Does a 7 Month Old HAVE to Start Eating Foods?

My daughter didn't eat any solids until a little over 10 months. She just wasn't interested. She is breastfed. Now at 14 months she wants to eat everything! Don't push the solids! Breastmilk is best!

Babies get full nutrition from breast milk or formula. Anything added to that is unnecessary. If she is happy without food then don't stress she will eventually show an interest and be ready. Giving table food early is only for teaching how to chew and swallow safe food.

I disagree with Dr. As long as baby is gaining weight, growing, and making plenty of pee, solids shouldn't be necessary just an extra.

Why are we all so suspicious of our pediatricians? Every single thing I have ever read says that babies should begin solid foods by 6 mos. At 7 mos the pediatricians suggestion is at the very least completely consistent with every other source/pediatrician I've ever seen. But many of us are calling this doctor an IDIOT?

I am NOT a medical expert, so I don't have much advice to offer... I'm just curious that we all seem so suspicious and hostile toward our medical providers. I'm not suggesting to go back to the days of blindly following advice without questioning... but have we tipped too far the other way? These people do have, after all, extensive training.

None of this is to suggest there aren't bad doctors -- I'm not a pollyanna.

Good luck with your baby. In my experience, yellow vegetables (and peas) have been very helpful with digestion.

Very few of us have any medical training on this site, and only a handful are up-to-date with current practice guidelines in pediatrics. So, take what we advise with a grain of salt. Please make your own decision with your pediatrician's guidance.

Your pediatrician is not an idiot. Getting into med school, completing med school, residency and fellowship is extremely difficult.
He just isn't giving you advice you feel comfortable with, and it's OK to get other opinions, but they really should be medical. His only concern is the health of your child (same as you), so it's OK to question his opinion, tell him your concerns and come-up with a game plan you are most comfortable with.

Yes, milk will continue to be your child's main source of nutrition, but I do believe in feeding babies "food". As a biologist, it's not true that our bodies are designed to be on breastmilk alone for the first year. There are many examples of children weaning themselves before their first birthday.

WHO (World Health Organization) recommended breast milk for 2 years several years ago. It was largely intended for children in impoverished countries who were not getting the balanced nutrition in industrialized nations.

Many people prefer to keep children on breast milk exclusively for a year. We chose not to, though I nursed a child to a year with solids introduced at 4 months because of how well he was thriving.

All women make different breast milk. Mine was very fatty, and my kids thrived immediately. You may want to have yours evaluated to make sure it has the proper proportions for what your child needs at this age.

If this helps, here is a sample menu from the American Academy of Pediatrics for an 8 month-old and shows how much milk vs. table food.
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

If you are looking for advice, I would say yes to continuing to offer table foods as it will be easier now since she's definitely showing interest than many months from now.

Good luck!

Yeah... doctors are interesting. I say this as someone who now only has 2 living docs in the family (used to have several more), more nurses than you can shake a stick at, and scientists up the wazoo.

It is my family's practice (including all of the medical professionals) to NOT start table foods until 1 year old. Tasting (lick here, dab there) of food that you're eating yourself is fine... but nothing beyond that because

1) MOST baby's digestive systems just aren't ready yet (gas, colic, sleep disturbances... in fact if you stay on this site long enough you'll note the HUGE trend of all of these problems that start "out of the blue" at about 6-7 months, aka when they start solids).

2) There just aren't enough calories in table food for growing bodies. Seriously, imagine HOW MUCH you would have to eat to double your weight this year. It's a staggering idea.

The whole "starting solids at 6mo" is a holdover from WWII... when women couldn't nurse their children because they were on the production lines. Formulas were just that (printed formulas found in magazines and newspapers) that could keep an infant alive, but table food at the time was MUCH better for infants who were old enough to partially digest it. So starting solids young became a trend. Prior to WWII the standard was to start at a year... but women kept nursing until 2 years, on average. After WWII, many women found freedom in working, and so continued it. So the trend stuck. Formulas have gotten a gazillion times better than they were before... but table foods so young still have the expected problems on *most* infants.

((I keep saying "most" because all babies really do develop differently. I even knew one 6mo who was walking and had been for several weeks, but not only are most babies not capable, but even for those who are, their bones are too soft, and it would wreck their skeletal system. So SOME babies can eat solids and have no problems, because their digestive systems developed ahead of schedule. The majority are fine by about 9 months, but even at a year there are still some who have problems and need to wait another month or two. So "have to start", just sort of cracks me up. ))

I agree with the other posters. However, I wanted to point out that your doc is not following the pediatric docs' association--Babies are supposed to get the majority of their nutrition from formula or milk until age 1. Table food/baby food is all about experimentation and learning how to eat until age 1 and should not be a main source of nutrition for the baby.....

