When to Start Cereal

Hi M.. Here's a great web site that is the feeding schedule I referred to with my kids. http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/infantschildren/FeedingS...

L.

Not to mention it has probably changed a few times since your first was starting cereal...but yes 4-6 months is the norm these days and 6 mo is recommended by most pedi.s now.

I would say listen to your daughter. While 4-6 months is the norm, each child is different. My first two sons didn't need any solid food until 6 months, but my 3rd son ate the entire bowl the first time he ever tried solids (at four months). I was shocked! I had never seen that before! But he was much happier and slept better after he starting getting some "real food" along with nursing.

Be blessed.

Hey, as a mother of 2, I can say you have no reason to be embarrassed. You've got more important details to worry about like do you have everyone's shoes and which school takes which kid on what day?

Our pediatrician strongly encouraged waiting until 6mos. Though I know plenty of families who didn't, and whose kids still survived.

4 to 6 months depending on the child. My daughter was eager to get a spoon in her mouth and benefited from the extra calories. Some babies need more time to take to a spoon (cereal in a bottle is generally considered a bad idea these days). If she spends a lot of time watching you eat then 4 months is probably fine to start. Some people will give you a hard time about starting foods at that age(I recieved some very unkind e-mails from some people on this site)but I went with what my doc said and what I believed to be right for my daughter and all is well.

Hi M.,

6months is the norm-- some start as early as 4 mos, but can have issues with food later on if they are not ready for it.

Molly

My daughter started at about 4 1/2 months, because formula wasn't enough to satisfy her and peditrician was fine with it. I think starting her earlier made her also be able to feed herself sooner, which made life a lot easier.

all the websites tell you something different than when your kids were little. so it will all be new again. LOL i always went by, when they would watch you eat and seemed interested. they say try it, and see if they can push the cereal back. they have to have that reflex. some babies are young bloomers.. others are later. think it's very individual.

I recently read a study in the medical journal The Lancet (its one of those publications that is referred to in all sorts of print - they publish findings in studies and a whole slew of scientific/medical information) that linked childhood diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, to starting solids too early. It seems that feeding an immature digestive system - a baby under 6 months of age - any sort of solid effects the way the bodies immune system handles insulin. There is already a direct medical link between feeding solids too early and potential allergies, and there is just as strong a link between childhood diabetes (in children that are not obese and typically healthy in every other way) and early solids.
SO - NOT BEFORE 6 MONTHS, NO MATTER WHAT!