Mythbusters: 4 Myths About Starting Solids

I have a background in education. One of the things that frustrated me most as a teacher was when I encountered families who had received bad advice from other teachers. This shouldn't be all that surprising though. Teachers today are burdened with unrealistic expectations from administration and the state, not to mention standards that change more rapidly than a growing toddler.

I am not a medical professional, so I don't presume to know better than my pediatrician. However, if  the field of healthcare is anything like teaching, then it's possible that the everyday demands of the job may prevent some doctors from keeping up to date with current research and AAP recommendations. This is why I think it's important for parents to do their research (which is not the same as one Google search) when it comes to making decisions about the health of their child. In this post I'll provide a few links to get you started, but please understand that I am not an expert and there is a lot more information out there!

Click here to use the AAP's interactive infant timeline

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that parents introduce solid foods into their baby's diet when s/he is about 6 months old. On their website they remind parents that "babies who start eating solid food too early are more lilkely to be overweight or obese in childhood and adulthood." They also recommend introducing a variety of tastes and textures and encouraging self-feeding early on.

In spite of the AAP's efforts to communicate these current guidelines, there are a few pervasive myths out there regarding baby's first solid foods.

Myth #1: My baby is hungry and breast milk isn't enough.

Evidence shows: Breast milk contains all nutrients baby needs up until 6 months.
The AAP states time and again that breast milk is the best source of nutrition for babies up until they are one year old. At around 6 months when baby's iron stores begin to dwindle, introducing solid foods rich in iron is a great way to supplement his nutritional needs. But a baby's need for iron may be impacted by factors like birth weight, gestational age at birth, etc. So if you have a healthy, typical baby who isn't a huge fan of solid foods at 6 months, keep offering those solids, but keep offering the breast as well. It's likely that she will come around when she is ready without her health suffering.

There are some periods of time early in baby's life when he may be going through growth spurts and doing lots of cluster feeding. Frequent feeding is not necessarily a sign that baby isn't getting enough. If you are concerned, see an IBCLC to do a weighed feed (do not rely on pump output to tell you how many ounces baby is consuming!) and ask for advice. This timeline of a breastfed baby has some excellent guidance to help you know what is "normal" as baby grows and develops.

Myth #2: My baby needs solid food to sleep through the night.

Evidence shows: There isn't a link between feeding baby solids and longer stretches of sleep at night.

One study specifically found that rice cereal feedings before bedtime had no discernible impact on infant sleep duration at night. In fact, research has shown that introducing solids too early may make your baby sleep less! Dr. Gold, a pediatrician in Brooklyn, told the New York Times that infant sleep often has less to do with hunger and more to do with learning how to sleep. If you're a haggard mommy zombie who's desperate for some infant sleep guidance, try reading this or this.

Myth #3: My baby can only eat bland purees at 6 months.

Evidence shows: Different babies prefer different kinds of food.

Age-old solids introduction probably looked like a mix of purees and finger foods. Baby-led weaning (BLW) is on the rise today with more parents introducing their baby to solid finger foods before first using purees. Skeptics of BLW are often leery of choking episodes. Whether you choose to do BLW or not, be sure to look up procedures for infant choking. I keep the picture below on my phone, desktop, and have a printout close by for ease of mind. The point is, babies love exploring new foods and textures. It can take  up to 10-15 tries before a baby will accept a new food, so if she refuses, offer again a few days later, and repeat!

Both images courtesy of American Heart Association

Myth #4: Delaying solids can lead to [insert malady here].

Evidence shows: Evidence shows: Delaying solids until at least 6 months benefits mom and baby.  Not all babies are ready to eat solid food at 6 months.

More moms today are realizing that delaying the introduction of solids until at least 6 months has many benefits. What confuses many parents in US black-and-white culture is that guidelines are not intended to be hard and fast rules because every baby is the same, but at the same time marvelously different. We introduced solids to my daughter at 6 months, but she did not really become interested in eating any of them until closer to 10 months. During this time I had moments when I worried, but I tried to remind myself that she was developing at her own pace. Now she is 13 months old and healthy as she's ever been. She attacks broccoli, enchiladas, and blueberries with great gusto and it's rare that she refuses a particular food.

Some are concerned that a baby's delayed interest in solids could lead to speech and fine motor delays. This speech and language pathologist shares her take on BLW and how it has some overlap with an SLP's perspective on feeding.



Like I said before, do some research. If you find some method or philosophy that resonates with you, keep reading! Don't limit your explorations to only reading studies, blogs, and articles that agree with you. As you widen your search and learn about feeding (or parenting in general!) you will learn to differentiate between people who are experts and those who are blowing smoke, and you will ultimately learn to trust yourself.

