I promised a post about introducing solid foods, and here it is!
GI turned six months on March 5. I had been anxiously awaiting that day for several weeks, planning how we would introduce solids, what he should eat first, how we would balance nursing and eating. I should have known after three kids that things come together fairly naturally if you let them. I did know, after three kids, that there were many different ways to introduce solids, and many different theories about what is best. The only things I can see that anyone seems to agree on these days is that you should wait until the baby is six months old.
With NJ, we followed our pediatrician's advice and started solid foods at four months. We did rice cereal mixed with formula for a week or so to get him used to the spoon and see how he did. We then started on pureed vegetables and fruits, like sweet potato, squash, peas, banana, pears, and apples. We did one simple food at a time, starting a new food every three to four days, and slowly built up to the "stage 2" foods and mixtures by the time he was six months. From then on, he had at least one or two meals of solid foods per day in addition to his bottles. We went ever-so-slowly and carefully, and I was afraid to give him finger foods because I was sure he would choke. I did eventually start giving him finger foods, like Gerber's fantastic Puffs, Cheerios, pasta, and bits of bread. It was a long time before he was just eating regular food with the rest of us.
With SB, we were more experienced and less nervous about the whole thing. And a good thing we were, because SB wanted nothing to do with purees. We started at six months, attempting to give him rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. He didn't like it. I found it was way more trouble to prepare food for him and to figure out what to give him than it was to just nurse him when he was hungry. It's likely that if we had pushed it more, he would have gotten the idea and eaten more solids sooner. I'm not saying we should have, just that I was too lazy. He nursed a lot well into the second half of his first year. It wasn't until after he was a year old that he was actually replacing breastfeedings with solid foods. He would eat bits and pieces of solid foods, crackers, pasta, peas, Puffs, cereal, melon, and so on, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he'd nursed.
So with GI, I thought it might be nice to do a combination. Maybe he could have purees sometimes and finger foods other times, so that we'd have options. I wanted the freedom of being away from him for more than two hours without worrying if he was getting hungry, so I thought if my husband or a babysitter could give him a meal of a puree, that would help. So we started with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk, which he found yucky, of course. I then tried mixing rice cereal with purees instead, which he actually sort of took to. He was very interested in the spoon. I tried to make it a point to give him some puree at least once a day, but he didn't eat much of it. He kept trying to steal food off my plate. So I finally just started giving him bits and pieces of whatever we were eating - bread, a pea, cereal, etc. I stay away from anything too acidic - citrus, tomatoes - or things babies really shouldn't have, like honey, and I don't want him to have dairy yet, but almost anything else, I'll let him try. He had a bit of avocado today, and a few peas. Some days, he gets some tortilla or bread. My friend's son had a big birthday party the other day, and there were roasted vegetables, so GI got some scraped-out bits of squash and zucchini and a little carrot and a banana. Whatever seems soft and small enough for the toothless little guy to manage, I'll let him try. He seems to enjoy it, but he only takes a few bites before he starts refusing.
There is research to suggest that babies who are allowed to go at their own pace with finger foods are less picky and healthier eaters as they grow up. It seems that being fed purees means that the baby doesn't have control over what he eats, how much he eats, and he doesn't learn to differentiate foods by texture, shape, and color, since it's all just liquified. I'm not sure how much I agree with this, but it's interesting to think about. That's why I figured a combination of finger foods and purees might be the way to go this time. I'm not going to force-feed anything, and if he doesn't want something, he doesn't want it. He's still going to mostly nurse for a while. He's seven months old today, and I'm hoping to continue to slowly increase his solids intake.
I did try leaving him with a babysitter last week. I gave her about half a jar of squash puree mixed with a some rice cereal for texture, and he ate almost all of it for her. He'll eat solids for other people more than for me, which makes sense, since when he's with me, he just wants to nurse. I did find that he still practically leaped into my arms when I got home. It seemed like even though he wasn't necessarily terribly hungry, he didn't feel satisfied until he could nurse. It's kind of nice to be pounced upon like that. Makes you feel needed.
The process of introducing solid foods can be referred to as weaning, in the sense that you are slowly replacing breastfeedings (or bottle feedings) with other foods. By one year, babies can be taking in at least half of their caloric needs from solid foods, maybe more. It depends on your kid, of course. Some babies just aren't that interested in solids at 12 months, and that's okay too. Obviously, at some point, they're going to have to subsist solely on solids, but it doesn't have to be at one year, or even at two. Your breastmilk is still supplying vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and sugars, along with anti-inflammatory agents, antibacterial and antifungal substances, stem cells, and all the other things that make breastmilk so great.
