Don't Wait Too Long to Introduce Solid Food

One of the biggest weaknesses of the crunchy community is the constant struggle to one-up any medical recommendations. The evidence suggests that delayed cord clamping might be beneficial? Great, let's leave the placenta to rot. The AAP says that room-sharing is healthiest for babies? Let's demand bed-sharing for absolutely everyone, even when the mother is on Xanax and hydrocodone, and then blame the anti-cosleeping movement when a mom kills two babies in a row this way.  Experts recommend waiting until around six months to introduce solids? Well, let's go ahead and wait a year. 

I understand where the mistake comes from. After all, we do hear constantly that breast milk is ideal nutrition for babies for the first year of life. And we've heard that introducing solids too early can cause a variety of problems, including childhood obesity and the health effects that come with it. It's easy to infer from this information that it's safe and healthy to wait a full year before introducing solid food-- but that doesn't mean it's correct.

My son eating kale at seven months. He survived.

I've seen the scenario played out many times in breastfeeding support groups. A breastfeeding mom "hears" that it's best to wait as long as possible to introduce solid food, since breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for babies and should be the primary source of nutrition in the first year. Yet, every mom I've known who has done this has ended up with the same thing: a baby who, by fifteen months or so, is suffering from failure to thrive and anemia. The mom almost always wants to know of "natural" ways to address this that won't compromise her breastfeeding relationship.

I might have been one of those moms if it hadn't been for the fact that both of my kids were positively insistent on eating solid foods before one year-- or even six months. My youngest, in particular, has demanded since four months of age that he absolutely must have whatever everyone else is eating. I'm lucky because of that, because the risks of waiting too long for solids can be serious.

You've probably heard that "food before one is just for fun," or some similar adage, from your pediatrician. About fifteen years ago, doctors started really emphasizing that babies should not be eating solids too early in life, because they were finding that babies who were given a lot of early solids (like cereal in their bottles at one month) were not healthy. And it's true that, for the most part, solids in the first year are for playing and learning. That doesn't make them any less important, though: knowing how to eat, and enjoy, healthy foods is critical. It's not good when your one-and-a-half-year-old doesn't like food at all and just wants to nurse, all because you thought that the "just for fun" meant that it was unnecessary.

Solids in the first year are also nutritionally pretty important, especially for breastfed babies. While breast milk is definitely the preferred and healthiest way to feed babies, it has its limitations. For one thing, most mothers' breast milk supply starts to even out at around six months. The babies' bodies need more and more calories, but their  mothers' breast milk production can't keep up. The result is that the little ones just don't get as much milk as they need, and after several months of this, they can stop growing or even sometimes lose weight.

Breast milk also contains almost no iron. Babies' bodies are prepared for this: they store up a lot of iron before birth and it keeps them going for several months. But midway through their first year of life, that iron starts to deplete and they need to be getting at least a little from their diets. It doesn't take much-- just a little bitty bit of cereal or prunes or greens or even beans-- but that small amount of iron is critical for keeping babies' brains and bodies developing normally. 

If you're breastfeeding, your baby should already be getting a vitamin D supplement, but on the off chance that you're for some reason not doing that, your little one needs to get vitamin D from his diet. A lot of baby cereals are fortified with vitamin D, as are baby yogurts. Introducing vitamin D-rich solids in the first year is absolutely necessary, especially for breastfed babies. 

Plus, while most moms believe that waiting to introduce solids will prevent allergies, science has actually found the opposite to be true. While pediatricians used to recommend delayed solids to prevent allergies, that recommendation may have actually caused more allergies. That's why, after a study in 2010 and several reviews that followed it, the AAP turned back on the delayed-solid recommendation and said that it's actually best to introduce food sooner rather than later.

So when should you feed solids? Your baby will probably let you know: he'll start grabbing food off your plate and generally showing interest in what the Big People are eating. The American Academy of Pediatrics further suggests looking for these signs:

• Your baby should be able to hold his head steady while he's sitting in a high chair.
• Babies who are ready for solids open their mouths when they see food, especially if you hold a spoon directly in front of their mouths.
• Your little one should swallow solids without much trouble. If he spits or gags, wait a few more weeks.
• Most of the time, babies aren't ready for solids until they're physically large enough: about 13 pounds. That means premies and low-birthweight babies might need to start solids a little later.

For most babies, those milestones are going to be reached at around six months, although any time between four and seven months can be considered normal. Before that point, the AAP strongly encourages moms to exclusively breastfeed if at all possible. After that, breast milk should still be the main staple of you little one's diet until at least his first birthday. But that doesn't mean that there's no point in giving him solids at all.

Breastfeeding is great. Breastfeeding exclusively for six months is even better. Giving mostly breast milk for at least one year is fantastic. However, it's not helpful to you or your baby to forgo solids entirely for a year or more. Not only does it not provide any benefits to either of you, but it can even be dangerous. Go ahead, guilt-free: give your baby solids when he's ready and when your pediatrician approves-- not when your Breast Buddies suggest it.