How much solids, how soon?

[ManyLittles]

My son just fully weaned, at six months old. My milk is gone, after months of pumping, herbal supplements, following all the bf on demand "rules", prior counseling by every expert known to man, etc...please believe me, I did it all, but this happens with every baby I have. :( I just don't produce milk well.

So now he's on organic formula, even though I hate it. I know I can start solids now. If he were breastfeeding, I would probably hold off a while, and just give him bits when he seemed interested. But since he's weaned, now I wonder...is it best to transition him into a lot of solids, or just a little and stick with mostly formula? I'm sure raw food is better than formula, but how much is he ready for?

Also, I'd love some suggestions on first foods to try. Obviously I'm not doing typical SAD rice cereal, lol. What about fresh juices?

Thanks!

[coco]

i'm going to copy and paste what i have in my files. hopefully something in here will be useful to you.

Baby Greens by Michaela Lynn and Michael Chrisemer NC (preface by Gabriel Cousens MD)
- Idea first foods - banana, avocado and watermelon (easy to digest, no need to cook/blanch to soften for babies)
(bananas can be slightly constipating to babies so start slowly and monitor)
- Other fruits that are soft and easily mashable raw: papaya, peaches, pears, apricots (may need to puree to make really smooth)
- Citrus/tomatoes/berries can be too acidic for babies (wait until after a year and use sparingly)
- Masticating food to feed to babies (chewing then feeding to babies) was common in past cultures and is still in use in parts of the world - so blending baby foods is quite natural (avoid honey, citrus, spices and gas producing vegetables (ie beans, cabbage)).
- Many books recommend soaked almonds made into almond milk (carefully strained)
- Flax - recommended no more than 1/8 tsp per serving, with babies getting 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon a day (no more)
- They also recommend nut butters for babies this age (almond and macadamia)
- Diluted juices as snacks in between meals

Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine - Raising Raw Babies (page 415 - 434)

- balanced 100% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds
- as with all raw food authors and pretty much all conventional authors they agree breast milk is best
- teething means baby is ready for solid food
- warm blended food (not cold)
- no soy
- recommended reading "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron
- after 1 year of age their food choice recommendations are quite extensive from papaya, mango, banana, avocado right up to berries, nuts, seeds, sprouts, olives and a large range of fruits and vegetables. They are also using blended young coconut flesh.

[justinesmith]

Hi Manylittles! OUr daughters first foods were smashed avocado and smashed bananas ~ she LOVED these foods. We also did green smoothies as soon as she could drink from a straw. She is a HUGE fan of these foods still at 2 1/2. Good luck ~ :D

[ManyLittles]

Thanks, Justine and Coco. I will try these suggestions, they sound great!

What about fresh fruit or vegetable juices? I know on a cooked diet they say start at six months with diluted half and half fruit juices. Do you think veggie juices should be started at half-strength, too?

I'm almost afraid to start the solids. I can tell this boy is going to be like my oldest son was, and just demand to be fed solids all the time, lol. He's definitely interested, he keeps watching me eat. I never look forward to the solids stage, because that means you can't eat in front of a babies until they're stuffed, otherwise, they cry and look at you like you're eating their food! :p

But I'm glad he's ready for healthy foods, though.

[Ginger]

I wouldn't think you would want to dilute the real juices, it's the cooked ones that are basicly just cooked sugar that need diluting.

If I were in your shoes I would try to stick to a mosly liquid, blended foods & juice type diet centered around superfoods, green smoothies & green as possible juices as long as possible. I would stop the formula at 9 months and focus on more superfoods and solids. From what I read the earliest you should stop formula is 9 months but can continue on to 12 if desired.

[coco]

i am doing mono foods as i introduce them to my small girl. one food at a time with space in between food and nursing. i am going to try to continue this for as long as possible and also try it with myself and my son. seems to me that mixing all those foods together would be hard on their tummy. i know it's hard on mine!

i was thinking about the best food combining in regards to hemp hearts. i want to do a smoothie of one type of juice with the hemp as protein and efa every day in addition to a fruitarian based diet (sweet and non-sweet fruit) with some greens. i figure if i let the kids gorge on as much fruit as they want they'll be happy and get all the nutrients they need.

check out the nutrient content in hemp, it's amazing! this is the only "super food" that i'm really interested in. aside from some seaveg, the rest of them give me the taste message "no" when eaten on their own. that's a clear indication to me not to eat them.

http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/hemp/hempseed.htm

i think nut milk made with hemp is a terrific drink too. no need to sweeten it or add anything either, it's very tasty. hump butter is very good as well.

[jules88]

My son is 8 months old and I feed him pureed apples, bananas, pears, berries (just a few) spinach. Basically, green smoothies and any non acidic fruit. Hoever, I have put a small or in the smoothies before and there haven't been any problem. I just pop what ever I have in my vitamix and blend until smooth. I started out with mono foods for a few days and introduce new foods as a mono food.