Author Topic: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)  (Read 2045 times)

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Offline ele

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DD is almost six months and I have been doing research on introducing solids. It appears that a number of people lost milk before 1 yr, so that is a concern for me and I wanted to make sure I get it right.

She is EBF and I do wish to BF for 12 mos as a primary source.

6-7 months 1 meal(1 hr after BF) 1 tsp. Start in the morning. Introduce new food every 3 days.
8-9 months 2 meals (1 hr after BF), let baby guide quantities (finger food/purée, but how to keep these quantities in check so she doesnt loose interest in breast)). Breakfast and lunch.
9-12 months 3 meals, baby determines quantities. Breakfast, lunch, dinner (at what time dinner).

She is on a 7-7 routine (BF around 6:30 pm)

Also I have a question on protein, specifically meat/poultry. It is controversial to me, as on one hand protein is hard to digest, it changes gut flora and in our family - grown ups - we can't eat too much meat, 1-2 times a week at a maximum and even that may be too much (fish is our main source of protein and beans, but fish is risky to introduce early for a child). So it also seems it's advisable to avoid meats until 1 year. But on the other hand it's a source of iron... Can anyone who believes in low-protein intake help with how they handled this issue without health implications to the baby).

Thank you very much





Offline creations

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2015, 20:47:55 pm »
Hi there :)
I'm not sure where you did your research so can't really comment on that, but generally the milk intake shouldn't be effected by introducing solids. The solids will add to your babies calorie intake rather than replace milk.  You may see a small drop in milk intake around 10-12 months but I'd expect LO to still be having 3 or 4 milk feeds at 10 months and 2 to 3 at 12 months.  You may be unnecessarily worrying where you needn't.  Towards 12 months the solids do start to be more important but this is a natural progression, rather than an over night switch on their first birthday when their primary source of food changes from milk to solids (she'll still be taking 1-2 good milk feeds after she turns 1yo). The chances are you will comfortable with the natural progression and that baby will guide you well in this.

When you begin solids at 6 months there is not the same need to trial foods with a new one every 3 days, most people tend not to do this any more unless there are known allergies in the family.  I know with my LO there were certain foods (eg carrots) if I had given 3 days running he would have become constipated where as having a variety of foods across the week his BMs stayed regular.  Just something to think about.

On the whole your baby will guide the quantities well without the milk intake dropping. If you do see a drop in interest I suggest dealing with it at the time (post for support) rather than worrying about it in advance. Babies really can listen to their bodies well and self regulate.

Dinner time (when you introduce dinner), I'd suggest quite early. If you have a 7, 11, 3, 6.30 milk routine that last solids meal could come around 4pm - 4.30pm - however milk times may well change between now and then as naps move/lengthen and solids are introduce the milk feeds may be more like 5 hrs apart rather than 4hr (and then closer together in the evening for BT).

With regards to protein. We generally only eat chicken, turkey, fish, beans, eggs.  It is rare for us to eat other meats, occasionally duck, pork, lamb. My LO was not interested in much protein and I had concerns a few times about his protein intake (more so after 1yo really), a different situation from yours but perhaps my experience can help. I focused on beans, lentils, (things like falafel, bean burgers/patties, humus, kidney bean dip), eggs, fish, pate (I made a lentil pate and a chicken liver pate, you could also make fish pate/paste).

Fish - I am not sure where your research is from. As far as I am aware there are:
- only a few named fish which are considered risky (such as shark, swordfish and marlin, raw shell fish)
- some which should be limited (oily fish for girls and women no more than 2 portions per week)
You would need to ensure there were no bones in the fish. Otherwise I am unaware of any risk related to introducing fish to a child over the age of 6 months. In the UK fish is considered a good part of a healthy diet (following the guides above).
There's a list here of iron rich foods which you might find helpful:
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-iron.php
It depends which foods you would usually eat as a family, which you might consider making for baby, etc.
You'll see squash and pumpkin seeds listed, these wouldn't be safe if given as the seed (due to choke hazard) but can be ground and used in cooking, same with nuts (smooth nut butter for instance or ground nuts used in cooking). The list shows you the iron levels in various beans and pulses as well as the levels in dark leafy greens and tofu.

I believe it's also been shown that the iron in your breast milk is well absorbed so despite LOs iron store being depleted somewhere around 6 months she will continue to get iron in her milk.

Hope this helps some


Offline ele

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2015, 11:38:59 am »
Thank you.
What typical number of meals should be during these first months?
Also may I ask at what age did your los stop bf?
My concern of stopping bf early are real, actually, I know of at least three instances of this happening between 9-10 months. that seems too early.

