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BTW- my mom only nursed my sister for a short while and then switched to formula because her milk supply never got built up, and I was formula-fed from day one, so she is not too informed on b___stfeedng principles.

according to my pediatrician, you should not start feeding any "solid" food until they are at least 4-5 months old. Breastmilk should be enough for the baby until then. The baby's digestive system is not able to tolerate solid foods until then.

your mom's milk supply probably never got built up because she was feeding solids too. The baby (your sister) wouldn't have been that hungry for milk if she had a belly full of applesauce and cereal! My mom fed us cereal at 2 weeks, and she tried pushing it on us too, but we didn't budge - no solids till at least 6 months. from what i've read, while allergies can be a problem from feeding solids too early because the intestines aren't closed off yet,other problems can be diabetes and obesity - obesity because a baby full of milk and solids before his stomach is big enough to accomodate all that will be a baby who will learn to eat till he's full, rather than till he's satisfied.

Christy,you are absolutely correct..b___stmilk is all your baby needs until she is 5 months old, my doctor said even 6 months is better. My mother keeps telling me to give my daughter cereal too and this is my 3rd baby and b___stfed them all! she tells me how the nurses gave me cereal just days after I was born, but there's only 1 question you need to ask your mother: if there was something medically wrong with her and she went to see the doctor, would she want him to give her the latest and greatest information he knows?? or would she want him to practice what he learned 30 years ago??? my guess is she'd want the BEST that he knew was up to date for TODAY! They didn't know much 30 years ago I guess...haha...but anyhow, stick to your b___stmilk...and you can show her what is known today by getting more information at several bf websites like, www.breaastfeed.com -or- www.kellymom.com -or- www.b___stfeedingworld.com -or- lalecheleague.org or you can do what I do and let it go in 1 ear and out the other :) Hope this helps :)

my grandma told me that they used to say to feed babies solids at 6 weeks too, but that they stopped because they found those babies were more prone to allergies and such, among other things. now ur not supposed to sart until 4-6 months, generally speaking. some people i know start earlier, i guess it depends a lot on ur baby.

Well, she came over this afternoon with her friend and brought our immunization/wellness books with her. Yes, both books (from 1963 and 1974) did say to start cereal around 6 weeks. I told my mom tthat they don't advise that anymore and she and her friend refused to believe it. "Well what willl he eat then?" they asked. They were appalled when I said b___st milk. "You won't make enough milk for six months to feed him solely on that," they said. Sadly, I could not convince them otherwise and they are both skeptical that I'll bf exclusively for even six months. Talk about not being supported!

don't worry about it. my parents weren't supportive either - i was a formula baby and they just didn't "get it" why i wanted to nurse and why i was so adamant about not starting solids till 6 months. you'll be fine - my daughter actually REFUSED to eat solids till she was about a year, so she nursed that whole time exclusively. she gained weight and was healthy, and never looked starved. i hate it when parents push things on you, like only they know best - though i love my mom dearly, it just got old hearing things like, "why not just give her a bottle?" "there's nothing wrong with giving her a taste of (fill in the blank) at this age," etc.

YOU are the mother!!! Your mom may have started you on solids early, but that doesn't mean YOU have to. Do it when Ben is ready, and in the meantime just smile and tell your Mom, Thanks for the info, but we're gonig to do things differently.

Christy, I am so sorry you don't have better support. I don't plan on giving my dd solids till she is at least 6 months old. My IL's can't believe I'm not giving her cereal yet at 3 months. I always tell them to look online about info they are concerned about. It's ridiculas (sp?). But they know I am going to do whatever I want no matter what they say and it drives them crazy. I'm sure you already now that you will make plenty of milk! You can always get support online.

My advice is not to take advice from anyone who gave birth more then 10 years ago. I find advice older then that is completely outdated, my mother in law who is always giving me anoying advice is the worst. Because she raised 4 kids she thinks she knows everything! She said when she had her kids she smoked, drank, formula fed because she was told by Dr.'s it was better then b___stmilk, & gave all of her kids solids after one month. It's a miracle my husband is normal & healthy ... but listen to what the Dr.'s & experts say now, there is a reason that there are different guidelines now - because of allot of medical research & many children probably got ill from all the past mistakes.

I had the same problem with my family. Try to avoid the subject. It was the only way I found to deal with it. Change the subject to something that is happier and easier to agree upon. I found the subjects of cute thing the baby does,who the baby looks like, baby clothes, toys and other items to easily distract from the food subject. Good luck, keep in mind this is only for 6 months!

Christy....b___stfeeding is so demanding and you really need support. If I were you I would go the website: lelecheleleague.org and find a group that meets in your area or at least talk to a leader :)

Thanks ladies. I am going to try to avoid this topic with her if I can. I did talk to the lactation consultant at the hospital and she told me about their support group once a month. I am going to go to the next meeting in two weeks.

Christy, my mother-in-law is somewhat similar...she thinks it's "gross" that I b___stfeed, and that it means we're "poor". Heh. I have planned to make a t-shirt for my daughter to wear the first time she meets Grandma...it will say "I drink MY milk straight from the jug!" tee-hee...gotta start out on the right foot, IMO. :)

funny all the things people think you should do based on what they did 30-60 years ago! my gran told me to never pick up or give my baby attention when she crys because she is attention seeking and putting it on (my daughter is 4 weeks!!!!) ill be letting that go in one ear and out the other!