Question about starting solids...

[rugbywife]

So I am pretty sure we started DD on solids at 4 months. I can go back and check on here but I feel like we started cereals. She definitely showed an interest in food. And she was a tiny, skinny mini.

DS has shown no interest. He is massive and nurses constantly. He goes down at 6-6:30 and is almost always up by 11 and then is up every 2 hours.

Anyways. If your doc suggested solids at 4m, why did they make that suggestion?

[krystee]

Our pedi said 5 months, and it was because he had good head control and showed a ton of interest in food. We were to keep it primarily to oatmeal, green veggies and yellow veggies, and then introduce wider variety as we got closer to six months. She agreed with us on skipping rice cereal because I was concerned about arsenic and don't think there is much nutritional value.

[bk1]

My doctor suggested starting anytime after 4 months. I started dd on cereal at 4.5 months. She was very interested in food and took right to it.

Really I just would start when you feel ds is ready. No reason to rush, but no reason you can't start.

[Deleted]

We split the difference and went with 5 months. She's done great on foods and is now mostly off of purees (though I have a ton to use up so she better get used to it for a bit). I did wait until she wasn't slumping over in the high chair all the time.

[VillainV]

We want more based on signs that he was ready rather than a specific age. He showed all the signs at 6 months and still really wasn't into it until about 7 months.

[anna7602]

I started before 6 months with both kids when they showed extreme interest in food and already had excellent head control, could sit unassisted, and had no more gag reflex. But the most important part was the interest. If they'd had all the other qualities and no interest whatsoever, I wouldn't have pushed it.

I never asked our pedi about it. You're supposed to ask your pedi for permission to start solids before 6 months? Hmmm, considering how clueless they were about bfing, I figured that infant nutrition was not their area of expertise.

[pinotgrig]

Sept 24, 2015 8:23:22 GMT -5 VillainV said:

We want more based on signs that he was ready rather than a specific age. He showed all the signs at 6 months and still really wasn't into it until about 7 months.

I don't remember our pedi weighing in on this issue, but we were asked at his 6 month appt if we had started solids.

Like VV, we waited until a few days after 6 months when he was sitting well, but he wasn't a huge fan at first.

[Deleted]

My pedi says anything between 4 and 6 months is fine, it's just kid dependent. I wouldn't let the 4 month rule put any pressure on you.

We started DD on solids at 4.5 months. She was sucking bottles like crazy, all over our food etc. I also had more time on her hands and was excited about it.

DS on the other hand. He just wasn't that excited. I waited until well over 5 months with him. He just seemed so much more "little" than DD did. He was 8 months before he really cared. I also had two kids and a ton to do so I didn't push it as much with him.

Do what feels right. Follow your kid.

Now that they're old they're both decent eaters, so I wouldn't say it really matters.

[gerberdaisy]

My pedi said we could start at 4 months. However, my SIL who is a highly regarded pediatrician said to wait till 6 months. She discussed research that supports waiting till 6 months. At her practice they say to wait till 6 months and then they can have anything besides honey.

We waited till 6 months, DD wasn't too interested at first, but quickly caught on.

[glitzy07]

Our pedi recommended waiting until 6 months, so we did with C. He had great head control, but wasn't supremely interested before then. It seemed like work to start solids, so we just waited since it was recommended anyway.

[chickadee77]

My pedi said 6 months, but was surprised when we went to her 6 month appointment and hadn't started yet. I guess she's not used to people listening to her? Lol.

L showed tons of interest, but as soon as we started offering, she was all, "meh." She didn't really start liking them until maybe 10 months, so I dunno if starting earlier would have helped or not.

I realize this isn't helpful - just sharing my experience.

[Jalapeñomel]

I thought the research supports waiting until 6 months because of digestive development?

[sparkythelawyer]

We started at five months.

Our pedi basically said that for a while, it was thought that if you waited until six months, the risk of developing allergies went down because it let the gut mature.  Now they are seeing updated studies and the data is not supporting that theory, and that in fact kids that started eating solids later are showing more allergies, not less.  So he told us anytime between four and six months to go ahead and start solids.  We split the difference and started a few days short of five.

[sillygoosegirl]

I wish I'd gone along to the 4 month visit to ask. Pedi told DH we could start her on solids as soon as she was interested and could lean forward and back in the high chair. I toed the line on waiting until a few days before 6 months, because that is what the AAP and WHO guidelines say. She was supremely interested and her first solid food was a grocery receipt. Second was a leaf. Though part of that was because her CMPI symptoms had finally cleared up and I wanted to do a challenge because I didn't think she really would react to dairy in my diet, and didn't want that complicated with other stuff in her diet. I don't plan to be such a stick in the mud about it if we have more kids, especially after the reading I've done on allergies.

[Deleted]

Sept 23, 2015 22:08:21 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

So I am pretty sure we started DD on solids at 4 months. I can go back and check on here but I feel like we started cereals. She definitely showed an interest in food. And she was a tiny, skinny mini.

DS has shown no interest. He is massive and nurses constantly. He goes down at 6-6:30 and is almost always up by 11 and then is up every 2 hours.

Anyways. If your doc suggested solids at 4m, why did they make that suggestion?

Doctor suggested it because he is old school. We did not give food until DS was almost 6 months.

[kershnic]

I guess I just consider 6 months standard now, I don't think it's an "internet thing" at all. Our pedi never mentioned solids before 6m visit, and at that point his question was "have you started yet?" We waited until a little past 6 months because we wanted to do BLW and they weren't really showing readiness yet. Plus they were 6 weeks premature so I guess that's a factor too. But I think people put too much worry on choosing exactly when to do it.. if your baby seems ready go for it, but don't rush it if they're not interested/sitting/etc.

[rugbywife]

Ok...so starting at 4 is old school or starting at 6 is?
My doc seems fairly old school. Lol.

[jorja]

Mine said it was ok to start at 4 months IF she was interested. She wasn't until closer to 6 months, so we waited.

[Deleted]

My pedi didn't really seem to care too much what we did.

I did BLW, so I just throw food in front of them and eventually they eat it. I do it because I am lazy. I don't think solids and sleep have anything to do with each other.

[Jalapeñomel]

Sept 24, 2015 11:51:17 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

Ok...so starting at 4 is old school or starting at 6 is?
My doc seems fairly old school. Lol.

Starting at 4 months is old school.

AAP says 6 months: AAP recs

[isabel]

Our pedi suggested trying rice cereal to get him to sleep better and it worked. We started it right around 5 months and have had great success.

DS has shown a lot of interest in food and is taking in rice cereal like a champ.

Pedi did say he'd prefer we wait to introduce other foods until 6 months and then to go slowly, only one new food every couple days.

[rugbywife]

So, doc said no need to try but if he shows an interest between now and 6 months we can. And if his sleep continues to suck we can try. She also wants me to start sleep training.

[degal99]

Our pediatrician said wait until 6 months. And honestly, I didn't have a big desire to start earlier anyway. DD could take or leave solids until about 10 months even though she would stare at us eating, mimic, etc, all those signs.