Episode 61: Starting solids at 20 weeks old: what to expect

In this week’s episode of Sense by Meg Faure, Meg and Christina sit down to the real-world challenges and triumphs of life with 20-week-old baby, Connor. Mom of 3, Christina shares Connor been consistently improving in terms of routine, sleep, and regulation despite battling a cold these last few weeks. This turns the conversation to talking about building immunity in our babies. Meg emphasises the importance of building immunity during early childhood. She notes that it's normal for children to experience several illnesses before reaching school age. Meg talks about the foundations of immunity, such as antibodies transferred from the placenta during pregnancy and colostrum obtained through early breastfeeding. Christina shares that she breastfed exclusively but switched to formula after she experienced severe mastitis and infections of her c-section wound. She expresses gratitude for modern formulas, which have been a helpful alternative for her family's situation. Christina goes on to share that feeding has been a bit more challenging this week due to nasal congestion caused by the cold. She noticed that Connor struggles to breathe while feeding and needs frequent breaks. This leads the moms on to talk about Connor starting solids. They are just at the start of their journey and Christina shares that she's managing her expectations because Connor is consuming very little at this point. Meg reassures Christina that this is typical for this stage of the weaning journey. She emphasises that it's all about experimentation and exposure to new flavours at this point, rather than focusing on calories or impacting sleep. Although weaning is currently a messy, non-productive mealtime experience, Christina is enjoying the introduction of solids and observing Connor’s facial expressions and new development every day. Meg and Christina talk about some ideal foods to start babies on in the early days of weaning. They then discuss conflicting advice about the introduction of grains and protein into a baby’s diet. Meg explains the scientific basis for starting with fruits and vegetables, particularly orange vegetables, which are gentle on the baby's stomach and offer unprocessed carbohydrates. Meg also talks about the importance of early introduction of a variety of flavours to decrease the chances of allergies and picky eating later on. Meg discusses her experience with introducing solid foods to her first baby and regrets the choice of highly processed rice cereal as his first solid food. The moms agree on the importance of feeding babies’ foods that resemble their original form and avoid boxed cereals. Meg offers the advice that the ideal diet for a baby should reflect the nutrient composition of breastmilk which is mostly fats and protein. She questions the idea of transitioning babies from milk to a purely carbohydrate-based diet, which we tend to do. Christina shares that Connor’s sleep is improving and he’s making the transition from short naps to longer ones. They discuss the impact of routine on baby sleep patterns. They talk about awake windows and the fact that Connor is enjoying tummy time more. He’s started reaching and grabbing objects, and upcoming milestones Christina can look forward to, like finding his feet. Listen for this and more with Meg and Christina on Sense by Meg Faure.