Bananas

HI S.,

Here is a link to a good article on when to introduce solid foods:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_introducing-solid-foods_113.bc

HI S.. I definately believe that it's way way way too early for food. 6 months is the earliest I believe. It's tempting, but we were created a certain way. Organic Bananas are a good food, but please try to wait. You don't see what is happening on the celular level. Sometimes bad things manifest but sometimes they don't. At least you don't see them manifest but the stress on the digestive tract, liver, kidneys, etc is bad. Please wait!!!!!
I have learned a lot as a nutritionist and having my sons at 40 yrs of age. I was taught not to feed your child meat until 12 years old. They then have the digestion enzymes to digest meat. It's crazy I know, but keep this in mind. Nut butters are bad also for a young child. 8 yrs old I finally began with almond butter instead of peanut butter.
We all do the best that we can and God's grace does the rest!

Years ago, when my now-ten-year-old son was about that age (he was 10 weeks), he had his first bits of banana. Not only did he love it, but the colicky crying he often did stopped. I have a picture of him with my mom feeding him his first banana, and the look on his face was pure rapture!

You are going to hear lots of things from other parents, from parenting books, etc. And more often than not, there are contradictions, even among the experts. You'll hear about food allergies, etc. Personally, I've never heard of anyone with a banana allergy. Not to say it doesn't exist, but it seems like it would be pretty rare. I've never heard of anyone with a rice allergy either.

I think if you use good common sense (really mush the banana, and if you want to introduce rice cereal or something else, make it really thin) to supplement meals, you're not going to do any harm. If your child has the swallowing reflex for those mushy solids down, I can't see any reason to not give it to them.

Of course, always discuss with a pediatrician you trust if you're in doubt.

I think that you should do what you feel comfortable doing. I would heed caution if the foods you want to introduce are known to cause allergies if intoduced too early, but other than that, you're her mom. You know your baby better than anyone else!

Hi S.. My son is 16 now, but when he was 2-1/2 months old no formula or cereal in his formula would please him one night. I had purchased some of the #1 baby foods, trying to stock up little by little so that we would have enough when he was able to eat it (I figured at 4-5 months old). Nothing helped that night. He screamed and cried, cried and screamed. So, I jumped up and poured a jar of baby food plums into an "infa-feeder" that I had also purchased. Hooray for those! It holds baby food, but has a nipple like a bottle. I gave it to him, he looked up at me, and his eyes got bigger and bigger and he sucked it down like there was no tomorrow. Afterwards, he was able to take some of his formula too and get a good nights' sleep. Poor baby was HUNGRY! I called the doctor and they said it was fine, but not to start out with the sweet stuff first or he wouldn't want the veggies. So I slowly incorporated the food into his diet. He loved all of it, veggies too. I might give your baby the pureed baby food bananas first. Bananas tend to cause constipation, but I bet a little wouldn't hurt. Good luck.

We were giving our son mushed up bananas around that age. We smashed the heck out of them with a fork and gave him little bits and he loved it!

At two months old, your infant's digestive system isn't ready for solids. I would stick to nursing or formula for the first 6 months. Being the mother of a 4 year old who had food sensitivities to just about everything including rice cereal (at 6 months), I would definitely wait!

She's your baby, do what is comfortable to you. Just watch her digestion, as new first foods can be a little tricky. If it stops her up put it in the food processor and add a little formula or breast milk to thin it out. Good luck! Remember you're the mommy and your instincts will always tell you what's best for YOUR child.

God Bless,
K.

I was always told that if you start foods after 6 mo. that it reduces the chances of them getting allergies to that particular food. Also remember that their gag reflex isnt fully ready to be introduced to solid foods at such a young age and they could choke. while i dont think a taste is harmful, it might be best to wait a little longer to introduce solid foods

I second what Eleise W said. In addition, they have found that starting solids before 4 months and later than 6 can increase the odds of diabetes. Babies at that age also can't guage when they are full so they can overeat. It's your baby, but with all the research done in the last few years, I'd heed the experts warnings!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting your baby on solids between 4 and 6 months. Starting before that time increases the risk of developing food allergies. Babies younger than 4 - 6 months get all the nutrition hey need from breast milk or formula and do not need supplementation with other foodstuffs.

Yes, go ahead! You can even call your pediatrician. Your not going to give it to her in place of a meal after all.

A taste shouldn't hurt, but I wonder if you were trying a whole meal if you shouldn't start with something softer on the digestive system, like the usual first step of rice cereal. Bananas can get you constipated even when your digestive system is more developed than 2 months old, so I'd just check with the pediatrician to be sure. You go in to see him/her enough at this age anyway!