And the realization will come, at some point after starting solids, that if you plan to replace nursing with solids, you'll actually have to prepare food for your baby instead of just sitting down and nursing! I'm realizing that I'll now have to cook for three kids, not just two. Why rush that?
I'm a breastfeeding counselor with a side hobby in educating parents and caregivers in proper car seat use. I have four sons, one born by c-section and three born by VBAC. I blog about my life with four kids, pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding, and car seats.
Showing posts with label solid foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solid foods. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Breastfeeding: All or Nothing?
I read an interesting point in a blog post recently, and I only wish I could remember which blog, because I read so many and rarely keep track of who said what (bad blog reading, I know). In any case, the point was that while you can choose not to breastfeed, you can't then later choose to switch to breastfeeding. However, you can choose not to formula-feed and then later choose to switch to formula if your situation calls for it. Basically, you've got to start out breastfeeding, and then make the choice either to continue or let your milk dry up and switch to formula.
This isn't exactly true, of course. It is both possible to relactate - that is, ask your breasts to start making milk again after having let your milk dry up - or to induce lactation - that is, ask your breasts to start making milk even if you never even had a baby. Some adoptive mothers do the latter, inducing lactation by tricking the body into thinking it's pregnant and then tricking the body into thinking it's delivered a baby through the use of hormone therapy and 'round-the-clock pumping. It's not easy, and it doesn't work for everybody, but it can be a very rewarding effort if you wanted to go that route. As for relactation, it's nearly as difficult. It's possible to bring your milk back in within the first few months after giving birth if you pump about every two to three hours around the clock for several weeks, as well as putting baby to breast as often as possible (if possible), but it takes serious dedication. After my first son was born and had been on exclusively formula for about four weeks, I thought about relactating. I spoke with a La Leche League leader about it, and she said I'd basically need to treat my breastpump like a newborn, pumping at least eight times in a 24-hour period (including in the middle of the night). She also said that since I had never established a full supply to begin with, it might never be possible to do so. I gave it a half-hearted effort, but never really was able to extract more than a few drops of milk, and I gave up after a couple of weeks of seeing no change.
So if you think you probably do want to breastfeed but you're not sure, you should start out doing so. Bring in your milk, breastfeed your new baby, and if for whatever reason you decide you don't want to do it, or there is a medical or psychiatric reason that you shouldn't or can't do it, you can always stop, wean to formula or bottles of donated breastmilk, and let your milk dry up. But, if you don't bring in your milk and start breastfeeding, it's pretty darn difficult, if not impossible, to change your mind six weeks in.
So in the beginning, yes, breastfeeding is "all or nothing." That is, either you do it or you don't. But, once you've established your supply and the baby has learned to feed effectively, and you give it a few weeks, or months, or years, things become a bit more flexible. For example, let's say that after six weeks, your maternity leave ends and you have to go back to work full time. You intend to pump and have your baby drink your milk from a bottle while you're separated from her. This would be ideal if you can't be with your baby all day, which many, many women can't. But, what if you just can't pump enough milk? Some women's bodies just don't respond well to the breast pump, and they can't produce enough, or they can't produce anything at all, or they can't keep up with their baby's needs by pumping. Other women's jobs are not ideal for pumping milk. Even though new federal law requires most workplaces to provide adequate break times and space for pumping milk, it still may not be entirely possible. Does this mean you have to stop breastfeeding and give your baby formula?
No!
Certainly, and I stress this because I believe it, it is most desireable to feed exclusively breastmilk for at least the first six months of your baby's life. That is the general recommendation from the AAP, the WHO, and other health services. Breastmilk is the best food for your young baby, and if you can provide it, and you will provide it, then you should provide it. The enormous benefits to your baby's (and your!) health, from nutrition to immune system to brain development to priming the digestive system, make exclusive breastfeeding the natural choice for every baby.
However, some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk. If you simply cannot provide exclusively breastmilk to your under-six-month-old baby, then continuing to nurse as much as you can is still good! Even if that means you only nurse at night, or in the morning and evening before and after work, or three times a day, or just for bedtime, some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk.
After six months or so, once you've introduced solid foods, you are no longer exclusively breastfeeding anyway. The benefits of breastmilk never go away, of course, so if you can continue to breastfeed as your baby's major source of nutrition, you should go on doing so. But, if you've given it six months and you're going a little nuts, backing off at this point is not as harmful, since your baby is eating other foods anyway. Remember that solid foods cannot and should not replace breastmilk and/or formula as your baby's major source of nutrition until after 12 months of age. Especially early on, six or seven months of age, solid foods shouldn't be more than 5 to 10% of your baby's daily intake. By one year, solid foods may be up to closer to 50% of your baby's intake. After one year, solid foods can be the majority of your baby's caloric and nutritional intake. Between six and 12 months, if you do decide to breastfeed less, you should replace most of the feedings with donated breastmilk or formula, not solid foods. One to three small meals of solids should be fine, but babies still need breastmilk or formula to thrive at that young age.
