Breast Feeding woo???

[casebro]

Yes! The suggestion is to start rice cereal at about three or four months. The very diluted porridge is considered a "solid."

Yeah, but, Is it good to start kid on pure carbs?

At that point the kid's digestive tract is used to milk, with a different balance of macro-nutrients then rice, I think. And for sure different proteins.

Other omnivorous mammals start weaning with regurgitated food, whatever the mother has eaten. It would be chewed, and partially digested by pancreatic and bile juices. Sounds ideal. I'll have to mention this to my niece, whose baby is now 60 hours out of the water birth at home. Midwifery OK, but probably not THAT natural.

 

[casebro]

Which brings me to teething. Must be a signal that it is time to wean?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

No. teething used to be considered a weaning sign, but it just happens to coincide with weaning time in many kids. My nephew got his first teeth at 2 months, and I know another baby that didn't get any teeth till they over 1 year old.

For the first few weeks/months they hardly get any nutrition from solids anyway, its more to do with them experiencing tastes and learning how to eat. I use the baby led weaning method (which gets rid of all the boring pureeing and spoonfeeding) and their motto is "Until they're one, its just for fun".

 

[Brian5000]

Passive Immunity

To the original topic, I looked it up in my old immunology book from school and found this:

"Newborn infants are especially vulnerable to infection, having no prior exposure to the microbes in the environment they enter at birth. IgA antibodies are secreted in breastmilk and are thereby transfered to the gut of the newborn infant where they provide protection from newly encountered until the infant can synthesize its own protective antibody."


I had misunderstood this too, but I guess breastmilk only provides immune protection along the infant's mucosal lining. It does nothing for bloodborn immunity.

An infant does get bloodborn antibodies (IgG) through the placenta as a fetus, which gives the infant a good, transient immunity for a couple months.

 

[Chris Haynes]

Ok. In Finland the official recommendation is:

• ....

What you posted is pretty close to what I did for my two younger children over 14 years ago. The good thing about is that regular foods are mashed with a fork, no buying the stupid overpriced jars of baby food (I cannot believe there are people who buy pureed banana in a jar, um... folks... it is easy to put some in a bowl, spray on some breastmilk and mash!).

Our health visitors were still giving this advice just a few years ago too - despite the WHO recommendations of 6 months. It often takes a few years for the advice to filter through to different countries.

Remember, my youngest just turned fifteen years old. So I have no idea what the recommendations are today. Mostly what I did that was part of the then advice was to introduce one food at a time to check for allergies.

... I use the baby led weaning method (which gets rid of all the boring pureeing and spoonfeeding) and their motto is "Until they're one, its just for fun".

Sounds about right. It was much easier to just hand them food they can eat, especially if they can sit up by themselves.