Beginning Solids

Just wanted to give you kuddos on being such a great mom! Don't worry about her wanting to stop breastfeeding, she'll still prefer it to solids for comfort and her mainstay.

I don't think you need to boil the water for a 7 mos. old. If she's not already, she'll soon be crawling around on the floor, picking up everything she can find, and sticking it her mouth ... so avoiding tap water germs seems like a non-issue! My 8 mos. old gets filtered water from the fridge with no problems yet.

Good luck!

I nurse(d) and feed/fed solids to my 7 mos. old boy (currently where you are) and my (now) 2 year old daughter at this stage. They both do/did just fine with both solids and food- no just wanting one or the other. And their ped. said giving them water was not neccesary. They should still get most of their nutrition and liqued from the breast (or formula for those that go that route) until age 1 no matter what anyway and gradually start to flip the other direction (more towards more solids) after 10-11 mos.! The breast/formula gives them the liquid they need until then. Before then, water is just for learing to drink out of a cup!

Best of luck and have fun with it!
My opinion: start with the more dull tasting foods (so they will take them) and gradually introduce the more vivid tasting ones-leave time between new ones not only for allergy watch but also for developing taste buds!
T.

You can give her a sippy with a little water in it, if you want, but it is not necessary. Too much water can be a bad thing, and her little tummy needs to be full of breastmilk, because that is what has nutritional value.

As for solids, if you aren't ready to start, don't. She doesn't need solids right now, they are just for play. Always offer the solids after she has nursed, not before and keep the solids limited to once a day. If you do that, I wouldn't be concerned about weaning. If she does start showing a preference for solids, you can always stop giving them to her.

Remember, babies can go on nursing strikes around this age, but that doesn't mean they are ready to wean.

I try to pump to keep up the milk supply that I am not giving my 9mo old when I feed him solid food. We started with just cereal at 6.5mo and have moved through all kinds of homemade and store bought baby foods at this point.
I freeze it in cubes and make his baby cereal with breastmilk and when my hubby gives him a bottle it is breastmilk too.
Most babies love to breastfeed so I doubt you have to worry about rejection, especially at 7mo.

I started mine on baby food at 4 months and still nursed both until almost a year. Don't worry about that. They still love mommy's milk. Also, no need to boil water unless you just want to. If you're that concerned about it, buy nursery water (bottled water with flouride in it). Boiling water everytime will get old. Tap water has plenty of flouride for them. Mine usually get their tap water as I mix their apple juice half/half with it.

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

I don't start solids quite this early but our family has alot of allergies, so we wait until about 10 months, but when I do we do avacado as one of the first foods too, and I make all of my own baby food. Here is a great list to know when baby might be ready for solids.

Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:
Baby can sit up well without support.
Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
Baby is ready and willing to chew.
Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

They need to have all of the skills, not just some of them.

And about weaning, I nurse mine well past a year and they start solids like I said about 10 months, just make sure you always nurse first, solids at this age should never be for nutrition, they should be for fun, so milk first every time.

Also about the water, no need to boil it, she is big enough for tap. I would give it to her in a sippy cup when you are ready but it isn't even necessary. She gets enough water from your milk, formilk is 80% water.

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

I always start my babys on oatmeal cereal (rice is binding and can cause constipation) mixed with the breast milk or formula... next I go to veggies (once they have fruit it is hard to get them to eat some veggies) After age 6-9 months and they are eating veggies well, I also give my kids a serving of yogurt per day I mix it with the cereal and add some fruit once they master eating it... my youngest of 3 is now 15months old and he gets a vanilla yogurt mixed with gerber apples and gerber organic oatmeal and I sprinkle a little cinnimon in it for flavor. He also eats what we have at meals but he still likes the yogurt mix so I give that to him at lunch or for breakfast.