The babies bm's change consistency and timing as they start on solid food, and so, unless you see other signs of constipation (really hard bm's, a lot of grunting/straining when trying to have them), I would suggest just starting out gradually with solid food and go from there.

If you're worried about constipation, feed pears or prunes or give a little prune or pear juice.

My dr told me that food up till 1 year is "practice" not for nutritional purposes. So, do you HAVE to feed food, no, but I think it is a good idea to get her used to chewing and manipulating food. Another reason why starting some food in the first year is a good idea is because they use muscles in their mouth that otherwise wouldn't be used...this can help with speech too. Again, food is not 100% necessary, but is a helpful addition to the BM.

Rice cereal and apples are both VERY binding foods. I started with butternut squash or sweet potatoes with both of my boys and they didn't have any back up issues. If I need to use cereal to thicken up the food, I use oatmeal rather than rice...as rice really backed my little one up.

I would get a new Ped too. The nutrition is covered till at least a year with BF. The eating is learning how to manipulate food. It is just practice. It is good practice, but if your daughter's digestive system isn't ready, then it isn't necessary. I didn't even start my son till 7 months and plan to wait with my daughter too. I would keep trying periodically though to see how it goes. If she continues to have problems you may want to take her to a specialist for some recommendations.

Many pediatricians (mine included) believe that introducing food before one year of age serves two purposes: 1) it encourages babies to sleep through the night (since their tummies are heavier with solids in them) and 2) it provides good practice for chewing and helps babies adapt to having new textures in their mouths. My pediatrician recommended that we introduce solids before 9-10 months of age purely because, at that age, babies can get stubborn and reject solids because of the textures. Also, chewing uses different muscles than sucking, and so it is good to give those muscles a workout before your baby needs them. Nutritionally, it is unnecessary before age one as long as you are breast-feeding (this may not be the case with formula-feeding, I'm not sure) and in fact, in most parts of Asia and Africa, solids are not introduced until after one year of age. Your pediatrician is correct that yellow veggies might be easier to digest than apples or rice cereal (you might try oatmeal instead, and remember that in general, the P's are easier to digest: peas, pears, etc.), but is confused if she says that your baby NEEDS solids for the nutritional benefits. I would consider doing a little more research and possibly finding a pediatrician who knows more about breast-feeding, but if your child is reacting to foods at this point, wait another month or two before introducing them, because it sounds like her system may not be ready just yet (although she will poop less frequently on solids than on breast-milk - it's just part of the digestion process). You don't have to give her solids this young, especially if you're struggling with it. Good luck.

I think moms are a great resource, but I think in this case you need more than opinions, you need medical advice. I would suggest asking for a second or third opinion from other pediatricians. Be open to what they say: it sounds like you don't want to feed your daughter until later but if you hear, overwhelmingly, that you should, then maybe you should consider it.

If you ask here for some recommendations, I'm sure there are moms who will give you names of pediatricians who are more open to different feeding schedules & styles.

Your Pedia is an idiot. Your breastmilk covers all her nutrition as long as your eating well yourself. You can soley BF till age 2. She is getting backed up cause her digestive system is not ready and it does take time to adjust to normal foods, all babies have to deal with that. Get another doctor, and continue BF please as long as possible

They ,by nature, grab anything they see, so NO they do not need food. 11-12 months is early enough for solids and then they digest it better and can start to feed themselves finger tiny bite size foods you steam at home. The doctor is very agressive sounding because no baby needs food to grow, etc. Breast milk or formula has all they need for the first year. Be patient and stay calm and let it be for awhile. Her reactions to the foods tells you a lot about what is good for her.

we just found out my 4 year old has been backed up and blocked up since probably about 6 months old! if only we had known earlier the last crazy year trying to potty train would have been so much easier. Since she still pooped every 3 days i thought she was fine. Did you talk to your dr about the constipation? sometimes there can be a problem with their instestines being blocked. I would certainly want to look into it especially if she still has problems after she turns one.