The AAP recommends breastfeeding for at minimum of one year. The WHO says two years. By one year of age, many babies are eating a fair amount of solid foods. At this point, you can choose to wean without taking away a significant portion of your baby's diet. However, if you want to continue to nurse, you certainly can. There is no psychological or physical harm to continuing to nurse to two years or beyond. The value of breastmilk and breastfeeding is not diminished just because the Earth has circled the sun one time since your baby was born. But, toddlers can survive on solid foods, assuming you are providing a variety of foods to create a balanced diet for your child. Children under two still need milk fats for brain development, either from your own milk, cow's milk, other dairy products, or another source. I am not a nutritionist or pediatrician, so I can't make a recommendation about what sort of milk to feed your toddler to replace breastmilk, but most pediatricians will tell you to give whole cow's milk to replace breastmilk or formula after one year of age.
If you do decide you want to wean at one year, you may need to start cutting back slowly. What you may find is that once you're down to two or three feedings a day, instead of six or seven, for example, or once you find that you no longer need to pump at work, breastfeeding may become an enjoyable break, rather than a burden or responsibility. Cuddling up with your toddler to nurse at bedtime or for an afternoon snack may be a time of closeness you and your toddler need during your otherwise hectic days. At this point, breastfeeding really isn't all or nothing. Weaning doesn't have to mean stopping completely, and weaning can be a slow, gentle process. I know of women who continue to nurse just once a day for months before they or their child finally drop that last feeding. I also know of women who continue to nurse six times a day, or more, throughout the second year. I found that SB gradually cut back over the course of his second year, until he was really only comfort-nursing at night. By the time I cut him off at 25 months, I didn't even get engorged, he was nursing so rarely and so little. A slow weaning process is more comfortable for both mother and child.
I don't really feel comfortable encouraging anyone to cut back on breastfeeding until her baby is at least one year of age. I wouldn't be writing this blog if I didn't feel that women should be supported and encouraged to choose exclusive breastfeeding. However, I also don't think it's fair to insist on breastfeeding as the only right choice, as if you either breastfeed or you don't. I think that places a lot of burden and blame on women who, for whatever reason, choose to use some formula. I also think it's important to let women know that breastfeeding some of the time is better than not breastfeeding at all. Just like some exercise is better than no exercise, and eating some vegetables is better than eating no vegetables, and getting some sleep is better than getting no sleep, breastfeeding some of the time is better than breastfeeding none of the time. To keep some supply, you have to breastfeed regularly, but if, for whatever reason, you don't breastfeed all of the time, that doesn't mean you have to stop completely.
I've been thinking about NJ's early weeks on this Earth, where he was getting perhaps 3 ounces of breastmilk per day when I pumped for him. I asked my LiveJournal audience if that measly 3 ounces a day mattered. I wish someone had said, "YES! Any breastmilk is better than no breastmilk!" I wish someone had said to me, "Try just nursing once a day. Maybe you'll find you want to try for a second feeding, and then a third." I wish I had known I could combination feed, or bring up my supply over time, as I healed, rather than just stopping. I wish I had known how important it could be in the future. I wish I had known how badly I would feel about stopping.
It is those regrets that drove me to two successful VBACs and two successful subsequent nursing relationships. (I've officially made it to six months of breastfeeding with GI, and we started solids a couple of weeks ago but are still mostly nursing. I'll be blogging about that soon.) It is also those regrets, and my subsequent successes, that drive me to write this blog. So I say, Yes! Do breastfeed! Give it a shot. Give it six weeks. Breastfeeding some is better than not breastfeeding at all. Some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk. And it is not all or nothing.
Most importantly, find help and support so that you can meet whatever goals you have set for yourself. Knowing that you've reached or surpassed those goals will allow you to look back with pride rather than with regret or guilt.
