Ellen,
As we still think of breastmilk as the best "complete" food for babies in the
first year of life, but we have moms who are anxious to start other foods (I was
the same with my firstborn), my information to moms is as follows:
        Think of your breastmilk as the "entire food pyramid" -  is that being
used in Australia also as the replacement for the "4 food groups"?
        You don't want to replace a complete food with one that is less than
optimal - that's like replacing your whole meal of rice, beans, meat and salad
with only rice. (This is a standard meal here in PR)
        Also, babies when they're VERY hungry (like adults), don't want to learn
anything new.
        So - for the time between 6 months and 1 year, feed the baby other foods
(and I go on to the order, and amounts VERY carefully - as I tried to feed a
whole banana to my firstborn) AFTER a breastfeeding.
        After the first 12 months, feed first then breastfeed.

Moms rarely follow these instructions to the letter, but I find it reduces the
anxiety of giving more and more foods at the expense of breastmilk.

I totally agree about being more relaxed about food introduction (my third
started on mashed potatoes grabbed from my plate at 8 months) - but first-timers
usually want a step-by-step guide (I did - and LLL's material helped me a lot!).

Jeanette Panchula BA-SW, LLLL, RN, IBCLC
Puerto Rico
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