"Should babies begin on solid foods before six months?"
This question comes from the news the other night. Apparently some 'expert' has come out saying that the sooner the better. He was saying that four months or earlier if they seem interested is ideal for helping them to not have an allergic reaction to foods. What a ridiculous thing to say.
Now I am no expert on the matter, scientifically anyway, but I have had four children, all with no known food allergies. What we do is give them strictly breastmilk (I am not getting into the formula debate, as I will insult too many idiots) until six months. Before that time, no other food is to even touch their lips. Once they turn six months, we gradually start introducing low risk, pureed foods. Usually we start by just giving them breastmilk on a spoon to teach the concept. Then we move onto cooked, pureed rice mixed with breastmilk to make it watery. We don't give meat until they are nine months and are getting the hang of vegetables. At one year (on their birthday) we give them a peanut butter sandwich, and after that we don't hold back, trying to expose them to as many different foods and flavours as we can, including spicy foods and different cultures foods.
This has worked 100% of the time for us, so with results like that who can argue. Unfortunately there are other factors involved that can lead to food allergies. I do believe some of these include:
- Premature babies
- Babies whose mothers smoked (it does not even have to be while they were pregnant. Research has shown that the eggs can be damaged well before they are released.)
- Fathers who smoked (Again research has shown that a man who smoked when his sperm first became active (about eleven) had a much, much higher chance of having children with weight problems and other related issues)
- Formula fed babies I believe are at a higher likelihood of developing allergies also, as they are not getting the food through the breastmilk (again, can you sense my opinion on the breastfeeding/formula argument?)
- Perhaps even genetics
I would like to add that we do not fully understand all of the reasons for allergies, so please do not think I am directly blaming anyone for their childrens health problems, or saying you are a bad parent. I am just trying to give light to an over-shadowed view.
Now, if anyone out there happens to be a nurse, midwife or other expert in relevant fields, I would appreciate any information they could provide on this topic.
My partner and I had always wanted children, so we made sure that we got married young, and had children young, giving them the best chances for the best health. However, I do understand that not everybody has this luxury. So, for that reason I think it is fool-hardy to expose your baby to foods before their system is ready to cope with it. The sad truth is though, that society finds it easier to blame other factors for allergy problems, than to encourage women to do the right thing for their babies and BREASTFEED them for as long as possible!
If you have a little one with allergies, or have any information on this important topic, or even if you just want to throw in your two cents, let us know.
-T.J.
It would be interesting to see who funded the study/research the the "expert" has based his opinion on.
ReplyDeleteI also have 4 children who have been breastfed exclusively until 6 months, and then continued to breastfeed along with eating solid food until 2 years and beyond (based on the WHO guidelines).
My children don't have any food allergies, but I do have 1 asthmatic, 2 eczema sufferers (which has been remedied by using all natural soaps, shampoos and laundry powders, so I believe it was not food-related), and one allergic to penicillin (inherited from me).
I don't see how cutting out a food that is perfectly catered for baby humans so early can prevent food allergies.. It just doesn't make sense. Our bodies were designed to nourish our babies perfectly. Also there are just too many other variables that could be causing the amount of allergies we see today.
Babies will show signs of being ready for solids.. Tracking what you are doing while you eat, sitting unaided, grasping for your food, losing the forward tongue thrust.. Grabbing for more food after the first taste etc. I'm sure there are more signs of readiness, but I don't recall them offhand.
All my babies showed the signs from about 5.5 months onwards. Never as early as 4 months. I don't think mothers instinct is usually wrong, and I am more inclined to follow my babies cues and signs, which has definitely worked well for us.
Hmm all very interesting seeing as my baby is due in a few weeks time. I would like to put this out there that some allergies/intolerances may not be so obvious to you in young child years as I experienced my mother telling me to shut up and stop crying as there was nothing wrong with me, to stomach ache complaints. (words may or may not have been exaggerated)lol. It is to my knowledge that with formula children/babies may or may not get an excessive amount of vitamins and sustenance resulting in excessive growth (eg large heads lol). I can also understand some mothers' struggle with breast feeding or inability to breast feed so without access to a wet nurse I do see the need for formula. As for how long to breast feed for I believe that some mothers like the idea of letting their child decide when enough is enough (omg seeing one mother on one of the morning shows with her 3yr old grabbing at her boobs making a sucking signal to her mum I believe was insane and won't go into my other opinion on that). 6 months is the recommended time in most books and magazines to begin solids however in past years it seemed to be popular to start earlier. I plan to breast feed and know that if I did not I would be frowned upon/ banished from my family lol however all I look to do is create the best start for my baby when it arrives. (doctor says I'm a good cow as I'm already producing good quality product lol (terminology may or may not have been altered.
