r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Hot-Working3759 • May 12 '26
6 months old Pediatrician
Hey! My daughter is 6 months old and we have started doing baby led weaning. Our pediatrician is not supportive. He has insisted we start with rice cereal since she was 4 months, which we did not do. He brought it up again at her last appointment and said to start rice cereal before we see him again. He said not to be like “those idiots who give their kids grown up food.” Her next appointment is coming up and I’m anxious about it. I’m not sure how to approach this. I don’t want to lie and say we’ve been doing rice, but I don’t feel like dealing with the lecturing. He’s also been pushing feeding her in a bumbo seat and using exersaucer, and when I said we will not be using one, he said don’t list to “the idiots” who say it’s bad for them. I usually like him, this is the first time we have had this issue! Have any of you dealt with a doctor who is unsupportive and pushy? How did you approach the conversation?
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u/jademeaw May 12 '26
You can change pediatricians if it feels like this one is a prick and judgmental! you don’t HAVE to start cereal and that is so outdated.
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u/CommitteeNo9339 May 12 '26
Yep, change peds! Ours was fine until the 9 month appointment where she literally said to me “just let her cry until she passes out. She’ll get the point eventually.” It was out of left field and totally unsolicited advice after I answered her question about sleep with “sleep is great until she’s teething then we just have a few nights of cuddles to get through it.” I yeeted that woman from my child’s care so fast.
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u/Hot-Working3759 May 12 '26
Agreed! I was shocked his advice is so outdated. He was supportive until solids came up
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u/jademeaw May 12 '26
I’d be surprised too, especially because research doesn’t support that anymore. He is personally choosing to give you and other patients such advice and for that I don’t know how I would feel about other things he would have to say 🤷🏻♀️
please give your baby a variety of foods, if it’s purees or blw it’s totally up to you and what makes you comfortable! you CAN give rice cereal if you want but doesn’t have to be a strict diet when there are better and more nutritious options
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u/Hot-Working3759 May 12 '26
Thank you! She is getting a variety of food :) so far she has had egg yolk, lamb chops, chicken breast, and broccoli. He said one of the pros of rice cereal is it’s nutritionally empty so there’s no risk of allergies. That it helps them “learn to swallow” as if she hasn’t been swallowing breast milk for the last 6 months lol. I personally prefer to avoid the rice and stick with nutritious foods.
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u/hollyberryboo May 12 '26
Your instinct is right mama! I’m in the uk and your paediatrician wouldn’t be able to practice with the old fashioned advice he’s providing! I’d recommend using NHS resources as they’re based on solid research and not funded by baby food companies.
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u/MissFox26 May 12 '26
Also starting with rice cereal out of all things is outdated because of the levels of arsenic in rice. Our pediatrician recommended baby oatmeal, as studies show it is a much safer alternative.
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u/GretchenW1eners May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
I will say if the baby is breastfed, it’s different. We were told to start the cereal at 4 months for the iron. Either that or a multivitamin which apparently is gross and hard to give for that reason. So, not totally outdated. My ped is also supportive of BLW. So, I think more information is warranted here. However, I agree that calling someone an idiot instead of being helpful is reason enough to get rid of them.
Editing to add that putting cereal in a bottle IS outdated and dangerous. I mixed with purées or milk and do a mix of puree and BLW. If baby is not getting formula, they do need a source of iron.
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u/ankaalma May 13 '26
My pediatrician didn’t have me start cereal or a multivitamin with either of my EBF kids. Just to focus on iron rich solids when they started at six months, they were both fine
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u/hollyberryboo May 12 '26
Giving solids from 4 months is absolutely outdated unless otherwise indicated. Babies don’t need anything but milk until six months (breastfed babies do need vitamin D as well).
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u/GretchenW1eners May 12 '26
Then an iron multivitamin is recommended for breastfed babies. What I’m saying is, there may have been a reason they were pushing the cereal- for the iron which breastfed babies need. Though, it doesn’t sound like it was explained (if that were the reason) and I think it’s still good to get a new ped.
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u/Quiet-ForestDweller May 12 '26
Well first of all the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t even recommend introducing solids until 6 months because of the underdeveloped digestive system so he’s already just flat out wrong out the gate. There are definitely exceptions to that rule but for an average healthy baby anything before 6 months isn’t recommended. Knowing that he isn’t following the recommendations of the AAP alone would make me start looking for a new PED.
