I won't offer yet another set of specific recommendations because, ultimately, it's up to you as a parent to discover what feels right and is most beneficial to your child. Instead, I'll ask questions and give examples of different answers you may discover by logic or instinct.
When should your baby begin eating solids? The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that you begin offering solids when your baby is between four and six months. What about readiness signals? If your six-month-old isn't sitting up, mimicking your chewing movements, or reaching for your food, should you start solids anyway? What constitutes a solid? Can your toothless baby really digest those teething biscuits? What about meat? Regardless of what you read or what you're told about babies in general, your baby will show you when he is ready to eat according to his own developmental readiness.
In addition to the signals mentioned above, Dr. William and Martha Sears say in The Baby Book, that the appearance of teeth and the ability to pick up food with the thumb and forefinger are signs that your baby is ready for solids.
The first "solids" your baby can eat will be pureed foods only slightly more consistent that breastmilk. These foods will progress in consistency as your baby shows that she can chew and swallow them. Common allergens such as dairy, soy, and wheat should be postponed until your baby is at least one year old or until she can communicate to you if she is experiencing a reaction.
Should you feed your child on a schedule? Your pediatrician may say yes while your friends say no. When you turn to yourself, your mind may tell you that feeding your child on a schedule makes sense for some reasons while your heart tells you that it's not right to deny your child's hunger signals. Should you attempt to train your child's elimination and sleeping patterns for your convenience by controlling her eating schedule? Is the benefit of your convenience worth your child's frustration when she is hungry and you deny her need? What feels right to you and what seems most beneficial to your child?
Go To Page: 1 2
