*Warning, this is a bit of a rant post, read at your own risk (there
isn’t any bad language though).*
When I became pregnant (and honestly, even before that) we began
discussing some of the big parenting decisions we would make and I began
researching a lot of baby care topics. I
have an MS degree and know how to find reliable, fact based information. This research has led me to parenting
decisions that many support and many don’t.
NONE of these decisions were made lightly, even the ones that seemed
obvious.
One to the decisions we made was to EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed (EBF) R
until 6 months of age as long as he was growing well, healthy and meeting all
of his milestones. He is now 4.5 months
old and has not had any sort of nourishment except breast milk. He is growing perfectly (he started at the 50th
percentile for weight and height and has stayed within 2 percentage points
above or below that). He has exceeded
his 4 month milestones, met around 90% of his 6 month milestones and a few of
his 8 month ones. He is happy and
healthy. He generally wakes once per night
unless he has had an off schedule day or is seeming to be teething or like the
last couple days, has a little cold. But
despite ALL of this, at least once a week someone tries to feed him something
OR acts like I am abusing him when they find out he isn’t on cereal yet. In fact just today D’s grandma informed me
that she despite the information I told her about WHY we were delaying
introducing R to foods she thought it was ridiculous and went on to tell me
that her started her one child on a mix of Karo syrup, whole milk and water at
less than a month old because he “obviously needed more than breast milk, he
was waking up every 2 hours to eat!” She
followed this homemade concoction with oatmeal before he was 6 weeks old. Now, I might take this woman’s criticisms
thoughtfully except she is overweight, in poor health, and her children are far
from the picture of health. So below are
my reasons (based off of fact supported information, NOT wives’ tales and “that’s
how we did it” advice) why he will not be eating anything besides breast milk
until AT LEAST 6 months of age as long as he continues to grow, is happy and is
developing on or above schedule and why “cereal” and vegetables will not be his
first food. If this choice is not the
same as yours, that’s OK! These are
just MY reasons.
*Prior to 4 months of age a baby’s intestinal lining is “open”,
meaning that the cells are very widely spaced and they are not selective about
what they allow through to be absorbed by the body. They are designed this way to allow particles
from digested breast milk to easily be absorbed and used by the baby’s
body. SOMEWHERE between 4 and 7 months
the lining begins to “close” and the cells become closer together and they
begin to secrete a protein that “coats” the baby’s intestinal wall and helps
the cells “filter” what gets through the intestinal wall and into the baby’s
bloodstream. By 6 to 7 months the baby’s
intestinal wall cells are much more capable of filtering than at 4 months. If non-breast milk foods are introduced too
early the body may be more likely to develop allergies because molecules are
entering the bloodstream that the body doesn’t think should be there and it develops
antibodies against them.
*Each specific type of food requires certain mechanism to digest it
and break it down BEFORE it gets to the absorbent intestinal lining. Babies’ bodies need time to develop these
mechanism and most EBF babies do not have them for foods other than breast milk
by 4 months.
*Babies instinctively have a “tongue-thrust” mechanism that helps them
avoid things that shouldn’t be in their mouth.
This is usually gone by 6 months of age.
Also babies’ swallowing mechanism transitions from suck-swallow to
chew-swallow somewhere between 4 to 6 months.
*Once foods are introduced the potency of the 50+ known immune factors
found in breast milk diminishes. Babies
that are EBF for an extended time have 40% fewer ear infections than their
counterparts who are introduced to foods earlier. Babies who are EBF for 6
months or longer also have lower incidences of respiratory illness over their entire
lifetime.
*Infants who are introduced to foods earlier than 6 months have a
reduction in their iron absorption efficiency.
Research has found that delaying food until 7 months results in less
cases of anemia than earlier introductions of solids.
*Early introduction of foods has been associated with higher childhood
body fat indexes and weights.
*Early introduction of other foods has a negative effect on the mother’s
milk supply and often leads to earlier than expected weaning due to lagging
milk supply.
*The American Academy of Pediatrics now advises waiting to introduce other
foods to EBF babies until 6 months or later.
Our first food choices; R will likely have avocados as his first non-breast
milk food. Why? Avocados are high in
carbohydrates, good fats, and vitamins and mineral. They are naturally smooth and creamy. They are yummy. They are sodium and cholesterol free. Avocados will likely be followed by bananas,
sweet potatoes and yams. We will get
around to “cereal” eventually.
Whatever you decide about you child PLEASE base it off of solid
information and not go with what other people tell you that you should do!
