I plan on exclusively breast feeding for the beginning on my sons life, but I find theres so many fuzzy lines on when to introduce foods and when to wean from the breast.
On introducing semi-solid foods, a lot of sites average it to 6 months old. I’m confused on whether it means you should introduce these foods around then, or you can introduce them then. I know baby needs to be able to sit up, wrap lips around a spoon, and of course needs to be capable of swallowing and digesting these foods. And I know not every baby is the same so not every baby will reach this developmental stage at the same time as another baby. Are any babies exclusively breastfed throughout the entire first year? Or what about until 9 mo old? Though I know introducing foods takes time, like a single food item per week and not much of it, I still like the idea to ebf for as long as possible.
And on weaning… I know this is a very personal question and the answer is different per mother, but I’d still like to hear some opinions on when you either plan to wean your child or when you actually weaned your child (and the difference in timing if you planned one age range and turned out not doing so). I am for sure going to bf for the whole first year. A lot of websites seem to encourage even until they are 2. And some websites even say its great even longer! I have mixed feelings on if I’ll bf my son when he’s older than 2 but I’ve got time to decide. On one hand I love all the benefits they say there still is, on the other hand it seems a tad strange for a child that old to still be on the breast. Though I was thinking if he likes to nurse to sleep then why not continue until the time seems right to wean him off.
I’m not due until Dec 1st, and this is my first. So I’ve no experience here. I know even if I plan something now I may very well change my mind by then. But I’d love to hear pro’s and con’s either way, maybe even links to educational websites?
Thank you berries!
As I have food allergies myself I consulted an imunoligist/allergist before introducing food. His recomendation was the same for both breastfed a d formula fed babies. He said one singular food (we used pumpkin) should be introduced at 6mo and they have only that one food as “dessert” (after milk) for 2 weeks to a month before introducing other foods. Then introduce one new food every 4-5 days after that. Avoiding high risk foods (eggs, nuts, shellfish etc.) at first but not for an excessive period. He didn’t recomend waiting until say 9mo to introduce solids as the risk of developing food alergies increaces. It varies though if the baby was prem, has milk allergies, health issues etc.
