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Full time nursing 5 months old, when to start with solid foods??

Hi, 'my' little boy Lotus is 5 months old now. I breastfeed him full-time, and we really enjoy it. He is doing so well, bright and shining (-: I'd love to continue a little while more than just one month with full-term bf. But also I've read about the risk of anaemie.

In Evie's Kitchen I 've read that nutrient absorption increases with 60 % for life, when you postpone from 6 months to 7 months full-term bf. But how many months is the maximum without risking deficiencies?

I've ordered Gabriel Cousens's Conscious Eating, hope to find good info in it.

Anyone advice, experience??

ps: Pardon my bad english, I'm Dutch (-;

Comments

  • J AJ A

    Hi Rosa,

    I'm a new poster here - been reading only thus far on this specific forum, usually hang out on others - but couldn't help but to reply to your question.

    Nursing is best decided by the baby. How often, for how long, how much - let your baby decide. Nature has wonderful mechanisms which, when allowed to work, will make sure your baby will have everything he needs. You will obviously need to have healthy iron levels yourself since you're his only source of nutrition, but apart from eating healthy and nutritious food yourself, let your baby decide. Babies will show when they want to try the food adults eat and will eat as much solids as they feel they need. They also know best when they need to nurse and will, in natural conditions, gradually stop nursing at the age of 3-5 years. Some nurse for longer than that, especially if they've had an emotionally challenging start (baby blues etc.).

    My son, soon 2 years, still nurses happily (a lot, too!) and eats whatever solids he feels like having. We let him decide how much and for how long he wants to nurse. We don't prepare him meals, he can pick whatever he fancies from our plates. He was 5-6 months when he started to show an interest in solids and we'd just let him taste whatever he wanted to try. He really likes green smoothies now, they're one of his absolute favourites. Green smoothies also invariably cure him whenever he's ill, it's really amazing to see him recover from a flu after just two or three cups of green smoothie. He wouldn't probably even get ill if my wife also ate 100 % raw but even as it is, he is very healthy and seldom ill. My wife is involved in La Leche League and she doesn't think babies should have any trouble getting all the iron they need provided the mother has good iron levels. And, generally speaking, a healthy mother will have a healthy baby if she is nursing full time. Of course, if you feel your child is lacking something / not as healthy as he should be, you may want to try green smoothies for instance.

    Happy nursing with your baby! I just have to post a link to this wonderful cartoon:

    http://www.mama-is.com/hurry-hurry/

  • rawmamanibblesrawmamanibbles Raw Newbie

    wait for your baby to let you know. there is no rush - nothing but breast is best for as long as you can - up to a year even.

    my son is 9 months and we nurse full time - he's started showing signs of wanting food at 8 months, so i started introducing food as small amounts for a month now, he's maybe ate 3 times.

    Papaya, mango, avocado.

    and wait every 3 days before adding something new that was you can catch an allergy if there is on.

    Baby greens is a great book - simple yet good.

    oh oh and shazzies new book - Evie's Kitchen (raising a raw child) - i highly recomend!

    but breast only as long as u can :)

    hope that helps

  • Yes, we will take our time. It's true, he knows best what he needs. And he is in really great shape, a happy healthy baby. Such a blessing (-:

  • vegan2rawvegan2raw Raw Newbie

    I agree Rawmammanibbles they will let you know. My oldest wanted food at 9 or 10 months and my youngest wanted food by six months we all have different needs and they will surely let you know what they want.

    Good Luck

  • Does anyone know where to find more information on full-time breastfeeding after 6 months?

  • spiritedmamaspiritedmama Raw Newbie

    Le Leche League has great info. on breastfeeding after 6 months. They have a book available at Barnes and Nobles (as well as other major bookstores, and on the internet), called The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Also, the World Health Organization's website has information on guidelines for breastfeeding. Hope this helps!

  • I will check that book, I've never heard of it. Spiritedmama, I've also received Conscious Eating of Gabriel Cousens. I started it courageously today (-: (it's a voluminous book!!). But until now I only found a chapter about pregnancy in it. Maybe you could tell me where to look for info about raw food for baby's (and bigger children, I also have a 10 year old son) etcetera, I can't find it?

  • J AJ A

    Evie's kitchen by Shazzie is worth reading for all raw parents though she doesn't say much about nursing. Your 10 year old son would love some of the dishes I'm sure!

  • I've ordered the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding..

