Introducing Solids to a Four Month Old.

Which foods you give your child depends on you (organic or not).

Our ped recommended this order (but ask your ped which order he/she recommends):
Cereal 1x a day for 2-3 weeks
Cereal 2x a day for 2-3 weeks
Yellow vegetables (squash, carrots, sweet potatoes)
Yellow fruits (bananas, applesauce, pears)
Green vegetables
All other fruits
Then if there happens to be anything I missed to go ahead and give it to her.

Of course, give her whichever solid you are feeding a minimum of 4 days on it only to make sure there aren't any allergic reactions to it. And the reason we stay on cereal so long is to get her used to eating and to make sure her digestion system was ready for it. It wasn't for any nutritional value whatsoever.

And at 6 months we're to start feeding her 3x a day instead of 2x.

When my son started solids he was 4 months old also and we gave him about 2 tbsp's of rice cereal. And he ate about 1/2 a jar of stage 1 fruits. Basic stuff, bananas, apples, pears, etc. Once he got used to that, he started taking a whole jar. I personally think that the whole "organic" thing is completely up to the parent. We didn't start the sippy cup until about 5 months old. He took it perfectly and drinks water only with meals. We didn't ever give him mixed fruits or veggies until he tried just about all stage 1 fruits and veggies. We gave him stage 2 at about 6 months and he then would have stuff like bananas and apples. Apples strawberry banana. We started giving him meats at about 6 months and he did very well with that too! Each child takes differently to new foods...I hope that helps at least a little.

I really think organic is the way to go - it is much safer for young children. Here's a recent study excerpt:

"A recent study conducted by the University of Washington tracked a group of preschool children — 18 with organic diets and 21 with conventional diets — and analyzed their urine for evidence of exposure to five different kinds of toxic pesticides. Researchers found that the average total was six- to almost nine-times higher for children with conventional diets than for children with organic diets. They concluded that consuming organic fruits and vegetables can provide a relatively simple means for parents to reduce their children’s pesticide exposure."

Of course, organic is more expensive. For the best ways to get "bang for your organic buck," these articles are good:

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&...

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/organic-products-...

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/saferreportMay02.cfm

The only thing I would suggest is to watch the sugar content. A lot of the combined fruits have a very high sugar content. Try to stay with the single fruits for awhile. Organic or not really is up to you. Good luck!