This isn't exactly true, of course. It is both possible to relactate - that is, ask your breasts to start making milk again after having let your milk dry up - or to induce lactation - that is, ask your breasts to start making milk even if you never even had a baby. Some adoptive mothers do the latter, inducing lactation by tricking the body into thinking it's pregnant and then tricking the body into thinking it's delivered a baby through the use of hormone therapy and 'round-the-clock pumping. It's not easy, and it doesn't work for everybody, but it can be a very rewarding effort if you wanted to go that route. As for relactation, it's nearly as difficult. It's possible to bring your milk back in within the first few months after giving birth if you pump about every two to three hours around the clock for several weeks, as well as putting baby to breast as often as possible (if possible), but it takes serious dedication. After my first son was born and had been on exclusively formula for about four weeks, I thought about relactating. I spoke with a La Leche League leader about it, and she said I'd basically need to treat my breastpump like a newborn, pumping at least eight times in a 24-hour period (including in the middle of the night). She also said that since I had never established a full supply to begin with, it might never be possible to do so. I gave it a half-hearted effort, but never really was able to extract more than a few drops of milk, and I gave up after a couple of weeks of seeing no change.
So if you think you probably do want to breastfeed but you're not sure, you should start out doing so. Bring in your milk, breastfeed your new baby, and if for whatever reason you decide you don't want to do it, or there is a medical or psychiatric reason that you shouldn't or can't do it, you can always stop, wean to formula or bottles of donated breastmilk, and let your milk dry up. But, if you don't bring in your milk and start breastfeeding, it's pretty darn difficult, if not impossible, to change your mind six weeks in.
So in the beginning, yes, breastfeeding is "all or nothing." That is, either you do it or you don't. But, once you've established your supply and the baby has learned to feed effectively, and you give it a few weeks, or months, or years, things become a bit more flexible. For example, let's say that after six weeks, your maternity leave ends and you have to go back to work full time. You intend to pump and have your baby drink your milk from a bottle while you're separated from her. This would be ideal if you can't be with your baby all day, which many, many women can't. But, what if you just can't pump enough milk? Some women's bodies just don't respond well to the breast pump, and they can't produce enough, or they can't produce anything at all, or they can't keep up with their baby's needs by pumping. Other women's jobs are not ideal for pumping milk. Even though new federal law requires most workplaces to provide adequate break times and space for pumping milk, it still may not be entirely possible. Does this mean you have to stop breastfeeding and give your baby formula?
No!
Certainly, and I stress this because I believe it, it is most desireable to feed exclusively breastmilk for at least the first six months of your baby's life. That is the general recommendation from the AAP, the WHO, and other health services. Breastmilk is the best food for your young baby, and if you can provide it, and you will provide it, then you should provide it. The enormous benefits to your baby's (and your!) health, from nutrition to immune system to brain development to priming the digestive system, make exclusive breastfeeding the natural choice for every baby.
However, some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk. If you simply cannot provide exclusively breastmilk to your under-six-month-old baby, then continuing to nurse as much as you can is still good! Even if that means you only nurse at night, or in the morning and evening before and after work, or three times a day, or just for bedtime, some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk.
After six months or so, once you've introduced solid foods, you are no longer exclusively breastfeeding anyway. The benefits of breastmilk never go away, of course, so if you can continue to breastfeed as your baby's major source of nutrition, you should go on doing so. But, if you've given it six months and you're going a little nuts, backing off at this point is not as harmful, since your baby is eating other foods anyway. Remember that solid foods cannot and should not replace breastmilk and/or formula as your baby's major source of nutrition until after 12 months of age. Especially early on, six or seven months of age, solid foods shouldn't be more than 5 to 10% of your baby's daily intake. By one year, solid foods may be up to closer to 50% of your baby's intake. After one year, solid foods can be the majority of your baby's caloric and nutritional intake. Between six and 12 months, if you do decide to breastfeed less, you should replace most of the feedings with donated breastmilk or formula, not solid foods. One to three small meals of solids should be fine, but babies still need breastmilk or formula to thrive at that young age.
The AAP recommends breastfeeding for at minimum of one year. The WHO says two years. By one year of age, many babies are eating a fair amount of solid foods. At this point, you can choose to wean without taking away a significant portion of your baby's diet. However, if you want to continue to nurse, you certainly can. There is no psychological or physical harm to continuing to nurse to two years or beyond. The value of breastmilk and breastfeeding is not diminished just because the Earth has circled the sun one time since your baby was born. But, toddlers can survive on solid foods, assuming you are providing a variety of foods to create a balanced diet for your child. Children under two still need milk fats for brain development, either from your own milk, cow's milk, other dairy products, or another source. I am not a nutritionist or pediatrician, so I can't make a recommendation about what sort of milk to feed your toddler to replace breastmilk, but most pediatricians will tell you to give whole cow's milk to replace breastmilk or formula after one year of age.
