This is the moment M first tried fish – a raw oyster – at just under 6 months. I know exactly how old he was because it was my birthday lunch at a local seafood restaurant/shack perched on the Ionian sea La Maruzella.
I absolutely love oysters and eat them at every opportunity, especially during pregnancy as they are so rich in iron. They contain much more iron than any other food, for example a 3 oz serving of oysters contains 13.2 mg of iron compared to a 3 oz portion of beef liver (the next highest iron rich food) contains 7.5 mg.
With hindsight it was perhaps a little early to be introducing such a risky food to such a young stomach. But he was already a few weeks into his eating career at that point and was immensely attracted to the pearly shells. He only had a little bit but I certainly didn’t mention it to the paediatrician at his next check up!
When do you introduce solid food to a baby? Nowadays the advice given by the medical profession worldwide is to wait until at least 6 months. In the past mothers were encouraged to start at just a few weeks and some of the advice given today is still a hangover from that time. M’s doctor was horrified that we had already started at his 5.5 month check up and urged me to only give him pureed pair for the next five days until his half year birthday!
Baby led weaning is a recent approach to introducing solids which we have been very influenced by, without following religiously. It basically eliminates the need for special baby food and means trusting the baby to know when and what to eat.
When did you introduce solids to your baby? Write your experiences in a comment below.
