Experts rethink infants' diet

[wildeyed]

Ditch the rice cereal and mashed peas, and make way for enchiladas, curry and maybe even hot peppers.

It turns out most advice parents get about weaning infants onto solid foods -- even from pediatricians -- is more myth than science.

That's right, rice cereal may not be the best first food. Peanut butter doesn't have to wait until after the first birthday. Offering fruits before vegetables won't breed a sweet tooth.

And strong spices? Bring 'em on.

"There's a bunch of mythology out there about this," says Dr. David Bergman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. "There's not much evidence to support any particular way of doing things."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/12863292.htm

[Ravenseye]

1. Our 11 month old LOVES flavor

For a while she would eat what we gave her but now we're just feeding her what we eat and she loves the spice.

Curry especially, but anything with flavor. Plus for a while we've given her her own foods but not mush. ACtual meals, but ones that can easily be finger foods for her to experiment with.

[mopinko]

2. an allergist warned me about grains

felt that rice cereal was the root of the high incidence of grass family allergies. i did start mine on veggies, but did a rotation type thing for the first couple of months.
they also got bits of whatever we were eating. they had/have typical kid tastes, but outgrow them to be normal adults who love food.

[Ravenseye]

6. ours was allergic to the rice cereal

she'd get a rash big time when we gave her the cereals. We stopped them fast and moved on to veggies. She's fine now at a year and can eat pretty much anything, but those rice cereals she definately had a bad reaction to.

[mzmolly]

3. Thankfully, I didn't pay much attention to any thing but the peanut butter

warning. ;)

[midnight armadillo]

4. My two year old is a fruit fiend

He'll eat any type of fruit, melon ,etc. He eats a bunch of veggies too.

I don't think he's tried any really spicy food yet. He had a bunch of problems handling food textures and with swallowing when he was under 18 months so our experimentation was a little limited.

My friend's 1-year old eats anything you give him and he loves jalapenos. I'm a little jealous :-)

[wildeyed]

7. My son eats a frightening amount of fruit.

He loves sweets, and I don't give him much processed food, so fruit is the favorite.

Imagine, I always felt a little guilty for giving my kids spicy food. That is the way I like it, and I was too lazy to make something else for them, so that is what they got, too.

[abelenkpe]

5. well well

maybe I should try some indian food with Connor. Right now he will only eat saltines.

[lastliberalintexas]

8. My 19 month old son would eat an onion like an apple

if I'd let him. As it is, I try to limit him to a small slice or 2, just because of the onion breath!

My pediatrician said this was actually pretty common, since he said most children have a not yet fully developed sense of taste and need the extra kick of flavor.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. My oldest has always loved onions like that...

When he was in kindergarten, he was very specific about what I needed to pack in his lunch, and raw onions had to be on his sandwich.

One day he came home, upset because some of the kids had teased him about his breath. I said, "Well you know honey, when you eat raw onions, it does make your breath kind of stinky."

His reply: "Oh...OK. I guess I don't need friends." :rofl:

[SoCalDem]

9. I bought a cuisinart and just mooshed up what we were eating,

I never cooked with salt, so that was not an issue.. They ate what we ate..and there was always applesauce & pudding for dessert :)

My boys grew up lean, and non-allergic:)

[PA Mamma]

10. We never used infant cereal...

I think my Mom gave my son some only once and my daughter never had any.
Don't know why really -wasn't a conscious choice just seemed unnecessary and counterintuitive, I guess.

[Ilsa]

12. Infant cereal -- barf.

Gave mine constipation. My yougest went straight to soft table foods at nine-ten months. He hated the pureed stuff, even jarred fruits.