What to tell pediatrician tomorrow. I didn't start introducing foods like she told

[Kaylynn]

me to at 4 month check up? tomorrow is 6 month check up and she told me 2 months ago, that I would start trying cereal and such, but never more than one new thing per week. She acted like it was very important to do so.

But I have always thought that was too soon. my mom, who had 8 babies didn't do this. My sister who just had two babies, I watched her over the last two years, and look up to her a lot. She didn't do this either. And my own 6 month old weighs probably almost 19 pounds now. Breast milk sustains him and I just don't feel like I should have given him anything else just yet. How should I tell her this? what exactly do you say when a professional feels like you don't regard their advice?

And isn't there plenty of time for baby to learn how to chew?

Also, first baby doc told me to start baby bottles, so baby is used to a bottle, because "what if" we got in a bad wreck and i couldn't nurse him. I said "Wouldn't he then learn to use a bottle?" he said "hold on" and acted like he was busy, never answered my question/reply. uhg.. I'm so frustrated with baby docs.

 

[Shazmeen]

agree with tryingagain! Well said. GO GET NEW DOCTOR!

 

[asrai]

Doctors for all their training are still people. We give them power where they have no right to have any. Everyone and their dog gives a new mom advice, take what works for you and discard the rest. I just smile and nod and then go and do my own thing.


Is there a "window of opportunity" for starting solids?

There is certainly a "window of opportunity" for starting solids, but this varies widely from baby to baby. At some point (usually around 6-8 months) baby will become developmentally ready to eat solid foods (able to sit up, chew, pick up food, etc.). At around the same age, the gastrointestinal tract is physiologically mature enough to handle a diversity of foods. At this point, most healthy babies will be ready and willing to eat (even if it's only occasionally and in tiny amounts).

Occasionally, parents will be told that baby must start solids by 6 months (or 8 months, or 10 months) or baby will have problems learning to accept and eat foods that require chewing. This "limited window of opportunity" idea is widely believed, but unproven.

I've not been able to find any research data to support the idea that there is a limited window of opportunity for introducing solids in normally developing, healthy children. There does appear to be some limited evidence that babies who have been tube-fed long-term or have serious developmental delays may have problems learning to eat if they don't get a chance to practice eating solids between 6 & 10 months. A small study involving case studies of several mentally retarded children was done back in 1964 (Illingworth RS, Lister J. The critical or sensitive period, with special reference to certain feeding problems in infants and children. J Pediatr 1964;65(6) part 1:839-48.). This study suggested that there may be a "critical and/or sensitive" period for introducing chewable textures to these children, and if solids are not introduced during this time, an important developmental milestone may be missed (possibly leading to rejection of solids later on). This study is the only one I've found referenced with regard to the "limited window of opportunity" claims regarding the normal development of children.

I asked a speech & language pathologist I know about her experiences with this. She has worked with many young children who have feeding problems, including developmental delays and problems with chewing and oral texture aversion. She said that she could not think of any reason that delaying solids would cause feeding problems, and said that the the problems in the children she had worked with had generally started at birth or relatively soon after. None of these children had a feeding problem caused by a delayed start to solid foods.

 

[G and D's Mommy]

I dont think they will care. My daughters ped told me the same thing and I waited until 7 months for her. The ped never said anything. Theories still vary on what to do with solids. I prefer to wait until 6-7 months. My 7 mo old eats veggies, fruits and rarely rice cereal.

 

[tryingagain]

Ok, first of all, if you're still nursing GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!! My son nursed EXCLUSIVELY for 7 months, and still got about 90% of his calories from breastmilk to 1 year. If your doc says different.... get a different doc. The World Health Organization states that breastmilk is ALL a baby needs for at least the first 6 months of life, and recommends nursing on demand for at least 2 years.

If your doc keeps pushing you to make bad decisions, point out that a) babies have been breastfed for 30,000 years and formula/bottles were only invented 50 years ago, b) most babies don't even WANT to try solid food until 7-8 months - and when they're ready, THEY know.

You're his mama. You know better than the doc. If the weight gain and other stats are doing ok, then so are you.
Keep it up, mama, you're doing great.

 

[guitar_angel_69]

its not really that big of a deal. there are a million different ways to parent a child and any decent doctor knows that. you probably wont even find that many other women who parent exactly like you in every way. a lot of people decide to exclusively breastfeed their kids up to 1 year so i don't think your doc would be shocked to hear you say you'd be more comfortable waiting to introduce solids. she probably sounded like it was so important because she was explaining the manner in which she recommends introducing solids. in the future, be more up front with her if you've already made up your mind about something like that -- that's when you will REALLY be able to see if she's compatible as your doctor. she will either explain why she feels her recommendation is best for your kid and offer literature that backs up her assertions (and you can still agree or disagree) or, if its nothing that puts your kids health at risk, she'll just offer guidance along the path that you choose to make.

 

[Amanda]

We were allowed to introduce rice cereal at 3 months with my son. Trust me, it is not too soon. Babies need to be able to learn how to eat solids so that they don't learn to depend on the bottle as their only source of nutrition. Babies are ready for solids around 3 months and up although its best to wait until 4 months to start pureed baby foods such as carrots and fruits. But also giving your baby solids now will allow you to determine her likes and dislikes as well as weeding out any problematic foods that could cause things such as allergic reactions, constipation, loose stools, or gas. Also, when you wait past a certain point, most babies will not be willing to try new things.