Wello, as long as we're discussing ABF (artificial baby food - the mush in
jars), here's my two cents' worth. I'm by nature and training a
feed-the-baby-regular-food kind of girl; couldn't afford the jar stuff
anyway (except for those yummy baby peaches!), and was way too lazy a mom to
get all in a lather over all the complicated schedules of food introduction,
except in a general common-sense sort of way. So I was amazed when I started
working at WIC to learn about others' attitudes on the whole baby-feeding
issue (besides breastfeeding/ABM, I mean).

One of the things I learned was that buying baby food in jars, and
introducing (as we say in nutrition-talk) it to their babies way earlier
than I would, carries a lot more baggage than the simple
nutrition/developmental issues than we "professionals" generally attach to
it. One issue is that buying and feeding baby food from jars is seen very
strongly as a "good mother" thing to do; I noticed that, almost without
exception, the less money available in a household and the more impoverished
a mother's own upbringing had been, the more eager she was to feed these jar
foods. (Shouldn't say "she" - the fathers were at least as much involved in
this issue.) So for many families it's a sign of upward mobility for them
(sound familiar - like formula-feeding babies in developing countries is
seen as progress and being "modern"?).

It also is seen as being a mark of a loving, informed parent - much agonized
discussion of whether the baby was ready to move "up" to the next level of
baby food, much criticism of other moms they knew who either "just gave her
baby mashed-up food right off her plate" or was "still giving her 10-month
old the 'level 1' baby food". This was particularly pronounced among the
teen moms, and among those least able to afford all that stuff. It was at
least as volatile an issue as breast or formula fdg. within the population I
worked with.

Also, early and often inappropriate feeding of solids was viewed as a sign
that their baby was particularly advanced. As in (I'm not making this
up!!!): "My baby was sitting up at the table and eating mashed potatoes with
gravy and chicken wings when he was a week old!" (True, I swear - a 14 yo
mother). Or "Look at him! I have to give him candy already" (7 month old
baby). Or "How soon can I let him have a little soda in his bottle - the
kind without caffeine, of course, I know that isn't good for babies." (I
considered that I'd made a little progress with that mother of a 3 wk. old
baby - she knew that caffeine wasn't good for him!).

So I learned a few things: 1) sometimes the babies getting the jar foods
were eating a better diet than anyone else in the household!  At least they
were getting fruits and veggies, which were sadly lacking in the diets of
parents & older kids  2) never assume that your values or assumptions are
shared  3) to have any impact at all, you have to meet the families where
they are and start with that - respectfully! People genuinely do want to do
what is "best" for their kids, and they can be guided much more readily by
taking the time & energy to find out what's in their minds and going from
there than by just telling them "do this, don't do that". You or I might
privately sneer or wail at the whole concept of buying expensive mushed up
foods with who-knows-what added or taken out, but that won't help us help a
young mother who perceives it very differently.

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY (sounding like a broken record?)