6mths to start solids

Hi,

I have managed to perserve till 6mths now with baby exclusively fed on breastmilk!

Now moving on, I know I have to start solids, have read Nursing mother guide to weaning, and Gina Ford's book on weaning...but still unsure that's why I am here for advice.


There are a few things I will like to check with some experienced moms.

1) Baby is now 6mths and 1 week old, I am chinese and my mother in law takes care of baby in daytime and says we should give only cooked diluted porridege to her for first 1mth before starting any veg or fruits.

However, Gina says we should start fruit puree( pear/apple) at the start with rice cereal? how do I blend East and West without compromising my baby???


Baby schedule now is like:

7am BF ( usually drink little)

10-11ish BF ( for first time,my mother in kaw gave her 3tsp of cooked porridge once here yesterday- she seemed fine but don't particularly like it.)

2ish EBM

6-7ish EBM

anytime 11-12ish BF ( drinks a lot) -6oz?

she wakes up at 4am usually for BF ( drinks a lot)


For each EBM is like around 5-5.5oz, baby is active and happy, is hitting her dev milestones, but more on the smaller frame size like me. (Her wt at 4.5mths was 5.6kg, newborn was 2.64kg)


How should I incorprate the solids in her schedule? and what solids should I start first with and what to avoid initailly? (eg 6-7mths)

I am worried beacuse I read she needs iron now and hope to start her solids soon but don't want to overload her system.


I still intend to BF and Gina says I should drop the night feed so she takes more solids but I am not sure how to go about doing that as she is genuinely hungry at the nights.


Recently in the morning feed while BF, she always drinks a little (1-2mins) then unlatch and look at me and smiles, then continues, and the cycle continues till she refuse to suck anymore( arch back etc), I suspect she is not hungry, but then she becomes hungry in just 1-2hrs later and the whole cycle gets so disrupted like if she is back to newborn days!! Why is this so?


Any comments/ advice will be great!! Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post

"1) Baby is now 6mths and 1 week old, I am chinese and my mother in law takes care of baby in daytime and says we should give only cooked diluted porridege to her for first 1mth before starting any veg or fruits.

However, Gina says we should start fruit puree( pear/apple) at the start with rice cereal? how do I blend East and West without compromising my baby???"


It doesn't matter that much IMHO. The only thing I would say is that if you give her fruit first she may not like the porridge as much since it is not as sweet. Personally I would start with the rice cereal but as I said it's not huge thing...



"How should I incorprate the solids in her schedule?"


Solids first in the meal. And at "alert" times like morning when she is both hungry and awake. Otherwise she'll start on the milk and not move on.



"I am worried beacuse I read she needs iron now and hope to start her solids soon but don't want to overload her system."


She should be getting enough iron from breast milk.

Hi Elly,


I have been feeding my 7.5month old solids for about 2 weeks now. Iron is not a problem for breast fed babies because they are able to absorb higher quantities of iron from breast milk, compared to formula fed babies. This is why I delayed solids until 7 months. So don't worry about the iron thing!


Your baby is drinking way too much at her 4am feed... this is obvious, because she's not drinking enough at 7am, which means that she should be able to sleep through the night. You should try to break her habit of waking at 3/4am. You could try giving her EBM at the dream feed (11/12midnight) so that way you know exactly how much she's drinking? Also, if the EBM is taking from a morning pumping session - these morning sessions are supposed to have more fat in the milk, so maybe she'll sleep for longer. Also, you could try to reduce the time on the breast at 3/4am and eventually wean her off with water?


I started my baby on baby rice for a couple of days (organic stuff I bought from Bumps 2 Babes). Then I gave her carrots, mixed with EBM and baby rice and fed her that for a few days. Then I gave her apples. I agree that if you give fruit first, you might give her a sweet tooth. I also think that you can introduce foods fairly quickly as long as you have no history of allergies yourself. The baby has already tasted many foods through your breast milk so she shouldn't have a problem with new tastes.


I've also started feeding my baby twice a day because it was such tiny amounts and I wanted her to start sleeping through the night. I started with the 11am feed - giving her milk first so that she is still drinking enough milk. After 10 days, we decided to feed her around 4pm as well, after her afternoon nap.


Maybe you could tell your mother-in-law that new research shows that babies who are exclusively breastfed can be introduced to new foods much quicker? (just something you could tell her if you didn't just want to feed your baby porridge for one whole month.) Also, my doctor said don't give babies congee because they can't handle it until their 9 months old.


