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