Is my 6 month old ready for solids ?

[Alexia26]

Hi

My DD is 6 months old and is exclusively BF. Recently she has been watching us intensely whilst we eat and drink and then becomes seemingly frustrated. Yesterday whilst I was eating a pear she was staring at it ,mouth wide open and then started to whinge and lean forward towards it. The reason I haven't introduced solids yet (I intend to go the BLW route) is because I've been told by our paediatrician and have read in countless articles that she should be sitting unassisted and have lost the tongue thrust reflex, the reflex has pretty much gone now but although she can sit upright she will topple over if not supported . My husband made feel really guilty as if I was denying her the food for the hell of it! . Am I doing the right thing to wait?

Hi Bed , that's absolutely fine thanks for the warning anyway. Better safe than sorry.

I did purée and finger foods so different to your plans. But my DS reacted badly to milk. Luckily we were doing first tastes with one or two foods each time so easy to isolate the problem. Even if BLW you can stick to single items. We were told that milk and egg allergies often come in pairs so tried rubbing egg on his lips .... Cue lots of spots. He had no problem with bread and was chewing crusts in his second week of food. Bread is still one of his favourites.

Well, I started BLW today. The idea was to go first to our monthly appointment with the paediatricians and then to the organic foods supermarket to get her a nibble of something for this evening. The paediatrician gave his advice which was to start her off on vegetable broth followed by puréed fruit every lunch time for the next month then after that to offer fruit in the morning too before finally introducing anything else at 8 months. I just accepted his point of view and came out feeling fine until DH started to say that this is exactly what we should be doing not any of this BLW nonsense ( it had clearly planted a seed of doubt in his mind) and started ranting on saying 'why can't we do what everyone else (in Italy) does?'

Now he hasn't put me off BLW I have every intention of doing it but what he has done is made me feel slightly unsure about giving her anything else other than fruit and vegetables for the next month like the paediatrician said. I think I'm feeling a little put off by all the conflicting info I can't decide what to do no doubt I'm over thinking this but with nearly everybody in the UK saying its fine to introduce everything and everyone here saying wait ,i feel worried il make the wrong choice

I had wanted to buy some wholewheat pasta today and some oats too ,to offer her next week. In the end I just bought some pears (as I had let her suck on a piece of mine yesterday evening and she loved it ) some sweet potato and cucumber.

So at dinner time I chopped up some cucumber sticks and handed it to DD and as soon as she touched it before even putting it in her mouth she gagged the more she handled it the more she gagged, it was so odd as if she was sickened by the texture of it,then she put it in her mouth making the most disgusted horrified expression ever then she gagged again then she wouldn't pick it back up so I offered a piece of pear ( steamed and cooled) instead which she then starting immediately gagging at ,I presumed she had thought it was the dreaded cucumber again but even when she finally tasted it she gagged and then she just kept on gagging it was so bizarre DH wondered if it could have been the smell of the cucumber in the air.

DH looked deflated and said it will take months until she eats anything and now I feel deflated too ,while I myself feel confident that she is perfectly nourished with the BM and it is just a little fun for her, I also feel this extreme pressure from my DH and his family for DD to eat and a general disdain for BLW. I'm feeling a bit on my own with it all but I think tomorrow I'll try again when DH is at work so it's just DD and I and hope that she'll have forgotten the cucumber and enjoy herself.

Wow, the paediatricians advice is so prescriptive! It seems so out of date compared to what you get told here. Do you have to see the paediatrician, ie does your child have an ongoing medical issue that needs input? If you don't like the paediatricians advice could you just not see them?

The gagging is really normal. They get better at it, and it's part of the process. Try not to let it put you off. I would strongly recommend reading the Gill Rapley book on BLW if you can get hold of a copy. It takes you through the whole process with explanations as to the idea behind it.

There really isn't a need to stick to fruit/veg for ages - that advice would be suitable for a 4 month old starting spoonfed weaning.

Yes the gagging is totally normal - it's part of the process of learning to chew and swallow. Don't expect any food to get eaten for a while -but lots of playing and exploration and throwing on the floor. If food goes in it will mostly be spat out. Don't worry about cooking special foods - just give bits of your food. My six month old started trying some foods last week - tonight he had a couple of strands of spaghetti, a piece of cooked courgette from our pasta sauce and a few flakes of grated cheese on his tray to try. He enjoyed playing with the spaghetti and managed to get some in his mouth before spitting it out again, was disgusted by the cheese and squished the courgette! I wouldn't restrict any foods if you have no allergies - just make sure that everything is soft and well cooked without salt. (We just add salt at the table to our food if we want it) Fish is fine btw as long as it's been checked for bones. We did BLW with my daughter and at 2 and a bit she still eats a wide variety of foods and will generally give new foods a try.

Hi Culture

Over here there are no HV . Every parent has the right to see a Paediatrician every month free , it's advised that you go once a month untill they are at least 2. Then its up to you really but most go monthly untill they are 5. DD gets measured, weighed and they measure the circumference of her head too and check her heart beat, eyes and ears, which teeth are coming through ,her reflexes and see her progress in sitting up and how she balances herself and holds her head. They seem very thorough over her when it comes to children, during the pregnancy even more so , I had monthly scans blood and urine tests and was repeatedly checked for toxoplasmosis and cmv as my intial full blood tests (checking for every possible thing under the sun ) resulted negative for them so I had to be monitored for them.

