baby food

[Vanessa]

At what age should one feed one's infant 'baby food'?

[Erin Pavlina]

I started feeding Emily fruit at 5 and a half months of age. She had fruit and breastmilk only until 7 months.

At 7 months she had veggies in addition to her fruit.

At 9 months we introduced grains.

At 1 year we introduced beans, legumes, nuts.

I usually gave her organic baby food. Easy, and according to my husband, it tasted great. ;)

[veganmama]

What I did was breastmilk (nursing) exclusively till 8 months. Then at 8 months I started veggies. I bought organic broccoli and steamed it then pureed it with a drop of water. we did this for 3 days then switched to greenbeans, then zuccini, then carrots, squash etc for 3 days each. After the veggies we started fruits and then cereal (organic brown rice cereal) then oats, etc. By 10 months my son was eating 3 meals a day and finger foods, by a year he tried soy yogurt and soy milk. After that he began eating what ever I ate. I bought some organic jar foods for rush meals, but usually just pureed the rest.

I am sooo glad we waited to start solids, and then began with veggies. For dinner tonight my 20.5 month old son ate beet greens stir fried with onions, green pepper, zuccini and chick peas over whole wheat couscous. I am soooo glad he eats soooo well.

VM

[Maggie]

Honestly, I wouldn't give pureed food, ever. When a baby is ready for solids, he's able to sit up and can grasp pieces of food between his thumb and forefinger. Feeding is supposed to be active on his part, not passive (as in Mom spooning food in his mouth). Good first fruits are chunks of peeled fruit (peaches, plums, pears, cooked apples, etc.) and soft-steamed veggies. Just make sure things are soft and things like grapes are quartered to avoid choking.
Babies don't need "baby food". It's a product marketed by the same folks who try to convince mothers to formula feed.
Peace,
Maggie

[veganmama]

Maggie: I respectfully disagree. I see that you are not a mother yet, so you have never done this. When you do and your darling baby is learning how to swallow something other than breastmilk, a veggie steamed and pureed in your own blender is harmless, yet a green bean piece would be harmful. And swallowed whole,since my son had no teeth would surley have been a hazard. Between 8 months of age and 10 months or maybe a little longer my son ate food pureed. It was vegan and easy to swallow. My son has never had a drop of formula, and quickly learned how to eat solid foods after first practicing on pureed food. I don't know where you got your information from. Can you state the source? I'd like to read up on your theory. VM

[Maggie]

If you think about it, blenders are a pretty new invention so obviously babies spent centuries learning to eat solids without pureed foods!
I'll do some digging for some Internet links, but basically the theory is that when babies are ready for solids, they are ready to feed themselves. Food should be soft and cut in small pieces, and baby will decide for himself what and how much to eat. If there's no history of allergies, some parents give baby tastes of whatever they're eating at the time. Alternatively, parents can pre-chew the food a little bit for baby. The point is that baby is better off being in control of his own feeding - not having food spooned in his mouth while he sits passively. If he can't sit up unaided, can't grasp between the thumb and forefinger (both of these barring a physical delay like CP that would affect these abilities, of course), and isn't interested in solids, then he's not quite ready yet. The number of teeth is not a factor because the food should be soft enough that baby can mush it well just by "gumming" it.
Peace,
Maggie

[karen]

I tried feeding Evan fruits and cereals at around 7 months but he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any food that did not come from my breast, lol.

He didn't really start "eating" until 1 year or so. He would eat fruits, pastas, tofu, some veggies. Now at 23 months, he eats practically anything I offer him (or at least he will give it a try). In fact the other day I was eating sauteed kale and ds *loved* it. He must have eaten about 15 bites!

[isismama]

I had planned to wait until 6 months or later to start Eli on solids but at about 5 and a half months he started begging for my food. We started giving him organic pureed fruit (apples, pears, mangos, etc) , then moved on to veggies (sweet potatoe, squash, peas). He is 9 months and has been eating finger foods for about three weeks. I give him puffed cereals (to snack on with no added sugars or salt), chunks of soft tofu, chunks of soft fruits, and veggie booty (plus I still give him some pureed foods). He is now really, REALLY wanting our food so for the past week or so, we have been giving him bits of almost everything we're eating (unless it has added sugar or is really spicy or salty).

His main source of nourishment, though, remains breastmilk. Other food merely supplements the breastmilk and introduces him to a wide variety of tastes and textures.

Becky

[Vanessa]

I want to thank you all for your advice. This will be my first child. I have a lot to learn.

I have another question. At what age do you stop breastfeeding all-together?

[isismama]

I think that that the age the babies stop nursing varies widely from culture to culture and baby to baby but the worldwide average is soemthing like 4.5 YEARS! The World Health Organization recommends nursing for two years and beyond.

I hope to nurse Eli for at least two years and plan to practice child-led weaning. I'm expecting to nurse him until he's about three years old. Of course, nursing a toddler is very different than nursing an infant. Toddlers often only nurse a couple times a day but they still get a lot of nutritional benefits and comfort from it and mamas get protection from breast cancer the longer we nurse!

Becky

[Vanessa]

Is that possible? I thought that after a while, mayber a year or so, a woman's body stops producing breast milk

[Maggie]

No way! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing for a *minimum* of 1 year, the WHO recommends 2 years, and like isismama said, the world average is 4.5 years. You'll keep making milk as long as your child is nursing, barring some sort of physical trauma. Children don't naturally self-wean until about 2.5 years at the earliest. Some keep nursing till age 7. Their moms keep producing milk!
Peace,
Maggie