Introducing Solids To Baby

[Katepfeiffer]

So my baby is 6 months old exclusively breast fed. My hubby has celiac disease so I'm on a gluten-free diet. In addition we both have some food allergies. I really have to watch what I eat or baby gets a tummy ache. We have been doing really well but now everyone incl baby's doc seems to think we need to start solids. I am fine with putting it off as long as possible.

Does anyone have experience with this? I'm thinking that with every day we wait to introduce solids, baby's chance for developing celiac disease or food allergies decreases. Am I right or am I just ultra paranoid?

I was thinking we could wait till 9 or even 12 months to introduce any solid foods whatsoever....

I am planning on not giving him any gluten till age 2 and I'm sticking to that.

Can't wait to see everyone's replies. Thanks!

Kate

[Phyllis28]

When my son, who is now 18, was a baby we consulted the Pedicatric GI who I located through the local Celiac Support Group. My son was introduced to solid food at about four or five months, but gluten containing food was not introduced until sometime his after his first birthday. I do not remember exactly when.

[hannahsue01]

We were told by our peds GI to intorduce gluten between 5-7 months. We did do this but now our daughter is gluten free with the rest of us due to acid reflux, vomiting, and bloody diaper rashes when taking in gluten.

[Juliet]

There's a lot of solid baby food out there that's gluten free. There's instant baby rice cereal, jar veggies & fruit, etc. So, if you don't want to introduce your baby to gluten, it's possible to avoid it. I gave my little girl a little bit every now and then since the latest research for decreasing the chance of getting Celiac Disease suggests that you should introduce gluten between the ages of 4-6 1/2 months (before 7 months) and also breastfeed during that time, but otherwise she's about 99% gluten free. She now only gets gluten if I take her out somewhere without her brother and maybe give her a small bite of bread or cake, an occurence that happens at most once a month (she's now 14 months). She still eats the rice cereal mixed with jar baby fruit in the morning and also has jarred peas with brown rice (Earth's Best), winter squash, turkey & vegetable (Earth's Best), etc.

But food allergies are a different story. According to www.babyandkidallergies.com, it still is best to introduce solids at 6 months (Open Original Shared Link). They then actually give suggestions of what food to try first, how much each time, and what to look for. Another article stated that..."At six months your baby needs iron and other nutrients from solid food. Until that age, she has been using up iron stored while she was still in the womb (as well as getting iron from breastmilk and formula). She is also ready to experience new tastes and textures, and starting on solids at around this age will help with her developing teeth and jaw. Starting solids doesn't mean replacing breastfeeding; researchers say it's best for your baby to keep breastfeeding along with eating solids until she's at least 12 months old.

Once your child is six months old, she needs more food and also needs to learn eating skills.

Look for signs that your baby is ready for solids before you cook her first gourmet meal.

Introducing solids before six months can cause problems, including allergies."

Hope that maybe helps give you a little direction.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

None of my kids had gluten until they were 12 months old. I didn't realize gluten might be a problem at that point; I was avoiding potential allergens because my husband had a lot of food allergies (although none of them were wheat). My second child had nothing but breastmilk for 10 months; he had had a severe rash reaction to vaccines, and the doctor said not to give him anything but breastmilk til it cleared up (which took 8 more months). By the time he was 10 months old, I was exhausted trying to work full-time and produce enough milk for a 20-pound hungry baby, so we started with solids.

[AmyTopolski]

Before either of our daughters were diagnosted I made all of our own baby food. Our younger daughter had severe acid reflux that only got worse when she was introduced to solids. We started using infant cereal. I did some research and figured out how to make my own baby cereal and baby foods. If I ran out and had to use jar food or pre-made infant cereal she would be extremely sick. I also like knowing exactly what when into her food. I like the piece of mind. If you would like to know how to make your own infant cereal please let me know and I can post it for you!

Amy

[Kibbie]

I am a BIG huge fan and supporter of nursing! (I nursed my daughter for over a year when she cold turkey self-weaned!) Anyhow I can tell you at some point you will need to start to introduce solids because your baby will need more than you have to offer. That being said the age varies with each child! I'm not a Dr. or a nutritionist but I think putting off solids till a year old is a bit extreme. I'd just be careful with what you give the baby!

For my next child (not pregnant yet) my plan is to nurse for at least 12 months introducing solids at 6 -8 months (depending on baby) and keeping him/her gluten free for a long time. I'll do rice cereal first, then avocado, and bananas and then go from there. I made all my baby food the first time around (and that was pre-celiac disease) it was really easy and I know I can control what my next kid eats by doing the same thing. If making baby food is something you want to consider ask away I love talking about it!

