Solid foods survey

Marissa - posted on 01/09/2009

I have been feeding my 4 month old cereal since she was almost 3 months. The doctor said she was a big girl and could handle it. The first time I gave it to her she started crying when I ran out. I was afraid to give her anymore b/c I didn't want her to over eat. Now I give her 1 tbsp. in the morning and a jar of vegetables at night. She loves it all. She still love to breastfeed to after her food. My friend goes to the same doctor as I do and the doctor told her to start feeding her baby cereal at 5 months. So every baby is different, just depends on their needs and what your doctor says.

Missy - posted on 01/09/2009

My baby's doctor told us we could start the rice cereal at 4 months. She was sitting up with help, and she was very interested in our food too. She would lean in at the table when we were eating dinner. She would start chewing, when we were chewing our food. She eats about 3 teaspoons full of cereal and gets really excitied when the spoon comes to her. She still loves her breast milk though.

Stacey - posted on 01/09/2009

my son is 5 months tomorrow i was told to wait till 6 omnths as this is what the goverment state is best but one or two spoon fulls of baby cereal or baby rice wont hurt just to give them a taste of different things. I started my son at 4 moths and he was fine took to food like a duck to water still only has a few spoon fulls one a day at about 2pm time

Nicolette - posted on 01/09/2009

Hi there, i started my baby on solids at 18 weeks. Milk is recommended for the first 6 months but you can start anytime after 17 weeks. I have done it really slowly and now three weeks later my son is having 8oz of his bottle and then about 3 tsp of food .... apple puree or pureed veg. As soon as he sees the spoon he opens his mouth. I thought i would try cos he was watching us eat with great interest and hand in his mouth all the time plus he was waking up at about 3am every night so i figured that his feeds were not giving him enough. Each baby is different. Just keep watching them. Try not to wean them too late as eating & swallowing help them strengthen tonugue muscles which help with speech a bit later on.

Farrah - posted on 01/08/2009

I only give breastmilk thus far. The doc said I could feed her rice ceral @ 4mths and baby food @ 6mths. Yets, she is not sitting up either or has any teeth yet. This is why we are all carbolics since are first meal is rice ceral.

Kerry - posted on 01/08/2009

Hi Karen! I started my son on solids 2 weeks before he turned 5 months. He gave me no choice! He had a growth sudden growth spurt and started drinking an extra 2 bottles of milk (I breastfeed but was expressing as he is in daycare 2 days a week). At home he began to get really angry and frustrated when i would run out of breastmilk. I tried for a week to continue to exclusively breastfeed but he would get more and more angry, fustrated and upset. He also began to try to snatch food that we were eating. I also thought that it was best to wait till baby is 6 months old before giving solids but my husband had had enough after 1 week. So we gave him a jar of stage 1 - pureed baby food. He gulped it down and is now on 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, plus he is still drinking an extra bottle of milk, he is now 5 months and 5 days old. He is now a happy and contented baby and he has gone from waking 2 - 4 times a night to just once. I am currently feeding him potato, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, banana, advocado and baby rice. I am going to delay other food like bread (and other foods containing gluten), strawberries, nuts etc tilll after 6 months as I have heard that giving them these foods before their digestive system is properly formed can lead to food allergies and I'd rather be better safe than sorry. You will know when your baby is ready for solids - You can tell when they are hungry and therefore when milk is longer satisfying.

Candy - posted on 01/08/2009

My pediatrician recommends waiting until six months, especially if there is a family history of food allergies.  My twins just turned five months and are drinking 32-34 oz of formula per day.  They've both been sleeping 12 hours per night for almost two months, so that's not an issue for them.

Tamra - posted on 01/08/2009

I started giving my son solids like 2 weeks ago and I just knew becuase he was totally interested in everything i put in my mouth right down to my water bottles hes does not sit up on his own but I have a bumbo seat he sits in and hes loves , I asked my doctor about it and he said as long as I stay away from peanut butter, berries, and eggs its fine

Kristy - posted on 01/08/2009

the dr told me i can start my son on cereal at 4 months - veggie at 5 and fruit at 6. he deff was ready! he will be 5 months tomorrow and loves his cereal! he tries to feed himself with a spoon and everything!! we started green beas a week early and he loves those too! do what you think is best for you and your baby! ask the dr - everyone is different and recommends different things! Good luck and have fun feeding them :) its great!

Alicia - posted on 01/07/2009

my boys are so big the doctor said they were ready josh is 19lbs and collin is 16.7lbs, so it was doc recommended i wouldn't have done it otherwise

Elizabeth - posted on 01/07/2009

I'm about to start this weekend. My son sits well propped up so he doesn't slide, he always shows interest in what I'm eating, and though I wanted to only breastfeed for the 1st 6 months I have been through a lot of strain lately and my supply has dropped, so I want to make sure he is getting enough while I try to build it back up. My son just had his 4 month appointment and the doctor said it was fine to start him on rice cereal.

Vicki - posted on 01/07/2009

my daughter is a nearly 5 months old. i started weaning her from 3 months of age. she didnt show any signs but was jus so hungry all the time.

i started her on baby rice but after a week she wouldnt take it so i tryed her with rusk, which she loved.

she is now on 3 meals a day, breakfast cerael in the morning, fruit or veg at dinner and rusk for tea. she is also down to 4 bottles a day and she seems quite happy with this.

every baby is different though, my nephew is 3 weeks younger than my daughter and he isnt interested in food at all and still has 6 or so bottles a day.