If you do decide you want to wean at one year, you may need to start cutting back slowly. What you may find is that once you're down to two or three feedings a day, instead of six or seven, for example, or once you find that you no longer need to pump at work, breastfeeding may become an enjoyable break, rather than a burden or responsibility. Cuddling up with your toddler to nurse at bedtime or for an afternoon snack may be a time of closeness you and your toddler need during your otherwise hectic days. At this point, breastfeeding really isn't all or nothing. Weaning doesn't have to mean stopping completely, and weaning can be a slow, gentle process. I know of women who continue to nurse just once a day for months before they or their child finally drop that last feeding. I also know of women who continue to nurse six times a day, or more, throughout the second year. I found that SB gradually cut back over the course of his second year, until he was really only comfort-nursing at night. By the time I cut him off at 25 months, I didn't even get engorged, he was nursing so rarely and so little. A slow weaning process is more comfortable for both mother and child.
I don't really feel comfortable encouraging anyone to cut back on breastfeeding until her baby is at least one year of age. I wouldn't be writing this blog if I didn't feel that women should be supported and encouraged to choose exclusive breastfeeding. However, I also don't think it's fair to insist on breastfeeding as the only right choice, as if you either breastfeed or you don't. I think that places a lot of burden and blame on women who, for whatever reason, choose to use some formula. I also think it's important to let women know that breastfeeding some of the time is better than not breastfeeding at all. Just like some exercise is better than no exercise, and eating some vegetables is better than eating no vegetables, and getting some sleep is better than getting no sleep, breastfeeding some of the time is better than breastfeeding none of the time. To keep some supply, you have to breastfeed regularly, but if, for whatever reason, you don't breastfeed all of the time, that doesn't mean you have to stop completely.
I've been thinking about NJ's early weeks on this Earth, where he was getting perhaps 3 ounces of breastmilk per day when I pumped for him. I asked my LiveJournal audience if that measly 3 ounces a day mattered. I wish someone had said, "YES! Any breastmilk is better than no breastmilk!" I wish someone had said to me, "Try just nursing once a day. Maybe you'll find you want to try for a second feeding, and then a third." I wish I had known I could combination feed, or bring up my supply over time, as I healed, rather than just stopping. I wish I had known how important it could be in the future. I wish I had known how badly I would feel about stopping.
It is those regrets that drove me to two successful VBACs and two successful subsequent nursing relationships. (I've officially made it to six months of breastfeeding with GI, and we started solids a couple of weeks ago but are still mostly nursing. I'll be blogging about that soon.) It is also those regrets, and my subsequent successes, that drive me to write this blog. So I say, Yes! Do breastfeed! Give it a shot. Give it six weeks. Breastfeeding some is better than not breastfeeding at all. Some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk. And it is not all or nothing.
Most importantly, find help and support so that you can meet whatever goals you have set for yourself. Knowing that you've reached or surpassed those goals will allow you to look back with pride rather than with regret or guilt.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Breastfeeding Basics - Part V: Six Months to One Year
Thanks for sticking with me so far. I recommend you read the previous posts in this series before jumping in here, unless you have a baby in this age range and you just can't wait to find out what wisdom I have to impart.
Introduction, Parts I, II, III, IV
By now, you should be quite comfortable with nursing. You've gotten this far, which means you've met the first part of the recommendations from the AAP, the WHO, and many other health agencies in exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months. Breastfeeding should be feeling quite routine by now. You know your baby's cues. You've gotten through growth spurts. Your baby may even have a tooth or two, or will very soon. Your baby is growing and healthy and doing all kinds of "tricks," like rolling over, and probably sitting without support. Some babies even begin crawling around six or seven months of age. Your baby is interactive, loves to play, grabs and holds objects of interest and brings them to her mouth.
Introducing Solid Foods
So what's next? Well, at six months of age, if you feel you and your baby are ready, you can begin to introduce solid foods! "Solid" foods means any food that is not breastmilk.
A few things you should know before I start:
First of all, you don't have to give solids if you don't want to or if you feel like your baby isn't ready. Some babies of this age still don't quite know what to do with food when offered, while others have been trying to grab and eat your PB&J for a month already. Breastmilk still provides all of the nutrients, fats, and sugars your baby needs. Before the age of one or so, any solid foods are just for practice, for baby to get used to new textures and flavors and to learn to bring food to the mouth, "chew" it, and swallow it. You don't have to worry if it seems like your baby isn't getting a "full meal" of solids at first. Getting a hunk of banana from the plate to his mouth is an accomplishment all by itself, and getting that banana into his mouth and swallowing it is another. That's why he needs to practice!
