This is great infornation.  I have a mom whose 12mo is not "interested"
in eating "much".  Mom admits he may be eating more than she's aware of,
it just doesn't look like a lot (grazing).
The whole family is prone to allergies and he seems to have slight
eczema.
This mom is interested in printed information on what is "normal" and
when she should "start worrying".  What can I show her?
TIA,
Stacey Bentz, LLLL, Lawrenceville, NJ
On Sat, 9 Jan 1999 08:35:08 -0600 Kathy Dettwyler <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>Someone wrote:
>
>>It's my understanding that solids in the first year
>are just practice for later on.
>
>This is NOT supported by hundreds of growth studies done on
>populations
>around the world.
>
>At the *population* level, children usually need more than breast milk
>by
>the second half of the first year (between 6 and 12 months).
>*Individual*
>babies may need to have mother's milk supplemented earlier (by 4
>months in
>most Third World contexts, but only with safe and appropriate
>complementary
>foods, which often are not available; individual babies in First World
>contexts may need more milk than mom is making as well -- perhaps
>because
>mom is not breastfeeding very often).
>
>*Individual* babies may thrive on breast milk alone for 12 months or
>longer,
>though I would worry about a baby who did not *insist* on eating when
>the
>family did by 12 months.
>
>There are rare, occasional, babies who are not interested in eating
>and yet
>are perfectly healthy and growing well, but they are *rare and
>occasional*
>and not typical.  And some turn out to be highly allergic to many
>foods,
>and/or to have over-active gag reflexes or other problems (i.e., they
>are
>not "perfectly healthy and growing well").
>
>Solids in the first year are not just "practice for later on."  For
>most
>babies they are necessary to supplement (not replace) the calories and
>other
>nutrients provided by the breast milk.  And a mother has to really be
>invested in breastfeeding and willing to feed her baby as often and
>for as
>long as he wants to be providing all the nutritional needs of a baby
>from
>6-12 months.  I have seen a few children who were *not* doing well on
>breast
>milk alone after 6 months (even though their mothers thought they were
>fine)
>because the mother was breastfeeding them infrequently and they were
>sleeping through the night.  A mother who is convinced that babies
>don't
>need anything other than breast milk until a certain age may overlook
>or
>deny obvious cues from the baby that he wants to eat what the family
>is
>eating, and she may overlook or deny obvious signs that the baby is
>not
>growing properly.
>
>Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
>Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition
>Texas A&M University
>Researcher in infant/child feeding, growth, and health
>

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