In the end you are the mom and do what your gut feeling tells you!

[Ursa Major]

I don't believe there is any good reason to start solids before eight months at all. It is NOT true that baby needs extra iron before 12 months old, which is the time the stored up iron will run out, and the baby should be started on eating meat for iron.

Also, it is a bad idea to start with cereals, as grains are very hard to digest. The best things to start with are things like sweet potatoes and carrots.

I started my oldest daughter on solids at about four months of age (due to a misinformed doctor telling me that I should), and she is the one with the most food intolerances. The other four refused to let anything foreign (like a spoon or bottle nipple) into their mouths until eight months old, at which point I started them on solids.

Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your baby, and should be continued (along with solids after eight or nine months) for as long as possible.

I would be very wary of the suggestion that introducing babies of parents with celiac disease to gluten between four to six months of age will prevent them from developing celiac disease as well. That is a recent trend, and there is no long-term evidence that it is a good idea, because none of the babies that experiment is being tried on has grown up. Who knows what long-term damage it might cause.

[2boysmama]

We are crossing that bridge as well. My son Aiden is going to turn 6 months on the 29th. We won't be doing cereals at all (unless I decide to make my own at some point). We'll be starting with bananas and avocados. In fact, I may not even start him on solids when he turns exactly six months. He seems to have started his six-month growth spurt and I'll wait and see how he does when that's done. If he seems hungry then, I'll do it but take it VERY slowly.

My pediatrician had mentioned the iron need and said we could test for iron deficiency at his six-month follow-up. The iron in breastmilk is easier to digest than iron supplements. I'm planning on making our own baby food and we won't be introducing him to glutens at all. Both DH and I carry at least one GS gene, our older son has two, so we just see no need to introduce glutens since none of us eat it and it's a known problem in our family.

Here's some info:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[Katepfeiffer]

Thanks for everyone's replies! It's a shame there is still no solid answer to the question. Seems like everyone had a different approach which I find very interesting.

I think we'll probably go with my gut instinct and shoot for waiting for solids till he turns 1. I have the luxury to breastfeed my son as often and as much as he wants since I don't work.... I have read up on iron and concluded there is no concern. Besides, if we get worried, we can just get his iron levels checked and make appropriate changes.

I am a little surprised that so many of you think introducing grains first is ok. I think bananas, avocados, squash and the like are much more appropriate as first foods. I would hold back even on rice for an extra few months just to be on the safe side. But that's just me... I think the whole "feed-your-kid-rice-cereal-at-4-months" thing is an American thing. None of my European friends or relatives ever heard of it...

Thanks again!

Kate

[Ursa Major]

Good for you for sticking to your guns. You know, before there ever was a baby-food-industry, babies weren't fed solids until they were actually able to chew, or the food could be mashed well enough with a fork so the kid wouldn't choke on it (like bananas or potatoes). Rice would obviously not be introduced until the baby had molars I am sure.

So, I don't know why they should get any rice cereal at all. Organ meats and chicken can be mashed up enough for an older baby (at least a year) as well.

I am not saying you should totally avoid foods you can't mash with a fork. I am just pointing out that babies traditionally survived without any official baby food (and there is still no such a thing as baby food in many places).

Eskimo toddlers traditionally were fed meat that the mother chewed for them, and then transferred to the child's mouth. A lot of people would think that is gross, but obviously, the baby wouldn't care. The mother would be a 'human food processor'.

My second oldest daughter hated baby food, and from the time she was eight months old just ate what we ate, mashed up (or at least what could be mashed). She liked texture.

[Michi8]

So my baby is 6 months old exclusively breast fed. My hubby has celiac disease so I'm on a gluten-free diet. In addition we both have some food allergies. I really have to watch what I eat or baby gets a tummy ache. We have been doing really well but now everyone incl baby's doc seems to think we need to start solids. I am fine with putting it off as long as possible.

Does anyone have experience with this? I'm thinking that with every day we wait to introduce solids, baby's chance for developing celiac disease or food allergies decreases. Am I right or am I just ultra paranoid?

I was thinking we could wait till 9 or even 12 months to introduce any solid foods whatsoever....

I am planning on not giving him any gluten till age 2 and I'm sticking to that.

Can't wait to see everyone's replies. Thanks!

Kate

It's really up to you to decide when to introduce solid foods. Personally, I believe it's best not to introduce before 6 months for a breastfed baby, and that it can be beneficial to wait longer if you suspect that baby may have allergies. If baby isn't even showing interest in trying solid foods yet, then wait until they are interested. I have a one friend who tried introducing at 6 months and their baby was not interested at all. She didn't really start eating solid foods until closer to 12 months, and was then very interested and ate a good variety.

