Ok, so do other cultures feed their babies everything from very early or something? Dons friend is a chef... and their baby has been eating every thing from caviar to duck fat from like 7 days old or something. Well Alex was fed early... (early for our culture) getting his first meals at three months old, but he didn't get meat at all until he was about 7 months. Cyan didn't get ANYTHING until then because she threw up everything. So even peaches waited until she was about 7 months old.

Well Gabe was holding Logan as I was serving my food yesterday and I walked into the livingroom and he was letting Logan suck on a peice of pork!!!!!!! He is 6 wks old damit! It didn't hurt him... he got no solid peices of anything, but man! If something had happened I would have come unglued! As it was I yelled "NO! Don't do that! My kids get allergies from crap like that!" and then he and his wife shared this "look" like I was completely insane or something... (which pissed me off, but whatever)

Before they had children (she has one other girl who is with them on the weekends, but they have one together and he is 15 months and they are expecting #3 in the fall) they traveled all over the world, and I am wondering if their ideas of ok foods for babies was tainted (or altered) by that. When to other cultures start letting babies have things like this? I mean, after Cyan and her vomiting everything, I was gun shy to let him suck on a peice of apple (which I still haven't done). You know???

Val

I know when I looked into feeding for Brendan, I discovered that very few cultures wait as long as Americans to start their babes on real food. I started Brendan at 6 weeks. That was 9 years ago. I will say that he is my best eater of the bunch, but I can't say that it was b/c he was fed early, yk?

I will also say that we have no history of food allergies in my family and I took that into consideration.

I do find it interesting, though, that they theorize that early and often exposure to common household allergens like pets can help prevent allergies in children, but say just the opposite for foods. I know I am in the minority, though, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt if you will.

Yipes!

I know when I looked into feeding for Brendan, I discovered that very few cultures wait as long as Americans to start their babes on real food. I started Brendan at 6 weeks. That was 9 years ago. I will say that he is my best eater of the bunch, but I can't say that it was b/c he was fed early, yk?

I will also say that we have no history of food allergies in my family and I took that into consideration.

I do find it interesting, though, that they theorize that early and often exposure to common household allergens like pets can help prevent allergies in children, but say just the opposite for foods. I know I am in the minority, though, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt if you will.

See this is what I was wondering. Thank you for adding your imput. Alex is my best eater as well. That does make it food for thought, but I am still pissed that he would feed him ANYTHING without asking me first. I mean really... would he want me doing that with his babies? Comeon... have some respect that he is a newborn and the rules are mine and mine only for now... you know?

Val

Oh, I totally agree that it wasn't someone else's place to do that! Even my own mother, who totally disagrees with waiting to feed babes, respected my decisions to wait with my younger two! And pork would most definitely not be a starter food in my book, LOL.

All I'm saying is that I think about these things sometimes. Brendan was fed food at a much earlier age than Ian and Connor. He is my healthiest, and my least picky eater by far.

I didn't get to feed either of my kids their first solids. Hugs for you, Val!:sadhug:

From a review of child-feeding/breast-feeding studies of A&AI (Asian and Asian-Indian) mothers...

In Sarawak, Land Dayak (or Bidayuh) babies were given salt and premasticated rice in the first four days. And amongst the Iban of Sarawak, it is reported that infants are given a ritual taste of salt when the umbilical cord drops off three to five days after birth. Another report on the Iban says that breastfeeding is almost universal but that rice is given early in the child's first year. Also in Sarawak, Melanau babies' diet of breast milk was supplemented 'if necessary' in the first month with condensed milk and water and, after that they were introduced to sago, wheat or rice flour gruel. In northern Sabah, Rungus infants were fed premasticated rice before the third week.

In Burma infants 'were often suckled at the breast till they were well over a year old, but were given chewed rice to eat only a week or two after birth. And one very old source reported that infants were given solid food as soon as they would take it.

In Thailand immediately after the birth the midwife dripped a little honey and boiled water from her fingers into the baby's mouth and whenever the baby cried it was given mashed banana, honey and water. Also in Thailand one survey reported that almost all breastfed babies were given solid food before they were four months old.

