I see SO many parents posting pictures of their wee ones laid back and sucking liquid substances off of spoons or asking how to get the baby to sleep better at night and given the "put cereal in the bottle" advice and I figured it was time to address my feelings over this topic. While I understand that "we" or "you" had all of this and survived "just fine", I am also very aware of the health of our society's adults as a whole. Yeah, you know, the obese ones, the ones with heart ailments, stomach issues....those people. And I wonder, those are the same adults that were fed artificial breastmilk substitute (because only poor folks nursed), the same ones fed this new baby food jar mess at a week or two old, then weaned onto processed foods and drinks....could these be connected to the health issues today? Long ago, kids were nursed and possible fed foods early, but, those foods weren't processed ones. They were real foods probably grown in their garden. My other concern is this, if baby can't drink cows milk, how do you expect them to tolerate rice cereal or other foods at 2 and 3 months? I can't imagine they would be able to. I believe kids can show you their stomachs are prepared for food when they are old enough to sit up, grab a bite off your plate, out it in their own mouth and chew it up. That seems logical as a good indication they are ready, don't you think? That's why I really love and agree with the Baby Led Weaning/Solid Approach. You wait until baby shows the readiness signs, then, you give baby soft appropriate chunks of foods and let him feed himself the food. No purees, no spoon feeding..baby is in control of his food and how he eats it. You can give real, non-processed carrots, broccoli, avocado, mango...loads of foods.
Another thing to note, if you are breastfeeding, baby may not be interested in solids until later. That is perfectly fine and baby can survive on breastmilk ALONE until 12 or even closer to 24 months. Seriously. The same way one would let baby lead the way in weaning, baby can also lead the way in solids.
LOL...sorry you feel that way. The food is still going to the stomach. If baby "needs" liquid food, then, baby isn't ready for solid food. It's as simple as that. My son ate solids at 6 months. He was also able to eat a burger by 9 months. It's depends solely on the child. BTW, 6 months is the absolute earliest I would introduce ANY foods beside breastmilk/formula.
Great post. I agree that moms in America are feeding their infants & even toddlers way too soon. I think another good indicator of wether a baby is ready for solids is do they have teeth yet. Many parents are trying to feed toothless babies purred or mashed foods or cereals. Just wait & let your baby dictate by watching for teeth & some molars.
My daughter is 3 weeks shy of being 1and has yet to pop any teeth through..and yet she eats everything we do just fine. So I totally disagree about teeth being a deciding factor.
Sounds like a bunch of crap to me. A baby is no way reday for solid foods at 5/6mths.
ReplyDeleteLOL...sorry you feel that way. The food is still going to the stomach. If baby "needs" liquid food, then, baby isn't ready for solid food. It's as simple as that. My son ate solids at 6 months. He was also able to eat a burger by 9 months. It's depends solely on the child. BTW, 6 months is the absolute earliest I would introduce ANY foods beside breastmilk/formula.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree that moms in America are feeding their infants & even toddlers way too soon. I think another good indicator of wether a baby is ready for solids is do they have teeth yet. Many parents are trying to feed toothless babies purred or mashed foods or cereals. Just wait & let your baby dictate by watching for teeth & some molars.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 3 weeks shy of being 1and has yet to pop any teeth through..and yet she eats everything we do just fine. So I totally disagree about teeth being a deciding factor.
ReplyDeleteWho said teeth was a deciding factor? I did not...
ReplyDelete