my baby will be four months old this february 2.. she's been drooling a lot lately and she's been sucking on her lips.. she stares when we eat.. does this mean she is ready to take in solids?
It means she's interested, not ready. I know the recommendation is 4-6 months, but it really is best to wait until they're 6 months old.
It is recommended that solids aren't introduced until at least age 6 months as baby has an open gut-meaning what goes in the tummy passes into the blood stream:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/early-solid-food-feeding...
Baby also needs to no longer have tongue thrust.
Drooling, sucking her lips and watching you eat have nothing to do with her being physically ready and able to start solids.
There is really no rush to solids. Breastmilk or formula should be the primary nutrition for baby's first year. Solids are for practice and should never take the place of nursing or a bottle. Always offer breast or bottle first and solids in between when you do start offering solids.
I honestly believe that formula and breastmild is totoal nutrition and that if it is used properly they don't "need" anything else until they are at least a few months older.
Most of the time we parents just can't wait until they start solids though. I think the longer you wait the less allergies they have an the less gastro issues they develop. But if you want to feed your baby food instead of formula or breast milk then the baby is yours to do that with.
You should wait until she is at least 6 months old. Drooling means nothing. Her primary source of nutrition should be breastmilk or formula for the first year. Solids are for fun and development, not to supply most of her calories. What is the rush? Enjoy infancy. Congrats and have fun.
We started around 4 months maybe a little earlier. My son was a big boy and the pediatrician assured me that he was ready. A recent study actually said that starting earlier like around 4 months might reduce the risk of gluten allergies and celiac disease later in life due to early exposure. Of course every study is trying to prove something, but like the previous poster said, many kids do thrive and are ready at 4 months old. If she is staring and sucking her lips she is interested. Oh, and both of my kids had no interest in cereal (looks like wallpaper paste). We started right in with sweet potatoes at 4 months.
My daughter started on cereal at about 4 months. Yes, the recommendation is 6 months, but she was a big girl and I couldn't keep her full, so we went ahead and gradually started.
Rei,
AMA says 1 year minimum breastfeeding, WHO highly recommends a minimum of two years breastfeeding - and that has nothing to do with 3rd world countries water supplies! Why the disparity?
Your baby can eat breastmilk exclusively until age 1. You do not have to start solids. For more information, visit La Leche League.
If you are using formula, that is essentially a solid, just liquid form.
if you want to start solids, best to start after a year, 2ndbest after 8 or 6 months. Research is finding that after 6 months yields fewer allergies as well as sensitivities. Wish I had the research on hand to give ya!
Sucking on her lips? Drooling? Likely she is teething. let her suck on her fingers at first until she can hold something. Then go for wooden teething ring. Luvaboos.com carries them.
Good luck,
M.
I would wait until 4 months. I started my DD then, with the blessing of our pediatrician (she was already over 15 lbs!!). We started on rice, and she got SOOO constipated! We switched to oatmeal, and she only got that (mixed with breast milk) once a day until she hit 6 months. Then I started adding other solids. I also LOVE the wholesomebabyfood site. I made most of my DD's baby food for the first few months... but then I got lazy. lol.
ETA.. the drooling could be the teething starting up... maybe offer her frozen washcloths?
I would wait until she at least hits that 4 month mark... let her digestive system get a little more mature. A lot of mothers are adamant about not starting solids until 6 months, but some babies are ready, and thrive, when started at 4 months. My DD is one of them! But before 4 months, their digestive system is only really made to process milk (or formula...) This is my absolute favorite site for everything food related... http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ It has sample feeding schedules, what foods should be introduced at what ages (Some of them are NOT as common sense as I would have thought!) and recipes if you are interested in making your own. :)
