"Baby" Foods

A few months ago I stumbled upon some really intriguing viewpoints on introducing babies to solids. While I've always gone somewhat against the grain when beginning solids with my babies (for instance, I don't start until past 6 months, skip the rice cereal, and see food as mostly for fun until over 1 year), these ideas were new to me.  The basic concept is that babies don't have to be, well, "babied" as much as standard American approaches suggest.  Rather than feeding them bland, pureed foods, babies can actually tolerate - and enjoy! - more flavorful and texture-rich foods.  Not only is this almost certainly healthier in giving them a more balanced diet (though breastmilk should always be the primary food source until one year of age), it also gives them a broader palate, so that in future years they'll be more open to more foods.  MSNBC has a great article on research done on the subject, indicating that most of our ideas on beginning solids are more myth than science.

With my older boys, we did try to introduce a lot of vegetables and keep a balance between fruits and veggies.  There's a prevailing notion that giving "too much" fruit will create a sweet tooth, and certainly it seems that more vegetables are not only healthier in the short term but may create more interest in them in the long run.  Unfortunately, this hasn't proven true for us.  In fact, my oldest son doesn't like many vegetables because of their texture, regardless of flavor.

So what if we introduce more textures, earlier?  How about letting infants chew on things (with supervision, of course!) like carrots and broccoli, either raw or lightly steamed?  We've been doing this now with our youngest son for a couple of months and it's gone over very well. He doesn't ingest a lot of food yet, which is fine - breastmilk is all he really needs.  But he does chew, taste, and explore a variety of foods and is clearly mastering the art of eating a bit more all the time.

For more information on Baby-Led Solids (as it's called in the U.S., or Baby-Lead Weaning in the U.K.), be sure to read the Rapley Guidelines, available in English on a German breastfeeding site, or in PDF format (updated June 2008) from Rapley's site.

Comments

[Mandy Mom]

I totally agree... we dont feed the baby many pureed foods, except for maybe bananas and sweet potatoes.. because he LOOVES them.. once he started eating solids, he went into "real solids" not mushy mashy stuff.

[JJ Lassberg]

Your post has me reflecting on how we did things differently for our 2 boys. The first - we were typical first parents, very careful and by the book. The second - we were of course typical - and much more relaxed. Our younger son has always been more hungry and experimental than our oldest. I am left with the age old "nature vs. nurture" question... my hubby still HATES the veggies he hated when he was a kid - and I love 'em! So, I'll keep putting them on the kiddo's plates and hoping for the best. Thanx a for sharing.