Milestones and The Top Five

A few weeks ago, we hit the goal we had been working toward for the last year. That's right, we made it! One year. Slow weight gain. Working twelve hour shifts. We made it. No formula, just mama's lovely, albeit skim, milk. I posted previously about my son starting to wean and that has progressed a bit but there are still days that he wants to nurse all day long and I'm totally fine with that. I told my husband today that I thought he would nurse til he turns two, to which he replied, "Are you surprised?". This leads me to my favorite top-five ever. The answers to the question I have been getting since we reached that year mark:

How did you do it?

5. Find a breast-friendly pediatrician

     While this is not number one on my list, I cannot stress how important this is. I've probably mentioned
     a handful of times now how big of a role our pediatrician played in our breastfeeding success. Find a
     pediatrician that you trust. Find a pediatrician who has positive feedback from breastfeeding mothers
     in your area. There are pediatricians in my are who are wonderful and sweet, maybe have shorter wait
     times in the office, but who would have encouraged supplementing in a heartbeat with my son. We
     went for my son's one year check up last week and the pediatrician laughed at the growth chart. Literally
     LOL'd. Maybe it's because it resembles a stock graph or something totally unrelated to infant growth or
     maybe because he was right. Remember I mentioned that our pediatrician, while my son was hovering in
    the second percentile for months, told me not to sweat it and around 6 months he would shoot up? He
    did. He jumped from the 2nd to the 23rd then at a year, he jumped to the 64th percentile for weight. We
    never supplemented with formula and we started solids slowly at 6 months, per the recommendation of the
    AAP. I trusted him and he trusted my body and my choice to EBF. He was a great fit for our family. At
    the end of our appointment, he asked if C was still a breast guy and I said yes. He said that was great and
    that we were in no hurry to wean. Swoon.

4. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

     No one expects you to know all of the answers. I tell first time moms in the hospital all the time: You
     have never done this before and neither has your baby. It is a learning process for both of you and every
     time you sit down to feed, you will both learn something about feeding and each other.

     There is no shame in asking questions. Reach out. Reach out to moms who have done this before you.
     Reach out to moms who will keep it real with you. Positive feedback is great, but if you are doing
     something that will be detrimental to your nursing relationship, it helps to have someone you can count
     on to help bring you back to center. One day, it will be your favor to return and you'll be grateful that
     you asked questions so that you can pass on the wealth of knowledge you have acquired.

     Asking your gal pals is a great idea but these gems will become your best friends:

Kelly Mom - the web's breastfeeding Bible

LactMed Drugs and Lactation Database

     Kelly Mom also has a Facebook page and there are many other social media pages that serve as great

     and informal resources on lactation. Please remember that advice given by friends, bloggers, etc. is 

     wonderful and generally accurate, but it does not replace that of an IBCLC, MD or other professionals

     trained in lactation. 

3. Stand your ground

     You know your baby and your body best. If you aren't comfortable giving your baby a pacifier, don't
     If you aren't comfortable leaving your baby with grandma to take a bottle so you can get some sleep,
     don't. Are you keeping track of wets, dirties and temperament and know that your baby is getting
     enough despite what feels like the rest of the world telling you otherwise? Tell them to shut it! Are
     there times you are going to want more sleep and that bottle will sound tempting? Absolutely. Just
     remember that you made this choice and you are the only one who can decide to go the other route.
     

2. Trust your body.

     Yes, there are women who, for various physiologic reasons, are unable to produce breast milk. The
     odds that you are one of them? Slim. Women tend to start doubting themselves when babies don't
     latch right away, aren't sleeping through the night when other babies of the same age are or may not
     have regular dirty diapers....or a plethora of other reasons. Remember: You were made for this! 
     Women are designed to lactate for our young. Am I saying there won't be stumbling blocks or that
     this beautiful and natural thing will come as easy as your natural labor - oh, wait...just keeping you on
     your toes! There will be times you will doubt your ability to produce wonder food for your baby and
     you will question the strength of your body and mind - nurse on. You've got this!        

1. Surround yourself with people who are supportive of your choice to exclusively breast feed.

    I tell moms in the hospital all the time: You will get a ton of feedback and advice about breastfeeding -           mostly from women who have never breastfed. There are so many support resources available:

    Adventures in Breastfeeding (ofcourse!)

Local Le Leche Groups

...as well as local hospital and community

based support groups.

     Becoming socially accountable for reaching breastfeeding goals goes far. I refer to it as positive peer

     pressure. Of course, there is nothing wrong with giving medically indicated formula, but there is something

     about knowing how your friends will react if you were to bring a bottle of ready-to-feed to a play date

     that keeps a breastfeeding mom motivated to trudge forward, even in the hardest growth spurts or

     sleepless nights.

I am so thankful to have come this far in our nursing journey and cherish each session now. The hardest thing is knowing that any day now I could nurse my sweet boy for the last time but the best thing is knowing how far we have come. When you doubt yourself, remember that you can do this. 

Til next time, mamas...

Keep calm and nurse on.