On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 13:18:44 EST, Judy Le Van Fram <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>Ellen,
>The problem ( well one problem) with the new guidelines is that they come
>from the Section on Breastfeeding of the AAP, but they acknowledge in a
footnote
> at the bottom of The Challenge section that there is disagreement between
>the AAP section on BF ( six months exclusive is the "reference, normative")
>while the AAP Committee for Nutrition still says 4-6 months. It's a little
>complicated when parents can get conflicting info from different groups
within
>the same professional organization, isn't it? Still the statement does
read " 6
>months exclusive" though later it goes on to say that some babies will be
>ready  for solids at 4 months and others not til 8...talk about a
challenge...
>Judy
>
>Judy LeVan  Fram, PT, IBCLC, Brooklyn, USA


The guidelines for starting solids that I learned through LLL were -
baby can sit unassisted
baby can make pincer grasp (forefinger and thumb to grasp small objects)
baby has lost gag reflex and can easily swallow solid foods
baby shows an interest in eating solid foods

Babies hit these milestones at various ages.  And so we were taught to
avoid setting a standard age for starting solids ("watch your baby, not the
calendar").  Just as LLL Leaders encourage mothers to feed on cue rather
than by the clock.

That said, as an IBCLC in a hospital setting I work with many mothers who
want to be given a hard and fast rule, as though it were a prescription.
They want a calendar date.  So, yes, I advise them to not introduce solids
before about six months.  In the part of the world I live in, if I said 4
to 6 months the baby would get rice cereal at 4 months, ready or not.

-Claire Bloodgood, IBCLC

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