Food and the Breastfed Baby: Don’t add the wrong foods too soon.
☀️Introducing Food to a Breastfed Baby.☀️
A lot of people ask me about introducing foods and Baby Led Weaning. I’m going to share as we go through food introduction so you can see what we do. Here are a few rules in our house:
#1: babies get nothing but breastmilk for at least 6 months. No water. No cows milk. No cereal. Nothing.
#2: Food at 6 months is just for fun and exploring our senses. Just because baby is 6 months old doesn’t mean they have to have food.
#3: We never spoon feed. Let baby play in their food. They’ll slowly get more and more in their mouth. Your breastmilk is still sustaining them and there is no need to force feed.
#4: Avoid common food allergies until at least 12-14 months. Wheat, dairy, egg whites, strawberries and honey are common examples.
#5: Fruits are last. The very last thing baby should get is fruit. We start with fats, protein and veggies; then fruits will come much later. This way, we help baby build a taste and preference for the foods they need before sugary foods they don’t. Cereals and fruits are introducing sugar first.
#6: Always breastfeed first, then offer foods. We want to make sure that breastmilk is still the #1 source of nutrition for baby. If we fill baby’s belly with foods and they nurse less this will also affect our breastmilk supply.
Today he is 6 months old and we celebrated with our first food: BUTTER!!! I imagine this is how we all looked the first time we tasted butter. We are looking to only use real butter (ingredients should be cream only or cream & salt).
We will only do butter this week to see how he does and see if he has any reactions. Keep in mind, that every time baby gets a new food, they are digesting that food for the first time. It can be difficult on their little systems. Watch for pain, discomfort, rashes, etc. If I wanted to make the butter softer, I would whip it with some breastmilk, but I’m not worried about it. He squishes it in his hands while he plays with it.
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In The Comments
What questions do you have about introducing food to your breastfed baby?