Do not give whole (cow's) milk until your baby is over 12 months old.
There are two ways to introduce solid foods. One is to begin with baby cereals and/or vegetable and fruit purees and feed your baby with a spoon. The other is to give your baby safe finger foods and let him learn to pick them up and eat them at his own pace. My first son insisted on being fed purees for a long time before he started understanding how to feed himself, while my second son wanted nothing to do with spoons and purees and wanted finger foods almost from the start. That's not to say he ate much at first, but he learned. Like I said, it takes practice!
So where and how to start? Well, you want to start with a simple food. Rice cereal (found in the baby food aisle - we're not talking about Rice Chex, here!) is a popular first food, for two reasons: 1) It is vitamin-fortified, so your baby is getting necessary nutrients (especially iron); and 2) Rice is basically a hypoallergenic food, meaning your baby is very unlikely to have any kind of adverse reaction to it.
The best way to prepare rice cereal is to put a small amount in a bowl and add some expressed breast milk until it reaches the texture you want. Then you feed it to your baby using a small spoon. He may not quite get the idea at first, or he may just not like the taste. Offer a small amount and see how he does. Give him a few tries before you give up. Try it in the middle of the day, when he is alert and happy, and offer the food after breastfeeding, or in between usual feeding times. You don't want solids to replace breast milk meals just yet!
You can also start with pureed vegetables or fruits. Bananas, avocados, squash, peas, sweet potatoes/yams, and pears are all great first foods. Most breastfed babies will prefer sweeter foods first, as breast milk is very sweet. You can peruse the baby food aisle at your local supermarket for ideas on first foods - the jars labeled "Stage 1" are generally bananas, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, or applesauce, all of which are good to start with. I don't have anything against jarred baby foods, but if you prefer to prepare your own baby food, simply steam your fruits or veggies until they are very soft, then put them in the blender until you achieve the desired texture. You can freeze the purees in ice cube trays and thaw one per meal (each cube is one ounce of food), or keep them in empty baby food jars in the fridge, or whatever other solution you like. There are lots of ideas out there on the web! Bananas and avocados don't need to be cooked. You can just mash them with a fork!
If you want to try the finger-food method, you want chunks of food that are big enough for the baby to grasp in a fist or between thumb and forefinger. Banana is fantastic for this, or steamed baby carrots. As your baby gets better at grasping and mouthing the food, you can offer other simple, soft foods, including well cooked pasta, peas, potatoes, etc. Always supervise your baby's eating!
When you introduce new foods, start with simple, one-ingredient foods at first so you can observe for any kind of allergic reaction or intolerance. Introduce one new food at a time and wait a few days before introducing another new food, so that if the baby does have a reaction, you'll know what he reacted to. For example, if you give banana on Monday as his very first solid food, give only banana for a few days. Maybe Thursday you'll introduce pears. For the next few days, only give either bananas or pears. Then on Sunday, you could add carrots. Then you can give bananas, pears, or carrots at any given meal, until you introduce a fourth food a few days later. And so on. Once you've accumulated a "menu" of options, you can offer mixtures, like a banana-pear puree, since you know he can tolerate both bananas and pears. As the baby gets older, you'll introduce more interesting and complex foods, but it's good to start simple and small.
There are lots of good websites out there with ideas on what kinds of foods to offer at what ages. Yogurt is an excellent food to offer around nine months of age. Hold off on allergenic foods like peanuts until after a year. There are also other baby cereals, such as oatmeal and wheat, that are good to add to your baby's diet, if you're going the puree route. Oatmeal has a much higher nutritional value than rice and has a more interesting flavor, as well. You can also just give your baby real oatmeal!
Also, don't give a baby younger than one year honey. Honey can cause botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, in babies under a year old. Cooking the honey does not kill the spores that contain the toxin. After a year of age, the baby's immune system is mature enough to handle the spores.
Other Developments
During the second six months of life, your baby is learning all sorts of things. His brain is developing incredibly fast. He'll start to recognize his name and other important words. He'll start crawling and maybe walking. Along with mobility and increased understanding comes distractibility! Your busy baby may not want to stay at the breast for a long time anymore, which may be good news for you. He'll eat fast and then hop off to go explore again. Most babies nurse faster and less often after six months, which means you're no longer "tied" to your baby. Plus, once you've successfully introduced solid foods, you can get away for a couple of hours without having to worry about leaving a bottle. Whoever is caring for your baby can give him solid foods to keep him busy until you get back to nurse him! Remember that babies under a year old should still be getting the vast majority of their calories from breast milk, so don't let solids totally replace breastfeeding yet.
