How long should you breastfeed your baby? When should you start to introduce solid foods?
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M$4 Answers
The La Leche League recommends exclusively breastfeeding a child for the first 6 months, then slowly starting on different solids.
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/bflength.html
The Mayo clinic recommends introducing solid foods in this order after these are met (they state between 4-6 months):
Can your baby hold his or her head in a steady, upright position?
Can your baby sit with support?
Is your baby interested in what you're eating?
If the above answers are yes, then:
Start with baby cereal.
Add pureed meat, vegetables and fruits.
Offer finely chopped finger foods. (by 8-10 months)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-baby/PR00029
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$None of the major health organizations suggest an "upper limit" to the length of breastfeeding.
The American Academy of Pediatrics used to recommend starting solids between 4-6 months of age, but now says to wait until 6 months, based on recent research.
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M$Solid foods should be introduced slowly and when the baby has started to show curiosity towards it. That doesn't mean that you can't try before that, but most often than not it just gets spat out. Babies have strong gag reflex and tongue thrust reflex early on and anything resembling semi-solid food will get pushed out.
As for how long to keep breastfeeding, that's a mutual decision based on the needs of the baby and the mother.
My wife breastfed until my son was close to 1 year old. The weaning coincided with our decision to have my son sleep in the crib in his own room (yes, we co-slept).
The choice was brought upon the realization that my son would breastfeed purely for comfort and aid to go to sleep, while us parents were getting robbed of a good night's sleep (affecting how we perform at work the next day).
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We were co-sleepers too! They are now 6 and 7, and still try to sneak in our bed on weekends! It was the best decision for our family, nice to see another family that did it too! Funny how kids can learn how to "work us" from a young age though!
I know what you mean. It was nice to have the bed back to ourselves again, but my wife and I miss having that warm little bundle snuggling up to us.