I did a bit of a combination when I started to wean my DD, I did purée fruit to start with and gave her cucumber, small rice cakes and introduced veg and meat gradually. The gagging thing used to scare me so that's one of the reasons I puréed food to begin with. Also if you give grapes and good similar size make sure you cut them up as they're a choking hazard. Also things like carrot need to be big enough so they can hold them.

Annabel Karmel has some good weaning recipes, and the nhs choices website advise on the foods to start weaning with. It's a bit of a minefield knowing what to do for the best, as you'll always get someone's advice.... Just go with what you feel comfortable with, and smile and nod at people's comments x

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx

www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/category/baby-6-9-months

Info on cups too and introducing drinks other than BM.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/drinks-and-cups-children.aspx

Sorry didn't mean to bombard you with info PP - just a few ideas to help you make informed choices

Blimey! Monthly till 5?! I saw the HV roughly monthly till about 5 months, then 12 months and just recently for a 2.5yr check. That's it! At no point did they try and tell me what to do either. There's no way I would go monthly to see an actual paediatrician - I would not have a single thing to say to them and I wouldn't want my DS to be measured/weighed so often. It's so strange how different countries have such different attitudes.

Is there any way you can persuade your DH to see this "helpful" paediatrician a bit less? Maybe once every 3 months instead of monthly?

Sorry I sidetracked there I don't mind seeing the paediatrician as I go for the general checkup and when afterwards he gives his input on her diet I listen and thank him it doesn't bother me it's just that for DH it must be very strange from his point of view, I mean we go to a professional who tells us to do one thing and we are planning to do the opposite which nobody else that we know (here) is doing. I think it just worries him but he'll get used to it. I tried again today with a piece of pear this time she picked it up and sucked away on it and a little piece came off and she spat it out then another smaller piece came off and she swallowed it!! It seemed to go right through her very quickly too. After that she lost interest. Am going to try to order that book this evening .

Sorry I had written earlier but hadn't clicked post I've just seen the other comments now. Yes it is amazing how things differ from one place to another you should hear all about the birth and the 3 compulsory days that followed in the clinic here, but that's a whole other story. Occasionally I do have a question for the paediatrician but usually it's just an in out job. Thanks so much for the all the info passthewine . DD's gagging with the cucumber seemed to begin when she held it rather than when she tasted it but I intend to try again with it in case she was just having a moment.

I must admit though I'm suprised with the healthcare being as good as it is in Italy, that healthcare professionals don't go with WHO (world health organisations) guidelines who advise not to wean before 6 months

Gosh, I don't see how they can insist on 3 days post birth! Surely they can't make you stay against your will - that would be impossible in the UK without having you sectioned (under the Mental Health act I mean). It seems to be a very medicalised and paternalistic approach.

I think the Rapley book will definitely help, and it's probably worth getting your DH to have a read too.

www.who.int/nutrition/topics/complementary_feeding/en/

Hi Op, just chiming in to say reading the book (or even the baby led weaning website as a start) will really help you feel more secure in your choice. And your Dh too. Good luck!

passthewine yes we were told to introduce fruit purées at 4 months but when I said I would wait until 6 months he didn't argue the point. I read that page on the WHO website but other from being very informative it's actually a little worrying as it seems to underline that at 6 months babies need to consume an adequate amount of solids in addition to BM. I downloaded their guiding principles where it states
'When foods of inappropriate consistency are offered, the child may be unable to consume more than a trivial amount, or may take so long to eat that food intake is compromised. Evidence from several sources (Dewey and Brown, 2002 '

I've seen a fair few babies who were baby led weaned, from little dinky babies to chunky big ones. They all got to grips with it quite quickly and could eat decent volumes quite quickly. With my own DS I actually was quite alarmed at how much he could eat!

If your baby is able to bring objects up to her mouth and is able to sit up without slumping then I wouldn't worry about how much they can get into them. I would also give a multivitamin alongside food as well to cover all the bases. If they turn out to be slower at getting going with it, don't panic, they will get there in the end.

It's a minefield Alexia, there's so much info out there, some contradictory, it's difficult to know what to do for the best. I think the reference you've read is for older babies. Babies at 6 months don't really eat much to start with most of the nutrition still comes from milk. In some cultures and WHO recommends BF up until the age of 2, with solid foods

Lol Culture the being sectioned comment made me laugh. I didn't try to fight staying there because they explained they had to give me antibiotic shots everyday for my stitches (episiotomy) and like to keep an eye on the newborns too rather than just letting you go, they don't let anybody leave before 3 days but obviously they couldn't do anything about it if you did walk out . The stay was just one of my worries ,there were a number of other issues , mainly that they separate you from your baby after the birth due to their ott approach regarding hypoglycaemia. It's standard in the clinic where I had DD, they let me hold her very briefly before taking her away for 5 hours. I was beside myself and my mother was appalled. She got taken away from me every night to the nursery to sleep too. How could they have kept her calm for the entire night ? They administer the babies a little glucose. My husband wasn't allowed in during the birth. They couldn't even provide any water for me when I asked during the birth as over here we drink bottled mineral water so that would mean one of them going to the vending machine to buy it for me and they were busy and DH and my mum weren't allowed in with me during the actual birth so I couldn't ask them.
The doctor argued the entire time I was giving birth with the nurse who assisted him and the paediatrician and another man who worked there kept coming in to chat to the doctor about his cruise, golf ,you name it they had a great chat whilst I was there trying trying to have my baby.It felt so humiliating.

