Advise on Introducing Solids

As soon as my kids are eating cereal once a day on a regular basis, I go ahead and kick it up to two. After 1 1/2 to 2 weeks, I start introducing the veggies. We just do one veggie at a time, and do it for 1 week before we move on. After we have done all the veggies we do the same with the fruits. By that time they are usually ready for the stage 2 foods, where they mix up the different flavors and stuff. Don't listen to all the people telling you not to do it. Mine were all started at 4 months as were nieces and nephews...no food allergies. I don't really comprehend how people can believe that having a birthday miraculously makes you not have allergies. Worrying too much about stuff like that will only make you paranoid. Once kids learn to eat they really enjoy it, so why wait?

My son is 5 months old and we just gave him his first meal of rice cereal yesterday. I know a lot of people are telling you it's too early to be thinking about solid foods but I think each baby is different. If Baby is showing interest in solid foods, my doctor told me to try it. But, most babies will get all the nutrition they need from breastmilk alone until 6 months. For that reason, I plan on only giving my son rice cereal once a day until he is 6 months old. That way he will get used to solid foods before he absolutly needs the nutrition. Then, I am planning on introducing different foods and more frequently than once a day. Good luck!

We did solids that early, or close to it, with our boys as they quit sleeping through the night because they were hungry. We waited a week between each new food and that worked well for us. After cereal, we went to green veggies, then yellow veggies, then fruit. That way they didn't start off with a sweet tooth. We waited a long time for meat due to allergies. If allergies aren't in your family, I think you can introduce a new food every 3 to 4 days. GL! Enjoy those little ones!

Dear J.,

Don't worry about the solid foods especially if you daughter is not demanding more. I nursed both of my kids and they basically let me know when they wanted something else. If she is sleeping fine and all...I would say leave it alone. Trust your own instincts.

I introduced my dd to food at 5 1/2 months and I had a friend who introduced solids to her child at 3 months old because of acid reflux. So it was rice cereal in the morning and rice cereal at night so the baby was fool to get through the night. If your breast feeding I would mix breast milk with it. About 6 months old the baby was introduced to a puree and it was the same puree for about 4 days to see if there were any reactions. The baby who was introduced to food at 3 months was not allergic to anything as for my dd she is allergic to peanuts and eggs which are foods that are introduced in later months or years. So I would say it is entirely up to you when you want to start them. Just remember to introduce new foods slowly and watch for reactions. I hope this helps and gl.

I know how you feel. My oldest is almost 4 and I completely forgot how to start the solids. I started my youngest son on cereal twice a day and when he was about 5 1/2 months I started veg's. He would have veg's at lunch and at dinner with the cereal. Once I went through all the veg's I started him on fruit. He would have fruit in the morning with his rice and fruit at lunch with his veg's. We are now starting meats. Hope this helps.

I started rice cereal with my son at 4 months because he was starving and nursing every 30 minutes. I did that twice a day for over a month. My Dr recommends not starting veggies and fruits until at least 5 months old, of course you can wait longer for all solids like others have said. So at 5 months, I would recommend starting some veggies before fruits. Start one new item each week (at least 3-5 days) so that you can make sure she isn't allergic.

At 6 months my Dr said I can start crackers (I use the little dissolving star crackers in the baby section). Just watch your Daughter and see if she seems to be interested and really hungry. Breastmilk still needs to be the main part of her diet though. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best thing to do is to wait until AT LEAST 6 MONTHS to introduce solids. Breastmilk is the most perfect food for your baby until 6 months and beyond. I don't know why some doctors continue to advise parents to do otherwise. You increase the chance of food allergies by introducing solids too early, and most importantly, they are simply not necessary at this time. For more information or advice on this issue, I suggest resources from La Leche League. For now, just enjoy your nursing relationship with your little one. :)

I have a 7 month old daughter. We started her on rice cereal mixed with breastmilk, in the evenings, at 5 months. It was mostly novelty at the time, but she was interested. Close to six months we introduced banana (mushed), then avocado, sweet potato. Then oatmeal cereal, as she was never crazy on the rice (we now have to mix banana with the rice, but she'll do oatmeal cereal alone). We started giving her two meals a day at 6 months- a fruit or veg in the afternoon, then cereal in the evening. Recently we went to three meals- a fruit sometimes with cereal in the morning, veg at lunch, cereal at dinner. She now does carrots, peas, mango, pear, applesauce... it's really fun introducing foods to her. We have pretty much read her cues all along. Her appetite has only recently increased, so that's why we went to 3 meals/day. Still, she is very little (14 lbs at 7 months), and doesn't eat very much- maybe 2-3 tablespoons worth at each meal.

One thing I have been surprised by is how easy it is to make your own baby food. We buy the jars for when we're away from home during a meal, but otherwise make all our own. Fruit is especially easy, you just let it ripen enough to peel and mush it with a fork (although anything except banana and avocado should be cooked for a baby younger than 6-7 months).

Two resources I rely on are the book, Super Baby Food and wholesomebabyfood.com.

