Starting solids
For the past few weeks Annabelle sits in her bouncy chair staring at my dinner as I eat. It’s almost as if she is fascinated by adult food. This was the first time I thought she was ready to try solids. She was just over 5 months old.
When to start solids seems to be a big debate these days. Annabelle’s pediatrician okayed her to start at 4 months as did the Women Infant Children (WIC) representative. Excited to get things started, my husband and I promptly put Annabelle in her high chair and started with the spoon after her four month appointment. She not only spit it right back out, but she cried pretty hard. She wanted nothing to do with solids. At least not yet.
Because I had read that some doctors were recommending to wait until 6 months of age to introduce babies to solids I didn’t feel the need to keep trying. Apparently waiting was better for blocking food allergies. I don’t know if this is 100 percent accurate or not. I have heard both sides of the board. Needless to say, I didn’t think it would hurt to wait.
About three weeks ago I decided to try some solids on a Saturday afternoon. After the first spoonful Annabelle was lunging towards the spoon to get more. I was excited and happy to see that she was going to start figuring this out, but then by Sunday she was sick with a ton of symptoms and was barely taking the bottle.
Two weeks later she is finally back to normal and we decided to start her on solids. She has one tablespoon at lunch with daycare and two tablespoons at dinner with me or her dad. She seems to really enjoying eating it (although I don’t know why – that stuff smells awful). Now I am worried about what the WIC representative or the pediatrician is going to say at her 6 month appointments next week. We were supposed to have already given her three types of cereal and started her on vegetables. Annabelle is pretty small for her age, but she is healthy and gaining weight so it shouldn’t matter.
I guess there is no absolute way to know when to feed your child. But I hope it’s when they seem to be ready. I hate to think I was starving her the last few months when I didn’t think she was ready.
Any ideas? When did you start feeding you baby? Any funny allergies or reactions when starting at four months or are scientists just crazy? Was I stupid to wait so long?
Annabelle trying out solids. Clearly this is the first spoonful as there is not a giant mess of food all over her face.
Starting solids is different with every child, as my three lovely children have taught me. I had one (the oldest) who ate cereal and first foods at 4 months and did excellent with following doctor’s recommendations for timing on introducing new foods. He stayed on baby food until after a year old. My next one had no interest whatsoever at 4 months and was just catching up with nursing after some long bouts with colic, so he did not start solids until 6 months and stayed on them for only a few weeks before insisting on eating the things the “big people” were eating. My youngest is now 8 months old and started on cereal at 3 months because between nursing and a bottle she just wasn’t getting enough in. She has now progressed to Step 3 foods and table food and has to eat on routine with the rest of the family. The best thing to keep in mind is that every child is different and their tastes will differ from your’s and/or dad’s. The best practice to follow is to allow the child to decide when it is time to start solid foods and when to move on to table foods.
Thanks for the response Krissi! It’s nice to know that my daughter isn’t the only one not eating on time or earlier than the “experts” say. I think she may be like your second child. Although she eats the cereal real well now, she still really looks like she wants our food more!
The child is the best guide. As noted above some are ready earlier than others.
Don’t wring your hands so, it all works out in the end.