Feeding baby

Our little girl is definitely getting hungrier and more interested in our mealtimes.  She's desperate to join in and I can no longer deny the existence of the signs.  Her sleep patterns have altered, she is breastfeeding more and she's very curious about what I'm eating and takes a good swipe at my plate or bowl when she is on my knee.

As per my previous post, I had been wondering about when to introduce a few first tastes.  I was thinking about some sort of sweet vegetable, but happenstance we were having steamed asparagus the other evening and we decided on the spur of the moment.  Easy to hold, nice and soft.  Whilst she didn't consume much, it was obvious that she really appreciated joining in.

Since then, steamed carrot and broccoli have been a success, but swede a bit more uncertain.

In keeping with my efforts to raise her in a 'biologically appropriate' way,  because she is pretty hungry, I'd like to introduce a bit more, but I'm less keen on the idea of bland old baby rice.  So, I've decided to try offering pre-masticated food. (But, "Yuk!")  I have thought about this and there are some advantages to/reasons for using this method:

1) It's very natural and what humans have done for thousands of years, therefore we must be adapted to it
2) She will gain added nutritional benefits in digestion through the presence of my salivary enzymes
3) She will also benefit from my salivary immune factors (secretory IgA etc); therefore, it seems a logical complement to breastfeeding
4) No effort involved (no separate meals to prepare, no blender to wash), food is warmed and moistened to the right consistency


I can address all but one of the potential disadvantages:

1) Transmission of disease - there is no significant risk of disease transmission (eg HIV) in our family. (NB The risk of HIV transmission through saliva is very low, perhaps lower than via breastfeeding).  If I am harbouring any Herpes viruses or H pylori, I have remained asymptomatic or in a state of latency.  These viruses are so common, she will be in a small minority if, ultimately, she remains uninfected.  If I become ill with any orally transmitted bugs, I will simply feed her separately. 

2) Increased risk of dental caries - Strep mutans (one of the main bacteria sp implicated in initiating carious lesions) aren't found in edentulous (toothless) mouths.  Even when her teeth begin to erupt, she won't become colonised for another year or two.  I have my theory about this.  This 'window of infectivity' probably occurs as a result of a tailing off or loss of protective factors from breastmilk.  No gum disease in our family either.

3) Social - this is the one I will struggle with, I think.  Not everyone wants to see a mother shoving a bolus of pre-chewed food into baby's mouth, either with fingers or, perhaps more so, with her own mouth.

I guess it's a new idea I have to come round to.  With breastfeeding, I feel totally comfortable breastfeeding in any situation and am quite ready to address any criticism or condemnation therein.  However, I have grown up in a germ-aware family where sharing so much as a cup was considered dirty (although strangely, my dad thought nothing of spitting on a hanky and 'cleaning' my face with it).  I can understand how this concern has come about, for my parents' generation.  Finding myself explaining the potential immunological benefits of pre-mastication to anyone but a microbiologist could be somewhat awkward though.

I would welcome any comments on anything I may have missed, but so far, to me, this feels like the right way to go.  When our children grow up and I imagine myself looking back, I will probably say to myself, "What was all the fuss about, they're fine now?"  I guess when you're living the moment with a young baby (and it hasn't changed with having two), you always worry and wonder what exactly is the right thing to do for their optimal health and development.