Christine,
I usually encourage moms to delay solids until the baby is
developmentally ready: sitting up, grabbing the food, and putting it in
his/her own mouth and munching on it!  Then they can give little bits of
whatever the family is eating, except for dairy (which mom is still
supplying) and the major allergens: oranges, peanuts, strawberries,
eggs, and depending on the family, wheat.  Whatever the baby manages to
consume is fine, solids in the second half of the first year are mainly
for learning how to handle other tastes and textures, and develop fine
motor skills, IMHO.  One of my major concerns with early solids is the
reduction in iron absorbtion and therefore the risk of anemia in
children under about 7 months.  There are few studies of the iron and
growth status of EXCLUSIVELY breastfed children with "late" (after 6 mos
but before 1 year) solids, but those that have been done are reassuring.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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