Hello, Mommies! Question for you.... as many of you hopefully know by now, the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that starting babies on solids be delayed until 6 months to aid in better digestive development for your little one. So, with that knowledge in mind, Cadence had her first bite of rice cereal exactly on the day she hit 6 months. (Do I earn mommy points for that???) I had hoped to make most of Cadence's baby food myself with my nifty little baby food grinder.... but as you all know, parenting ideals often have to shift out of necessity when you are introduced to what the reality of parenting is actually like. (Major cyber high-five to any mommies reading this who make all their own food!)
According to AAP and our pediatrician, solids should go like this: You wait to start solids until 6 months. Got it. Then you only introduce one new food at a time, allowing 5-7 days in between new foods. Ok. You start with vegetables first, then a month or two later add fruits. Once you've introduced a new food, you keep it in rotation so that your baby doesn't have to eat only carrots for the 5-7 days straight until switching to a new food... I actually knew someone who did this to their baby, and the poor kid's skin turned orange. Bad. So, switch it up between the already introduced foods. Cool.
So, here's the question. Baby food companies LOVE to print age ranges on their products to let you know when it would be "appropriate" to feed that product to your baby. However, their recommendations don't match those of AAP... which of course is a marketing ploy, because the sooner they can convince you that it's safe to give your baby their products, the sooner they start making money off of you.
The baby food jars are made in different amounts of thickness for different "stages." Stage 1 is recommended by Gerber and Beech Nut and every other company for ages 4 months and up. Stage 2 is recommended for ages 6 months and up. So obviously, if I follow the AAP recommendations, I would not follow these age ranges. But I want to know at what point my baby is "behind?" Because in my mind, I don't want to start her on any Stage 2 foods until she's been introduced to all of the Stage 1 foods available, right? And in Stage 1 there are green beans, peas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, prunes, apples, pears, peaches, and bananas, plus we're supposed to spend a week or so on introducing rice cereal and oatmeal cereal. That means that we would take about 12 weeks to introduce all of the Stage 1 foods, so if we start at 6 months, we are ready to switch to Stage 2 at 9 months, right? So it's ok for my 8 month and 10 day old to still be on Stage 1 right?
And another thing, the Stage 2 jars are bigger... like twice as much food! Cadence is a little itty bitty girl with an itty bitty stomach... and there are many times when getting her to finish off the end of a Stage 1 jar is difficult. And I really don't want to waste food or my money. So all that being said, I feel like between the AAP and my pediatrician and my own logic, it makes sense to still be on Stage 1.
BUT... other books I've read say that we should be progressing to cheerios and other finger foods around 9 or 10 months, and if we're still on Stage 1 thickness at 8 1/2 months, that's going to be a jump that is too big for her to make that quickly. I know lots of other mommies with babies around the same age as Cadence or even younger who are already on Stage 2 or even Stage 3! I'm so confused.
Really, I'm not expecting any definite answers from anyone, I guess more than anything I just wanted to vent about how much the opinions of doctors vs. AAP vs. Gerber vs. other moms on this matter are so very different, leaving me to feel like someone will always be making me feel like I'm messing up. A little agreement between all involved parties would sure be nice!
I agree! It's all confusing. I would just go with your gut on what you think Cadence is interested in, would like, textures she can handle etc. With my daughter, I started on a lot of different flavors/types of food with only waiting a few days in between each because I was excited for her to try the flavors and we don't have a history of allergies in my family. Plus, there wasn't a lot of information out there to go off of. She never had a problem with anything we gave her. My son on the other hand, would throw up any baby food that was slightly thick, hated new flavors, and eventually refused to eat any baby food at all and started on finger foods(gasp!) at 8 months. Sounds like you are more informed than a lot of moms. Any decision that you make will be the right one for your family, I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteI started CAnnon on solids by following all those rules and about a month in threw out all the rules and fed him however much he wanted and whatever variety I wanted. Don't stress yourself out! I think variety and different textures are great!
ReplyDeleteI was very rigid with Stephen about taking my time, and slowly changing foods - then I realized that the thickness wasn't that different; so with Abby I think we went through the steps much quicker. (she likes to eat) It's really up to you and Candice! It's not going to hurt her, if she's still nursing then she's getting all the nutrition she needs and table food is really there to teach her to eat food. Although introducing her to different tastes is important. Finger food is the same thing, I would start with those biscutes that melt in her mouth that she can't choke on - it's a great way to get her interested in finger foods without the worry. Some are really messy though - there is a rice one that is not. These are also great when you're out and about and trying to eat and she wants something!
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, it's up to you! You can't really go wrong here! :)
It is all so confusing isn't it! And pretty much all information is conflicting and it changes all the time. I am not an expert, but I can share what I know and what has worked for me. The reason to wait a little between introducing new foods is so that if your child has a reaction you know what food she is reacting to. You don't have to wait 5-7 days. We waited about 3, but our child is very low risk for food allergies because neither her dad nor I have any nor do our immediate families. If your child is at risk, you might want to take it slower and be on the safe side. I made most of Brianna's food, so didn't pay much attention to the jar labels, but on the occasions when I did buy them, she was eating Stage 2 foods by about 7 1/2 months. She loves to try new foods and is an adventurous eater. There were several foods that we tried once pureed and then not again until recently, specifically meats. She hated them pureed and I didn't much like them either but now she loves to eat meat so maybe it was a texture thing.With Brianna, she started insisting on eating finger foods and refusing to eat pureed foods at about 8 months. I have had to get creative because she will not eat from a spoon now and still has no teeth. Now are you more confused? :) The bottom line is, do what works for you and Cadence.
ReplyDeleteAgreement between parties....hahaha. You make me laugh. I have also been recommended that you wait until 6 months to start solids. I wouldn't worry about Cadence being "behind" just worry about her being healthy. Which she will be if you stick to introducing foods the way you were recommended. I think the most critical part is veggies before fruits. So if your 5-7 day strict regime slacks a little bit I don't think it is a big deal. Also I don't think you have to give her the full container of stage 2. My friend's 9 month old was eating 1/2 of the big jars. So I don't think you need to force their recommended servings. Just feed her until she seems full. Overall just relax my love, people get too concerned about "how to do it right". There isn't really a "right" way. Just do what you feel is best for her.
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