Errr... I agree with the previous comment your Pediatrician is an idiot. Get a new one. That being said I BF until my daughter was 2 but she also had her solid foods. When rice made her consitpated I was told to try oatmeal and that made a difference - also rather than applesauce - pears.

Try finding a pediatricain who is an MD and an DO. It really does make a difference.

I know you did the so what happened but I have heard that it is okay to BF for 12 mo also. I did not research it but I have heard it. I would think about a new dr maybe, it sounds like a prob. and I would think they would try to figure out why your baby is getting backed up so much. also it would be nice to have a dr. that knew more about BF, but they are hard to find now for some reason I swere mine did not but I got a LAC and they were very helpful. good luck to your little baby and you. xo

Hi there! You got some good responses but I just wanted to share that my breastfed daughter did not start trying solids until 10 months and really did not start "eating" until 12 months. She never had a drop of pureed baby food or rice cereal. She went straight to finger foods and small bites that she could pick up. I basically fed her what we were eating and cut everything up really small. Don't worry...your baby will let you know when she is no longer satisifed from just breast milk. Trust her to know what she needs! Good luck!

I and most of my friends waited until our kids were closer to 1 to start serving them food. I would supplement with rice cereal some and mix it with apple sauce, but for the most part he was on breast milk and/or formula. And yes, I know I was lucky, but my child started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks!

You have tons of responses, and I didn't read them all so this is probably a repeat answer! My son didn't start solids until 7-8 months. He skipped cereal because it didn't agree with him. Try some prunes. My son LOVED them and they helped keep him regular. I gave them to him at least once a day and sometimes twice a day. Pediatricians are trained to tell you what the average child does. All babies develop on different schedules, so take the advice of you pedi AND listen to your own instincts, Momma knows best!!

I did not give my oldest anything other than milk until he was a year old, He is 21 and 6'3" so if only BF stunts their growth I am glad I did it. My younger one ate a little earlier but not much. Both walked at 10-11 months, talked early and seemed to develop quite normally. The only reason I gave my younger one food earlier was because of his teeth. By the time he was 7 months he had his two year molars and with a mouth full of teeth I was not sure he would not start chewing but continued BF until he was 18 months. Feed her when she is ready.

Hi H.! Mom knows best! I have never heard a Dr. tell my kids need to start eating foods unless they were drinking too much breast milk (my now 19 y/o when he was 3 mos old was drinking 32oz of my milk while I was at work and nursing before I went to work, after, through the night, etc.) You are with your baby the most so you have the best information about your baby. Most of my kids only breastfed until they were 1 y/o except for ocassional baby cookies for teething. They breastfed until 2-2 1/2 y/o. Don't worry, your daughter is healthy so keep trying things at your own pace. Don't feel pressured by the doctor. I have found out that when it comes to these things, they don't necessarily know best. Best wishes and God Bless!

I haven't read all the responses. I simply wanted to share that not every baby has a BM every day or multiple times a day. Both of my kids went for a few days without having one and then 'cleaned out the system' as we call it in our home. It's actually ok when this happens in a baby too. Another thing that is helpful for babies like that is to provide straight water after a feeding.

I didn't read through all the responses below, but my BF 9 month old had a few periods of constipation when we first started her on baby food. One thing that really did the trick with her is the 1st food Prunes. We gave her 1/2 the container and within 24hrs she had a BM. You can also mix the prunes with the rice cereal. Now that she's bigger sometimes we'll give her a whole container if she seems to be backed up a bit. I also read to avoid apples and bananas because those can cause constipation (there are a few other foods that tend to do that as well but can't remember what they are, just google it).

Many kids do get backed up a bit but usually go pretty well since it kind of can make the bm a bit more solid. Usually why they want little ones to start eating is 2 reasons one for growth the brain and body get and need different things from everything we eat and drink, two if you don't start on food some kids can get real issues with textures of foods and it be double trouble to get them to eat.

I know they say BF babies can have the breast for 1 yr or up to 2 yrs old if you can, I did breast feed my oldest and the youngest. My middle child never would get it since the hospital i was at had to induce labor and I had toxima I was unable to feed him the first 24 hours due to not being able to move and in such serious condition. yes, I did give a great effort after that and when I got home but it was not what he'd do. I am a strong believer of getting them on the breast right after birth, he didn't so I kinda lost his interest and it was disappointing and the nurse's I had being left on the delivery unit were not supportive (they wanted me moved and the hospital wouldn't do it, it was a bad experience).

