Solids at 4 months???

[Anonymous]

Ben had his 4 month check up today, and his doctor suggested that we start him on cereal. He is gaining weight, but did drop to a lower percentile since last visit. The doctor wasn’t concerned about his weight, he just thinks that solids will give him a few more calories as well as help to weigh things down.

Ben is breastfed, and I’m a little concerned about starting them this early with him. I’m on the TED, thus I’m also concerned that he won’t be able to digest/tolerate solids this soon. I’m not sure what to do here. However, he is having trouble nursing, and I know that he is eating/nursing less than before.

Any advice? Thoughts?

I started his sister when she was 5 month, mainly because she stopped gaining weight, and I needed to get something in her.

[Anonymous]

if he is having trouble nursing is that because he needs his meds increased or is it something like OALD?
as for solids, the american academy of pediatrics actually recommends starting them between 6-8 months. my son still isnt really interested in solids, and it really isnt a big deal right now, babies dont need solids. personally i think 4 months is too young.

here is an excellent link about this topic:

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

[Anonymous]

here is more good info:

“The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
acknowledges that there are no
“strict” age guidelines on introducing
solid foods to your baby. However, the AAP, along with the CDC
and the WHO do recommend that you offer nothing but breast milk
and/or formula until you baby is at least 6 months old. This
ensures optimal nutritional exposure and may stave off food
allergies amongst other issues. Further studies have shown
that an infant’s gastrointestinal tract has not or may not have
matured enough to properly digest/utilize solid foods until around
6-8 months old! “
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/readyforsolids.htm

nataliachick72007-1-15 19:16:59

[Anonymous]

I’d probaby wait unless his weight becomes an issue because he is so young and because he’s still struggling as it is.

[hellbennt]

my non-refluxer (hallelujah! there is hope!)

is now 6 months (where does the time go?!?) and even has a tooth (!!) and I am not starting solids until he at least can sit upright by himself, unassisted, stabily, w/o toppling over…(and maybe not even then, LOL!)

the links provided are great- I have the kellymom one (& maybe more?) in my ‘groupie intro’

[Anonymous]

I would agree with all above, about waiting until at least 6 months, unless the weight becomes a bigger issue. It is also the recco in Aus so it seems like it is becoming pretty standard advice. Goodluck whatever choice you make.

[Anonymous]

My little one had her 4 month visit last week, and my pediatrician said normally a little rice cereal by spoon is started at 4 months, but nothing else until 6 months. He advised us not to even start her on cereal on a spoon until she gets back up to taking in 32 ounces by bottle (she cut back drastically over the last few weeks, but the last few days that she’s been feeling better, she’s been eating like a champ!). She’s already got the rice cereal in the bottle, so we know she can tolerate it well.

[Anonymous]

We actually did start Brianna on cereal at 4 months, but I would not have (even though my ped said it was OK) if she hadn’t shown the interest that she did in solids early on (plus she was already sitting up, and had great neck control)…Brianna has always wanted to be just like the older people. And, even though she was breastfed on demand, she was still hungry. I think evey baby is different. You just need to do what your mommy instincts say. My mom told me I didn’t eat one bite of solids until I was 15 months!!!! And I turned out OK.

[Anonymous]

I really want to wait too, but then I thought about all those babies who have cereal in their bottles right from the get-go. If babies really aren’t able to digest it well, why would people add the cereal to bottles? Just wondering out loud.

I think Ben would scarf down solids, actually. I could be wrong, but he always seems really interested in what we are eating. I did try some oatmeal with him about a month ago, just to get his meds. in him one day, and he ate it like a champ.

I think I’m going to try to hold out a little while longer at least.

[Anonymous]

yep i agree that you could wait a bit longer.. shane had cereal in his bottle at 2 mos. and he did fine. that is the only reason why i spoon fed it at 4 mos. from than on he took off with solids! he loves loves loves to eat. but because of that i wish i waited a bit longer, because now he would rather eat than have a bottle.. soo he is kind of like a 9 or 10 mos. old. with his food i guess. but again if you think ben is still hungry and is really interested in your food than maybe i would start sooner rather than later… and see how he digests it.

[Anonymous]

Okay, ours is an extreme case, but Kaelyn had cereal in her bottle starting at 3 weeks old, and the doctors now think that starting cereal so early may have triggered her wheat allergy. So… with Alexandra we waited until she was almost 7 months old to start any solids and they suggested that we wait a couple of more months before trying cereal.

[Anonymous]

AIdan had a huge amount of cereal in his bottles until he was about 6 months old.Honestly (and I know am deffinitly in the minority on this) I think starting solids early has helped him accept so many foods now, so I did start solids at 4 months, sort of stopped for a few weeks when he had a cold and his reflux got worse, but for the most part he’s been fine. At first there weren’t a lot of things he could tolerate, just peas, green beans and pears for 2 months.But he has been on table food now for about 3 months and is doing fine, he’ll eat anything, but of course I still stay away from anything citrus, and most juices.

[hellbennt]

you’re not necessarily the minority– what you say makes sense.

I actually hold the same type of belief only with breastfeeding- I feel that Jonah was exposed to so many different foods via my breastmilk (I love food!) that it helped him accept a wide variety of foods– he’s always been a great eater, with only a minor blip (so far) of pickiness at around 2 &1/2 -3 (now at 3 & 1/2 he’s back to eating a lot more variety).

[Anonymous]

Both my Dr and Chiro have also suggested I bypass cereals altogether and just start with fruits and veg. I guess if you do start early the babies really set the pace anyway, they will only swallow if they are ready. Let us know how you go if you do start (I am facinated by food at the moment- well OK feeding babies food– well no food altogether)

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