I had an absolutely horrendous time and am so bloody angry about it all,mainly because I didn't want to give birth there at all and due to various issues ( massively long story will save for another rainy day) I couldn't give birth where I had wanted (I had planned to have a water birth) and got pushed into giving birth there by MIL and DH as they know the doctor there , basically it was because its in MILs home town and that way she could arrange that everyone come to visit DD which never would have happened if we had had the clinic of our choice in the city where we live, it all happened in the last month of the pregnancy and it was too late to come back to the UK.

That was only the beginning as then MIL came immediately to sort the room out and stock up on refreshments for the people that would be intruding visiting over the course of the following 3 days. I had made it perfectly clear I did not want visitors but MIL was enjoying the get together and insisted on it as its their 'tradition' and was the one arranging all the visits.

If I had told them to leave it would have reflected badly on them (her) So I had to receive the entire family on MILs side and FILs side plus friends of family and their work colleagues. Some people turned up just moments after my DD was finally given back to me and I just told them to leave and not politely either, I had never met them before in my life. All I wanted to do was rest and bond with my baby but that was far much to ask for let alone trying to heal after the episiotomy (I was in so much pain ). In case you're imagining my MIL as an elderly slightly dotty lady by the way she's just turned 54 and frankly should know better.

They have one born every minute on tv over here now (dubbed) and I saw it the other day for the first time and I burst into tears. The nurses seemed so lovely and everything was so discreet and the husband was there to hold their wives hands . I would never give birth here again, ever.

For DHs family this is all perfectly normal the baby being taken away all the visitors etc. I had made it perfectly clear in discussions leading up to the birth (when we were going to be having the baby in our city ) that I would only receive my parents DHs parents and DHs brother to visit in the clinic which she wasn't happy about and we had a discussion about it so she knew exactly how I felt , and yet she waited until I was weak and couldn't get up and about to slap her before taking complete control, She had kindly paid for the private room for me and then felt that she could do whatever she liked in it. If only I had known I would have paid for it myself. DH persuaded me to keep calm as his mother was just excited to show off her first grandchild. Needless to say I can't stand my MIL now , I feel like I had the control taken completely out of my hands in the most important moment of my life and what should have been a wonderful experience was horrendous.
Ok I've just realised I've written an essay! So sorry! Had to get that off my chest though.

I'll never understand BLW. I have never chosen it myself but have seen babies weaned in this way who at 18 months old still ate next to nothing and still required milk feeds regularly (even through the night!).
I can't work out how a 6 month old baby can be expected to manage to feed themselves! Everything I've ever read has suggested that at 6 months babies really do need solid food to be providing iron etc. I can't see how a baby who is responsible for feeding themselves can be possibly eating enough to do this.
My girls have both been weaned on purée at 6 months, with additional finger foods being added from 7 months. Both eat brilliantly and have never deviated from their growth chart lines.

I am currently weaning my 6 month old (started last Sunday) and we have moved really quickly from tasteless baby rice to lots of fruit and veg purees and bits of chopped fruit and veg. I hand her cucumber and banana to chew on while I prepare her main food so I guess I'm doing a little bit of blw but also giving blended foods by spoon so I know how much she is eating.
could you try doing a mix of both?

Hi,
Well we haven't had any luck yet ,she dabs a piece of food to her toungue pulls a face and will not pick it up again. This is with pear , apple, banana , sweet potato and cucumber. Yesterday I was eating some cheese DD was on my lap and reaching for it and I let her suck on the end of it and she didn't want to leave it but it was parmsean which is salty so I didn't let he eat it as I wanted to double check it was ok and apparently in small amounts it's fine I also let her try some greek yoghurt off my spoon which she loved so maybe she just prefers different tastes to the fruit and sweeter vegetables that we have given to her. I'm going to get her some different cheeses today and greek yoghurt , broccoli and chicken too. Maybe we'll have more luck. I do want to keep going with the BLW but if I see that her weight has dropped dramatically at our monthly appointments I would begin to combine purées and finger foods.

weaned in this way who at 18 months old still ate next to nothing and still required milk feeds regularly (even through the night!)."

I've seen babies weaned on purees still spoon fed entirely purees at 18 months and, do you what, that doesn't mean that purees are all bad or that all babies are like that.

It just means that different parents and different babies do things differently.

Alexia, I've done BLW with 2 DC and am about to start with a third. It's worked really well for the first two. One got it straightaway, the other took a few weeks and then was off!