ReplyDeletemmm you were totally breast fed till you were 6 mnths with nothing passing your mouth apart from Breastmilk. I do not know what caused your intestinal problems but it wasn't introduced early solids.
DeleteAnon (mum) I was not saying I was not breast fed, I was saying there may be issues that parents ignore/ don't see. I was not taking a stab at you. Love you
DeleteLol I was one of those omg mothers who breastfed a 3yo. In fact, she breastfed until she weaned naturally at 4and a half. It's not as omg as you'd think, and lots of people are starting to pick up on, and appreciate the benefits of full-term breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteThat's a whole other Oprah show though isn't it ;)
I believe that all children are different & as such are ready for solids at different stages. I do, however, agree with T.J. that breast milk for the first 6 months is best for babies. This does not mean that those women who find it impossible to breast feed for whatever reason are BAD mothers. As long as they love, nurture & nourish their child then the method of feeding is not important.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, disagree with extended breast feeding past 12-18 months. By this age children need more than just milk & need to be able to experience new tastes. They should also be starting to discover their own individuality and become more & more a separate individual.
This photo ( which was on the cover of a leading magazine) does NOT help the cause for breast feeding & is not healthy for the child or the mother.
dh_feed_20120511072624854251-420x0.jpg
I have breastfed 4 children past 12-18 months and they do eat other foods also, it's extended breastfeeding, not exclusive.
DeleteI agree that the Time magazine photo has done nothing to help the cause for breastfeeding, because it has depicted breastfeeding toddlers as a "big-headed mom thing" rather than a normal part of childhood development, which it is.
http://www.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-05-11/breastfeeding-rates/54909940/1
Also, this link is very informative regarding the benefits of extended breastfeeding.
Deletehttp://kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/
Referring back to the question, 'should babies begin on solids before 6 months?' I believe no, being that a child does not have the ability or the capabilities of digesting solids so young. (I have seen babies who were small at birth being fed solids at 3mths turn into large and overweight babies)I also believe that formula feeding parents may feel the urge to start on solids early and have seen this from friends of mine. It is their choice and I would never tell them off for doing so, I purely disagree with that decision. As for this attachment parenting that we seem to be also debating, I disagree with this especially when it means the child demands you feed them without using manners or words as 3 year olds should. It is to my understanding that attachment parenting is all about responding to the demands of the child in a sympathetic and nurchuring way, which is great to a certain extent. If attachment parenting is getting in the way of teaching your child manners and developing into a model human being then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your methods of parenting. It is also to my understanding that attachment parenting australia encourages parents to go further than the australian breast feeding association's recommendation of solids from 6mths while continuing breast milk upto 2 years. By all means if this is best for your baby go for it, however I do see an issue. (please note my opinion is based on images I have seen, news shows displaying these behaviors and websites with information regarding breast feeding)
ReplyDeleteI don't have time to reply as well as I would like to, but just to address one of your issues, no, attachment parenting is not about responding to children's demands, and not teaching manners, respect or patience.
DeleteIt's about responding to their needs, rather than demands (demands do not always equal needs), and with respect to the child, modeling manners and respect.
All my 4 children have been attachment parented, and all of them have had friends, family and strangers comment on their manners, even as young as 18 months my children were using please and thankyou, good morning, good night, I love you etc. My 16 year old has had people praise him on how polite he is, and how you can have a conversation with him, unlike a lot of teenagers today.
I believe that mainstream media does a big injustice to attachment parenting, at the same time complaining about how terrible children are behaving today. Considering that attachment parenting seems to be a minority, perhaps it is not the problem?
