It is not my intention to make this blog about all things baby, but since I am writing about my life it is probably going to come up. Recently I noticed my daughter was acting really really ready to eat at about 5 months old. One might think this would be a fun turn of events, but instead it was absolutely terrifying because there is A LOT of different information floating around and none of it was consistent. A lot of this information is merely opinion/circumstantial, so I am posting what I have found is working for us and sharing the research that led me there. I am not an authority on the subject, but maybe this will help someone who was searching like I was. I especially found the books by Jenna Helwig to be VERY helpful.
A lot of my friends are really pumped on the idea of baby led weaning. If you are thinking about it, I would start with THIS article by a feeding therapist. After reading this, I decided I would like to do a hybrid of tradition puree introduction and what Jenna Helwig calls "baby led feeding."
I was still hoping to wait until my baby was 6 months old to start food because my baby has great digestion, and I didn't want to rock the boat. Well that changed. Beside showing all signs of readiness, she was also practically begging to eat with us. It started to feel like I was torturing her by eating in front of her. I also noticed around this time that her poop started to change. (Sorry if this is TMI, but parents talk about their children's bodily functions...its just the way it goes.) It started to smell worse and was a bit thicker.
I was freaked out because a lot of people online say things like "feeding your baby food before 6 months of age can hurt their gut health for life..." I wanted to be super sure it was safe to feed her, so for about a week, I searched for medical and scientific information on the issue. Well I finally came to a post on The Seattle Children's Hospital blog. I highly suggest checking it out HERE.
Not only is it totally safe to give your baby food (if they show signs of readiness) at 4 months old, it can be helpful to start allergen introduction earlier rather than later. Also, breastfed babies need iron at 6 months old and starting earlier can be helpful!
Here's when things got fun! I am a foodie, so this is the part I like. As Helwig points out in her books, this is an exciting opportunity to introduce baby to new things! I think I started feeding her at 5 months and 1 week. I started with a probiotic oat cereal mixed with breast milk. After a few days of that (and no issues, no, not even constipation) I mixed the cereal/breast milk with green bean puree that I made myself in the baby bullet. At this point I started using the guide from "Real Baby Food". Basically at this stage she is eating 2 meals per day of cereal/breastmilk/veg or fruit puree all mixed together. She has had green beans, green peas, prunes, avocado, sweet potato, apples (with peanut), spinach, pears (with egg), and bananas (with tree nut). We are using Inspired Start for the allergen introduction. I am using either quinoa, oat, or barley baby cereal. I am skipping rice because of the arsenic thing (read about that HERE). I am making some puree, some I bought. I am going to start to add flavor to her food soon like fennel, mint, and basil. This is all fun, but its time consuming and super messy because I am letting my daughter use the spoon herself. I'm just helping her.
One other way that I am deviating from what Helwig recommends is that the 2 meals I feed her are mid-morning and at family dinner. I was shooting for the recommended breakfast then lunch meals, but that didn't work well for our family schedule. I usually heat the food in our bottle warmer. I am planning to try a cold cucumber one soon (maybe with mint?). I also let her sip a little water from the honey bear cup or sippy cup (whatever is clean). I read about that HERE.
There you go! That's my story. I am sure when I have another baby, it will be totally different.
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