My daughter is 7 mths old. I have just started solids with her. She has gotten through all of the cereals along with peas, carrots & sweet potatoes. I was wondering how much & how often I should be feeding her solids. As well as when I should be adding variety into her diet. Ex. Now that I know she doesn't have an allergy to carrots should I feed her the carrots at dinner & try something new for breakfast?
Thank you everyone for your responses. They were all very helpful. I have spoken to her Dr. & I'm following his direction. We're doing fruit/cereal in the morning & fruit/veggie/cereal at night. She really seems to like this schedule. When she has more foods under her belt we'll be adding lunch and doing meat at night. Thanks again
My pediatrician recommended 1 jar of baby food 3 times a day. And then 20-24 ounces of breastmilk or formula in addition to the jarred baby food. Hope this is helpful!
You want to introduce fruits first and very slowly. A new one every couple of weeks since allergies can develop over the course of several feedings and if you only introduce one at a time, you will know which one is the offender. I cant tell you how much easier it is that way. Remember that your baby's tummy is only about the size of a golf ball and dont over feed her.
Have fun learning about fruits an veggies with her.
As far as how often to feed her, I would absolutley feed her every time you sit down to eat, if not a few more times. I don't think it is ever too early to establish the sitting down to eat together routine. Besides this, it teaches them the patience of eating very young. (mommy gets a bite, baby gets a bite...etc..) I wouldn't worry so much about what you are feeding her, take your time introducing new foods. How much she eats is probably dependant on the baby. When she starts acting disinterested in the food, stop. If she is still opening her mouth in anticipation of that spoon, keep going. Good luck. I remember having the same worries with my son!
Your doctor should have given you a sheet of food recommendations and how often, for your daughter at this stage. If not, call the office and ask for one. You should probably feed her cereal at breakfast and dinner until she accepts a few other things. But she's probably ready form Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner feedings and nursing or bottle in between. Her food should still be very soft at this stage, I made my own and pureed it. Butternut squash, carrots, sweetpotatoes, etc.... I used the jar food for meats as the homemade options tasted like glue! Also fruits are important, so buy some of the prepared fruits. My daughter loved to squish fruit out of those little mesh bags you can buy at any child food area. Apples are great for that, just make sure there is no skin. Buy organic if you can't make your own. Good luck. Before long she'll be eating cheeseburgers!
L., My advice to you is feed your child 3 squares a day ( breakfast-cereal & fruit, lunch-veggie & fruit, dinner-veggie & fruit) with milk/formula in between. You go by what your child likes and what he/she needs nutritionally with a twist. Example: my kids did not like green stuff or carrots. I put the "don't like stuff on first on the spoon and then put fruit in front and shove it all down at once. See how hungry your child is to the amount you give. They usually stop when they are full. Good luck. R.