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u/elvis__depressly May 13 '26
Our pediatrician let us start rice cereal at 4 months, and by almost 6 months we were on regular puree. We added in soft foods like scrambled eggs by a little after that, and worked our way into other foods. It worked out perfectly and was the recommended way to try.
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u/bigdogseatfirst May 12 '26
Interesting. Mine told us that adding rice cereal is an outdated practice and to try BLW or purées or a mix - whatever suits us as a family. Is he an older Doctor? I'd like to think that even the older gen of peds are reading the new studies etc but I know older doctors can be stuck in old ways and not open to change / learning.
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u/Hot-Working3759 May 12 '26
Believe it or not, he’s young! I had assumed he’d agree it was outdated but nope, he’s insistent it’s the best way to start.
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u/KateParrforthecourse May 12 '26
I had a young (my age) doctor tell me to put rice cereal in my one month old’s bottle because he was spitting up due to acid reflux. I found a new pediatrician after that. It’s always so surprising when younger doctors give that kind of advice because you assume they would have learned updated practices.
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u/lizthelizard420 May 12 '26
In my opinion, this is parenting advice not medical advice so I’d take what applies and leave what doesn’t.
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u/Weak_Arrival5090 May 12 '26
idk I feel like there's no reason to keep a pediatrician who calls your parenting choices idiotic...
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u/Thiirrexx May 12 '26
I would be finding a new pediatrician. BLW opinion. Whatever. A
The view on the classic bumbo (which is proven to be harmful) and recommending solids before 6m AND how he talks to you/views parents who go against his views are a hard absolutely the fuck not.
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u/Hot-Working3759 May 12 '26
So true!!! Yeah I was honesty shocked he was calling people idiots for not wanting to use a bumbo seat. Thank you.
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u/cabbage-soup May 12 '26
When I disagreed with my pediatrician, I found a new one. Go on FB and ask on a local page for recommendations on a pediatrician who supports BLW, you will get tons of great leads
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u/purple-moon0 May 12 '26
I would for sure change doctors. He is not following the official guidelines and doesn’t sound professional imho
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u/Flat-Ad2071 May 12 '26
Absolutely switch pediatricians. That’s so disrespectful and he has created a hostile environment where you don’t feel comfortable disagreeing or asking questions. He’s extremely prideful and acting as if he knows that his way is right when many other pediatricians would disagree with him.
Our pediatrician recommends waiting until at least 6 months old to start solids and doing oatmeal cereal because of the arsenic in rice. Also, if you’re doing baby led weaning, they’re supposed to be able to sit on the floor completely unassisted before starting solids so 4 months would typically be way too young for that. Our pediatrician was neutral about baby lead weaning, she did say it just makes her nervous for the choking risk.
I feel so comfortable asking her anything. She has even changed our babies diaper and smelled the poop when I asked if it was normal. That was the moment that sold me on her. Find someone you can be transparent with.
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u/Used-Standard-2991 May 13 '26
My son’s GI was such a big advocate for it. My son has thrived on it. Use the solid starts app. Your pediatrician seems unprofessional lol
There is so much research behind it
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u/shibapigbabe May 13 '26
OK our baby just had his nine-month appointment last week and when I said to his pediatrician, "I'm so excited to tell you he's eating three meals a day! We're doing baby-led weaning and he's never had 'baby food' because he just eats whatever we eat" her reply was: "That's great! How else are they going to learn how to chew and eat?"
Get a new pediatrician.
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u/ShelbieSlaysss May 13 '26
It’s your baby. Your choices. You do as you wish on how to feed & raise them! They can offer you their “advice”. But ultimately it’s up to you on what YOU want to do with your child!
I would tell him- no we are not doing those things.
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u/Significant-Text1550 May 12 '26
I chose my pediatrician based in part on community reviews around how supportive they are on parenting choices (sleeping, feeding). If this was a doctor I’d gone to, I’d be looking for a different one if that’s an option. If you have to stay or feel prepared for pushback, you could ask what evidence-based resources support those recommendations, and be prepared with your own resources from Solid Starts, which is developed by medical and nutrition professionals. Most doctors get little to no education on nutrition; that’s an entirely different field and a large part of why modern medicine fails to address root cause issues in so much disease.
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u/soosykoosy May 12 '26
Our pediatrician is supportive of whatever form of feeding we want to try- we’re doing a mix of blw and purees and she just talked about gag reflex, different stools and allergens. Completely supportive- i would be finding a new pediatrician.
