Can babies under 6 months eat soft food and not be breastfed to survive?

Question

Say the mother has no breastmilk and is stranded. Will the baby starve because he/she can't eat solid food? Solid food like a mashed up banana, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, rice, mashed cooked carrots, etc. ? How about 2 weeks old to 3 months old?

Would whole milk or goat milk work well?

Answer 1

Yes, the child will starve, the child needs either breastmilk or formula in the first 6 months. Then once the child is over 6 months (some people feed their child solid foods at 4 months) But, until the child is a year, they still need to mostly drink the breast milk or formula.

A two week old (as well as a 3 month old) does not have a digestive system to handle things like banana, oatmeal, and other types of food. IF the mother can go out and buy those, then she can go out and find some formula as well.

Answer 2

In the long run yes, they may starve or have serious medical issues and delays because they aren't getting the nutrition they need. In the short term the things you mention would help a 6 month old. No way for a two week old, even if you got it down they would throw it all back up and become more dehydrated cuz there digestive systems aren't ready for it. You'd have better luck with a 3 month old but it still wouldn't be enough and there would still be vomiting. People seem to forget that breast milk and formula have everything in it that a baby needs to be nourished. I'm working with a family right now who just decided formula was too expensive for their 6 month old and are just giving him cows milk. And there reasoning was its all milk right? Like formula is just powdered milk or something : ( .

Answer 3

Baby-led weaning (BLW) means skipping the spoon feeding stage and going straight to letting infants make their own food choices by giving them age-appropriate finger foods. It does not mean eating exactly what you eat, especially right at the start. You'll still have to introduce foods one at a time so that you can monitor for allergies. It's just that instead of sweet potato puree on a spoon, for example, you can give her small soft chunks that she can pick up herself. She's still going to need to start with softer things and work up to those that require more chewing... And while soft beans can be OK, I'd wait on the chili for a bit. Aside from the guidelines about leaving a few days between new foods and avoiding honey and potential allergens, you can feed her a good deal of what you're already eating. Below is a page that has information and other useful links on BLW.

Answer 4

I've read that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend goat's milk in infancy- it has too many minerals that are hard on a baby's kidneys and its low in iron, which is important to a baby's brain development. Cow's milk is harder to digest and still lacks in some vitamins and minerals that a good, balanced formula would provide for a child under a year.
Yes, I believe a baby would starve living on those solid foods you described in your question. Not enough vitamins, minerals and protein.

Answer 5

I presume that you are concerned in the event of say, a hurricane and there is no formula left at the stores or you are just out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, whole cow and goat's milk is just fine. You need to add a small amount of baby cereal to keep up his iron. If there is absolutely no other choice, those other solid food that you mention would also work. Not well, but they would work.

I think Shelley (poster above) comes from another planet or is just terribly ignorant. Your pediatrician grew up on whole milk and Gerber cereal as did virtually every adult you know in the US and Canada over the age of 25. Whole cows milk or goat milk is just fine, but you also need to add both Gerber cereal and vit. D to goat milk as it lacks added vit. D.

Answer 6

The baby won't starve to death in this country (US)

Get a good baby formula and follow pediatrition's instructions for feeding. At about 3 months, add in some rice or oatmeal cereal (or whatever the doc advises)

Answer 7

They would starve after awhile because they need the fat content that's in the milk. There's not nearly enough calories in those foods to keep an infant alive. That's why when you start solid foods babies stop gaining weight as fast as they did before.

Answer 8

My son is 8 weeks old and I started him on rice cereal when he was six weeks old, but I have heard of people starting their children on rice cereal at 2 weeks. I would get some good formula and mix it with rice cereal and feed him in the morning and before bed time, but give him a bottle in between during the day. Good luck!!!!

Answer 9

Goat milk would work well. The proteins in goat milk are more similar to human milk than a cow.

Answer 10

My husband is from Vietnam and his mom was very poor and could'nt feed herself. She never got any milk in. People in Vietnam like this make a very thin rice and water mix. My husband survived off this for 4 months until he started eating thicker and thicker rice and veggies. I would'nt recommend it unless you really had to!