Baby Food

Kyrsten - posted on 10/11/2009

Here's a good link! http://wholesomebabyfood.com/early-solid...

Kyrsten - posted on 10/11/2009

There are some doctors who still recommend putting rice cereal in a bottle, but in recent years it has become pretty widely accepted that, while it may work, it isn't the best way to feed cereal to Baby. Our ped explained that this is for one simple reason: it can create a habit of over eating.
Babies eat when they are hungry, and stop when they are full. The amounts may vary from kid to kid, but and that comes pretty naturally to infants. When you start adding stuff to the bottle (even just a little), it messes with the calories, which in turns causes baby's tummy to have difficulty recognizing when it is full. Even if it doesn't seem like a big deal when they are still on a bottle, it can become a problem as they switch to solids, because they don't know when to stop eating.
I did a bunch of research before we started feeding our son solids, and what I learned is that new research has basically concluded that putting rice cereal in a bottle doesn't do much for reflux either way. I also found that the general consensus about timing is that the earlier you start solids, the more potential problems you may have later (with allergies, etc.). Again, it may seem fine at the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing to do. A LOT of peds now are recommending waiting until at least 4mos (closer to 6) before starting any solids. Babies don't really get much nutrition from solids during the first year anyway, since their main diet is still breastmilk or formula.
I think the general recommendation is still to start with rice cereal, but after that we went on to apples, squash, sweet potato, and bananas...
There is a really great book called Baby Bites that has a TON of detailed information about feeding solids foods, getting started and what is good to introduce at what month, etc. :-)

Christina - posted on 10/10/2009

i started putting a lil cereal in my daughters bottles at about 3 months because she was spitting up ALOT and her doc told me it would help line her belly to keep it down. shes 4months now and i just started giving her sweet peas. I think its when you feel your daughters ready. Good Luck.

Jennifer - posted on 10/10/2009

I would talk to your dr and see what he/she suggests. Our pediatrician told us that we could start them on cereals around 4 months of age and then veggies and fruits at 6 months. We did this with all 4 of our children and they have had no problems.

Lauren - posted on 10/10/2009

Every baby is different, I started with my daughter at the middle to end of 3 months old.. she was just STARVING all the time. Obviously you dont want anything to thick or chunky, and as long as your baby is not having a hard time or choking then I would say go for it! Obviously mix it up, however you want to start out slow... do just green beans for a day or two until you see how her tummy will react! Different fruits and vegetables may upset her tummy, and end in a diaper rash and if you get her all different "flavors" how will you ever know which one caused it? So be careful, but she will LOVE it!

Claire - posted on 10/10/2009

i would be getting a food processor and pulping up veges and rice and stuff.. its much better for your baby fresh. you can make lots of it and freeze it into iceblock moulds and pop out a block when u need one to save time. A lot of the farex has preservatives and stuff in it which can cause illness and behavioural problems. look up fedupwithfoodadditives.com if your interested to know. :)

Beth - posted on 10/08/2009

Excuse me but my DOCTOR told me to put rice cereal in her bottle at 6 weeks old. He also told me it was okay at 4 months to start feeding a baby if they act hungry, just watch for allergies and wait 3 days before trying a new food. The WIC office told me to wait til 6 months and I'm not starving my child when doctor says 4. Do whatever you feel necessary its your child. Kaylee is now 6 and half months 19 lbs and VERY HEALTHY!

Christine - posted on 10/08/2009

Whether your daughter likes it or not, the recommendation to wait is to ensure that she continues to get all the nutrition she needs from breastmilk or formula. At 3 months she's very young, whether she glares at your food or not, enjoys the taste of sweet apples (really, what young child doesn't like something sweet?) mixed with rice, or whatever your reasoning for wanting to start, you should wait. Filling her tummy with something like jarred foods and cereal is like putting something with no nutritional value at all in her stomach, because her immature gut can not digest the nutrients from these foods yet. You might be adding flavor and fullness to her diet, but you're actually preventing her form getting the nutrients she needs because she may feel full for longer and takes in less formula/breastmilk because of it. You should really wait as long as you can, just give her more of her bottle, without the rice cereal. I hope this helps! If you need more advice, or have more questions you should look into www.wholesomebabyfood.com for guidelines, or even the AAP website.

Beth - posted on 10/08/2009

As long as the baby can sit up with support and acts like she wants food it won't hurt them. If you try feeding it to her and she acts like she can't swallow it then I would wait. I started my baby girl around 4 months because she was starring at my food. Babies do still get all the nutrition they need from formula or breastmilk until 12 months, food is just an extra. I do put rice cereal in Kaylee's bottle to keep her from spitting up and it keeps her full too. The doctor told me to put rice in her bottle it WON"T hurt them. They will not eat as much because the rice fills them up but that is okay. If you do give her food start with veggies because they get a sweet tooth and won't eat veggies if you feed them fruits. If you have any questions just ask. I worked in a daycare with 8 infants and now have one of my own. If I have questions I ask the lady I worked with or a doctor.

Brittany - posted on 10/08/2009

they dont advise putting cereal in the bottle. when my son was ready for it i gave him a small amount and fed him with a spoon before he went to bed.

Jillian - posted on 10/08/2009

yea i give her 6 oz right now, doesnt seem to fill her like it did, \so i may need to go to 8 but then someone suggest maybe puttin rice in the bottles to help fill her up

Brittany - posted on 10/08/2009

my son will be 4 months on october 13. i started him on rice cereal at 2 1/2 months old. just this week i started him on baby food. i am making my own baby food as i did with my older son. it all depends on the person...i know some friends who waited til 6 months and some that started at 2 months...in the end its all up to the mommy. for my little guy no matter how much formula i would give him he was not happy. he has been much happier since starting baby food...and now he is adjusting to his older brothers schedule and eating when he does.

Bethany - posted on 10/08/2009

I wouldn't start baby food that young. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends to delay solids until *at least* six months of age. The WHO (World Health Org) recommends that you wait until closer to a year of age. When you do start, it's cheaper and healthier to buy veggies and puree them yourself rather than giving jars of prepackaged baby food.

Jillian - posted on 10/08/2009

i only gave the cereal to her once...my cousin had told me before tho, to start with veggies, cuz fruit first may cause her not to like the veggies. someone had also told me that u could put cereal in her bottle?

Iysha - posted on 10/08/2009

I wouldn't advise it. I think that the applesauce made her eat the cereal because it is sweet. Be careful...she might get used to sweet things and not want her veggies. I'm serious! And 3 months is young to start on baby foods, but if you must, just have them there for her to taste, not for actual nutrition. Babies get the most nutrition from breastmilk or formula. Even at 6 months and 9 months, they are still just supposed to be not fully dependant on jarred food for all their nutritional needs.

Marissa - posted on 10/08/2009

it's a bit early. They advise 4 to 6 months. And my ped told me that he'd advise to start on the later end of the spectrum because there is a link to earlier starting on solids and allergies later on.