In a message dated 98-02-11 07:39:27 EST, you write:

<<
 I do not assume that the baby reaches for food because he is hungry.  He
 reaches out for food because he wants to experiment with eating.  It is
 obvious that that is what he is doing around 5-6 months of age.  He is
 so interested, he wants to eat, and he will eat if he gets that food.
 What better sign could anyone want?  A date on the calender?
  >>

Dr. Jack, although I totally agree with you that babies do not reach for food
because they are hungry, this is what many mothers assume and/or that they
must be ready for solids.  By the mere fact that they are 4-6 months and
therefore a date on the calender, they run to the stores to buy the little
jars of food or prepare their own food.  Many forget that breast milk should
continue to be the primary food and that these babies should be breastfed
first (or is this not so?).  Unfortunately, I find that the assumption is that
once the babies are 4-6 months that they should eat and start getting them
ready for 3 meals a day.  I, do not in any way think, that babies who are
reaching for food should not be given the opportunity to experiment with such
food but that this experimentation should be baby-led not calender led!

See ya,

Yvonne
*************************************
Yvonne C. Bannister, IBCLC
Private Practice/Baby's BestFeeding
"A mother holds her baby . . . who holds the breast and gets the best!"