Your Child's First Food

We started with cereal, but uck, that rice cereal is for the birds so we did a lot of oatmeal for my son. Both my kids liked fruits and veggies but I think I probably started with veggies. I really don't think it matters.

With my daughter we started at 6 months. She was full from her bottles and was very content so I didn't see any need to start sooner. My son was on soy formula and it is so thin that he really did have a hard time staying full. So we started giving him cereal at 4 months before bed and that helped a lot! We didn't start other foods until 6 months.

We did banana and avocado first. Never did cereal with my daughter, she hated it.

I waited till almost 6 months wih both. That was when the started crying for the food in my hand.

I started with fruits at 5 months and then did veggies, don't know why just the way I did things. Well I can tell you my daughter will eat her green beans and peas and leave her fruit on her plate. So I do beleive what the dr said to you a out the fruit. Avacodos are another good first food. I skipped cereals. My ped also told me that unless there's family history of food allergies there's really no reason to wait to introduce certain foods.

Rice cereal is nutritionally vacant, so I would avoid that. There is simply no need. Actually, studies have shown starting solids too early, can lead to allergies. I would simply just wait until 6 months, since that is what is recommended by the APA, and most other pediatric groups. My son's first food was avocado. We always mashed up whatever we were eating, and fed him that. No baby food, or purees. Of course, we did not add salt to his, and waited on the foods you're supposed to. (Strawberries wasn't until one year, and there are more that I can't remember.)

My kids started with sweet potatoes, bananas and avocados between five and six months of age.

The veggies first idea always seemed silly to me. I considered it an old wives tale and didn't give it any more thought. My ped says the same things as your regarding allergies and also recommended starting meat earlier than some would think. By eight or nine minths, my kids ate what we ate, I just mashed or diced so they wouldn't choke.

I do home childcare and have seen it all. At 8 mos of age offering IFIC (Iron Fortified Infant Cereal) is required by my USDA food program, so by then cereal is part of the deal for sure.

But for first foods, anything goes, as long as they spend 5-7 days on ONE food at first to go thru typical allergy trials. After that first 6 weeks or so, we all usually shorten that up to 3-4 days per food. Then combos are ok, etc. It is a process and babies like different stuff!

I also, in my 25 years of feeding different babies, do not see evidence of that whole "feeding fruit first will make them hate veggies" theory!!! Not at all!! Avocado is popular, but completely hit or miss for infants. It has those great "just right" fats for babies and is easy to make. Most of mine in daycare start cereal and or baby foods about 4-5 mos at home for a few weeks then ask me to start here.

Good luck!

we started with rice cereal just for training, and then did all the veggies first, then fruits.

We started solids really late because I was breast feeding and solids have less nutrition than breast milk. My kids were on the small side so the pediatrician and nutritionist I consulted said they would only lose calories and nutrition when we started. So, we waited until 8 months and didn't do more than a few tablespoons a day until 10 or 11 months. (and for what it's worth, my kids were eating on their own by 14 months... so it's not like waiting slowed them down).

Anyway, I started with a mix of fruits and veggies. I think squash was first, then pears, then maybe prunes, and carrots. And after that I did lentils and a few other beans, and then oatmeal and other grains last since they have the least nutrition. It really doesn't matter what you start with. Babies in other countries start with totally different foods from babies in the US and they all turn out fine.

Oh - and as for having a taste for veggies or fruit... I have identical twins. They were fed the exact same foods at the exact same times. And now at almost six, one of them LOVES LOVES LOVES vegetables. She happily gobbles up mushrooms, eggplant, beets, kale - whatever I'm serving. My other daughter hates every vegetable except sweet potato fries. But she adores fruit. So I think some of it is just nature and no matter what we do, we won't change it.

the bottom line is, no matter what the current thought is, is:
that your baby... is ready, to "eat" solids.
Meaning, their gag reflex/pincher grasp/throat, mouth,swallowing coordination etc.
If a baby is not ready, they will gag/choke/not swallow etc.

AND, keep in mind... that for the 1st year of life... a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition is: breastmilk or Formula.
Solids... it NOT as nutritionally dense, as breastmilk or solids.
AND for the 1st year of life, giving breastfmilk/Formula still needs to be given on-demand.
Solids, is NOT a replacement, for breastmilk or Formula.
AND for the 1st year of life, "solids" is only an introduction... to foods and eating. It is NOT a baby's main, meal.
And for the 1st year of life, having 3 meals a day (of solids), is not the main purpose, like for adults.

We started solids at 6 months old. This was per my child's cues.
And it was only rice cereal. SINGLE grain. It was only an INTRODUCTION, to "solids." It is NOT for the nutritional value. It is for the baby... to adjust/adapt/get used to, this texture and substance.
BUT breastmilk or Formula, is STILL a baby's primary source of intake for the first year. This is also per our Pediatrician.

And keep in mind, that physiologically, a baby's internal organs are still... developing. And if you introduce a lot of solids, a baby can get or may get, constipation.
And that is a sign, to slow down.

We started with rice cereal then moved on to avocado, sweet potato, and mashed fruit. I highly recommend a book called "Super Baby Food". It was such a valuable resource!

I think we started with bananas, simple, not to strong of a flavor.

Wit both we started with rice cereal, then moved through all the different grains, followed by veggies, then fruits, then meat.

We started between 5 and 6 months with my oldest, after 6 months (shortly after) with my 2nd and 3rd.

All three were offered rice cereal first. None of them liked it much.

Next food was avocado - my eldest loved it. Other two, not so much.

