In response to Cathy's post about growth concerns of babies not fed solids
after 6 months, I don't think that weight gain is really an issue. There
are not too many foods, except for perhaps high fat junk foods or avocado
that range 20-22 calories per ounce, that babies tend to eat. Solids in the
USA for babies are usually fruits, vegs, cereals, all of which are high in
fiber, low in fat and calories. They are more filling, as they are not
digested as fast as breastmilk. I actually push my families often times to
increase the breastfeeding that their babies are doing after 6 months,
especially when I see the babies start to fall off their growth curves.
They are using more energy due to increased physical activity, and nursing
less due to solids. It is common to see them decrease their percentiles.
Perhaps this is normal for the chubbiness to go away, but I feel a need to
educate families that human milk is still an extremely important food after
6 months, especially since it is still the main source of protein until
plain cows or soy milk are started after 1 year.
        I see the main issue as the need to increase iron intake, which I
get from my medical training and this may be faulty ( I base this on what I
have learned from you all on lactnet!!). So, I no longer push my families,
and just check a hgb more often in babies slow to go for the solids-Anne
Eglash MD