Offline creations

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2015, 14:07:15 pm »
As a guide LOs would take 1 meal to begin, then 2 meals and be on 3 meals at around 8 months.
If you choose to go more slowly it's is your personal choice but your LO might also have something to say about it - some LOs are not interested in solids at all until around 9 months or so whilst others (mine) took to solids in a big way and are taking 3 meals quite quickly without any drop in milk intake.

No one here would advise dropping BF at 9 or 10 months old unless it was your personal decision to do so but even then you would be advised that baby still needs daily milk feeds (at that age 3 or 4 possibly more if there is a night feed) so an alternative (formula) would need to be given in place of the breast feeds. Babies need milk.
I understand your concern if you know people who have stopped giving milk at 9-10 months I would be concerned about those babies too.

As I was unable to BF I will ask someone else to stop by with more experience of your specific concerns. I know we have many members of the community who successfully BF long beyond the 12 month mark and I am sure you would be able to do so too if that was what you wanted.
This is a support thread for mums who continue to BF beyond 12 months
Extended Nursing Support Thread Part 5
You will find members of the community who have continued to BF for 2 years or more.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2015, 14:14:31 pm by creations »


Offline newkidontheblock

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2015, 14:47:38 pm »
Just popping on here with more support. What great advice from creations. Lots for me to read through too! Ele, I just completed a year of ebfing. I did worry a bit when starting solids but my fears were completely unwarranted. DD viewed milk and solids as 2 completely different things and one did not affect the other. I always nursed first and then solids were a 1/2 hour to an hour later. So she was always hungry for a proper feed. The main thing is to make sure that solids do not come first and do not replace milk in any way. In fact, before the age of 1, solids are mainly for fun and exploration.

Have you considered going the Baby Lead Weaning route with your LO? It is amazing as you allow them to self-regulate and I feel it is a natural progression from breastfeeding where again babies set the pace and regulate






Offline anna*

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2015, 14:57:13 pm »
Thank you.
What typical number of meals should be during these first months?
We did baby led weaning, so we'd just give her a bit of whatever we were eating, 2-3 times a day.

Quote (selected)
Also may I ask at what age did your los stop bf?
I BF'ed both of mine to 24 months. By 18 months they were only nursing first thing in the morning and at bedtime.





Offline becj86

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2015, 20:42:46 pm »
We did a mixture of feeding DS whatever off our plates and made him some mushed food too. I breastfed til around 2.5yo and adding solids around 6 months didn't make any difference to DS' love of the breast.

TBH, with meat, they don't ingest that much initially anyway unless you mush it up, generally with veges (put in some Vit-C rich veges for better absorption). If I gave DS a piece of meat to chew on, he'd gum and suck it until there was little colour left but a substantial part of the actual meat itself remained. They can't really chew meat particularly effectively without molars, yk?

I don't recall when DS started having meat but it wasn't for a while - starting off with one solids eating session per day, introducing a different food every 3-4 days and doing single foods at the beginning meant I rolled through a few fruits and veges before I got to mixing in meat, so he was maybe 7-8 months. He's not particularly keen on meat even now. He'll eat beef mince or chicken, occasionally lamb or pork but really he doesn't eat that much meat and he's fine iron-wise. It was around that time that he wanted to take more control of the feeding (he grabbed at the spoon very early on) so I ended up going more down the BLW route then.

Offline *Ali*

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2015, 21:57:46 pm »
Maybe try BLW so your LO is controlling exactly what she eats and how much.

I BF my two boys until 26mo and I'm EBFing my 6mo DD now. I am just starting BLW with her. Both my boys were in 4 feeds at 12mo.

You can keep solids to an hour or so after milk feeds so milk always comes first and she isn't filling up on those and then drinking less milk. If at any point you find she is drinking less milk than you would like you can reduce or stop the solid foods for a week or so and then start increasing them again when the milk intake has gone back up.

I don't know the stories of the people you know IRL who lost milk but many people worry unnecessarily about having a lower supply and stop when really they were fine and it was just a natural reduction in feeling full or feeling the let down or similar. All babies eat solids and very few have to stop BFing. When babies do stop BFing at a young age it is usually mum's choice because it is more convenient or they are going back to work etc. Very few truly lose their milk. Try not to worry about something that hasn't happened yet and is very rare.  :)
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline ele

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2015, 17:52:16 pm »
Thank you very much for everyone's input!!!
I just made such a big mistake with her sleep routine choice (and lots of crying for both of us), that I do want to take excess precaution. Also both of her parents have food intolerance (result of parental error in feeding) so that's some lesson...
Will see what kind of solids eater DD will be, she is already watching everything we put in our mouths...very exciting.

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Re: introducing solids (making sure I get it right before started)
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2015, 17:58:59 pm »
Do post with any questions you have, any time.
Introducing solids to my DS was one of the most joyful things I experienced.  In a way I feel it's a shame you seem so worried about this stage as it can be an incredibly rewarding, loving, bonding journey.
I really do hope you can enjoy it x