I'm not a huge fan of iron fortified infant cereal as a general rule. 
Anytime nutritional advice centers on a processed food that is made by 
commercial interests, I'm a little suspicious. While I know enough not 
to romanticize the conditions human beings lived under in the past, I do 
want to know the biologically normal source of the extra iron and zinc 
human babies seem to need around the second half of the first year to 
sustain the rapid growth that is considered the hallmark of optimal 
nutrition (but that might backfire later in increased risk of 
cardiovascular disease, according to some studies). I'll bet it was 
meat, especially in the hunter-gatherer societies humans lived in for 
most of our history.

I am increasingly convinced that baby food is not necessary, and that 
when babies can sit up, grab the food, and get it into their mouths, 
chew and swallow, they are truly ready for solids, real table food, 
carefully selected for size and allergenicity. I know this is anathema 
to what has been taught for generations, but realize who is doing the 
teaching in most cases (companies that make mush for babies).

There are several studies that show better iron sufficiency in 
exclusively bf babies who do NOT get early solids (I've posted on them 
before, either from my dorsai.org or covad.net address, the portion 
before the at sign is the same). This has been true with my own 2 kids. 
My son started cereal with expressed milk and got jarred baby food (and 
ground home cooked food) according to guidelines at the time at about 5 
months. By 9 months his iron stores were depleted, and we needed to give 
him lots of meat to bring his hemoglobin up. My daughter's first solid 
food was a hunk of beef she grabbed from my plate at just shy of 6 
months. Fortunately, it was a soft goulash! She had baby cereal once, 
and it made her sick all night, which led me to never give her processed 
cereal again. Her iron levels stayed up, and even as a young woman, she 
still has great iron status (she never fails the hemoglobin screen when 
giving blood!). I know this experiment has an n of 2, but it is what 
I've been recommending to parents for years, and it works well, as long 
as the foods being offered to the baby are nutritious (meats, fruits, 
veggies, whole grains and later eggs and fish). Jarred foods can have 
their place, when out or when the family meal is too allergenic for the 
baby, but I hate to see the most vulnerable member of the family relying 
on only processed food for a prolonged period.
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC

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