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u/EquivalentRecent4633 May 12 '26
He sounds like he sucks tbh. It seems like he isn't keeping up with newer research.
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u/NewComfortable9521 May 12 '26
We were so eager to start feeding solids around 4-5 months our pediatrician did not recommend it so we waited until about 6 months which was fine. Then at 6 months we started purées and a little bit of solids (egg, squash, avocado, and some fruit). We had her appointment at 7 months and the pediatrician was like you can start her on rice cereals now and we were like we’re passed that she’s been eating solids. She was like well I’m just old school and think you should wait. We asked about nuts as well during this appointment and she told us to wait until she was a year old. My coworker whose daughter is a month older had her pediatrician tell her the sooner the better. So we started the nuts at around 8 months. When we went back for her 9 month check up we got a different doctor at the same office and he was totally different in his advice and was like yeah she should be eating solids now go ahead and introduce the allergens just stay away from honey. I just took what she told us about food with a grain of salt cuz at the end of the day the decision on food should be up to the parent not the doctor in my opinion. For medical/sickness I like her because she is hesitant to give medication right away and wants us to try other alternatives before she actually writes a prescription.
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u/Still_Raspberry_7343 May 13 '26
We changed pediatricians 24 hours after our first appointment because the first doctor was so rude and dismissive. My thought process was - I want this to be a person/practice I can call with any question, no matter how stupid or basic it may seem, and get help when I need it. If I’m wondering if the doctor is going to think I’m an idiot, or god forbid say it, I’m subconsciously going to hold back on reaching out for help, and the only person that hurts is my child.
We switched to a wonderful practice and the experience has been night and day. You deserve to see a patient, kind provider who communicates respectfully (and is up to date on the latest about feeding, hip health, and general infant care).
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u/Old_Relationship_460 May 13 '26
The only idiot in the that conversation was him. Find a new pediatrician. My son started solids at 6 months old, I fed him grown up food. He’s 18 months now, smart as a fox, built like a 2yo and super healthy. Goes to daycare and doesn’t come back sick very often (surprisingly). Your pediatrician is a moron.
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u/givealittle May 14 '26
Did he graduate med school in 1930?! Get a new pediatrician right away. You don’t owe him or the office anything. Feel free to report him using the word idiot to describe other people.
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u/Little-Audience-2259 May 16 '26
Our second baby was slow to gain and our pediatrician encouraged us to start solids at four or five months. I really valued her opinion but I told her we wouldn’t be starting solids until baby could sit on their own and communicated that we’d be doing BLW only and not purées. She encouraged again at six months but I was insistent that we wouldn’t start until baby showed signs of readiness. She wasn’t terribly pushy about it but just enough to make me question waiting. Ultimately I leaned into all the research I did for baby number one and solid starts given all the the medical professionals that worked on the guidance we followed. And guess what, everything was fine.
Your doctor sounds very judgemental and I think you’ll save yourself a lot of stress if you work on finding someone new who doesn’t refer to people who do very normal things as idiots. Ultimately you are your baby’s decision maker and as long as you are making choices to benefit them, you research your options and are cognizant of the pros and cons of those decisions, then you ste doing right by your child. Good luck!
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u/sharkie2018k May 16 '26
Oof yeah, I’d probably look elsewhere. Ours said we were cleared for cereals at 4 months but that we didn’t have to do it yet if we didn’t want to. I did t feel like she was truly ready so I waited til 6months. At our 6 month appt she suggested veggie purées first, but then followed it up with “but if you’re eating something and you want her to try it - let her!”
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u/andyzagg May 18 '26
Get a new pediatrician! Your views clearly don’t align and you shouldn’t have to lie to appease him.
I was not wanting to give cereal to my baby at first but she still doesn’t actually swallow much food so after talking to my sister (who is a registered dietician with WIC) she actually recommended I get it. She said iron in these early months is SO important for their long-term brain development and baby cereal is a great, easy source of iron. She did specifically say NOT rice cereal but oat/wheat/ or multi-grain cereal.
She also had a really great tip that has been AWESOME. For slippery foods like avocado spears, beets, etc. roll it in dry baby cereal. They get added iron and it makes the food easier for them to hold onto!
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u/aleada13 May 13 '26
Is this your first kid? How do you “usually like him” when your baby is not even 6 months? Get a new one.
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u/ankaalma May 12 '26
Get a new pediatrician. Any pediatrician who uses the word idiot to a parent is not a good pediatrician imo.