Parents are often pressured to introduce "real food" to their babies at a young age. There are more and more studies and sources that show that introducing solids at a later age will do nothing but benefit your baby and their digestive system.
"The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for (at least) the first six months of life. Recent studies have shown that hydrochloric acid - used to digest most protein - doesn't even appear in the stomach until the end of the seventh month and doesn't reach a peak until the eighteenth month. In addition, ptyalin, the digestive juice for carbohydrates, doesn't appear until the end of the baby's first year.
La Leche League recommends "watching the baby, not the calendar" at this stage of life. This refers to the practice of watching the baby for cues that he or she will be receptive to the introduction of solids, rather than thinking that by a certain age, regardless of development the baby should be given solids. Some indisputable signs of this readiness include (but are not limited to):1. Baby can sit up well and can support his or her own head
2. Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex (automatically pushes foreign substances out of the mouth)
3. Readiness to chew, not just suck on objects
4. The ability to pick food up and put it in his or her mouth using a pincer-grasp (thumb & forefinger).
5. A long-term increased demand to nurse that is unrelated to illness, teething pain, a change in routine or a growth spurt. "
To learn more, read the full article from AllSands here.
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