Iron supplementation, for a breastfed baby, is not necessary in the first year. As mentioned, baby's stores don't run out until closer to the year mark, and breastmilk does have some iron...it's not a lot, but it is very bioavailable and so used well by baby (the same cannot be said for iron supplements.) Cereals are very hard to digest in general, so are not the best choice for first foods either. Better to go with fruits and veggies.

For info on when to intoduce foods to an allergic baby, check this link out:

Open Original Shared Link

And there is a food allergen scale here:

Open Original Shared Link

These are the guidelines I followed for introducing foods to my kids. The info was given to me by an allergy nutritionist. She also gave me some guidelines on how to introduce foods. Essentially you want to take it very slowly, introducing no more than one food per week (or was that per two weeks?) If you are really concerned about allergic reaction, it's recommended to do a skin test of a food (on the cheek) and wait 24 hours to check for reaction before feeding that food. When feeding first foods, do cook them first (cooking can change the allergenicity of many foods) and you can add a bit of breastmilk to thin them out.

Michelle

[hsd1203]

there is a short bit about this here: Open Original Shared Link

just thought I'd put up a reference to the idea that babies can have trouble with their oral motor skills and develop food/texture aversions if they don't learn to experience/manipulate food in their mouths in a certain time frame. it might be helpful to ask your pediatrician some more about this...

... and edited this to say that this is a really tough situation, so best wishes for you and your family with whatever you choose!

h

[shan1523]

Hi,

This is such a tough question, and we have similar issues with figuring it all out...here is my background and what my ped GI told me...

my 2.5 year old son has celiac and I have a 6 month old daughter who has a milk allergy and is also milk and soy protein intolerant. She is on neocate formula...we tried rice cereal at 5 months and it was horrid..mucousy stools excema the whole bit...so we go to our GI (she has reflux pretty bad as well) and he comfirmed her milk allergy (he dropped some milk like fluid on her back - not even pricking her just dropping it on her and she got a huge welt in seconds) and with family history of food issues paired with parents who have allergies, excema and asthma, we are to avoid solids until close to 9 months...and no top 8 allergen foods till at least a year, with some of them not until 5 years of age.

We were bad and tried sweet potatoes this week (she wants to eat so bad and ate them like a champ) but her body isnt ready...she had the whole mucousy thing again and a big rash on her tummy and her excema flared and her reflux got bad....so yeah....we are waiting until 9 months...

So I think waiting isnt a bad thing if you have family history and whatnot...

Shannon

ds Noah 6.28.04 celiac

dd Audrey 7.13.06 GERD, apnea, MSPI

[Michi8]

there is a short bit about this here: Open Original Shared Link

just thought I'd put up a reference to the idea that babies can have trouble with their oral motor skills and develop food/texture aversions if they don't learn to experience/manipulate food in their mouths in a certain time frame. it might be helpful to ask your pediatrician some more about this...

... and edited this to say that this is a really tough situation, so best wishes for you and your family with whatever you choose!

h

I'm skeptical of the notion that babies "need" to experience solid food within a certain time frame to avoid food/texture aversions. Breastfed babies get a wide variety of flavours through breastmilk...that prepares an infant for trying foods in future. I'd expect, too, that to have a reaction to an allergenic food introduced too soon could very well start the food aversions one is trying to avoid.

Michelle

[2boysmama]

there is a short bit about this here: Open Original Shared Link

just thought I'd put up a reference to the idea that babies can have trouble with their oral motor skills and develop food/texture aversions if they don't learn to experience/manipulate food in their mouths in a certain time frame. it might be helpful to ask your pediatrician some more about this...

... and edited this to say that this is a really tough situation, so best wishes for you and your family with whatever you choose!

h

Not to be contrary, but I believe that's outdated information. The "between four and six months of age" rule is certainly outdated. Many, many babies (particularly breast fed babies) are not fed solids until a year of age, and they have no problem with texture aversion. The AAP and WHO (just to name two) now state that solids should not be introduced before six months - not between four and six months as was once recommended - because it has been learned that baby's gut is still "open" and immature, and not ready to handle solids. This can cause several issues, including iron deficiency due to microscopic bleeding in the intestines.

Also the reason rice cereal seems to be a first food (at least here in the US) is because of the supposed low allergenicity of it. Personally I don't think cereals are necessary at all. One of the Sears doctors said it best, IMO - "rice cereal is nothing but carbs, and Americans are carb junkies as it is. It probably starts with the introduction of rice cereal in infancy."