I would like to make a comment to the person titled 'Jo'. I have been following the blogs since week 1, and I find it rather interesting that you claim the mainstream media is painting 'attachment parenting' in such a bad light, and yet you blindly follow the mainstream media's opinion on the smacking debate??? Some people say that smacking your children is child abuse, and I put to the populous that if people are going to generalise like that, then you could go the same way and claim that breastfeeding past a certain age is child abuse also.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is a wonderful and natural thing. Babies have NO need for anything else before six month, so to the question I say no, babies should not have solids before six months. But, if they can verbally ask for the boob, the answer should be no.
I don't blindly follow the mainstream medias opinion on the smacking debate. I have been anti-smacking since my 16 year old son was an infant, when it was an even more unpopular method of patenting than it is today. :)
DeleteI based my decision on researching alternative methods of child rearing, and reading up on child psychology, not blindly following opinions based on little research.
The implication that extended breastfeeding is child abuse is based on misconception by social media. The implication that smacking is child abuse is based on research on the effect this has had on children's development.
Similar research on the effects that extended breastfeeding has had on children has, as far as I know, only produced beneficial effects, particularly in the long term, and with no detrimental effects to speak of.
Research into corporal punishment of children has only shown benefits in the short term, with many negative effects in the long term.
Take from that what you will.. For me and my family, it has shown me that smacking may have a negative effect, with little benefits, and extended breastfeeding has no known negative effects, but with plenty of benefits for bth mother and child.
Also, there are many children who can verbalise their wish to breastfeed well before 12 months, even well before 9 months of age, and then there are many children who cannot verbalise until 3, even 4 years old, so it seems like a silly and uninformed way to judge when a child no longer requires breastmilk.
DeleteWe are getting some great responses everybody! I love to see such enthusiasm for our children, but please keep to the topic. If you start debating breast vs formula, or what age to stop breastfeeding, I will have nothing to write about later on. :-D
ReplyDeleteTo the issue of 'should babies have solid food before 6 months?' I would no. However, placing a definitive age on when something must or must not he done is probably unwise in the first place. All children are different and therefore may need things at different ages. I am definetely not advocating the idea of giving the child food when they seem interested though. To me this has about as much logic as hiring a prostitute for my son when he first becomes interested in sex. I haven't seen any instances where a child needs food before 6 months though so in that end I think giving babies food at 6 months is probably a good thing as it creates an organised structure of when things are done but it should never be a rule that babies need food at 6 months.
ReplyDeleteTo the extended breast feeding issue I must admit I'm a little uninformed in this area and am a bit of a fence sitter (shock horror to people who know me!). I must say I would never go as extreme as 4.5 years but up to 2 in some instances may be ok. I must say again that the abitrary rule of stopping breastfeeding when they can ask for it is unwise as I'm pretty sure speech has nothing to do with the nourishment they receive from milk. I think this view comes more out of a repulsion of the idea rather then when it is best for the child. I must admit I am little repulsed by the idea but I freely admit this may be because of how it portrayed in the media.
I think the media's distaste for extended breastfeeding has more to do with the media's distaste for breastfeeding in general. The media is against breastfeeding because it it politically aligned to the left and therefore cares more about women's choice rather than the wellbeing of children. Selfish women don't want to breastfeed because they want to have a career and a family when the two are mutually exclusive to a large extent. Anyway, I have heaps more to say on this topic but will leave it for when TJ posts specifically on it.
The original blogg on this topic is "should babies begin on solids before 6 months".
ReplyDeleteI do not wish to upset anybody, but I wish to use the animal kingdom & mammals in particular as a possible guideline.
Their babies are given only their mother's milk for a set time & then the mother starts to introduce other foods to them, but only as they are able to eat & digest them without difficulty. Once they are able to eat the same types of food that the adults eat, the mother weans them totally & they then get all of their nourishment from the same source as all of the adults of their species.
We humans are not as different to the other mammals as we might like to think ! Our babies NEED breast milk or formula if the mother is unable to provide milk. Again, once they reach the stage where they are able to eat & digest ALL types of food then & only then should they be weaned off breast milk.
Attachment parenting can & should be the norm in our society but this means a closeness to our children & not just extending breast feeding. Our children need our love, advise, protection, support & guidance during their formative years. This is, in my opinion, attachment parenting.