Mommies of breastfed babies!?

Question

My son is breastfed and will be 7 months old next week. He has been eating a little bit of rice cereal for a little over 2 weeks and is doing well with it and seems very satisfied.

My question is:

When did you start introducing other foods (veggies and fruits)?

Part of me wants to start soon because I am sure he could handle it, but another part of me wants to delay. I have heard that breast milk is the perfect food for babies up until their first birthday, so whats the rush? Any thoughts? When did you start adding other foods and why?

Answer 1

well i dont have any kids but i take care of my cousins and i think that it should be around 7 to 8 months before the other foods come it maybe a year. really depends on the baby

Answer 2

go ahead and mash up some veggies and give him the goods! just make sure you only start with a few spoons a day and only give him 1 type per week so you see what kinds he may be allergic too. then continue with the breast as well :)

Answer 3

Hello there!

I am a mother to a 5 month old baby girl and I started introducing solid food to her on the 4th month, firstable the greens stage 1. but didn't stop breastfeeding her, it is very important you don't stop breastfeeding just because you started giving your baby solid food.

You could do both things!

Hope I helped!

Answer 4

If he doesn't have the pincer grip, he probably just isn't ready for solids yet.

The MINIMUM signs of readiness are:

Pincer grip

Loss of tongue thrust

Able to sit on own

Six months old (give or take).

However, some babies aren't ready until later.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  You're right, breastmilk is PERFECT for him right now - there's no need for anything else.  Food in the first year is for experimentation and learning, not for nutrition.

If your son isn't ready for foods, that's ok.  Every so often, put a small chunk of soft food in front of him.  Something like avocado or ripe fruit.  Don't feed it TO him.  If he's ready, interested, and hungry, he'll get it to his mouth ;)  And he'll be perfectly capable of gumming a soft food - cheerios may be too hard for him, especially if he's really not ready.  Also, rice cereal can be confusing since it's usually so watery that they have to "slurp" it, and then they may try to do that with other foods (like the cheerio).  

You're right, though.  No rush.   We did baby-led feeding with my DD, and she turned out to be a little fruit bat, and now eats just about everything we as a family eat (spicy foods, ethnic foods, strong cheeses, etc).  Nothing pureed, no baby cereal (although she loves old-fashioned oatmeal).  Your son will eat when he's ready.  ;)

Answer 5

The general rule of thumb with solids is you can start as early as 4 months with rice and other single grain cereal and then graduate to other solids that have been blended down to a creamy like substance, like jarred baby food. There are 3 basic signs your baby is ready for solid foods: (1) they can hold themselves up when placed in a high chair, like they don't slump to one side or the other (2) their tongue thrust reflex is mostly outgrown, If you stick a spoon in their mouth they do not automatically push it out. and (3) they appear interested in your food and watch you eat. At 7 months though he should exhibit all those signs. You do not replace a breastfeeding session with solid foods until around 1 year. At this point you would breastfeed first then try the solids. After cereal the least allergenic foods are sweet potatoes, avocados, and bananas. Also apples are another good food to try. You can try mixing the food with some breastmilk if you find he likes the taste or consistency better. Just play around with it. I know this is a lot of information but I hope it helps you! Good luck too, this can be a fun time!

Answer 6

when my kids were infants the rule of thumb was to start them on cereal at 4 months & other solids at 6 months....I have a newborn now and have been told by his doctor to start introducing all solids at 6 months - just make sure you only add one new food every 7-10 days so that if baby has a reaction you'll know exactly what caused it.

Answer 7

If your little one is nursing well, he may not need much more than breast milk, however, if he is interested in what the other people in the family are eating I would let him try some food.

I would start veggies next - cooked carrots mashed with a fork, potatoes, peas, cauliflower - then some soft fruits such as banana.

He doesn't have to be able to grasp the food himself, you can feed him with little bits of food at the table.

It is also important for your little one to feel like he is part of the family and is sitting up at the table with the rest of you, even if it is only you and Daddy!

Answer 8

Breastfeeding after a year is a little odd too me, and you can't really just switch from breast milk to solid foods in a day. It will make the transition at a year a lot easier if you slowly introduce foods to him now. We started my son on rice cereal at 4 months, then solid foods at 6 months. You don't need to start feeding him full meals, but the more you introduce him to the easier it will be for both of you!

Good Luck!

Answer 9

At 7 months he is old enough to have other foods. Now is a great time to introduce fruits and veggies.

My daughter is 8 months old and she eats basically everything we have in the family dinner. Not puree junk, just bite size pieces. She loves to eat and the protein is really giving her more energy.

Answer 10

Since he is doing well with the rice cereal, I would try introducing some new foods soon, whenever you're ready.

You're right about breast milk being perfect for babies- food at this stage is more about trying new tastes and textures and getting the spoon-fed thing down.  Most of their nutrition will still come from milk.

I started my daughter on cereal @ almost 5 months (she is 12 and that was what they suggested then)- then veggies and fruits (one at a time) around 6 months.

My son started cereal around 6 months and I started other foods (veggies first) around 7 months.

I didn't give either of them anything chunky or cheerios until closer to 10 months.

By the way- I nursed mine until about 18 months- it's still good for them and not strange!

Answer 11

Breast milk is where the nutrition comes from at this age, but baby is curious enough to want to start experimenting with foods just for fun.  Some babies pick it up eating right away, but most have to learn how to eat.  My baby just sticks her tongue out and all the food falls back out :)  (tongue thrust).

I'd introduce cereal, mild foods, and then gradually add in stronger flavored vegetables like green beans.  I like to use 'real' foods puree'd in the blender.  Baby food jars taste 'canned' and yucky to me.

Before baby can pick up foods, I liked to give my little chewers cold sticks of celery to teeth on.  The strings hold it together enough so baby won't get big chunks.  I keep it cut in little sticks in the fridge immersed in water and it stays really chilled and crispy.

HTH!

:)

Gwen

Answer 12

you know im doing the same thing with my baby, she will be 7 months jan. 21 :0), i started giving her cereal at almost 6 months, just once every other day. for like a week, now i make her food, she started with squash, for a week, then carrots( but dont use it carrots tend to constipate babies, so i stopped that when i found out, and she just finish this week with sweet mash potato, what i do is i peel it, boil it and mash it all, store it in the refrigerator and just give her a little when she wakes up from her first nap, oh yeah and i mix it with some breastmilk, and so far so good. she still sleeps throughout the night just fine, so as long as your baby is not hungry all the time and is sleeping fine, just give him little by little to make sure hes not allergic to anything(try one thing at a time for one week) and youl know when he needs more. your doing just fine, just make sure you do give him some veggies once or every other day so he learns how to eat. good luck

Answer 13

Well, at seven months, my baby was still breastfeeding, but she did eat little soft fruits, like bananas and stuff like that. I introduced her to solid foods by just starting with the little stuff, and moving up to the bigger things. She started off by eating small things, like oatmeal and hot cereal for breakfast, and as she got older and more experienced, she began to get more "solid" food.

Gummie foods are very good for starters. We would give let grapes "soak" in cold water. That made them very soft and easy for her to eat.