Solids-Are all babys different???

[Kaileysmum]

Hello

Just a question out of curiosity.

When these researchers determine the age for starting solids (4 to 6mths), do they take into account that some babies are born early and some late??? So how are you suppost to determine the right time. And also every baby is totally different in development, so how can they set an age to when they are ready?

An example of what I mean:

Starting solids for a baby born 4weeks early, if you started them on solids at 4 months wouldnt that be to early as according to their EDD they should be only 3 months in development.

I just think that sometimes it all comes down to the baby itself, as they are all very different, some develop quicker than others, and not all babys are born when they should be, I do know that my baby was a very allert baby and had good head control wneh she was born and she was 2 weeks overdue, compared to my brother in laws baby who was 2 weeks early.

Im sorry to ramble on but I was just thinking about this last night and had to see what others thought. Im not personally going to start solids until 5 to 6 months or when I think bub is ready, but I know that others feel that their baby's are ready quite early, and I think that should be ok. I think its all up to the parents and the baby when they are ready.

E:o

[whatwasithinking]

Hello

I think its all up to the parents and the baby when they are ready.



Exactly - and well written and said!!

DD#1 was 5months (tried at 4mths but she wanted nothing to do with solids).
DD#2 will be started on solids in the next couple of days (she is 4mths) - if she doesn't want to have anything to do with it I will wait and try again later.

I think you ain't going to know unless you try.

[Crazy Monkey]

I think it is totally up to the parents and baby to decide when to start solids but I personally wouldn't and didn't start DS on solids until he was over 4 months... DS had all the signs that he was ready, good head control, watching us eat, grabbing for food when offered...

[JanetF]

The reasons that researchers suggest later is better than earlier are from enzymes present in breastmilk as well as knowing what is know about babies guts. It's not arbitrary :)

This is from kellymom:

Delaying solids gives baby's digestive system time to mature.
If solids are started before a baby's system is ready to handle them, they are poorly digested and may cause unpleasant reactions (digestive upset, gas, constipation, etc.). Protein digestion is incomplete in infancy. Gastric acid and pepsin are secreted at birth and increase toward adult values over the following 3 to 4 months. The pancreatic enzyme amylase does not reach adequate levels for digestion of starches until around 6 months, and carbohydrate enzymes such as maltase, isomaltase, and sucrase do not reach adult levels until around 7 months. Young infants also have low levels of lipase and bile salts, so fat digestion does not reach adult levels until 6-9 months.

The gut has holes in it, basically, but breastfeeding is what helps close those both via colostrum and then the layering of milk after that. It can be shown to even protect infants against contracting HIV from their mothers. Babies who are exclusively breastfed have less intestinal permeability and thus a lower rate of HIV infection from breastmilk than babies fed supplements as well as their mothers' HIV-infected milk. So the carrier of the virus actually stops the baby getting the virus! How amazing is that!

http://www.jaids.org/pt/re/jaids/abstract.00126334-200110010-00004.htm;jsessionid=D7suRYPZS3UjjCPVDKyVONyZj62LK jys45RAgPnaoD4j1F0XYiAF!231839128!-949856145!9001!-1

Feeding Mode, Intestinal Permeability, and Neopterin Excretion: A Longitudinal Study in Infants of HIV-Infected South African Women.
JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 28(2):132-139, October 1, 2001.
Rollins, Nigel C. *; Filteau, Suzanne M. +; Coutsoudis, Anna *; Tomkins, Andrew M. +

Try this for lots of explanations.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

The following organizations recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization
UNICEF
US Department of Health & Human Services
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Dietetic Association
Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Health Canada
Most babies will become developmentally and physiologically ready to eat solids by 6-9 months of age. For some babies, delaying solids longer than six months can be a good thing; for example, some doctors may recommend delaying solids for 12 months if there is a family history of allergies.


http://breastfeed.com/resources/articles/virgingut.htm

There there's also the logic factor - a baby who can't sit up is much more at risk of choking than a mobile baby eating solids.