Jemma - posted on 01/07/2009

My daughter Poppy is 4 1/2 months old and is on three meals a day, she loves food, i have to feed her before i eat otherwise she wants mine!! Its all individual to each baby and mothers instinct!! Plus Poppy sleeps 14hrs a night now!

Lauren - posted on 01/07/2009

I read to wait until 6 months too.  But at my 4 month check-up my doctor said I could start when she was ready.  Ready means - not sleeping through the night anymore/waking up hungry, hold head up, looking at your food.  My doctor said when you do, give it at night and with a spoon.  Do that for a week or two and then you can add fruits and veggies.  My daughter is 18 weeks and we have not started yet, I am in no rush.

Samantha - posted on 01/06/2009

My experience with breastfeeding went horribly wrong after the first 5 weeks. My production slowed enough to the point I had to breast and bottle feed. Eventually my son got lazy at the breast, so I had to go completely to bottle feeding him. I talked to the pediatrician and told him he wasn't sleeping as well as he used to, so he told me it was okay to start my baby on rice cereal at 3 months old. Since then he's been gaining weight really well, and is a VERY healthy baby. He only eats the rice cereal once a day, usually right at bed-time, though. And every now and then I get the urge to see how he takes to the jarred foods, but so far he doesn't like any of them. So right now the only solids I'm feeding my son are rice cereal and oat cereal (with or without fruit, but he LOVES the fruit!) Every other feeding is formula. But since I started feeding him rice cereal, he's been sleeping a lot better through the night!
Anyways, if your pediatrician says your daughter won't be ready until she's at least 5 1/2 months old, then I would listen to him. He knows what's best for your child in terms of what foods she should be given and whatnot.

Antje - posted on 01/06/2009

Hey, I am in Germany, but the recommendation is the same. Breastfeeding for the first 6 month! Doing it sooner can cause problems like allergies. My 5 month old son is looking at every spoonful I eat, but I will not start before he is at least 6 month old...

Julie - posted on 01/06/2009

I started my baby on rice cereal at 4.5 months-mostly because I was desperate to have her sleep for longer stretches at night. She was so ready and took to it immediately, never threw it up and it didn't change her bowel movements much. It has definitley helped with sleeping at night a bit (though not as much as I would like).   I wasn't sure she was ready until I tried it, but she was sitting up with support, loves to stand holding my hands, and was drooling, chewing on my knuckles.

Tania - posted on 01/06/2009

Aiden is nearly 5 months and I started him on rice cereal Jan 1st. His dr. said he could start rice cereal 2 weeks ago. As far as veggies/fruits, she told me to hold off till he is 6 months. I did notice how Aiden started watching us eat. That's pretty much a sign that they are ready to eat solids. Aiden can't sit up by himself yet, but I feed him in his bumbo, once a day.

Michelle - posted on 01/05/2009

Hi Karen. Haley is 4 months and a week now. We started rice cereal just before Christmas. I figured that she was ready because we had slept through the night since she was 8 weeks old, but suddenly she was waking up hungry. Our pediatrician gave us the OK to start at 4 months, and she loves it now! And she's sleeping again.

Carrie - posted on 01/05/2009

Hi Karen! I was breat feeding exclusively and had planned to wait until 6 months with my daughter as well since that's what I'd read, but at her 4 month visit our pediatrician recommended starting to give her rice cereal in the evenings to help her sleep through the night. She will be five months tomorrow and I've been giving her cereal the last couple weeks. She loves it, and she's sleeping better as well.  She didn't show interest in food (well, more than anything else) until she tasted some and figured out what it was, and now she's eyeing everyone's plates. This week I plan on adding some bananas in the morning. (We're slowly introducing food). 

Every baby's different though, so just do what you and your doctor think is best for yours.

Tiffany - posted on 01/05/2009

I started my daughter on rice cereal (mixed with formula) when she was 2months old.

She was having a 6oz. bottle every hour or so, and was no satisfied at all. And she also started sleeping about 9hrs every night there after. She is now 4 1/2 months. And a few weeks go we started her on 1st fruits and 1st vegetables. She is doing great on them and growing like a weed, and all of this has been doctor advised and all has been spoon fed. My daughter has never had a reaction, or difficulty with any of them. I plan to do the same with our future children, given they are ready.

Danni - posted on 01/05/2009

Hi Karen! My son is nearly 5 months old (one week off) and I started him on baby rice cereal about a week ago. He was getting very interested in what we were eating and the hand to mouth movements, and began sort of copying our mouth actions as well, and once when out he tried to snatch my food out of my hand! I thought, ok might be time to give it a go! I started off just putting a bit in his bottle, then a day or two later tried him with the soft tipped spoon. First reaction was that he found the texture odd (his face was PRICELESS!!) but by the end of his little cup of cereal he had the swallowing action down! Now he has one solid feed a day. I'm not going to introduce anything else until he's 6 months old, but will slowly thicken the consistency of the rice cereal over the next few weeks. He loves it though and gets excited when he see's his spoon coming towards him and starts making gumming actions! If he wasn't ready for solids he wouldn't be reacting this way and would be spitting the food out without swallowing any. As for recommendations from different institutions, it just depends who recommendation your reading on any day really.... In Australia opinions differ just as much, it's entirely up to you, you know your baby better than anyone!

PS. Most baby foods have start age recommendations of 4-6months, if it wasn't safe they couldn't print that.