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What's the paleo view on paediatric diet? When should infants be weaned from breastfeeding to a diet primarily of animal product?

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Not speaking for paleo in general, but with my latest child, now 17 months, I started sharing broth with him, or juices from my meat, when he started asking for it (about 4 months old iirc). Over a couple of months this morphed to sharing my meat with him by chewing for him, or mincing finely, then added yogurt and eggs, and gave him jerky to chew. He now eats mostly meat, with occasional vegetables or fruit.

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 I like this answer a lot. – The Quilt Mar 24 2011 at 18:30
That sounds so cute :) – Oranges13 Mar 24 2011 at 19:48
I've downvoted this because of the early introduction of solids. WHO suggests exclusive breastfeeding until six months. Most babies (not all) are not developmentally ready for solids until around six months & some may not be ready until later. WRT the foods introduced I can't really fault ;-) – Efaitch Mar 24 2011 at 21:13
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 Efaitch - I think the 6 months is a suggestion because each child is different - it sounds to me like Ambimorph's little guy was ready. And I really believe that you have to listen to your child, not a study or a paper when it comes to this stuff. – Thumper Mar 24 2011 at 22:20
I think you are right about the current recommendations, Efaitch, although a few years ago I think they used to say 4-6. I wouldn't have offered if he hadn't been sitting up well, and actively asking. – Ambimorph Mar 25 2011 at 1:40
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I believe that the infant/child will wean themselves when they are ready to. And I think it is really important to empower your little person with this choice. As well with the food choices (paleo foods of course) . Offer a wide variety of foods and let them choose when they eat what and how they eat eat (consistency wise).

Make sure when they are younger and learning to chew and swallow food that the food is cooked well so it's fairly mushy (avoid chocking hazards)

I found that my sons taste for foods changed almost daily - what he liked one day he didn't want the next and vice-versa. So I just offer up choices, and if he refuses we save it for the next day. I included the breast in this offer as well until he refused outright for a while (and I dried up).

Food for toddlers should be fun - so invest in a splat mat and let them at 'er. And get a camera - because the 'adventures with food' pictures are the best!

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What were the approximate ages for these behaviors? I have a baby on the way and my wife is not paleo. I'm sure this kid will start as a formula mutant like me. However if I can be the one who offers up the choices I think that will go along way. – Scott Mar 24 2011 at 21:05
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 there is a disagreement form country to country as to when solid foods should be introduced. In my opinion they should be introduced when the child is ready for it, and by ready I mean intently watching mom and dad eat, tracking the food from plate to mouth and reaching for it. We started at around 5 months - started with pureed yams then squash then avocado then apples etc. There is a general rule of thumb out there to give each introduction 3 days - so if you start with yams give only yams for 3 days to see if there is any reaction to them (gassy-ness, allergy). – Thumper Mar 24 2011 at 21:11
Congrats on the baby on the way - exciting times ahead!!! – Thumper Mar 24 2011 at 21:11
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 Scott, research baby led weaning. WHO recommend milk only until 6 months old (baby should be developmentally ready, should have lost tongue thrust reflex, show an interest in food and be able to sit up unaided). – Efaitch Mar 24 2011 at 21:16
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I don't know the official view but here's what I'm in the process of doing: Just shy of 6 months I introduced sweet potatoes followed by spinach, egg yolks, shredded chicken and salmon. At this point, babe was getting antsy anytime we ate and would grab food from our plates. That being said, there is no definite age; it would depend solely on the baby. We do a semi-"baby led weaning". She feeds herself for the majority of meals but sometimes (convenience/cleanliness) I'll feed her organic purees (Plum, Happy Baby, Ella's Kitchen). All solids are complimentary and not replacing breastfeeding. We continue to breastfeed on demand - no schedule. I'll continue to breastfeed on demand as long as she likes. Anytime I'm away (classes), my sitter gives her expressed breastmilk.

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youtube.com/watch?v=qRqGXS6RmKs What if your kid keeps demanding it until they're NINE! Not that I believe everything I see on TV, but I also remember a Taboo on NGC, where a British mom was breastfeeding her baby up to the age of 7 or 8, because they kept asking for her milk. – Futureboy Mar 24 2011 at 19:47
here's the Taboo segment: youtube.com/… – Futureboy Mar 24 2011 at 19:52
The breastfeeding dyad is just that though... A dyad. Demand feeding is fine as long as both parties are happy with it. My two year old doesn't seem to want to wean and grabs me every time I sit down (I don't sit down too often during the day, lol!). We'll wean when one or the other of us decides to. As for natural weaning age, Kathy Dettwyler (kathydettwyler.org/dettwyler.html) suggests that natural weaning age is between age 2-7 :-) – Efaitch Mar 24 2011 at 21:09
Hahaha well, not going lie, I wouldn't nurse a 9 year old. Nope. I could see myself nursing a 4 year old though. I ended up with a baby that doesn't comfort nurse - strictly down to business - so she'll probably wean before I am ready. :P – Al Mar 24 2011 at 22:46
Nope, although I'd like to think that we'll wean naturally, I can't envisage nursing a nine year old child either!!! – Efaitch Mar 30 2011 at 15:29
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I have an almost 6-month-old and I've been breastfeeding exclusively. I plan to continue breastfeeding hopefully until she's at least 2. The only food she's tried other than breastmilk is a little bit of banana that I chewed up and let her eat off the end of my finger when I noticed her staring at me eating it. She hasn't really shown any interest or enthusiasm for food yet though so I'm not forcing anything. I follow her lead, not the other way around. :) The motto I follow is "food before 1 is just for fun."

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There's not a lot more I can add to the answers already received, but I've left some comments, so thought that I should really leave an answer!

WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age as an infant gut is leaky and doesn't start to close up until "around" six months.

There's no reason that meat shouldn't be the first food to be introduced, it's more nutrient dense than fruit & vegetables ;-)

As someone else has already posted, introduce foods individually if there's a family history of atopy (especially) to ensure no reactions :-)

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If you look at tribes, you'll see that infants are commonly breastfed until 4-5 yrs of age.

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