Hi all,
         Is this mom really concerned in her gut that her baby isn't doing
well on breastmilk, cereal, and banana? or rather is she concerned because
she is putting a higher degree of trust/respect/confidence in this ped than
in herself and her child? there may also be the fear of being accused of
neglect either directly or indirectly by the HCP and of the authority that
this person holds over her, real or culturally ingrained.
        Food is basic to survival, very few babies will intentionally starve
themselves to death -- and *if offered* a wide variety of foods will choose
a very balanced diet. If I can ever find it again, I'll post the study I
learned of way back when in college psych about when babies/toddlers are
given trays with a variety from all food types, they, over the course of a
WEEK, not necessarily a DAY, will eat a perfectly balanced diet for themselves.
        My ped office gives a laughable and often contradictory solid foods
handout at the four month check up... insists, among other things, on a
strict order of introduction (cereal, veggie, fruit, protein), food before
breast or bottle, three meals a day, and even mealtime content, am=cereal,
noon=veggie, pm=protein...
      All this dictating when and how and how much on solids sounds a lot
like schedule feeding of infants, doesn't it? There's been a shift in how
infant feeding is viewed. Breastfeeding, when allowed to develop between
mother and baby, is something they do, together, with baby dictating it's
needs and the mother guiding the baby in fulfilling the need appropriately.
Generations of bottlefeeding (and to a lesser degree, scheduled
breastfeeding), which is something parents/adults do *to* babies, with the
adult dictating when and how much, have lead to the erroneous belief that
without strict controls babies won't thrive. This over 'medicalization' of
normal bodily functions spills over in "sleep training", "toilet training"
and various other parenting philosophies --- but I digress...
        Parents should be taught that learning to eat solid foods is a bell
curve developmental skill like all the rest... some do it early, some late,
some more some less. "Offering solids" does not have to mean cram it down
the throat until the plate/jar/bowl is empty... so this mom can tell doctor
honestly, I'm offering a wide variety of foods, a few times a day and get
the doc off her back! even if all the baby accepts of the offer is some
puffed rice and a little banana!

As always, this is my not so very humble opinion, stepping down now from my
high horse soap box,

Anne E. Robb, MAT, LLLL
Off on a Tanget, Oregon, USA
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