Last night we gave Estelle her first taste of solid food. Sweet potatoes! She lipped a little bit off the spoon, mulled it over in her mouth, and was done.
At 6+ months of age, apparently she is overdue for starting solid foods. Our new pediatrician practically scoffed the other day when I told her we haven't yet given her anything but breastmilk: "Oh! Well it's time! Get her started on solid foods." The latest studies seem to suggest that starting babies earlier -- at 4 months -- is better for preventing allergies.
Oh no! Did I put Estelle at risk for allergies because I waited a few months to start solid foods?? Something else to worry about!
The thing is, these pediatric recommendations change all the time. When Donovan was an infant I read/heard that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended starting babies on solid foods between 4-6 months. My instinct was to start solid foods later, rather than earlier, so we gave Donovan his first food -- rice cereal mixed with breastmilk -- at six months.
Another change: The pediatrician dismissed rice cereal, the typical first food, as being nutritionally empty. "Just start giving her little bits of mashed up food from your plate, right from your finger. "
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