At what age do you need to give solids?

amother

Lawngreen

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 11:17 am

Im am exclusively breastfeeding/ pumping. Baby is 11 months and is not really interested in eating food. She is allergic to dairy and eggs so she's a bit limited in what she can eat. At what age does she have to eat solid and if anyone has any good ideas of what to feed her.Thanks

pesek zman

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 11:19 am

She needs to start now. After 1 year, breastmilk will not be enough nutrition for her and she will need to eat a whole array of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack foods for proper nutrition.

There are so many foods she can eat! Reach out for ideas but you really shouldn't wait any longer

lizard8

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 11:52 am

While she might not necessarily need the food, she should be able to have feeding skills. Pretty soon, she may need the extra food and you don't want to have to start with pureed foods. At this age most kids can self feed on foods like cut fruit, soft chicken pieces and cereal. Give her tastes of your dinners, and let her experiment with a variety of foods that you have in your fridge.

flowerpower

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 12:45 pm

I would start asap. It’s important for oral motor skills too- chewing, swallowing....
Does she eat any finger foods at all?

Try soups
Small pieces chicken
Small pieces of a sandwich( avacado, peanut butter)
Fruits
Flutes, bamba, corn pops

Basically anything you’re eating....

thunderstorm

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 1:51 pm

I always started with a sweet potato baked in the oven . After it's baked, cut it open and spoon it out of the skins. The closer to the skin the more nutrition. ( this is what my pediatrician advised me to do years ago. My kids were eating solids from age four months even though they breastfed as well)

amother

Teal

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 1:56 pm

I introduce solids like soups, baby jars, & puréed fruits & veggies at 7-8 months & than gradually add more foods.

amother

Salmon

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 2:27 pm

My baby is breast feeding and 10 months and eats tons! He loves chicken, don't know how I would manage without milk and egg though

amother

Lawngreen

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 2:43 pm

she eats cheerios, a little bit of small pieces of chicken, a little bit of mashed avacado. So she does eat some stuff, but is not that interested altogether in solids.

mha3484

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 2:48 pm

I introduce solids around 8-9 months but most of my friends do it earlier.

Iymnok

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 4:54 pm

Dd is 8mo. At our last checkup, a week ago, she had gone down a lot on her curve. So I’ve started her on solids this past week after exclusively breastfeeding. I give her what I give the others except milk. I made a blended vegetable soup that I keep in the fridge. I add baby cereal to it and she feeds herself, happily making a royal mess.
I just offer her anything that is not a choking hazard or peanuts since my father has an allergy.
This morning she had a muffin.
Lunch was the thickened soup.
Dinner was stir-fry with rice.
I’ll see in her diaper if it actually went it or she just made a mess.

I tried spoon feeding her. She clamped her mouth shut and totally refused it!

mommy3b2c

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 5:01 pm

I start at one years old.

amother

Jade

Wed, Jul 25 2018, 5:04 pm

amother wrote:

she eats cheerios, a little bit of small pieces of chicken, a little bit of mashed avacado. So she does eat some stuff, but is not that interested altogether in solids.

This is great. Just keep trying!

My oldest was allergic to milk and eggs too, and didn't really start eating solids until almost age 2! I kept trying and eventually he began eating. He was in the98% for weight and only breastfed...

WWG1WGA

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 12:21 am

Iymnok wrote:

Dd is 8mo. At our last checkup, a week ago, she had gone down a lot on her curve. So I’ve started her on solids this past week after exclusively breastfeeding. I give her what I give the others except milk. I made a blended vegetable soup that I keep in the fridge. I add baby cereal to it and she feeds herself, happily making a royal mess.
I just offer her anything that is not a choking hazard or peanuts since my father has an allergy.
This morning she had a muffin.
Lunch was the thickened soup.
Dinner was stir-fry with rice.
I’ll see in her diaper if it actually went it or she just made a me

I tried spoon feeding her. She clamped her mouth shut and totally refused it!

wow how does she do it?

Iymnok

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 1:37 am

cherrypitts wrote:

wow how does she do it?

She grabs handfuls and shoves them somewhere near her mouth. She goes through a couple outfits a day and is now bathed very regularly. In the sink.

WWG1WGA

Thu, Jul 26 2018, 11:31 am

Iymnok wrote:

She grabs handfuls and shoves them somewhere near her mouth. She goes through a couple outfits a day and is now bathed very regularly. In the sink.

awesome! Im gonna try!

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Jul 29 2018, 6:19 pm

She does NOT need to be on some preset amount of solids or any, for now or at any time in her babyhood, if she refuses. Let her lead based on her own interest (because the only other option would be forcing if she didn't want and that doesn't make sense no matter how old she is).

According to dd's amazing baby nutritionist (who we saw from age 6 months to 2.5 years), the best thing is to provide lots of opportunities - at a time before nursing her (so it is a time when she is somewhat hungry but not super hungry, because super hungry babies have little tolerance for new things), sit her down for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks in between, in a highchair or booster seat or somewhere else designated for eating, and put a variety of foods before her, and let her do whatever she wants with it. As soon as there is significantly more playing with the food than eating it (some playing is expected and even developmentally helpful at this age), take her out whether she has eaten 2 bites or 2 full bowls. Nurse her right after, so that her meals/snacks are clumped together and she has a break before the next meal/snack in the highchair.

Make sure to expose her to a variety of colors, textures, temperature, and tastes, but don't be surprised if she is picky at the beginning, and just her be that way, some babies take time to adjust to new sensations while eating (if it makes you feel better, my dd only ate purees until she was 15 months old because she refused anything else. She obviously got over it and now eats normally). Also, dd would only feed herself, she refused to be fed, so make sure to try both feeding her and letting her feed herself, no matter how messy it is (yes, dd 'fed herself' purees from the age of 9 months to 15 months. It doesn't get messier than that). Also, I mixed breastmilk into everything to at the beginning to get her to taste it based on familiar flavor and thinner consistency, and gradually decreased the amount of breastmilk so she was getting more regular tastes. Also a good substitute for milk in an allergic baby.

Some food suggestions:
- Soft meatballs / turkey balls or just loose ground meat / turkey in sauce (no eggs needed)
- Pancakes/muffins - made with mashed bananas and/or applesauce or pureed baby fruit / veggie jars for better flavor, nutrition, and consistency if dairy and eggs are out
- Pureed soups or soft soup. Pureed chicken soup is great. Split pea soup is also great, the peas add extra protein and it may not even need pureeing
- Baby oatmeal or cereal made with breastmilk or non-dairy baby formula or soymilk or water. The vanilla flavored ones were a big hit.
- Fish can be quite soft if cut into small pieces (and check for bones obviously)
- Soup veggies (like take out soft carrots, potatoes, zucchini, or whatever else from a flavorful soup)
- Good vegetable / fruit sides (soft enough to eat in pieces or mashed): avocado, baked sweet potato, banana, soft pear (not apple, it is a choking hazard unless baked).

That's all I can remember for now now.