Need for solids?

[safetymike]

My LO is 5 1/2 months old and weighs almost 21 pounds. He is exclusively breastfed, and I have arranged my schedule (and my life) to make sure he can nurse on demand.

With my second LO, I nursed the entire first year exclusively with no infant cereal or jarred foods. Instead, he was able to go straight to regular fruits and veggies, and other foods as needed. Today, he is a healthy 8 year old who loves fruits and veggies!

Are there any other mamas out there planning to delay solids until at least a year? There are so many people, including my pediatrician, who keep harping on the need to start solids. Frankly, I don't see a need. He doesn't have any teeth, and he certainly doesn't look like he has missed any meals.

Because it has been eight years since I have dealt with the solids issue, my memory is a bit foggy on exactly how I made it work. If my LO needs more than breastmilk, then I will definitely provide it for him, but I don't want to start solids if they aren't really necessary. Besides, it costs a whole lot less to continue breastfeeding!

So, please, I need some feedback.

[whitnessforhim]

I waited until DD was 6mo. as recommended. Even then it was more like a nibble here and a nibble there of what we we're eating rather than a "full" meal of some sort. She hasn't been very interested in solids at all up until recently. She's 9mo.

She's never had canned baby foods or cereal. Now at meals I give her some small chopped peices of fruits and/or vegies and she loves it. However, she still nurses every 2hrs and 2-4times a night.

If she wasn't showing any interest in solids I would have no problem delaying them for a full year. I would go with babies cues.

[Jacksmommy]

For the first year, you want breastmilk to be the main part of his diet. I see no harm in holding off the introduction to solids. My child ate very little solids until he was 2. The only thing I wonder is, for me, if I hadn't introduced solids until he was a year, would he have eaten them well by age 2, or would it have been later? Mine preferred nursing to solids for a very long time.

[Amy_G_]

I know some women here--they may be mostly on the debate board--that exclusively nursed for much longer than that.

I started solids at about 6 months cause that's what I knew. My second started at 4.5 months because he grabbed food off my plate, stuffed it in his mouth and "chewed" it up and swallowed before I could get it away from him. I'd planned on waiting til he was much much older to give solids, but my best laid plans didn't work out, did they? it was better to give him single foods slowly, than for him to reach out and help himself to banana bread with nuts!

I mention that only to show 1. I have no real knowledge of delaying solids ;) and 2. each baby is different, and you have to do what works for them and it may be much different than what you did with your first child.

just don't feel like you've failed if he starts needing solids before 12 months. Just introduce whole foods slowly and steady if you see he needs it, no rush.

[singin_mama]

I have delayed solids for over a year twice (15 mos and 17 mos) and the earliest I have introduced solids with a bf babe was 9 mos. I plan on waiting at least a year this time too. The ones who have waited longer to have solids seem to have less stomach upset. The two that had solids before a year both have lactose intolerance, not sure if that is the reason but seems rather coincidental.

The solids they get early on are really just for experimentation anyway and should not be substituted for bm for the babe's nutritional needs.

Go with your mama instincts and don't worry about what anyone says. I have had to get a little hard because people look at me like I am nuts when I say we delay solids until a year.

[pumpkinhead7]

I introduced solids to my second ds when he was 6 months but he had little to no interest in them until he was 16 months old. He ate very little until he turned 2. I don't think solids are necessary at all during the first year. I wouldn't keep them away from a child who really wanted them, but if your baby is happy with breastmilk only, I see nothing wrong with that. It's so much easier that way.