Food Before One Is Just For Fun

"Food before one is just for fun"....I feel like that's the response I get anytime I ask Eli's pediatrician questions about eating solids.  I love her view on the topic because I feel like so many people out there believe that babies need to start on solids earlier and earlier.  When in fact, breastmilk and/or formula is all they need for at least the first 6 months of their life.  Did you know that breastmilk and formula has 20 calories in every ounce?  Did you know that breastmilk provides all the necessary fats, vitamins and calories a baby needs in order to thrive in those first months...along with antibodies to protect them from certain illnesses?

If you've ever looked at the nutrition label on a box of rice cereal, you will see there isn't much nutrition in it.  So why feed a four month old rice cereal?  I truly believe that it's a myth that it will help them sleep through the night.  Eli slept through the night at 10 weeks old and continues to sleep 12 hours a night.  He weighs 19lb and 11oz at 6 months old, none of which can be contributed to eating solids.  

I did a lot of reading before feeding solids to Elijah.  Pediatricians recommend feeding solids between 4-6 months of age, but from what I've read, their bodies aren't even developed enough to digest these solids until they are 6 months old.  The funny thing is, we tried solids at 5 months and Elijah wanted nothing to do with them.  Now that he is 6 months, he eats like a champ (and poops like one too, ick!).

I'm not writing this to say that you're wrong for feeding a baby solids before 6 months.  I believe that you have the rest of your life to make sure your child is eating, why stress over making sure they eat solids?  View it as a learning activity to explore different tastes and textures, to learn how we eat at the dinner table.  Don't worry if they miss a "solids" meal, but make sure they're still getting all their milk because as the doctor says: "eating before one is just for fun".

My sweet, happy and healthy 6 month old!