My daughter was my first child, I was 20, and wasn't aware of things I am now so I started her on solids at 6 months per the pediatrician's guidelines. She started with rice cereal and from there quickly moved onto bananas and other fruits as well as green beans and squash. My son however was on solids at a few months old and he loved sweet potatoes. He also started on table foods, per his refusal of all other types of food, at about 8 months old. As an FYI my daughter who is 9 loves to try all types of food and vegetables are a favorite of hers. She loves whenever I bring new vegetables home for her to try.

At 6.5 months (we were told to wait til 6 mo), DD started with mashed up avocado.

I began with Oatmeal I was told that it didn't matter either rice or oatmeal & not to give to much rice & only buy Beechnut or Gerber since they have lesser arsenic.I began closer to the 6 month mark,then added a fruit to the oatmeal didn't like it likes it plain veggies will eat but prefers fresh frozen or canned than the jars so we just feed what baby likes in food jars & substitued with fresh frozen or canned fruits & veggies mashed,diced,cut up just not watery as in baby food jars.Likes to feed self not using utensils yet at 10 months.Never had an issue with not liking fruit or veggies this age their taste buds change all the time as so do ours as long as you know your feeding a wide range of foods and offering the dislikes over and over again your doing fine.It takes 20 or so offersing for a baby to develop a taste for a food so if tha baby peas doesn;t suit her offer it again 10 min later just don't feed from the jar unless you only use a spoon as an offer once.

Around 4 months. Honestly we moved pretty fast once we started, once our kids got a hang of it. I mixed some fruits (apples, etc) with basic veggies (squash). Also would give them mashed avocado.

It is NOT better to start them "earlier" for allergies, NOR is it better to hold off. Neither of these things have been proven. What has been proven is that people have genetic tendencies towards allergies and if you are going to have one, it probably won't matter when you introduce that food.

I started both my children around 4 months just because I was SO eager, but neither was really "ready" for it, and neither actually took any real quantity of food until 7 or 8 months. I started with rice cereal, veggies, fruit...just did one for a few days, picked another, and tried it.

My youngest child was diagnosed with Celiac disease at an uncommonly young age, but her symptoms were very severe. She began getting sick immediately when I went from rice over to barley cereal, and continued to get worse as I began adding toast, crackers, etc.

I share this because generally, if a child DOES have an allergy or other food-related medical condition, in my experience (and not just with my own children, but others as well), it's VERY obvious that something is wrong. If you take it slow, giving each food at least 5 days before introducing another one, you'll be fine!!

Follow your instincts, though. I totally believe that if you give them fruit, they won't develop a taste for vegetables easily.

My pediatrician had me to start both my kids on cereals first (Rice, Oatmeal, Mixed, and Barley in that order). Then fruits and vegetables (we did fruits first because they are great to add to the cereals for variety).

As for when they started, it was different for both.

My son was taking an 8 oz bottle but was back down to every two hours between them (yes even through the night) by two weeks of age. He couldn't get enough to eat (and was gaining a pound a week). Anyway, at our 2 week check up we were told to try to start him on a little bit of rice cereal (best first food, easier on digestive system than the others too) in the evening to help give him a little more substance. Yes, it was way early but he needed it. He would not take it in a bottle but lapped it up when I spoon fed him (not an easy task with a newborn but he thrived).

My daughter (who is 15 years younger than my son), we started around 3-4 months of age. I don't remember exactly without looking back but we started before doctor told us to but when we went he said "you can start her on" and we said "we did".

I had no problems either way.

The important thing is to try one new food for a few days, and wait a day or two after before starting another new food. This allows for identifying allergies or sensitivities.

This is conflicting with what the AAP states. Baby should be exclusively breastfed till 6 months and then solids can be introduced. Breastmilk after 6 months should still be the main source of nutrition. My baby is 9 months and we have just started solids this past weekend.

All my kids first foods were Banana's. Uhh we started with solids at about 5-6 months.

Cereal at about 4 months for all of them (for about 2 weeks) then we started adding "real" food and the first one we used was Sweet Potatoes....all my girls LOVE Fruits/Veggies :)

The other replies did a great job of addressing most of your post, already, so I just want to make a comment on the prunes suggestion.

Prunes are a very healthy food, and if you have a constipated baby can help with that. BUT, start VERY slowly with prunes. When my oldest was that age he was constipated and I gave him about 1 oz of prunes and he got diarrhea. So, very easy on the prunes to start. Start with 1-2 tsp.

Mix them : ) Kids have different taste buds. They like what they like. I started after 6 months cause we were breastfeeding.

We started solids when the kid showed an interest. For the first one, he really didn't care about any solid food until he was over a year. We'd offer, he'd refuse. He just wanted his bottles (breast milk/formula supplement).

For the younger, he was 4 months when he very much wanted solid foods. By six months, he was gumming the heck out of steak. Even so, baby #2 was a champion nurser and didn't wean for a long time.

Neither of them cared for baby food.

I started giving DD some of my food from my fingertip at about 4.5 month, not really more than "a taste", not on a regular basis or on any kind of schedule. DD's very first food other than breastmilk was chicken broth and then carrots(mush).
I actually did quite a bit of research on the subject and none of the recommendations for introducing solids are based on any scientific evidence. The few actual scientific studies that have been done appear to yield contradictory results, so the recommendations that pediatricians make are not based on scientific consensus, but mostly cultural preferences, which becomes obvious if you look at practices and guidelines in international comparisons.
This is one subject where I would say: trust your gut. If your baby seems interested and ready... Give it a try - if you prefer yo wait, wait.
Good luck!