I have never boiled the water I give to my kids, I usually give them nursery water, bottles water with flouride or distilled (the same as boiled) water... good luck, they grow up to fast!- A. J

I recommend trying avocado as her first food. It is very creamy and not stringy or lumpy and has tons of vitamins. Also, there is hardly anyone allergic to avocado so it makes it a perfect first food. Then you can venture to things like squash. Just make sure you wait at least a week before adding new things so you can watch for allergic reactions. I always made my own and would add breastmilk to my "recipes". My son drank squash water for months as his fav. As for the water thing...a breastfed baby needs no other liquids. Key word there is needs. If you feel like starting a cup or sippy then Brita filtered water is just fine. We don't live in a third world country that requires boiling of our water. Have fun and good luck.

I have a 10 month old and she still nurses so don't worry about her weaning off. I started out with rice cereal, she didn't like it of course. And I've only given her bottled water.

I use filtered water, just because the water here is NASTY... I use filtered water for everything that will eventually go into our mouths.

i know that every baby is different but my lil girl was breast fed til she was a year old and she still ate solid foods and drank water and juice and anything else you put in front of her i didnt boil her water i just gave her like sams choice water.

she is almost 3 now and shes running and playing and being a kid.

my advice just do it and dont worry about it, it will all work out!

Courtney, about the water, just make sure that there isn't any lead in the water and that there is plenty of flouride in the water. I gave my first born filtered water when he was a baby and he now has his two front teeth capped because of it. I hope my advice is helpful:)

Hi Courtney-
Knowing that every child is different, I don't know how yours will react to breastfeeding with other foods added, but my 3 continued to be avid, eager nursers after they began eating solid food.
We use filtered water (in home under sink filter from Multi Pure) so I wasn't very concerned about our water.
I was very happy using a Happy Baby baby food grinder too for little people food.

As for weaning herself she may or may not more likely not, and you can use your breast milk to make her cereal. You can give your child bottled water or filtered water you don't have to boil it. You also don't need to give too much water, at that age their stomah is still real small and dosen't need a whole lot. I just gave mine water if he still seemed a bit thirsty, or when I was trying a sippy cup.

You will start out breastfeeding her first then give her a little rice cereal to start out. She won't eat much at first then you will gradually give her more. I have breastfed all three of my boys and they never wanted to wean off of breastfeeding when I started them on solids. As far as the water goes you do need to give her some water after she eats solids. I have not boiled water, I use the Nursery bottled water that you get at the store.

Honestly I can't remember exactly what we did with our children around that age, but I do know that they can survive, and probably enjoy much better health, if they have nothing but breast milk for the first year (no need for even water, as it has a perfect balance of hydration/fat/protein, etc.) I have heard that introducing foods too early can be a cause for food sensitivities/allergies and even eventual behavioral problems.
I would check with the local La Leche League and see what advice they have to offer.
Also, in regards to food sensitivities, you could look up The Feingold Diet...there is probably a wealth of information about them at this site. I know a few friends that are following this because they have challenges with their children when they eat certain foods.
As far as your sweet baby goes, how can anything be better than breast milk? ;-)
I hope this helps...

Also, I saw some responses about the nursery or baby's water with fluoride...you may want to do some research on that as well. From what I have read, fluoride is toxic and even though it may help teeth (that is even questionable), it can have devastating effects on the brain, thyroid, immune system and more!)
Here is a link to a website with a lot of info and a bunch of other links about it at the end of the webpage:
http://www.holisticmed.com/fluoride/

May God bless you and all of us mommies with the wisdom we need to do this very important job!
Laura

I agree with the comment below about making your own food. I did, and my son loves everything now. Just because they start eating solids doesn't mean they will wean. Your baby will still want to nurse in between solid meals. If you do decide to give your baby water, I recommend the Nursery Water. It has flouride added that will help their teeth.

I used nursery water. It is made to mix with formula or as water for the baby to drink. It has the correct amount of fluoride for tooth development. It can be obtained at Walmart by the formula section. My children continued to nurse after the start of solids. I gave the water in a cup they never had bottles. Good luck.

