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Because in the long run none of these things really matter. Whether you give you baby mashed bananas at 4 months old or wait until 6 months or 10 months really doesn't make a difference in the grand scheme of a person's life.
I would make a distinction here. For the MAJORITY of healthy babies, it probably won't matter. However, maybe for the one in 100 who has a particularly sensitive gut, it could make a difference between struggling with chronic digestive issues throughout life, versus not. For another, maybe triggering an allergy that otherwise wouldn't be triggered. Maybe for a third with a genetic predisposition for obesity, that cereal in the bottle will be the first step to setting up life-long weight problems. Likewise, most babies do just fine on formula - but for an unlucky few, it can cause bad reactions, digestive issues, inflammation, etc. There's a great article on it called 'The Virgin Gut'. Breast milk is the safer choice that's not going to cause these issues period, which is why it's always better if possible.
In some cases where the predisposition for some health issue already exists, it could just be that trigger to pushing it over the edge. So because no one knows, you need to weigh the risks and the benefits in any case. Is there a risk to starting earlier? Yes, however small. Is there a risk in waiting? No, though there could be inconvenience to the mother in terms of having to keep feeding through the night, etc, but there is no health risk to the baby in waiting. Therefore, clear answer is it's better to wait. Simple as that.
Full disclosure here, I formula fed my 20 year old and started solids at 4 months & she did turn out fine. She was a picky eater when she was little and is still a picky eater. It was annoying at times but there are far bigger problems to have. She's happy and healthy so what more could I ask for.
Oh, if only you had breastfed her until she was 2, then she'd be a cancer-curing, olympic medal gymnast, President of the World!
And, to the person who called feeding a 4-month-old bad parenting: That kid is now my boss, and at just 6 years old! He's a great boss, by the way, but I will admit that it's just a small tech startup business, founded on kid boss/CTO's idea for a more efficient gene sequencer. We've only got a market cap of just under 15 million. But it's all thanks to that chicken wing--and breast milk, of course. I hear about that chicken wing every Tuesday during our tag-up with the Paris office.
If I followed that logic i should've fed my son the remote control at two months or so - it was his favorite thing to grab and chew on as soon as he saw it. Drool galore
Oh and of course my husband should've given him a sip of his beer when he was reaching for his glass
Come on people. You're talking about INFANTS, they can't make decisions on what they need to be eating at four months of age, seriously They're exploring the world, grab stuff, and put everything in their mouth - that doesn't mean they are starving for a piece of steak!
If a mom doesn't want to be breastfeeding as often as the baby is hungry, she can supplement with this magical thing called formula. Not chicken wings. SMH.
The many differing opinions on how to best introduce solids and whether or not purees are useful is is one reason Baby Led Weaning has become popular, particularly in the UK and other Commonwealth nations. Has anyone here tried it? We didn't, but I know people who did.
I did. A whole lot easier than bothering with purees although also a whole lot messier. I just put food in front of her and let her try it, a banana was her first food and she decided she didn't like it and tried to munch on the skin instead
I started my son at 5 months. He was hungry and would steal food if you were not looking. I knew it wasn't the milk since I had a large supply. He's a big boy and has always been at 5 he is already close to my height (im only 4'11) but he's a few inches away. Even today he eats a huge plate off food and he's not overweight at he just keep growing. His fathers side of the family are all 6+ so im assuming he is taking after them. He has no allergies or stomach problems my sister in law waited her kid has a ton of allergies so I feel it is more genetics.
I would make a distinction here. For the MAJORITY of healthy babies, it probably won't matter. However, maybe for the one in 100 who has a particularly sensitive gut, it could make a difference between struggling with chronic digestive issues throughout life, versus not. For another, maybe triggering an allergy that otherwise wouldn't be triggered. Maybe for a third with a genetic predisposition for obesity, that cereal in the bottle will be the first step to setting up life-long weight problems. Likewise, most babies do just fine on formula - but for an unlucky few, it can cause bad reactions, digestive issues, inflammation, etc. There's a great article on it called 'The Virgin Gut'. Breast milk is the safer choice that's not going to cause these issues period, which is why it's always better if possible.
In some cases where the predisposition for some health issue already exists, it could just be that trigger to pushing it over the edge. So because no one knows, you need to weigh the risks and the benefits in any case. Is there a risk to starting earlier? Yes, however small. Is there a risk in waiting? No, though there could be inconvenience to the mother in terms of having to keep feeding through the night, etc, but there is no health risk to the baby in waiting. Therefore, clear answer is it's better to wait. Simple as that.
The clear answer to you is to wait and that's fine. You have the right to feed your babies as you wish and I can feed mine what I feel is best.
I honestly don't spend a lot of time worrying about all the things that could potentially be harmful or I would drive myself crazy. I'm not interested in reading articles or studies written random people. I don't care what their credentials are.
I just use common sense. Bleach is bad and bananas are good. Breast milk is good but formula gets the job done too. My baby tried to eat a paper towel this morning and I stopped her. I don't need a study to tell me that paper products shouldn't be eaten.
Started my son at 4 months very slowly. He was a big, active boy, easily held his head and could easily sit by leaning on something. Our pediatrician agreed that this was an appropriate time. At first we just gave him a table spoon of rice cereal and he loved it. Then we introduced I think oatmeal cereal, then at about 6 - 7 month pureed fruits. He ate everything...
What does that have to do with waiting until 6 months for solid food?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilCookie
Breastmilk is an unhealthy processed food?
If anything starting them on things like cereal too early does exactly what you wrote, as that IS a processed highly refined food that can lead to obesity when it's added to a bottle where it's easy to overconsume.
It was sarcasm. Those who remember Dr Strangelove should get the reference. I was poking fun at people who think that FDA guidelines / government regulations are part of a giant conspiracy and shouldn't be followed.
The clear answer to you is to wait and that's fine. You have the right to feed your babies as you wish and I can feed mine what I feel is best.
I honestly don't spend a lot of time worrying about all the things that could potentially be harmful or I would drive myself crazy. I'm not interested in reading articles or studies written random people. I don't care what their credentials are.
I just use common sense. Bleach is bad and bananas are good. Breast milk is good but formula gets the job done too. My baby tried to eat a paper towel this morning and I stopped her. I don't need a study to tell me that paper products shouldn't be eaten.
Shrug. Common sense is great and I agree it should prevail, but for me personally, i'm a bit of an information geek, and as a first time mom with not much experience with babies beforehand, I was grateful for all the information and resources out there, and I read a lot and learned a lot I didn't know before about baby's health, development, needs, etc. I didn't look for someone to tell me exactly what to do, but for general information about things like physiological processes and development, and then made my decisions based on that knowledge rather than guesswork. I feel like it helped me make more right decisions, ones I wouldn't have known to make had I not had access to all that data.
Breastfeeding is a good example - I had low supply for a while with my son, and it was reading the information out there that got me to persevere in feeding as often as necessary and that supply will eventually catch up to the baby's needs, be reassured that my baby was getting enough, and avoid supplementing. If I did not have sources like La Leche League at hand and was simply relying on common sense and listening to my MIL freak out that baby's hungry, I would've most likely freaked out as well and started supplementing with formula, which would've likely ended up killing my supply completely. Sometimes it just takes KNOWING things that have been proven by a reliable source, that you wouldn't otherwise know.
My mom, who obviously had me before the Internet age, often said that she wishes she had all that information available when she was raising me as opposed to simply blindly trusting the doctor's advice and following 'the way it's been done' by older relatives the rest of the time. She said she was young and didn't know what she was doing most of the time, and wishes she would've done some things differently after she learned the reasons.
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