Saturday, April 13, 2013

Soapbox Saturday - Many Babies Begin Eating Solids Too Soon

Well it has been an interesting week. I definitely didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped to. My boys got sick over the weekend and my husband had a sick day on Tuesday. Luckily I was able to avoid it, but I've been exhausted all week.

So I'm back with another Soapbox Saturday. This week I wanted to share an article my friend shared on her  facebook page, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

The CDC conducted a national survey in which 40% of mother's said they gave their baby solid food as early as 4 months and 9% said they started at 4 weeks!  The mothers gave several reasons for starting among them; their baby is old enough, their baby seemed hungry, and they wanted their baby to sleep longer at night.

Doctors now recommend waiting until at least 6 months. If food is started too young, the baby could lack the proper gut bacteria to digest the food safely. This could lead to gastroenteritis and diarrhea and some studies have even linked the early introduction of solid foods with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, eczema and celiac disease.


Andrew's first rice cereal

I thought this was an interesting article and it kinda scared me to read that so many parents are starting their children on solids so young. For our first, we waited until 6 months. I don't remember with Ben, but probably around then too. I do remember there was a lot of pressure from family and friends to start. None of it was direct 'you should start feeding him solid food,' but more that it was expected that he was over 4 months, so people assumed he had started or would offer food/crackers to him. I also felt like it was harder with the second one. Ben would start reaching for food that he saw us and his older brother eating. So I can definitely understand how some moms start early, but it scared me to read the risk factors that can follow.

I guess I also never knew it was an option to wait longer. I have several friends who have exclusively breastfed for 7,8,9 months before introducing solids. I think it has become such a norm to start them asap that I was never aware that they'd be fine until then without solids. I think this is the method I want to try with any future children. I think for me personally, it would help with milk production and supply.

Ben's first rice cereal

What are your thoughts? When did you start your child on solid foods?

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8 comments:

  1. I started rice cereal around 6 months with George... but I still mostly (almost exclusively) breastfed until he was 1! I didn't know anything about the whole weaning process and it was easier to just nurse!

    With Ruthie, the doctor gave us the green light for cereal... she is 7 months now, but she was 2 months early, so I am waiting until she is 8 months to start. I will definitely follow more of a schedule with her. The pediatrician (different than the one I had when G was a baby) gave me a great schedule to go by.

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    1. That's awesome, sounds like you got some great guidance! I definitely felt from friends and family that I HAD to start food at 6 months. I think a lot of people want babies to grow up so much quicker than they need to. Glad you're waiting a little longer with your 'early bird' Ruthie. :D

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  2. Hi,
    I have 2 children and breastfed exclusively for the first six months, then introduced the solids but kept breastfeeding with my first until she was 14 months and my second until he was 11 months.

    Great article !
    Thanks

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    1. That's awesome that you were able to nurse them for so long. Mine stopped much sooner. Thanks for your comment!

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  3. I probably started my girls too young (honestly it is a blur), but I don't plan to start my new guy until the summer is over (which I guess will be almost 9 months). I'm not in any kind of hurry for him to grow up!

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    1. I totally understand. Sometimes babies just need to stay babies for a while. I heard an older guy in a kids resale store this morning telling a mom to add rice cereal to her daughter's bottle to help her gain weight at 3 1/2 months. Ugh.

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  4. 6 months had become the absolute norm over here in the UK but some movement back the other way to taking it very slowly from the 5th month. I waited till 6 but in retrospect not sure this was right - a really tricky one.

    Thanks so much for sharing at The Friday Baby Shower, Alice x

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    1. Thanks for sharing Alice. Yeah, it's a tricky one for sure.

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