By the time your baby is approaching 12 months of age, if he is eating solids well, you may be able to start cutting back on nursing if you want. There is no need to cut back or stop if you don't want to! "Extended" breastfeeding past 12 months is still very beneficial for both you and your baby. In fact, the WHO recommends continuing to breastfeed until at least two years of age! We'll talk more about "extended" breastfeeding in the next section on toddler nursing.
But, if you're ready to stop at a year, I'll still say congratulations! You nursed your baby for a year! You made it! If you want to wean, you can start replacing breastfeedings with whole milk (at 12 months) in a cup or bottle and/or with meals of solid foods. Your baby needs the fats from some kind of milk (breast milk, cow's milk, goat's milk, soy milk, almond milk... something like that) for his brain development, so you'll want to make sure he's getting some kind of milk to drink. Weaning from the breast should be a slow process, for yours and baby's sake. If you wean abruptly, your baby will be very unhappy, and you may have to contend with engorgement and other discomfort. Instead, try cutting back by one feeding every few days, to give your breasts time to adjust milk production to the new, lower demand. If you want, you can continue to nurse once or twice a day, e.g. before bed and first thing in the morning. If you want to stop completely, those two are probably the last ones you'll be able to eliminate. Mid-day feedings are the easiest to replace with other foods.
The next and last post in this series will be about toddler nursing, which is a whole new source of enjoyment and frustration. You may have a taste of toddler nursing already, with nursing gymnastics, distractibility, and new habits that may not be totally desirable. But hopefully you're also finding new reasons to enjoy nursing.
Introduction, Parts I, II, III, IV
By now, you should be quite comfortable with nursing. You've gotten this far, which means you've met the first part of the recommendations from the AAP, the WHO, and many other health agencies in exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months. Breastfeeding should be feeling quite routine by now. You know your baby's cues. You've gotten through growth spurts. Your baby may even have a tooth or two, or will very soon. Your baby is growing and healthy and doing all kinds of "tricks," like rolling over, and probably sitting without support. Some babies even begin crawling around six or seven months of age. Your baby is interactive, loves to play, grabs and holds objects of interest and brings them to her mouth.
Introducing Solid Foods
So what's next? Well, at six months of age, if you feel you and your baby are ready, you can begin to introduce solid foods! "Solid" foods means any food that is not breastmilk.
A few things you should know before I start:
First of all, you don't have to give solids if you don't want to or if you feel like your baby isn't ready. Some babies of this age still don't quite know what to do with food when offered, while others have been trying to grab and eat your PB&J for a month already. Breastmilk still provides all of the nutrients, fats, and sugars your baby needs. Before the age of one or so, any solid foods are just for practice, for baby to get used to new textures and flavors and to learn to bring food to the mouth, "chew" it, and swallow it. You don't have to worry if it seems like your baby isn't getting a "full meal" of solids at first. Getting a hunk of banana from the plate to his mouth is an accomplishment all by itself, and getting that banana into his mouth and swallowing it is another. That's why he needs to practice!
Do not give whole (cow's) milk until your baby is over 12 months old.
There are two ways to introduce solid foods. One is to begin with baby cereals and/or vegetable and fruit purees and feed your baby with a spoon. The other is to give your baby safe finger foods and let him learn to pick them up and eat them at his own pace. My first son insisted on being fed purees for a long time before he started understanding how to feed himself, while my second son wanted nothing to do with spoons and purees and wanted finger foods almost from the start. That's not to say he ate much at first, but he learned. Like I said, it takes practice!
So where and how to start? Well, you want to start with a simple food. Rice cereal (found in the baby food aisle - we're not talking about Rice Chex, here!) is a popular first food, for two reasons: 1) It is vitamin-fortified, so your baby is getting necessary nutrients (especially iron); and 2) Rice is basically a hypoallergenic food, meaning your baby is very unlikely to have any kind of adverse reaction to it.
The best way to prepare rice cereal is to put a small amount in a bowl and add some expressed breast milk until it reaches the texture you want. Then you feed it to your baby using a small spoon. He may not quite get the idea at first, or he may just not like the taste. Offer a small amount and see how he does. Give him a few tries before you give up. Try it in the middle of the day, when he is alert and happy, and offer the food after breastfeeding, or in between usual feeding times. You don't want solids to replace breast milk meals just yet!
