Food for fun?

[Angel2Fire]

I was talking to a friend the other day and she said under the age of 1, they only need food as fun.

With Chaise I really don't think thats the case. His weight shot up from the 75th to 91st percentile at 14 weeks because milk just wasn't satifying him anymore, and as soon as I started weaning him he settled down.

He still has 6 6-8oz bottles a day, and 4 meals! He has quite a lot as well, he can easily eat a jar and a half as well as finger foods!

Is anyone else's LO like this? Or is it true with some LO's that they don't really need food?

 

[Faerie]

My Dr said until about 9 months it's just about exploring, but they'd hope that by 9 months they'd start to eat something. If not they'd give vitamin drops because technically they could have just milk until 1 year.

Sofia is enjoying her food, some days she eats lots and some days not much at all.

Obviously not all babies will be the same.

 

[kirsten1985]

Yep I read that until 9-12 months, they don't really *need* food, and I know of a few babies who didn't eat 'til around 9 months. I def don't think Freya needs solid food yet, and she is 7 months. She eats a little tiny bit every day but wouldn't miss it if I didn't offer, and some days doesn't have anything. She has 6 8oz bottles a day. When I do give her food she enjoys playing with it - squishing it in her fingers and whacking it on the table, lol. She is really into texture at the moment so she loves it.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

As Kirsten says. Ruby is over 7 months and can take food or leave it. We're BLW and the biggest benefit to offering her food is how good it is for developing her fine motor skills, and exploring texture, not to fill her up.

Between 2 and 5 months I would have called her a 'hungry baby' but not now. She settled down and takes less milk now than she did at 4 months.

I was told by a BF support worker that some babies can thrive on breastmilk alone until they are two! Not sure if the same goes for formula, I guess it must.

 

[Lisa1302]

I don't agree, maybe for some babies but not all, and not the majority.

It's not just for the fun - by starting at 4-6 mths a parents is getting them used to textures, flavours and smells...often babies left til later can be fussy eaters because they already got to the 'independent stage' and haven't yet tried many things, so they just refuse.

I think when a baby weans onto food around 6 months then they are more accepting of food they are given, and this hopefully carries through and they don't get fussy.

There is the chewing too - which helps speech development, so possible babies left to their own devices with food would not speak so well?

 

[kirsten1985]

Yes chewing is important. I don't know about other babies, but Freya chews on things all day long. Her fingers, toys, me, the food I offer her gets a good chewing even if she doesn't swallow it. Food I give her that is too hard gets chewed on too. She has been 'air chewing' for months, so this is not an issue for us.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Nor for us. Ruby has been air chewing since 4 months and chews on everything too.

About babies 'getting to the independent stage' and refusing food, I can see this would definitely be a problem if you were trying to start spoon feeding an older baby, but babies 6m+ are usually capable of feeding themselves (hence BLW) so this is unnecessary anyway.