I recently started my daughter on rice cereal mixed with breast milk at 5 months. This past weekend we added carrots due to constipation issues. In the future, we plan to try oatmeal, barley, peas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas, pears and apples adding each new food after 5-7 days. My question is where do you go from here once she has started the "stage 1" baby cereals, grains and fruits. I know which foods to avoid (shellfish, eggs, nuts, etc.), but what would you try after you've exhausted the stage 1 foods? Also, right now my daughter is only having one meal a day in the late afternoon. At what point should I make it two meals a day? then three? When can meats be introduced and how do you give it to them if they don't have teeth?
Rice cereal constipated my little boy... so after a week or two I gave him oatmeal. The rice cereal sits in my cabinet in case he gets diarrhea ONLY. :)
Follow your daughter's cues and she'll let you know when she wants to start eating more solid foods. With my son, we started giving him solid food at six months and we fed him during our dinner time (so he would feel like a big boy sitting at the dinner table with mom and dad!). After a month or two, we started giving him solids in the mornings during breakfast. Then we added lunch after another few weeks. We gave him small amounts of food, unless he indicated he wanted more. By ten months, he was eating three solid meals a day and was nursing 3-5 times a day. Now, he eats three meals a day and typically has a snack in the afternoon.
As far as introducing new food, I would start giving her easy to eat finger foods at 7-8 months. Gerber has great dissolving puffs that are perfect for new eaters. Zwieback crackers are great, too. They are fun for babies to suck on and get the sensation of eating real foods, but they won't break into small pieces and cause a choking hazard. I gave my son mushy foods, like mashed potatoes and bananas, when he was working on his "pincher grasp." He still eats pretty soft foods because he only has six teeth (at 14 months!), but he eats a variety of fruits and veggies, dairy and protein.
As far as meats go, my little guy HATED pureed meats. Still does. Won't touch the stuff. So we've been giving him softer meats, like meatballs and diced turkey and ham. I wouldn't worry too much about meat. A lot of kids don't like meat until they are older, and you can give your daughter protein in different ways. When she's ready, you can give her small pieces of cheese (string cheese works great), and yogurt is good as well. Try meatballs - they are soft and easy to gum.
Prunes work great for constipation. There are some Stage 2 foods that are combinations of prunes with other fruits, which help to cover up the prune taste if your daughter doesn't like it.
I loved introducing new foods to my son and watching his expressions when he ate them for the first time. It's such a fun time in their lives - enjoy it! And don't worry about the mess... let them get as messy as they want. It's all about learning for them.
Good luck!!
First, also add the prunes to your list. They work wonders with constipation. I started my son at 4 months, and right away I did it in the morning and at night, so I did 2 meals from the start. You don'thave to stick to stage one foods, you can try anything you make. I was giving my son rice and chicken or beef by six months. I just made sure they were pureed.
FYI - Stage 2 is exactly the same consistency as stage 1 baby food, but more. Stage 3 is when they start introducing chunks. My son has boycotted baby food for 2 months now so I'm no expert on feeding. We've resorted to putting it in the bottle and feeding with a Y nipple just so he gets more than just formula. Doc says it's fine and he's gaining weight, but I don't like the fact that he's not eating.
Good luck!
