Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Vindication

Ah, the sweet, sweet feeling of vindication.

Remember my comments about dealing with a doctor (and nurse practitioner) aghast that I was feeding my four-month-old daughter solids?

Well, I took my son to the doctor yesterday for his four-month appointment. We haven’t started giving him solids yet, because, well, unlike his sister, he’s a HOSS. (And I mean that in the nicest, most Southern way possible.) He’s not showing any particular interest in the food we eat, and, unlike his sister, he’s not hurting in the weight department.

At the visit, our pediatrician informed me that I could go ahead and give BB – for purposes of the blog, let’s call him BB for (ahem) Big Boy – some nice rice cereal followed by veggies and fruit. Apparently since DD was BB’s age (a whole whopping three-and-a-half years), not only have the powers that be in the world of pediatrics learned that giving children food before six months does NOT increase the risk of food allergies but they have also learned that waiting until six months to introduce solids actually INCREASES the likelihood of food allergies.

So, all that stuff they told me when DD was little? All that hell they gave me for feeding her solids at four months? THEY WERE WRONG!

Shocker.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Sorry, I just had to have a moment of gleeful vindictive laughter.

Yes, my parent friends, I will reiterate: TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. Yes, yes, yes, when it comes to the big medical decisions, listen to your doctor (and get a second opinion). But when it comes to the day-to-day care, read the books, listen to your friends, listen to your doctor, listen to your mother, but above all listen to your kids and to yourself.