You can also start with pureed vegetables or fruits. Bananas, avocados, squash, peas, sweet potatoes/yams, and pears are all great first foods. Most breastfed babies will prefer sweeter foods first, as breast milk is very sweet. You can peruse the baby food aisle at your local supermarket for ideas on first foods - the jars labeled "Stage 1" are generally bananas, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, or applesauce, all of which are good to start with. I don't have anything against jarred baby foods, but if you prefer to prepare your own baby food, simply steam your fruits or veggies until they are very soft, then put them in the blender until you achieve the desired texture. You can freeze the purees in ice cube trays and thaw one per meal (each cube is one ounce of food), or keep them in empty baby food jars in the fridge, or whatever other solution you like. There are lots of ideas out there on the web! Bananas and avocados don't need to be cooked. You can just mash them with a fork!
If you want to try the finger-food method, you want chunks of food that are big enough for the baby to grasp in a fist or between thumb and forefinger. Banana is fantastic for this, or steamed baby carrots. As your baby gets better at grasping and mouthing the food, you can offer other simple, soft foods, including well cooked pasta, peas, potatoes, etc. Always supervise your baby's eating!
When you introduce new foods, start with simple, one-ingredient foods at first so you can observe for any kind of allergic reaction or intolerance. Introduce one new food at a time and wait a few days before introducing another new food, so that if the baby does have a reaction, you'll know what he reacted to. For example, if you give banana on Monday as his very first solid food, give only banana for a few days. Maybe Thursday you'll introduce pears. For the next few days, only give either bananas or pears. Then on Sunday, you could add carrots. Then you can give bananas, pears, or carrots at any given meal, until you introduce a fourth food a few days later. And so on. Once you've accumulated a "menu" of options, you can offer mixtures, like a banana-pear puree, since you know he can tolerate both bananas and pears. As the baby gets older, you'll introduce more interesting and complex foods, but it's good to start simple and small.
There are lots of good websites out there with ideas on what kinds of foods to offer at what ages. Yogurt is an excellent food to offer around nine months of age. Hold off on allergenic foods like peanuts until after a year. There are also other baby cereals, such as oatmeal and wheat, that are good to add to your baby's diet, if you're going the puree route. Oatmeal has a much higher nutritional value than rice and has a more interesting flavor, as well. You can also just give your baby real oatmeal!
Also, don't give a baby younger than one year honey. Honey can cause botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, in babies under a year old. Cooking the honey does not kill the spores that contain the toxin. After a year of age, the baby's immune system is mature enough to handle the spores.
Other Developments
During the second six months of life, your baby is learning all sorts of things. His brain is developing incredibly fast. He'll start to recognize his name and other important words. He'll start crawling and maybe walking. Along with mobility and increased understanding comes distractibility! Your busy baby may not want to stay at the breast for a long time anymore, which may be good news for you. He'll eat fast and then hop off to go explore again. Most babies nurse faster and less often after six months, which means you're no longer "tied" to your baby. Plus, once you've successfully introduced solid foods, you can get away for a couple of hours without having to worry about leaving a bottle. Whoever is caring for your baby can give him solid foods to keep him busy until you get back to nurse him! Remember that babies under a year old should still be getting the vast majority of their calories from breast milk, so don't let solids totally replace breastfeeding yet.
By the time your baby is approaching 12 months of age, if he is eating solids well, you may be able to start cutting back on nursing if you want. There is no need to cut back or stop if you don't want to! "Extended" breastfeeding past 12 months is still very beneficial for both you and your baby. In fact, the WHO recommends continuing to breastfeed until at least two years of age! We'll talk more about "extended" breastfeeding in the next section on toddler nursing.
But, if you're ready to stop at a year, I'll still say congratulations! You nursed your baby for a year! You made it! If you want to wean, you can start replacing breastfeedings with whole milk (at 12 months) in a cup or bottle and/or with meals of solid foods. Your baby needs the fats from some kind of milk (breast milk, cow's milk, goat's milk, soy milk, almond milk... something like that) for his brain development, so you'll want to make sure he's getting some kind of milk to drink. Weaning from the breast should be a slow process, for yours and baby's sake. If you wean abruptly, your baby will be very unhappy, and you may have to contend with engorgement and other discomfort. Instead, try cutting back by one feeding every few days, to give your breasts time to adjust milk production to the new, lower demand. If you want, you can continue to nurse once or twice a day, e.g. before bed and first thing in the morning. If you want to stop completely, those two are probably the last ones you'll be able to eliminate. Mid-day feedings are the easiest to replace with other foods.
The next and last post in this series will be about toddler nursing, which is a whole new source of enjoyment and frustration. You may have a taste of toddler nursing already, with nursing gymnastics, distractibility, and new habits that may not be totally desirable. But hopefully you're also finding new reasons to enjoy nursing.
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