    I know Evie's Kitchen. It's a great book. I've tried a lot of recipes from it lately, but can't really make my son happy with it yet. When he finally thinks something tastes nice he is really surprised.. lol... !! I just have a dehydrator since a few weeks so I'm still learning I guess. When you are used to 'normal' bread, flax bread has a really strange taste (for example). At least he gets hemp mylk every day and green juice.

    And a lot of ingredients in Evie's Kitchen are really expensive: etherium gold, blue manna, purple corn extract etc.etc. Sometimes it seems that raw food is only for the rich.

    And.. now I 've read that cacao isn't so good for you as all the 'raw-food-gurus' are saying, while this book has a lot of cacao-recipes in it. Confusing...

    But, a wonderful book anyway (-:

  • rawmamanibblesrawmamanibbles Raw Newbie

    oh and u dont "need" any of those superfoods for your child. i honestly dont think i consider them "superfoods" and im not to sure if i'll even give them to my son. i think the real superfoods are fresh, local greens and fruit - im not a fruitarian i just think picking something fresh is much better than ordering a pound of dries ground up to a find powder root from peru ---- just my opinion =)

  • rawmamanibblesrawmamanibbles Raw Newbie

    baby greens is good - but not much about long term breastfeeding, but lots on older children.

    i say just stick to your instincts - contact a la leche leader they will be able to help u with whatever questions or imformation u are seeking.

    shazzie's book is great for feeding a faw child and rainbow food diet by gabriel cousons has a small chapter on feeing raw babies. also the raw food detox diet has info on feeding raw babies/children.

    mine is almost 10 months and has had small amounts of food .... but really hasnt started "eating solids" full time yet only here and there and mostly fruit and miso/avocado soup.

  • Now I bought conscious eating to find info about raw food for babies, but it appears that rainbow food diet has more info about that? I'm not going to buy that one also.

    You're so right about the so-called superfoods rawmanibbles.. Raw food becomes such a commercial thing when you need all kind of expensive powders. (Still I love my maca in the morning (-:) 10 months almost full-time nursing, congratulations for you and your baby. He is so lucky!

  • I eat a lot of raw, and fed my baby only breastmilk for the first six months, and then i started giving her steamed veggies and almond milk, fruit, bananas, avocado, etc. I just felt it was the time, she was growing and I felt that she just needed and needed from me, and that I wasn't providing her with all that she needed.

    Go with what your little one says, does he need more?

  • My daughter was 1 before she had her first solid foods (avocado/banana). She has no deficiencies and is a thriving, strong 5 year old (who still nurses occasionally).

  • Hi Rosa. First, congratulations on your nursing relationship!!! It is so wonderful to nourish our children with our own bodies!

    My baby is turning 6 months on Jul 28th. She already has her 2 bottom teeth and has been trying to take our food for about a month. From what I understand, babies may have solids in addition to breastmilk until their 1st birthday - after they turn 1, they may eat a solid meal. I have read this before and it is also what our pediatrician recommends. He says to feed her solids, but not to use the solids to replace a nursing session -- only use solids in addition to the nursing. We let our baby experience foods with as many senses as possible -- when she was teething raw cold carrots were her favorite! She sucked on it, "gummed" at it, etc. She has also had avocado (loooves it!), banana, peach, nectarine, plums, apples, home-made hummus, grapes, etc. Just remember to be cautious with choking hazards. There is a gadget sold in stores that is made of bpa free plastic: it has a handle and a mesh bag where you can put foods so the babe can chew/suck but not choke. We use that on occasion; she holds it herself and eats that way. Our girl also loooooooves green smoothies!! At thins point I would call it food exploration instead of "eating solids" because even though she does ingest the food, it's not really a big part of her diet. She gets little tastes of things when I eat breakfast, as I prepare lunch, and when we all sit down to dinner.

    Follow your instincts like you have been doing so far, and listen to your baby. He'll let you know. :) Good luck!

  • Hi there. In the meantime my son is almost 8 months old... Still almost full-time nursing, and he still looks so healthy.

    We have fruit salad for breakfast. Our son then gets a piece of something to try: this morning it was grapes (I chewed them first for him), he had abricot, peach, apple etc. And in the evening sometimes a carrot to chew on (he also liked that when his teeth were coming through..), a piece of cucumber or avocado. It is so much fun to see him playing and discovering all those wonderful foods. No pressure, just enjoying life.

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