solids

[ainemc]

Hey guys,
Just wondering what age everybody put their kids on solids and did they have problems if they had chiari?
It is reccommended over here not to start weaning your baby until they are 6months but you can start from 4months if they are showing signs of wanting food. Caitlin is showing these signs but i'm reluctant to start her on solids incase her chiari makes her gag or be sick and im thinking maybe I should wait until shes a bit older but at the same time if shes ready for solids I don't want to deprive her of them. Any suggestions?
Thanks

[Kari]

All of my kids had gagging issues with solids, not just Zach. Once he got it figured out (took about a month), he did better with solids than with liquid. I started him at about 5 months, but most of his nutrition still came from breastmilk.

[Jill]

I started my girls at 5.5-6mos and plan on starting Kingsley about that time, if not later. I found the girls showed 'signs' earlier, but when it came down to it, they weren't actually interested and solids didn't actually happen on a regular basis until after 7mo. You won't be depriving her by waiting. :) Those few weeks seem to matter so much, but in the grand scheme of life, a month or two without eating mushy veg and fruit isn't a big deal. I actually hope we can wait longer bc of the Chiari (he gags easily) and changes it'll make to his bowel functioning. :(

[Amnada]

I'm with Jill!
Nickolas is 5 months and while I look forward to his next big boy step - eating 'real' food, I was glad when his pediatrician said to wait until 6 months, because he is breastfed, that is all he needs.

I'm hoping to delay some of the bowel and gagging issues that could happen when I start introducing solids.

Amanda

[Makennasmom]

I didn't start feeding Makenna baby food until she was 6 months old. She was satisfied with her formula, so I didn't want to rush her. Her dr. said that was fine she is healthy. She didn't gag until we started the textured foods. She is 14months now and just started eating table foods in the last few weeks. She still eats her baby prunes at least 3-4 times a week. It seems to help keep her poop. She is also drinking juice now that also helps with keeping her regular. (she didn't like juice until recently I would have to mix it in cereal if I wanted her to have it)

[ainemc]

I think i'm going to try to hold off for a bit longer with solids, at least until she's 5 months. The signs she's showing (chewing on hands and toys etc) could also be teething and she can get constipated so I don't want to upset that further by introducing solids. I guess I feel a bit pressurized into moving her onto solids. Not a day goes by were I don't have a family member saying I should be giving her solids. Any time she cries and she's not due a bottle its because she's hungry and should be eating at least baby rice according to them. I know they mean well but it can be very frustrating!

[Dodger67]

And to top it all, rice is a bad choice of first solid food for a baby who is prone to constipation.

[ainemc]

Is it? Didn't know that. What foods are good for a baby who is prone to constipation?

[XoBLoNDiE85]

stick with either the oatmeal or barley! NO rice cereal! Hannah ate alot of oatmeal and prunes mixed together.

[leigh828]

We started Grey on barley around 5 months. he was showing all of the signs that he was interested and he did great. He did have some gagging issues at first, but that can be totally normal (may not be beacuse of chiari) we just kept at it and evventually the gagging stopped. It was pretty much only with the first one or two bites and then once he caught on that he was eating and not drinking, he was fine. :) Good luck!! :)

[Dodger67]

Keep the rice for when he has diarrea(sp?).

[mumtotwo]

I wish i knew about this site earlier I started jamie on rice (i didn't know it made you constpiated) I then hadda up his lactoulse. He 16 mths now and still wont eat any lumps r chew anything all foods have to be liquidised. I try daily with lumps but he throws up. He also very fussy he wont take anything cold r no drinks but warm milk. He likes veg mashed but not so keen on fruit.
I runing out of ideas of what to feed him so if anyone has ideas please let me know

[dahliafaolan]

I just wanted to say this. Ok, I know that chiari can cause problems with gagging and such, but think about it from a baby's perspective. If all you've had all your life is this nice smooth liquid and all of a sudden it has lumps in it, aren't you going to make a fuss at first, maybe gag a little? And let's be honest, have any of you ever had baby cereal? I don't have Chiari and I wanted to gag the one time I tried it out of curiosity.

And I just wish we had known about rice constipating you when I was growing up. I suffered from many impactions growing up. We never even considered that it might have been the rice-rich diet of South Louisiana!

[n3rdchik]

There is no deadline for introducing solids - both my older boys were 9 mos before they had anything but breastmilk. We were able to skip "baby food and go right to smashed table food. They are healthy 6 & 9 year olds, now. Take it easy :-)

[ainemc]

Dahiafaloan - Your so right, I remember trying to feed one of the twins I used to look after and I would taste baby rice and make out it was yummy so she would have it, but it was so hard not to spit it back out, it was disgusting! I guess if she does gag it could well be just because its a new thing that she needs to learn and get used too.
n3rdchik - Think I am going to try to chill out about the whole food thing, and wait a while, and when she's ready i'm sure she'll let me know :-)

[ainemc]

Could anybody reccommend any type of juice that can help with constipation? Caitlin is absoutely loving her solids but she won't take hardly any milk now she just refuses it because she wants her food, she refuses water too and her stools are really hard and she is only managing to push a little one out every day. I've upped her lactose to the max i can give her (10ml a day) but its not making any difference.

[Kari]

Pear juice doesn't taste too bad, and it helps with constipation.

[Dodger67]

Pear and prune - you can mix it if prune juice alone is not tasty.

[Summer25]

Apple juice always made me go.

[ainemc]

Thanks for replies, trying out the juices now...i give her pear and apple juice and it seemed to help but its trying to get her to drink it is the problem now!
Going to bring her to her GP this week i think as the lactalose isn't really helping and she isn't drinking enough fluids :-(

[sbmama]

Bananas are also binding. Some people like to mix rice cereal and banana as early baby food, and that is awful for a baby with constipation. Good first baby foods that don't cause constipation are oatmeal, prunes, mashed avacados, and sweet potatoes. Pear juice and prune juice are helpful. Once my daughter started solids, she needed miralax even if all I fed her was prunes, prunes, and more prunes. She was/still is breastfed as well.