First foods are going to start out being "dessert" for your baby. Make sure and breast feed her first, since that's where her nutrients are coming from, and then introduce a few small spoons of food. It's going to take her some time to learn how to use her tongue to move the food back and swallow, so be patient! I found with my daughter that as she grew and started crawling, then she'd increase her food intake.

I echo trying avacado and bananas for the first foods, instead of rice cereal. You can mash them up really well. I made my own baby food by steaming veggies until they were really soft and then mashed them up. Sometimes I would make large batches, put them into ice trays and freeze them and then put them into ziploc bags. I would them pull a few out and put them into a dish in the fridge so that they would be ready, and this way I knew she was getting a variety of foods.

I did buy a some baby food jars. Then I reused the jars. Before going out on an errand, I would take out one or two of the cubes of food from the freezer and put it in the jar. Then by the time we were ready to eat, it was thawed and ready to go. :)

I used the small take and toss cups to introduce water. They were smaller and easier for her to lift up to her mouth. I didn't boil water or use any special water. I just use the filtered water from our fridge. I would help hold the cup for her at first. It took her some time to figure out how to suck from the sippy cup, but then she was a champ! Again, water should be like a dessert for her, as her primary nutrients are going to be from the breast milk.

I nursed my daughter until she was 14 months old, and it was a mutual wean. I had some health issues and was needed to wean before I could pursue some treatment. But my daughter was already weaning herself, as she had learned to walk and was more interested in playing. We were down to nursing before naps and bedtime at that point anyways. So as your daughter grows, she will naturally wean herself until it's more for comfort than for nutrition. The recommendations are to nurse for at least a year, and the World Health organization actually recommends two years. But the two of you will figure out what is the perfect time to wean. I know several moms who nurse their toddlers, and even tandem nurse a toddler and a new baby. So continuing the breastfeeding relationship doesn't have to stop with the introduction of food!

Good luck and congratulations!

I actually would advise against boiling the water. All you end up doing is concentrating the trace minerals in the water, and that can be harder on your baby's digestive system. Just use bottled water if you are worried about your tap water (although tap water really is just fine). As far as first foods, I started with rice cereal thinned with breast milk with both my kids. After a few days of the cereal, I did green beans or peas. I did this so both of them would develop a taste for vegetables, and not only prefer the sweeter veggies, like squash, carrots, or avacado. Oh, and if you make your own baby food, don't make your own carrots. A lot of the carrots in grocery stores, even organic, have high levels of nitrates. You are better off with jarred carrots because the baby food comanies have specific testing for high nitrates.

Here is a quick order of giving solids:
1. rice cereal thinned with breastmilk
2. green veggies
3. Yellow and orange veggies
4. fruits
5. finger food like those gerber 'puffs' and cheerios are great too. Even if they gag on these, they are not likely to choke on them. Only put a few on her tray at a time and make sure she isn't pouching the food in her cheeks.

Also, just put a sippy cup of water on her tray and see what she does with it. The easiest sippy cup for little ones to use are the Gerber take and toss trainer size. They only hold 4 oz so the cup is very short. The benefit of this is that your child will barely have to tip it to get a drink in the spout. A breastfed baby will find tipping a large cup up a new experience. Plus these are very lightweight and you don't have to 'suck' too hard to get a drink.

p.s. I started my daughter on solids at 5 months because she was showing signs of readiness (i.e. screaming and grabbing a fork out of my hand, lunging at my plate, basically trying to mooch Mommies food!). I also breastfed her until she was 21 months when she weaned herself.

Seven months and only starting solids? Was she a preemie? By seven months most babies are eating mild cereals, fruits and vegetables, so yeah, Id' guess she ought to be ready by now to try.

