https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:15:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2426970 Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:39:52 +0000 Me3 2426970@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son is about to turn 1 and has been eating three solid meals a day for quite a while. He is so so hungry! And that's while keeping up with a normal bottle schedule of about 30 oz of formula per day. He is a big kid, he loves food, and he is hungry hungry hungry when he doesn't get solids! There have been dinners where he has consumed more food than my husband, then gone on to take his normal bed time bottle not long afterwards. So for us that saying really doesn't ring true. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2426947 Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:11:08 +0000 Mrs.KMM 2426947@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD really took to solid foods and loves to eat her baby purée! She still eats ~35 oz of formula each day and a couple of tubs of purées on top of that!</p> <p>Despite that, I don't think that the phrase is necessarily all that helpful. But I hate things in general that characterize everyone's baby and needs as being the same. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425940 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:31:45 +0000 gilmoregirl 2425940@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used to feel guilty when I heard this phrase because my son took to solid foods right away and really loved eating. So we had him on three meals a day by like, 9 months, and then added two snacks when he started daycare at 9.5 months. I was so scared I was doing something wrong by feeding him too much food and not enough milk, especially because he refused to drink the milk I sent in to daycare. But then my son's pediatrician told me I was being crazy. :)</p> <p>Sometimes I still feel a little defensive when I hear people say that "food before one is just for fun", but I know in my case it's about me and not the phrase itself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425772 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:32:11 +0000 Mommy Finger 2425772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, DS2 is 7 months tomorrow and hates food. Absolutely hates it. He will try to grab everything I have in my hands or on my plate but once he realizes it's food, it's immediately spit out. This is so much more stressful than with DS1 who immediately took to solids both in purees and finger foods. I was really hoping to avoid having to do an iron supplement but I'm thinking we're having to go that route. Thanks for that article. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425763 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:23:09 +0000 MoonMoon 2425763@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jess1483: it sounds like my LO was more like your second LO! :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425750 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:11:18 +0000 Jess1483 2425750@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MoonMoon: ah, ok. And I definitely wouldn't be upset/offended if someone said it, but in that intense time, it made me feel guilty that it wasn't enough or somehow I was failing my kid. If he'd been my second, I'm sure I wouldn't have been nearly as stressed about it ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425748 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:08:58 +0000 MoonMoon 2425748@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jess1483: I'm sorry, I wasn't complaining, I meant backlash as in, it's not true for everyone, so it's something people might get upset about if I say it. This thread is teaching me that it's not one size fits all.</p> <p>I was never a proponent of breatmilk being better than everything, I made sure LO had iron-fortified cereal, vitamin D drops, etc. So the saying just soothed me, made me realize he didn't have to have a giant appetite for solids as long as he seemed ok otherwise. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425740 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:05:35 +0000 Jess1483 2425740@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MoonMoon: oh, I wouldn't characterize my dislike for the phrase as "backlash," I just found it to be very untrue for DS1. I was just curious since my experience with DS2 has been so different. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425735 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:03:25 +0000 MoonMoon 2425735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It was helpful for me because I was stressing out about LO not eating too much. I think I even posted on here about it when he was around 1. Someone posted a chart about nutrition for a breastfed baby and it clicked for me. LO didn't end up being really into solid food until closer to 2, so I'm glad I went with it. I didn't realize until right now that it's another in a long list of things getting backlash! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425724 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:59:06 +0000 sapphire 2425724@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jess1483: agree that Science of Mom has a good chapter in this. </p> <p>It's more than calories that matter. Complementary foods are important for micronutrituon, esp iron. In particular, breastfed infants are at real risk for iron deficiency from 6-12 months so getting other sources of iron is important.</p> <p>My LO eats three meals plus a snack per day. Her milk consumption stayed stable even despite that until just recently at 10 months. She's been crawling for 7 months and I really think the extra calories have been necessary with her increased activity. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425723 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:58:51 +0000 youboots 2425723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me it's more than "fun." T loves solids and has been eating a pound of food a day for months. She's 10.5 months. She has taken to it quickly and will cry when the food is gone. I'm still nursing her 6+ times a day. Her weight has plateaued but she grew 3 inches in 3 mo and still has chubby little thighs. I don't like that phrase either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425719 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:55:53 +0000 jlm22 2425719@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jess1483: I should have added that I can absolutely see how that phrase is so frustrating to babies who need more than milk/formula. I should keep that in mind if I ever say it to a friend :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425717 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:54:38 +0000 Jess1483 2425717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Happygal: I only skimmed it, but I'm going to read it more carefully later! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425716 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:54:04 +0000 Jess1483 2425716@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jlm22: I can definitely see where in the right situation, it's a really comforting phrase. I know lots of little ones who aren't very interested in solids, but are growing just fine, and in that case, I think not stressing about it is the right approach! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425710 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:52:19 +0000 Happygal 2425710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Jess1483: that's become my favorite blog. I believe the author of the article references it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425709 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:51:59 +0000 jlm22 2425709@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Food stresses me out in general, but I say it to make myself feel better that my LO doesn't love food yet (9.5 months) :meh: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425706 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:49:32 +0000 Jess1483 2425706@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Happygal: yes! That's a good one. I also like the chapter on solids from The Science of Mom. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425697 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:46:18 +0000 Happygal 2425697@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've come to hate that phrase. I hear it from those who are really into breastfeeding and BLW and it's usually followed with advice that comes across as smug. (We did modified BLW and I'm still breastfeeding at almost 1 year, so I support both of those things!)</p> <p>Here's a blog article that I like about the problems with that phrase: <a href="http://breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.com/2012/09/bullshitometer-food-before-one-is-just.html" rel="nofollow">http://breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.com/2012/09/bullshitometer-food-before-one-is-just.html</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425686 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:40:09 +0000 Mrs.Someone 2425686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't agree with this phrase... Solids saved us at 5.5mo! DS had been having major eating issues up until then, and I brought my milk supply as high as I could. At 5.5mo things were almost resolved and solids gave us just the little boost he needed to start growing properly again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/food-before-one#post-2425685 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:37:56 +0000 Jess1483 2425685@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've all heard "food before 1 is just for fun." When DS1 was 7/8ish months, it was neither "fun" nor "just for." Getting him to eat solids (purees or BLW-style) was totally awful, he wasn't interested. No worries, right? It was just supposed to be fun. Except that my already tiny munchkin was dropping weight...fast. And I had plenty of milk, so it wasn't a supply issue. My ped had us drop some nursing sessions and push the solids and we eventually got his weight to move up.</p> <p>With DS2 (7 months), he is a much bigger baby, and solids has been a totally different experience. He'll eat pretty much anything, but even if he chooses not to, it doesn't seem to affect his weight or his sleep, and he's doing just fine on breast milk alone if he isn't interested in solids that day. Solids have been both "fun" and "'just for!" </p> <p>I found the phrase "food before one" to be really stressful with DS1--it just wasn't true for him. It made me feel awful, and was bad advice for my son. But now it totally makes sense! I still won't use it, because of my negative experience with DS1, but I do understand why people use it. What was your experience? </p>