O.k. back to food use the 1 first stage baby food the thinner the better while baby gets used to it. You can even thin it out a bit more but not much. As far as cereals go try a barley but don't get to hung up on cereal, try getting veggies into the baby and/or fruits. yes I know they like you to go veggies first since fruit is sweet and then some babies won't eat veggies if they try fruit first. I sometimes mixed veggies on the spoon then on the tip a bit of fruit, so you gotta eat the veggies if you want the sweet taste.

Try giving her a few spoons fulls and that's it work with her on the eating. Now with the bm's not moving look online about baby massage yes on the belly it can help babies that get backed up plus it helps both of you develop even a closer relationship. It's gentle strokes with the finger tips around the belly, encourage you watch a video of it so you can see what it's like. That may help the bm's and help keep her regular while learning to eat solids.

My oldest now 10 has always had problems with being backed up as a baby and now. So we've done everything before you ever use like kyro syrup check with the dr usually it's not to use on babies under 1 due to the allergic problems, I was never crazy about it since it was a fast spoon of sugar in a kid not because they'd run around but because I felt it would spike they're body sugar too fast and much.

I never did the no solids for 1 yr on a BF baby here's why. I have a friend who's a speech therapist she has assisted a OT with kids who have eating problems. Kids can develop issues with texture and it can take a long time to get them over it to eat no not all babies but some and yes some also get that problem with special needs. So it to me is best to head off a potential problem.

One last things about bm's my ped said she all her life has had problems getting backed up...her feeling and years of being a doctor is this some of us are and some not sue to our body make up...that's what she shared about herself and feelings on it when I told her about my son's bm's issues.
This may pass as she moves forward with solids.

My best wishes

I know you got great answers here, but as a point of support/sounding board, my second son had little interest in baby food/table food until almost a year old. . . I just BF him until then and around 13 months he started eating table food like he'd done it for months. My doctor had no problems with it, just told me to take extra iron and vitamins - which you are doing. You'll know when your daughter is ready. . .she'll let you know:)

Same issues here with my DS. I put off solids anymore than very basic foods until a few weeks ago (he's 10 months tomorrow). He would get really backed up. But, I started giving him 1 oz of prune juice with 1 oz of water. Also, I made sure that he had pears at some point during the day. At the same time, I did the little stomach masage to help them push through poop (every morning when we get ready for the day). If he seems backed up (like I can't claen the poop off of his bottom /c there always a little still in the anus - i know tmi) then I use a qtip/vaseline in circles gently around his anus.

All of this combined has seemed to help him get better at digesting and pooping soilids. She will have awesome poops on just BM. BM is perfect for the body, so there is very little waste.

I will say this though, up until a few weeks ago when I figured this out, he was only eating about 6 TBS of solids a day. Now, we are closer to double that and he seems to have increased his intake of BM on top of that!

Poop still seems more solid than I would like, but he seems to be handling it fine.

HTH-

I am really not the person to ask about if she has to eat solids but I did want to recommend avocado as a first food. Nutritionally it is great and it is very easy on a new digestive system. Also, look at http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ for recommendations. Good Luck!

I read some responses, not all.

I would be hesitant to take away the food all together as she seems to like it and I have heard of kids refusing solids if they're introduced too late.

However, I would cut out the grains (I never gave my son rice cereal - did you taste that stuff? It's NASTY) and really only give her "real" food.

Avacado is a great "First food" that doesn't really have to be processed in any way. Just give her little chunks that she can much on herself.

So, feed her solids, but REAL solids, and not a whole lot, would be my advice.

She does not need table food now if you are breastfeeding. My 6th baby had the same issues that you described. We didn't start really feeding her table food (because of that) until about a year. If you see these signs that she is not digesting them well, then listen to them. Early introduction to food has a connection with allergies later. Her body might not be ready. Even the APA recommends waiting until AT LEAST 6 months to start feeding solids. That is the minimum beginning age. I think they are liberal in that assessment. Breastfed babies are getting the nutrients they need. Our breast milk changes in composition to meet the needs of our growing babies. Newborns have a totally different milk than an older baby. Our bodies adjust by the way the baby nurses. Newborns nurse differently, so the milk is different. It is so intricate, we can't really understand it. I would hold off. Listen to her signs to you. Trust your instinct here.

