how long just on breastmilk?

[WeThree]

does anybody know how long a baby can safely go without solids? i have just started offering my 6 mth old small amounts of food and she is not the least bit interested, im not concerned at this point, but when would you start becoming worried? she is a good weight and coming along beautifully, but my mum told me of this 9 mth baby that presented at cas and it had never had solids because its parents thought it only needed breastmilk till it was 12mths old and the poor little thing ended up dyeing, so now i keep thinking about it? any ideas anyone?

[mumofethan]

well i am not entirely sure when they "have" to be eating solids by... it was something i never had trouble with my son, he was on solids at 4.5mths.

i know some ppl who have started around 7mths, their babies dont seem to be having any problems...

the main thing that i have heard is that solids help them learn how to used their tongue and jaw better, therefore improving speech.

if you do get really worried speak to your doctor or your babies nurse.

also what have you tried feeding her, and what response is she giving? it may simply be the tongue reflex that she hasnt lost yet, and also learning how to use a spoon.

:D

Michelle

[Lallas' Mum]

If bub's weight is going along fine, I wouldn't panic just yet. It is probabley a good idea to keep offering her solids - even if she does refuse. One day she won't and she'll be on her way to eating steak!

I have a friend whose first son had terrible food allergies, so when son number two came along she was too scared to start solids until after he was 9 and a half months old!! He certainly wasn't lacking either. His mum made sure that the formula he drank was calculated according to his weight and not his age and he did just fine.

The child health nurse is a great source of info but you'll find bub will let you know when she is ready. Like I said, just keep trying once a day and when she is ready she will eat.

Good luck to you


PS it is recommended that a bub is exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age anyway - so don't panic you're doing fine!

[WeThree]

thanks girls, like you said i think as long as she isnt losing weight she will be ok, i think shes just a real boobie girl :p

[draught]

My 7.5 month old has not been that keen on solids at all until the last few days and even now she doesn't eat that much. I was getting worried but then looked at her behaviour - still happy, still sleeping, pooing, weeing etc, and not needing more breast milk, so I decided she must be okay. I know of a woman who didn't introduce solids until 12 months and the only drama her daughter had was bad teeth - the theory being that all the sugars in milk has rotted them. So don't worry. What I found worked for Chloe in the end was offering finger food - mainly white bread with a smear of butter and vegemite - she just wants to be able to feed herself. So all my work at pureeing vegies and fruit got replaced by vegemite sandwiches for a while. Now she is happy to eat fruit and vegies from a spoon so it didn't all go to waste!

[WeThree]

hi theresa, thanks for that, a girlfriend of mine suggested fingerfood, and yesterday and today i gave her a milk arrowroot and she gummed them to death! it probably felt nice to have something to gnaw ob with all those toothy pegs that are coming through as well :)

[shellbell]

one of the reasons that "they" say to introduce solids at around 6 months is because a baby's stores of iron begin to get very low. thats why rice cereal is generally fortified with iron. because iron is so vital to a baby's development, it may not be wise to leave it any longer

[Milly]

Hi there Coopsntilly!

Here is a link from the Australian Breastfeeding Association about this very topic. It gives you reasons and goes into a bit more detail:

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/justbm.html

Anyway, you could contact and ABA Counsellor for some extra tips on this or visit the ABA website. It is very helpful and you get great expert advice.

The general website address is:

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/


All the best! :)

[mimi]

Hi Erin

A good link Milly has given there - no doubt you have checked it out.

To reassure you, our daughter refused solids until around 11 months - and she continued to grow, put on weight and be happy and VERY healthy, on just breastmilk!

There is ancedotal evidence that many babies who refuse solids for a very long time actually do have normal iron levels - despite the fear that breastmilk iron may not be enough. It is known that though there is less iron in breastmilk than many foods, it is almost completely absorbed, due to special transfer factors in it [where as iron in foods is almost completely lost]. This only reduces [the amount absorbed] when other foods or fluids are added to the diet and interfere with those transfer factors. So maybe that is why some kids who refused all solids up to 14 MONTHS [wow! I'd be worried wouldn't you??!] when tested had perfectly normal iron levels!!

Breastmilk is supposed to be their main source of nutrition until 12 months, and as they say, solids only need to be a taste and texture experiment until then anyway!

I know the speech therapists like babies to be chewing by 9 months so as to apparently have normal speech development, and our DD doesn't pronounce words as clearly as her brother did - but then again he was some kind of super-child [LOL] and spoke very early!! - but she is in no way 'behind' in her speech.

Another thing - just to worry you now LOL - some kids who have tongue tie refuse solids because they cannot move the food to the back of their mouths properly to be able to swallow. Maybe worth checking, but I would guess at this early stage you need not really worry about this - so long as DD is still gaining weight and seems bright eyed and healthy!!

Cheers

P.S. and there is sooo much LESS MESS when it's just breastmilk ... LOL

[WeThree]

thankyou everyone for your reassurance and advice, it makes me feel alot better to know that she doesnt have to be eating a baked dinner by 7 mths! (the way some of my family have been going on you would think she should be!) when she has her next check up i will mention the tongue tie to the doctor just to be on the safe side, and mimi, so true about the less mess, once they start solids poos and vomits become a million times yuckier!! :)

[mummy_to_4]

my baby is 8 1/2 months old and is still exclsivley breastfed - she has shown no interest at all in food.
They dont recommend starting solids till after 6 months of age cause a babies stomache still isnt strong enough to be able to digest solid foods and it is also more likely that if you start solids too soon there is a chance that your baby can develop allergies to certain foods.