Solid Foods and Breastfeeding

by Ana Jackson
(Brazil)

My son is 7 months old, I started solid food introduction when he completed 6 months. I started with sweet orange juice at first, then added some mashed bananas and papaya. He loved it.

Once he was eating the fruits okay, I started with savory food. I make them myself. It consists of 1 portion of protein, 3 of vegetables, 1 of dark leaves, 1 of carbohydrate, 1 of oil, very little salt, onion and garlic.

He started eating 5 tea spoons, now he is eating a full desert plate, twice a day. The meat I use is chicken or mince meat - I am about to start to introduce liver and egg yolk next month, when he completes 8 months.

I still breastfeed him an average of 5 times a day (you need to be careful not to breastfeed too close to the solid feed - you need to leave a gap of at least 2 hrs).

I also give 2 bottles of 120ml of Nan 2, one of them at night mixed with natural oats. I don't like cereals for babies because they usually have sugar.

My son's pediatrician wanted me to start introducing fruit when he was 5 months old, but I decided to wait until he completed 6.