When my daughter was a baby, all the nurses and doctors I spoke to about "solids" were very insistent that this should not be started until 6 months. Just the thought of starting my daughter earlier because I thought she was ready made me feel a stab of guilt for even considering this.
Even my mum (who works with early childhood nurses so was always sitting on their side of the fence anyway) gave a raised eyebrow when I mentioned that I might start my daughter on solids at 5 months. I thought she was ready and I had read alot about mothers intuition and knowing when the right time would be but guilt got the better of me. Obviously these people weren't just saying this to annoy me, they were saying it because there was written evidence that babies should be exclusively breastfed/bottlefed for the first 6 months of their life.
I had read a few books (including my dismissed bible - Save our Sleep) that were all pro-early solids. The consensus seemed to be around 4.5 months.
Fast forward 2 and a bit years and alot of those nurses and doctors are telling me solids is ok to start at 4 months. Apparently now there is new written evidence that introducing babies to solids earlier doesn't really harm them and can actually prove quite beneficial for them! So as I did 2 years ago, I googled it - and now I'm confused again because some baby websites are telling me to wait till 6 months, others say 17 weeks. The World Health Organisation tells me to wait till 6 months. Farex, Heinz, Macro Organic, Nestle Cerelac and Raffertys on the other hand market their foods suitable for 4+ months.
The one thing everyone is consistent with is that your baby should:
- show an interest in food
- have an increased appetite
- open their mouth when offered a spoon
- have good head and neck control
4 month old ticked all these boxes weeks ago (around about the time when he started waking every 1-2 hours during the night!) but while I may seem impatient to start my baby on solids and enter a new chapter of his young life - I want whats best for him and understand the importance of waiting until at the very least, his tummy can handle something other than breastmilk.
So this week we will take the leap and introduce growing child to Rice Cereal (or recycled cardboard. I''m sure it's the same thing just branded differently).
The pressure is on to not screw this up and ensure that giggly tot is slowly introduced to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in an attempt to to instill a healthy interest in whole foods.
Easy......
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