my little one is 8 months old and only breastfeed he seems happy and satisfied with only milk, but should i begin to feed him solids? or will i only be filling him up with something less nutritious? my mother in law thinks i should have started him months ago...
2007-03-16 06:06:55 · 13 answers · asked by adriannemae 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Just feed your baby solids when he seems ready. There is no set date. Signs of being ready are:
Doesn't seem full after he breastfeeds (which, you said he does)
Grabs for your food, or acts VERY interested in what your eating.
Those are the ones you should be concerned with now. Your baby is old enough, he won't have the toungue-thrust reflex, and his digestive tract is mature enough to handle solids by now. He's not missing out on anything, not getting solids right now. Breastmilk fullfills all of your baby's nutritional needs until around a year old. Before that, its just "practice".
Good luck momma! Your doing great!
2007-03-16 06:21:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are particular signs of solids readiness, and at 8 months, your child *should* have them, but may not. Age is not the indicator of when a child should have more than breastmilk.
If your baby:
- can sit up well without any support
- has no tongue-thrust reflex which pushes solids out of his mouth with his tongue
- appears ready and willing to chew.
- has a pincer grasp, the ability to pick up objects between the thumb and forefinger
and has an interest in food, he's ready.
Nurse first, then offer solids. You can skip cereal, they really don't provide great nutrition at all, just fill up tiny tummies. They're rather the equivalent of baby Wonder Bread - lots of processed food with chemical vitamin fortification.
Good first foods are steamed sweet potato, banana or very ripe avocado. You can mash these foods down and mix them with expressed breastmilk, but at 8 months, you can also cut very small pieces of them and allow baby to pick them up and mash them around in his mouth with his tongue and gums and eat them in that way. Of course the foods will need to be *very* soft in order for this to be safe. Breastfeed *first* then offer solids until baby has learned how to eat.
2007-03-16 13:33:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Babies don't need solids for at least the first year. As long as hes happy and growing, he should be fine. He will let you know when hes ready for more...
As long as hes only receiving your milk (no formula, no solids) his body is still oborbing a good chunk of the iron in your milk.
When you do start, skip the cereals and purees. Hes past the age of needing them... just give him table food and let him self-feed.
Oh, and i knew my son was ready when he started grunting and pounding his fits on his highchair at dinner... this was at nearly 8 months. It was like... one day he had no interest and the next he was mad because we werent sharing... now at 14 mo he "shares" with everyone... he likes to feed me and his daddy and he shares his sippy cup with the stuffed animals.. kids are too cute :)
2007-03-16 13:19:10 · answer #3 · answered by Mommy to David 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
This is one of those questions that can have about a million answers. I say use your gut. Every child is different and every parent has different opinions. My mother has a 7 month old who has been eating solids for months now. He even ets pizza and grilld cheese. Then there are babies like yours who is older than my brother and still dont eat solids. It all depends. You will know when he is ready. Doctors, however, do reccomend waiting until at least 4-6 months.
My brother by the way is 25 years younger than me...I'm not 10 years old.... :)
2007-03-16 13:16:09 · answer #4 · answered by Ruby Tuesday 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Most are ready at 6 months or even later. If you feel he is ready for solids, than start giving him solids
2007-03-16 13:11:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
OH MY GOSH they ought to call Child Protective Services on you. You are starving and neglecting that baby. Babies should start solids at 4 months. Poor kid. I'll take him and feed him up right.
2007-03-16 19:52:43 · answer #6 · answered by toomanycommercials 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Babies should start eating solid foods at 4 months old. You should be feeding your little ones fruits, veggies, meat, and desserts by now. It is going to take some time to get him used to eating from a spoon and tasting something other that the milk. My daughter is 8 mos old and she eats solid food 3 times a day. Just remember, wait a few days before introducing a new food to make sure he is not allergic to anything. Good luck! (P.S.- Bananas are a good food to start with... most babies love them.)
2007-03-16 13:12:50 · answer #7 · answered by mommymelissa 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋
I started my son on Rice Cereal at 4 months. He was showing all the signs that he was ready. I just stuck with tat until last night. He's 5 months now. We tried Green Beans for the first time. (Mashed baby food version, of course) He loved it! He is soo eager to eat when he sees the spoon coming for his mouth. He opens really wide. it's so cute. My little boy is growing up already... :-)
2007-03-16 13:17:04 · answer #8 · answered by Proud Momma 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
If he seems interested they go ahead. You don't have to feed babies real food for the 1st year though beore then it is only for fun, getting them to learn how to do it. You baby is recieving all their nutrition from your breast milk.
2007-03-16 13:22:58 · answer #9 · answered by Mandy R 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
make sure that before u feed him that u chew the food first because he will choke on the food, how bout try giving him some gerber baby foods, then if he doesnt like it experiment, if u live in hawaii then give him poi and luau stew leaves
2007-03-16 13:36:16 · answer #10 · answered by Poi k 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