In Indonesia pre-lactal foods arc commonly given. And in Bali. it was found that immediately after the birth 'the child is fed with a porridge of boiled rice flour (bubur) or a little palm sugar and meat from a young coconut. In Taiwan it was reported that a Hokkien baby is fed sugar water'' (sugar boiled in water) immediately after birth. Ahern says that Chinese babies are given herbal tea for the first two or three days.

In Mysore, India, babies are bottle-fed sugar water until the mother's milk comes in. And in India generally, in most cases infants are given pre-lactal foods such as water with sugar or honey.


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From personal experience, I can tell you that many Asian people begin feeding their children table food incredibly early.

I came down from a bathroom break and found my MIL feeding my 4 week old firstborn congee with whitefish. I was informed that her children had eaten rice w/fish from birth, pretty much.

~L

WOW... yeah. I still think that ANY of these foods would have been better than fajita pork. And he still should have asked... but at least I am not worried for his health.

There are a lot of respect issues with this friend. He is sort of a snob in many ways, and has strange ideas of what is ok and what is not anyway... at least to my estimation. Obviously, considering the WTF look he and his wife shared, they feel the same about me. lol...

Val

This is very interesting to me...

WOW... yeah. I still think that ANY of these foods would have been better than fajita pork. And he still should have asked... but at least I am not worried for his health.

There are a lot of respect issues with this friend. He is sort of a snob in many ways, and has strange ideas of what is ok and what is not anyway... at least to my estimation. Obviously, considering the WTF look he and his wife shared, they feel the same about me. lol...

Val

I agree with you that it was an issue of disrespect, but I do believe that your friend may not have realized that his actions would be offensive or unappreciated.

People in many cultures show their affection through food...he was just trying to show how much he loves your baby boy.

That does not, of course, mean it was the RIGHT way to proceed.

~L

Well, #1 I would not want anyone feeding my child without asking first. I think that is overstepping a boundary.
However, when I told my sister that Stephanie couldn't have peanut butter because it may cause allergies she aked about children in Asian (for ex)countries who regularly eat foods that we would not feed to a child under a certain age. I'm hurrying, so I can't rewrite the whole conversation, but it did make me wonder.

I was just reading the other day that delaying foods actually increases allergic reactions. Interesting huh?

That said, I personally do NOT think it is cool to feed anyone's kids anything without asking parents first because you never know!!!! But, I would forgive this and move on.

I actually had a revolation with regards to "the look"... perhaps the wife was giving the dh the whf? look.... in that case, she knew he overstepped a boundry and was understanding my feelings... which means, that it won't happen again. Perhaps? Anyway... he is like this... he has always been like this. I have known him for as long as I have known my dh and he has done many things like this in the past as well. So live and let live and I can just hope that the wife understood more than the dh.

Also, I will let you know, that with how big and hardy Logan is, I will be starting him earlier than Cyan, but NOT on spiced pork!! lol...

Val

OMH I would have FLIPPED!!! :drop:

Maybe I'm oversensitve because even breastmilk makes my baby sick, but that is so uncool!!!

I also think that it is immaterial that other cultures feed babies early - there are lots of harmful 'traditions' in the world - just because it's old doesn't make it wise, kwim? [I read a paper about how Thai women have had to have a Major education program in recent years to convince them that their colostrum isn't rotten milk, and that they should give it to their babies.]

If you're gonna follow nature's wisdom, babies probably shouldn't have solids until they have some teeth to chew with, IMO.

:vent: I'm so mad for you!!!!!!!!!!!:vent: That guy should be put in his place.

Yup, I would have reacted like you did. Thank goodness no one's ever tried that with one of mine. But in regards to whether early feeding makes for less picky eaters, I would have to disagree that it does. My sample size of two consists of dd who wouldn't do more than mouth foods until she was a year old (I am also not an aggressive feeder, or I suppose I could have gotten more down her throat if I'd cared to), and ds who at nearly 15 months had my poor godmother afraid he was malnourished because he was still mostly turning down plates of her carefully prepared child-friendly food. Breastmilk all the way! Dd now eats anything with gusto with the sole exception of Swiss cheese (and I suppose very spicy stuff). Ds is a little pickier at three than he was at two but we never resort to anything that isn't on the table for all to eat. I'm guessing pickiness is more inborn. Or is it learned? Anybody know about research on what age we are when we "imprint" our favorite foods, comfort foods, etc.?