Everything I've read (I have an almost 4 year old and a 5 month old) just says to introduce one food at a time and stick to that for one week to make sure there is no allergic reaction. Similac sent me a sample menu:

5-6 months
breakfast: 2-3 TBsp baby cereal, 6-8 oz breastmlk/formula

mid morning: 2-4 TBsp strained or pureed fruit

lunch: 2-4 TBsp strained vegies, 1-2 TBsp cereal, 6-8 oz breastmlk/formula

mid-afternoon: 6-8 oz breastmlk/formula

dinner: 2-4 TBsp strained vegies, 1-2 TBsp cereal, 6-8 oz breastmlk/formula

My baby just turned 5 months old so we just barely started with her first strained veggie, I don't think we'll be on above menu for some time because even now if I give her cereal all she wants is maybe a tablespoon or two and then she wants to nurse. I don't think she'll be able to eat this much for some time.

The important thing is to follow your baby's lead. If she seems uninterested after just a TBsp cereal I would let her be. I read somewhere that most their nutrition should come from breastmlk/formula and that eating is just so that they start to learn HOW to do it. Hope this helps.

Hi J.,
My daughter is just about 6 months now. At the 4-month check up, our doc recommended solids because she wasn't gaining very much. So we started her on cereal (which she didn't like). After a couple weeks, we added a little bit of apples - - I know, veggies are "supposed" to be first - - and she loved it. Then we introduced sweet potatoes mixed about 1/2 jar with about a tablespoon cereal and breast milk. Etc, etc. We've been doing taking turns veggie then fruit. She mainly gets fruit in the morning because there's more sugar and I didn't know how that would affect her sleeping. It sure is fun watching her try new things!

experiment. each baby is different. play around with different things and times. introduce the new foods at least 2-3 days apart to watch for possible allergic reactions.

I always mixed some fruit in with the cereal and let her get used to that first. Just make sure you try one fruit at a time and for a couple days in a row to make sure she is not alergic to it. You are doing fine. My daughter at 5 months was taking cereal morning, noon, and night but it may be a little to early to start that. I guess it just depends on how much she likes it. Cereal never hurt them so what ever she likes. Also, try Beech nut cereal. THey have a night time and morning cereal (which has some fruit flavor) for in the morning. It seemed to mix better and be easier to swallow. Just a little note. Sorry, I get carried away! Good Luck!

J.,

The big thing with starting solids is to make sure there are no allergies. I think it is strange that your ped recommended solids at such a young age, when the AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months. Allergies are less likely if food introduction is delayed.

As far as how to introduce foods, you want to give each new food by itself for three days to make sure there are not reactions--rash, fussiness, mucus in stools, etc... Generally the order is rice cereal or vegetables first. Green veggies, then yellow, then fruits, then starchy veggies. Wait on corn and wheat until a year. Soft-hard boiled (boiled 3-4 minutes) egg yolks can be mixed with breastmilk and given--great fats and proteins there. But wait on egg whites until 1 year as well. And a slower introduction to foods is better than a quick introduction.

Good luck.

ooh- i just got a book at Williams Sanoma, it is on baby food and it told me what food to start when, it is amazing! Love it!

J.-
Shortly after I started with cereal, I started with other solids. I would say as soon as your girl starts doing good with eating cereal (ie. can swallow well, likes it, acts like she wants more) I would say it would be fine to start solids. And my pediatrician told me that it doesn't really matter if you start veggies first, and I didn't, and my son still loves veggies all the same (now 6 months). So take it from your daughter and how she is acting, if she's reaching for your food or seems like she wants more, I would say go ahead :) Have fun!!!

I started my daughter on rice cereal (1-2 Tbsp) in the evening at 4 mos, then gradually moved to rice cereal in the morning and evening. You do not have to wait until 6 mos (this is an old philosophy mostly sponsored by La Leche followers, and most docs will recommend starting at 4 mos if they are ready). Then gradually start adding a veggie (1/2 sm. jar) w/ evening meal, eventually 1/2 jar of fruit at the a.m. meal in the manner that some of these other ladies describe (ie; 3-5 day rule). She needs 24-28 oz/day of breastmilk/formula, so add solids gradually. By 9 months, she should be on 3 meals/day, so add the third meal by this time.

My daughter is now 6 months and is eating two meals now as described, and has been doing wonderfully. She loves it!

The American Pediatrics Association and most younger docs recommend not starting solids until 6 months. 4 months sounds a little young to me unless your daughter is trying to grab solids from you and eat them. If you put the cereal in and she pushes it right out with her tongue, it means her mouth is not ready to eat solids. We started at 6 months and even then, it took about a month to really start eating. We skipped cereal and went to bananas, apples, sweet potatoes and carrots. Good luck!

Good gracious. You absolutely do NOT have to introduce solids so early!! You are breastfeeding, you're baby is getting all the nutrition she needs.

Remember the growth charts are based on formula fed babies, their growth patterns are different from breast fed babies so your daughter may not match--so what?!! So long as she's growing steadily and developing, she's great.

Also, remember, until after the first year, baby's are not mature enough to actually break food down enough to absorb and benefit from the nutrients. Solids before then are soley for "practice". Any pediatric dietician can explain this to you.

Just continue to nurse and when she's ready to start experimenting with food she will reach for what you're eating to taste it and feel it's texture. As she gets older she'll want more and more.

Starting foods too early may inspire food allergies and digestive difficulties.

Just follow your instincts and your baby's cues.