing it any way!!!
I'm not getting angry, but I am remembering why I'm not there anymore.
What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

--
Lina
Alena born July 1st, 2003
www.maternalinstinctscanada.com

Daye wrote:

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 17:56:37 GMT, "Lina"
wrote:

I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

In Australia, they recommend 4-6 months.

Not any more! [1]

"Information for parents, carers and health care workers on the revised
National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) dietary guidelines
and new recommendations about exclusive breastfeeding duration times and
the introduction of solid foods."

"The revised Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults and Dietary
Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia (including the
Infant Feeding Guidelines for Health Workers) were publicly released on
19 June 2003."

"The revised NHMRC dietary guidelines reflect a recent World Health
Organization (WHO) recommendation that infants should be exclusively
breastfed up to the age of 6 months (the previous recommendation was 4-6
months of age). This means that solids or other complementary * foods
should not be introduced until infants are around 6 months of age."

It goes on to weasel a little bit...

"This recommendation is for the general infant population, however the
guidelines acknowledge that there are individual infants who may benefit
from introduction to solids earlier than 6 months (but not before 4
months) of age."

but the general thrust is clear.

Lara

[1] http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/publi...f/foodinfa.pdf

"Lina" writes:

What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

If you have enough milk to breastfeed exclusively and your daughter seems
to be getting enough to eat, there's no reason to start giving her solids
until 6 months. Even at 6 months, the only real reasons to feed her
solids are a) to get her used to using a spoon, and b) to put a little
extra iron in her diet.

It seems to me that 6 months is just a rule of thumb, anyway, and that the
best indicators are your daughter's eyes and hands. If she's staring at
your food and grabbing for it, that might be a sign that she wants to eat
some solid food of her own. If she shows no interest in your food, that
might be a sign that, whatever the baby books say, your daughter is really
not ready for solid food.

Finally: it seems to me that oatmeal might be a better first food than
rice. My doctor told us to buy the organic barley, rice and oatmeal
cereals and give each one a few days at a time before moving on to the
next cereal.

We started with barley, because it had the most extra vitamins added, but
it really didn't taste that great and my daughter wasn't thrilled about
eating it. Rice tastes better, but I remember reading somewhere that it's
constipating. So, oatmeal might be the best compromise between taste and
tummy comfort.

Finally, if you decide to make your own baby food: don't give your baby a
whole bunch of avocado every day. My daughter loves avocado, and avocado
contains all sorts of wonderful nutrients. But avocado is another
wonderful food that can gum up the intestines.

Cathy wrote:

Lina wrote in message
news
This morning I logged into my old support group of moms due the same time
as I was.
Their babies are younger or around the same age as Alena. Almost all of
them are feeding their babies rice cereal already!!!! Their pediatricians
told them not until 3-4 months, but they're doing it any way!!!
I'm not getting angry, but I am remembering why I'm not there anymore.
What is a good time to start feeding solids?
I was thinking like 6 months, but am I way off here? Should Alena be
getting some solids starting next month?

--
Lina
Alena born July 1st, 2003
www.maternalinstinctscanada.com

A friend of mine started her baby at about 3 1/2 months. She felt the baby
was ready - the baby was feeding constantly, not sleeping, and the mum
couldn't cope, and felt drained (in more ways than one!).

Those aren't really indications of readiness for solids, and in fact are more
likely imo to be indications of a growth spurt, and the associated spike in
nursing frequency and wakings.

Sitting alone, loss of tongue thrust reflex, and ability to refuse food are the
key ones I've heard several times wrt starting solids.

After
introduction of solids, the baby was a lot more contented and settled, and
mum got a bit of time to herself with the les constant feeding and better
sleeping.

Typical reaction/response. People who start solids at 6wks say this, too.
There always seems to be the component of the mum not coping with teh demands of
a small baby, and getting some time "to herself" by starting solids early. That
just seems to write the baby's wellbeing right out of the equation to me, and
that just seems wrong when it's the mum who determines what goes into the baby.

I waited till DD was 6 months 1 week, but I'm still not sure she
was ready. She was putting stuff in to her mouth, but don't all babies?

Yup.

She wasn't that keen on watching us eat, and she would reach out to grab the
plate rather than the food.

Yeah, I said I would consider DS ready for food earlier than 6 mo if he looked
at the food differently than he looked at the phone or the dog or a plastic toy.

And guess what - introducing solids doesn't often make them sleep
better at night!

Nope. DS didn't start sleeping well til 10mo.

Dawn

--
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Dawn Lawson wrote,

Typical reaction/response. People who start solids at 6wks say this, too.
There always seems to be the component of the mum not coping with teh demands
of
a small baby, and getting some time "to herself" by starting solids early.
That
just seems to write the baby's wellbeing right out of the equation to me, and
that just seems wrong when it's the mum who determines what goes into the
baby.

Ah. You've just hit one of my hot buttons. I also feel the same about formula
for the mother's convenience, and about leaving a small baby to cry so it will
"learn" to sleep through the night.

As my husband said when hearing about yet another newborn being put on a
schedule so "mom could sleep," who should be making the adjustments here? The
helpless newborn, or the thirty-year-old with better coping mechanisms?

If I could give all new mothers a mantra, it would be Nothing Lasts Forever.
You will not be nursing forever. You will not be losing sleep forever. It
does come to a natural end, and really, isn't your baby's lifelong wellbeing
worth paying the price of your temporary inconvenience?

Mary Ellen
William (8)
Matthew (6)
Margaret (2)