Have fun!

Slammy,

Whats the difference between baby porridge and congee? My MIL cooked rice till its very soft and just gave my girl the soupy part...or should just give her baby rice real instead?? but I heard alot of babies hate the commercial ones either in tins or packs? What is the brand you brought? Thinking of trying just common like Nestle or Heinz, but I am a bit worried as well as everyone seems to say go organic!

Hi Elly,


I guess the baby porridge stuff is made so that it's easily digestible for babies. Despite my doctor saying 'no congee', many people do feed their babies congee and I'm sure it's fine - especially as you said that your MIL cooked it till very soft. But still... normal rice might be more difficult for baby's digestive system? I don't know about this so I would have to look it up on the internet.


I'm at work at the moment so I can't tell you which organic baby rice I bought - it was the only one that said "organic" in the shop, so I just grabbed it. I don't think it really matters which brand you buy. If you want to try Nestle or Heinz, just go for it!


Sure - everyone says organic because with fruit and vegetables, you don't know how much pesticide has been used on them. But I would guess that with baby cereal stuff, I would think the "organic" label is not as important.


Feeding baby is fun! I was getting myself all worked up about it and by delaying for one month, it really helped me see that it's not a big deal at all so I was much more relaxed when we finally did it!


As long as its mushy and lump-free, and not too hot, your baby will be fine! And use your EBM to mix in.

Hi Elly,

I read that if your baby is not feeding well at 7am which even my son wasn't- it means that they do not need middle of the night feed anymore. He is now 5 months. They are waking up more from habit than hunger and yes, they do seem to be gulping down at 4am. I exclusively breastfeed as well. I felt he was genuinely hungry at 4am but would look around smiling at 7am. I tried giving him water at 4am for a week which really didn't work. Then we sleep trained him (bcos we had to rock him to sleep and it was killing my back) and the first night itself, he didn't get up at 4am! The 3rd night he got up around 4am and whined for around 8 min (10 min was my limit before I would go in to pat him) and went off to sleep by himself. I can't stop being excited about it!


As far as normal rice vs from the store (organic or not)... my thought is that what did people ever do before it was all commercially available? I plan on introducing something what your MIL does in a week or so as my son is ready.

i'd say introduce both congee cooked the traditonal chinese way and the store bought rice cereal. Both are ok for baby i think and being able to carry a dose of rice cereal when you are out and about is deadly convenient rather than having to prepare congee and keep it warm etc etc. Veggies and fruits can be introduced with the congee. just one at a time and not all together.


honestly if i had a had a mom-in-law on hand to do it i would've just left it up to her.


have fun, good luck and dont stress...

thanks, an update - baby started on solids for coming 3rd week now, we tried congee, banana, apple, pear, papaya, sweet potato, red carrot so far and so good! guess I was overstress, she seem to like solids, of course I gave her one type per time and see if there were any allergic reaction.

I did not give her cereal, doesnt seem a need anyway. Only problem- she used to poo everyday but since introducing solids into 2 times a day, she is constipated, the first time for 6 days! finally on 5th and 6th day, we just gave her BM and papaya and finally she pooed on the 6th day, it was pasty and not watery like usual. We then went back to giving congee and now she has not gone to toliet for 3 days..

Question, should I give her some prune/apple juice?so far I have not given any juice during solids, just congee, and some puree fruits and BM. But it seems like the puree fruits are not enough?

if so, when should I give her the juice/ and or plain water and how much?

She does not seem uncomfortable, still active and happy but does pass out gas ever so and then.

Thanks

you can buy some dry prunes, cook them in plenty of water over low heat for an hour or so, mash them and strain them and give her maby only one tablespoon a day. not more and only if she really has an issue pooing.

how long can I keep these prune preparation in fridge?

"how long can I keep these prune preparation in fridge?"


A couple of days. But it's much easier to freeze portions. You can keep them in the freezer for months.


BTW it's easier to boil for 15 minutes, then dump the prunes and a little of the water in a food processor and puree the whole thing thoroughly. All that straining is tiresome. ;)

How are those commercial prune juice in the shops like Heinz or Gerber, are those any good?

"How are those commercial prune juice in the shops like Heinz or Gerber, are those any good?"


They work, but you need much more of that to have an effect compared to home made prune puree.