Do you let your baby be an adventurous eater?

Following Dr. Jack Newman's recommendations (he of infant nutrition/breastfeeding support fame) we started both boys on table food (sans added salt, mashed to a consistency they could ingest) at about 6 months or whenever they were physically able to eat food.

For Kieran, the elder one, who was exclusively breastfed until then (and continued to nurse till 2yrs) 5 mths was when he began demanding table food and could swallow it (had lost his tongue push reflex which prevents babies from choking on food before they're physiologically able to actually eat non liquid foods).

For Spencer, now 15mths, who only received some breastmilk for 3 mths and subsisted on formula exclusively until supplementing it with table food (due to medical issues with my body), we experimented with table food on the same schedule his brother kept to but Spencer wouldn't eat solids until around 7 mths.

Both boys received whatever foods we ate and still do. So, when we go to an Indian restaurant, they eat mild curries, just like I do. At home, I love a little noodle soup and a tin of sardines, and they get some too, for lunch once in a while. We eat a diet with a wide variety of ethnic sources and don't eat meat in the home.

The only things we stayed away from were deli meats, peanut/nut products, eggs and shell fish which became fair game after about 12 mths. After about 9 mths we started things like citrus and strawberries.

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My daughter was between 9 and 10 months when she showed interested in eating solids. We're not big fish eaters, usually only eating it when we eat out sometimes. Unfortunately even if we had fed her fish before 9 months this wouldn't have worked for us, as she developed eczema at 6 months due to soy and dairy allergies.

It seems interesting but with how careful you need to be with eating fish at all these days, I'm not sure how likely I would be to give an infant fish at all, especially since we don't eat much! Other than fish though, we're pretty much game to try anything. My daughter has eaten pretty much I've eaten since she started on solids. We never did purees, opting for softer, smaller bite versions of whatever was to eat at that particular meal.

Now, are they just saying that the reduction of eczema is from the omega oils found in fish? That would be easy to accomplish by eating other foods!

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Even though my kids have a combined 10 food allergies(peanut, tree nut, milk, wheat, oats, carrots, pineapple, bananas, cinnamon, bay leaves), we're not strict about letting them try new things. They both had egg under a year old, and DD tried peanut butter at 2.5 years old (before we eliminated it). They've both never eaten any fish or shell fish. Other than that we really try to expose them to food from other ethnicities, and foods that aren't considered "kid food". We eat Latin-American dishes, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, we eat a lot of heath foods, I also go looking for vegetables and fruits that are outside the mainstream. Mostly we cook at home to avoid our allergens, but by using substitutions for some ingredients, we've exposed our kids to nearly everything.

When my DD was born it was acceptable to start feeding at 4 months, and she first tried rice cereal and then green beans and sweet potatoes. I did the exact same thing with my son, at 4 months, even though the wisdom at the time said to wait, because he was very interested and capable of eating. Interestingly enough they never ate any of their allergens until at least 9 months old, and so I do not believe waiting would have made much difference. I would do it again the same way I did it with the two I already have. Solids at around 4 months (if physically ready) starting with rice cereal, moving on to vegetables, then fruits (one at a time, one new one every 3-5 days), then mixtures, then start adding in other grains. We introduced meats late mostly because the smell of jarred baby food meat is disgusting, so we waited until finely diced meats were safe. I always tried to match what the kids were having to what we were having as closely as possible. As an example, my DS was still eating only baby food at Thanksgiving one year, so I gave him mashed potatoes, baby food sweet potatoes and green beans, and a tiny finely chopped piece of turkey.

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>>> "Would you have fed one of your girls fish at such a young age?"

Someone mentioned breast milk - which of course varies with the health needs of the child (it's an amazing feedback mechanism) but also varies with the diet of the mother.

J started taking food (we used a sling) at about 5 months. His first meal that I remember was when we were out at friends, Thai curry and rice. We did try baby food briefly - we bought "baby rice" but never used it - instead we just gave him whatever we were having (but mushed up). Was great for our diet as we thought a lot more (and still do) about what we feed ourselves.

He loves fish but I can't remember when he first had it. I'd have thought about 6/7 months. We get it when we can afford it and try to make that once a week at least.

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We try to let our son eat anything he can as long as it's not junk. Living inland it's difficult to find good fresh fish at a reasonable price, but when we do eat it we usually give some to my son. Ever since he has shown as interest in eating solid food, which was around 9 or 10 months old.

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We started our daughter on solids around 6 months of age and used a modified baby led weaning style. At home, we gave her parts of our meal that were appropriate and at daycare we sent her oatmeal instead of rice cereal and stage 3 foods. By 9 months, she was completely off jarred baby food and was eating the food as we had prepared it for ourselves. At daycare they were giving her the school lunches.

Fish was actually one of her first foods and she loves it. She eats all manner of ethnic foods. She loves fresh fruit, including avocado. She even surprised us recently by deciding that she couldn't get enough of the aparagus we had prepared. Please note, that we don't have a history of food allergies in either mine or my husband's family.

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As I suffer allergies myself, I was anxious not to let my three children suffer the same fate. I breast fed, eating organically and focusing on eating a variety of fatty acid rich foods as I had read it was important for eczema as well as central nervous system and brain growth. I frequently ate fish.

I introduced solids, veges and fruits only, in the 6th month, a new food every 4 days. I included avocados and dark green vegetables which we now know are both good sources of AHL fatty acids (alpha-linoleic acid). Low allergy grains in the 7th month.

I started proteins in the 8th month, including fish but didn't get to red meat or pork until the end of the 9th month. Soy, corn, berries, milk and other common allergens were delayed until after 12 months.

It seemed to work. None developed food allergies. All three are healthy and happy.

We took a trip to Italy when they were young and I noticed that Italian children seemed so much healthier looking. They glowed. After 3 weeks my children had the same glow. I hypothesized it was diet -- one heavy on vegetables and fruits in great variety each day as well as fish at least two times a week and a good non-filtered olive oil every day drizzled on vegetables and in salads.

All three are healthy and hearty. My eldest is in her second year at Yale; the middle one, a senior at a great school, is hoping for Stanford or MIT; the youngest is 12 and both smart and a gifted athlete.

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C. started sharing our meals with us at 7 months. We tried the one item at a time thing when he was 6 months but he was not interested in food. As soon as I started offering to him what we where eating life got simpler for me and he started eating. The only items we avoid are:

dairy
eggs
anything that is unpasteurized (honey, agave...)
nuts
meat and fish (this one is because we are vegetarians)

If it would not be for the fact that I decided to bring up my little one as a vegetarian we would have probably given him fish by now.

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My daughter is 5 months and we have started feeding her stage one fruits and veggies. Although we do have a chicken with chicken broth at home...

I personally want to avoid the more common allergies like nuts and honey and dairy. The only reason I will wait on dairy is that I am lactose sensitive (not intolerant, but can't go gun ho either).

I feel that babies should experiment with different types of foods as soon as they are ready. My daughter has been staring my wife and I down for 6 weeks while we eat. She loves solid foods (even if they taste horrible).

As for fish...I know it can be healthy but I do wonder about the mercury content. Are there certain mainstream fish (salmon, cod, bass, trout, etc.) that have higher concentrations? Does salt water vs fresh water fish make a difference?

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