I never boiled water for my daughter, but I did always use filtered water. As far as weaning herself, why is that a bad thing? Children still need milk, so you can pump to keep your supply up if you are insistent you daughter keep drinking breast milk. But all children will drink less milk when they start solids, and that is normal.

My own daughter was madly eager for solids, and by nine months was no longer interested in nursing at all, though I still gave her a bottle twice a day. On the other had, my friend's son was unwilling to give up the breast until he was 2. You child will let you know what she wants.

Check out the link below for some guidelines.
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/startingsolids.html

I breastfeed both of my children and I never really gave them water other than to practice using a sippy cup. My doctor has never told me that it was necessary to give them water. I think that if you formula feed then you might need to give them water, but breastmilk is really all they need. I started them both on solids when they were 5 months old and never had a problem with them self weaning. I think if you feed her solids then just give her breastmilk to drink she will be fine. If you want to give her water in a sippy cup so she can practice drinking buy the baby water they sell at the grocery store.

I just started my baby on solids and I still give him formula after he eats his food.Now it is different than breastmilk but he eats and then has a bottle he drinks a little less but still drinks it.I dont give him water but i do give him juice mixed with water 2 oz of juice to 4 oz of water.I use nursery water it is sterilized you can find it a walmart.also i use gerber juises found by the baby food

First of all, congratualtions on exclusively breastfeeding for 7 months. I can almost guarantee that your daugther will not want to wean herself once she tastes "real" food. There is nothing better than breastmilk to a baby. You do not need to give your baby water yet. Breastmilk is all the fluid she needs. Breastmilk should still be the main source of nutrition until your baby is over a year old. Solids are introduced prior to that mainly to get the child used to new tastes and textures.

Good luck with the solids!

You can feed her solids and still breast feed. The solids will introduce new textures and tastes but not enough..given in little amounts to feed her sufficiently, so continue breast feeding.As far as water...there is alot in breast milk, so dont worry about that.
I breast fed my boy till he was 3....then only of a sleep time and he is perfectly healthy and SMART...!!!

My almost 7 mo old still loves to nurse and we've been giving him rice cereal and homemade/store bought solids for over 1 mo. now. We don't boil his water, we just put it in his sippy cup and he drinks it. Maybe you have to boil if you lived in a rural area that had well water? I would recommend NOT getting special water with added flouride. There is already flouride (unecessarily) in our drinking water and some studies are now saying that there's not proof that ingesting flouride helps bones (topical rinses work for teeth). Here's a link to one website/article.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/1...

Happy feeding!

my daughter is only 3 1/2 months and she drinks water all the time(i dont boil it)just get baby water from ur local store. shes also been eating stage one foods from gerber and beech nut. she loves it!

Hi Courtney! Offering solids is the beginning of weaning, technically speaking; I remember it being difficult to start solids with my first baby for having the same concern! But, in fact, she went on to nurse for 2 1/2 years.

Breastmilk should be kept as the principle food for baby's first year, keeping solids less important and "for fun". Since there is no solid (except perhaps avocado) that is as nutrient dense as breastmilk, nurse before offering solids. Give a few bites of solids and nurse again is baby remains hungry following. Don't fill baby up on solids, even if he she wants more, at least in the beginning. It is natural to increase solids gradually, but keep breastmilk at the forefront of her diet until she hits a year.

Water is not required when solids are started, as BM is, in large part, water. I started offering a couple of tablespoons of water when I started solids (in a sippy or spoon), but it is not necessary. I did not boil it.

Have you read these links?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/ready-solids-lin...
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/baby-water.html

First of all I must say YOU GO GIRL!!! 7 months is awesome!!! I'm so happy you didn't start solids at 4 months. :) To make sure you don't lose milk supply you should breastfeed first and then try solids. I personally started with fresh baked sweet tater. :) MMmmmm.... Then you can try Banana and Avocado. The water thing is really up to you. I use bottled water. But since you breastfeed before you feed food I would wait a couple of weeks to try to introduce a cup too. :)