Was your baby premature? Everybody's body is different, so maybe she's taking a little time to internally mature. I think my daughter started eating solids around 7 months and she got constipated too. She also started getting eczema. She's better now (she's now 13 mos) but it was a rough start. We stopped the rice cereal, thinking she was allergic and went to baby oatmeal. That seemed to work. Did you mix the cereal with breastmilk? And I thought a woman's body automatically produced the vitamins that the baby needed? So, if you feel like the doc may be wrong, go with your gut. (Incidentially our first pedi with our firstborn suggested rice cereal at 4 mos and us, being stupid new parents agreed and we had problems). So, I would agree with you questioning your pedi, it's a parents instinct and a parents right. I would slowly introduce some sort of cereal with breastmilk only, maybe once a day. She might need extra time to start digesting. And I would continue taking your prenatal vitamin so you can make sure you and her get the nutrients you need. Hope this helps!

H.... I haven't actually read the other responses so please forgive me if I repeat what others have said...

If your daughter is grabbing for the food and pulling the spoon to her mouth, then she's letting you know that she's ready for food. And she does need the nutrition. Also, feeding them is also about training them and not just about nutrition. It will help her not to be a picky eater later on. Believe me you'll be thankful for not having a picky eater. :-)

As for her being backed up.... That may have more to do with the adjustment that her system needs to make to accommodate the new foods. My daughter's doc suggested 2 oz of prune juice mixed with 2 oz of water if she got backed up and just let her drink what she could. (You can also try the baby food pureed prunes.) That did the trick for my daughter. I also didn't let it go past 2 days before pulling out the prune juice. More than that and you could tell she was in pain. My daughter also couldn't tolerate the rice cereal and ate oatmeal instead.

Good luck with your daughter.

With both my girls they were BF and I never gave them baby food. They never liked it. So all they got was Breast milk until they could start table food. So with my first I think it was around 10 months and with my second....she really didn't start to eat table food for a meal until 12 months. And both my girls were happy, healthy and fat babies :) It is totally fine to just BF your baby as long as you do it on demand so she gets as much as she wants to fill her up. But she will be fine. 7 months is still pretty young for lots of food so just BF.

This could be old wives tales, but if you don't start with some food, she may start to not like the texture. I don't know about the being backed up, I've never had a child with that problem. I think she probably should eat something. What about trying prunes or something that is supposed to help make stool so that it counteracts any consitpation? I would worry if she got backed up each time she tried it. Did the peditrician have any concerns over food allergies that might make her get so constipated?

I couldn't give my child rice cereal at all he would back up right away! I used oatmeal cereal, and that worked very well!!!

I can not say if it is okay to not give baby food but you might try some mashed up table food instead of baby food. my son that could not eat rice cereal didn't start baby food at 6 months, he started food late (don't remember when maybe 9 months) and he now has all sorts of food issues, don't know if the two issues are connected or if it is just a coincidence, but it is a definite issues for him. I don't think it will hurt to go very slow, maybe just one or two bites to start with.

No, babies do not have to eat a 7 mos. old.

Be sure to look at the rice cereal that you gave your daughter. Many have more than just rice, many contain milk products that can really cause gastrointestinal stress.
But, your little girl may just not be ready for table food. My son really didn't start to eat until eight months and my daughter was starving for more at 6 months (she will ingest anything that's not nailed down now at 12 months :-)) they have both developed normally and are happy, healthy kids.
Just follow your baby's cues and when she seems ready, try just one food at a time and make sure that there aren't any weird additives that could upset her little tummy.

my baby had to start having ground up rice cereal in every bottle at 1 1/2 mos due to a swallowing problem. My pedi recommended putting flax seed oil (about 2 tsp daily) in her bottles to keep her from getting constipated. She's now 6 mos and this has kept her regular (pooping 1 -2x a day) It might help your baby as well, and it's a healthy oil.

I would try diluted prune juice and keep trying. Applesauce and rice cereal is what the doctor told us to give kids when they had diareaha. I do not give babies baby food. I grind table food up. The reason for waiting for later feeding is they want them to have the control and not choke. I just got a 1 yr old who was a preemie and she started at 1 yr old. She is eating everything with no teeth. My daughter did not have teeth until 15 mos and ate it all. They have to go from baby food to table food anyway. God Bless G. W( you do not have to always follow doctors, do what mom feels is right)

I personally think that starting rice cereal at 4-6 months is best. Both my babies had digestive issues when they started solids. I think most do. Their systems are not used to it. I would ask her pedi what to do about the difficulty pooping and continue the feedings. Good luck!