Primal Babies page

[LoveThyEarth]

I have been looking everywhere for information on sharing my new Primal Diet with my baby. He is 6 months old and we adopted him so we've been using Baby's Only by Natures One (organic) formula (wish we could have breast fed but that just wasn't an option for us). I want to continue to keep him on the healthiest diet possible. He is up to 48 oz of formula a day and my ped. wanted me to start him on rice in his bottle 3 months ago but I didn't... just didn't feel right to sneak it into his bottle. Like my older son, he's a big kid and eats a lot... so I feel like it's time to start solids to sustain him longer. My ped is concerned that he will get too chubby with so much formula. Anyway, I have recently taken on the Paleo Diet for myself and it has me really thinking about the foods I want to give my son. I'm curious about the place of Paleo with babies. We tried rice twice with our son and he didn't like the texture so I went straight to avacado, then banana because I could give those fresh. I'm wondering about grains and I'm wondering about legumes. Many people give peas as a first food. Do you know of any good resources that can help guide me with these decisions? I want to start him with healthy choices from day 1. My 5 year old is a very healthy eater but I see an opportunity here to take it to another level for baby #2.

[Rattybag]

Personally, Id be worried about putting such a young baby on a paleo diet. If only for the reasons that the medical professionals would give you a hard time about it! (They might have the mite taken off you in my country for abuse!)
Also, when he is older, he will probably drift onto a 'normal' diet to fit in with his peers. IMO, its probably better to start on a standard, but healthy diet and once he is old enough to decide for himself, encourage eating paleo style.
This is purely my own point of view, and well not be others!

[Sandra in BC]

Cave mommas fed their babies a primal diet so there's no reason why you can't.

Baby Led Weaning - The Mush Stops Here!

Let him tell you when he's ready for solids. Start with foods that can be mashed with a fork. If it has to be mechanically puréed then it's not an ideal first food. Sweet potato, avocado, banana, egg yolk are good. And primal!

[docpearce]

I 2nd the egg yolk (no whites). We have a 7 month old that we've been feeding banana, avacado, sweet potato, and egg yolk. SO far so good. We told our ped that we did not want to do grains, and she was fine with that. She stated that rice cereal has the nutritional equivalent of wall paper paste. I'd also look at Mercola.com if you're not familiar with Dr. Mercola

[Urban Forager]

My son enjoyed gumming bones like lamb bones from a rack of lamb. I think it felt good on his gums and it had flavor in addition to being fun to hold!

[microkate]

Our 9mos old loves all kinds of primal foods! We do sweet potatoes mashed up with butter, avocado, butternut squash, acorn squash, carrots, bananas, egg yolks and pretty much anything we eat except greens and meat. I've offered, but he's not impressed with either so I don't push it. We don't do grains, but we definitely don't limit his carbohydrates or fats. Our ped suggested starting with rice cereal, but when I said I preferred to do vegetables and fruit first, she didn't care. At this point she doesn't ask because she knows we've started solids and he's healthy and tracking well for weight.

I also make whole milk yogurt and mix it with fruit puree to sweeten it a bit. It's really easy to do - check out these directions: Making Yogurt. Oh, and while we don't do legumes at home, I've seen no evidence that suggests that small quantities of fermented soy are a big problem, so if we go out for sushi he gets miso soup with tofu.

The big thing is to just try things. Offer a bite - he may not like it. Move on to something else. This stage is all about exploring food. He'll still be getting the vast majority of his calories and nutrients from the formula. Some people don't do purees at all, some people like using them. I prefer chunky mashes, but I make some purees for other (read older) family members to feed the kiddo. It can be a nice way to let family participate, as long as they know to offer, not force. He's also starting to figure out small cubes of soft-cooked food.

[Saoirse]

Personally, Id be worried about putting such a young baby on a HEALTHY diet. If only for the reasons that the medical professionals would give you a hard time about it! (They might have the mite taken off you in my country for abuse!)

fixed that for you.

if you consider the nutrients that weaning babies are usually low on, they are protein, iron, and vitamin D. the best source for the first two are abundant in red meat. you can cook up a little ground beef and feed him just the tiny pieces. if rice is nutritionally void for adults, it's nutritionally void for babies too. bananas and avocados are great, so are sweet potatoes.

please drop the concept of spoon feeding him, this isn't really appropriate for babies as it teaches them to ignore their gag reflex (making it much more likely that they'll choke later). instead, put small amounts of food on his feeding tray and let him pick it up and put it in his mouth. when he's old enough to need the extra nutrition, he'll be capable of actually getting it in his mouth. remember, feeding a baby table food is less about nutrition and more about him learning the concept of food.

second, your doctor is way behind the times from a medical standpoint. the AAP (i'm assuming you're from the US) discourages rice in a bottle for many reasons, and also discourages anything except breastmilk or formula before 6 months; so you were right to refuse this. i personally would switch doctors to one who picks up a medical journal once in a while.

Here's an AAP article on solid food in a bottle: Cereal in a Bottle: Solid Food Shortcuts to Avoid

And one about low-fat diets for infants: Low Fat Diets For Babies
because formula (and breastmilk) are fairly low in fat, i think it's important for the first foods to be fairly high in fat.

here's another one about introduction solid foods. this article is not from the AAP, but it's from a source that I've trusted for a number of years. YMMV. Is My Baby Ready for Solids?

[DarthFriendly]

...are delicious.