How often should my 5 month old eat solids?

Heather - posted on 09/06/2012

hi my name is heather my son is 5 months n we have been feeding him baby food since he was 4 months n he has done great w it ne ways to answer ur question u dnt wana over feed cuz tht will cause a tummy ache i wuld start off giving her half a jar then a bottle to wash it down n every week increce n give her a whole jar then after a cpl weeks of just 1 jar start w 1 na half for a week or so then give her 2 jars a day n go from there thts how i did my son n hes done GREAT!! keep in mind every baby is diffrent

Laurie - posted on 01/20/2010

We are doing the same as Sara - our doc said rice cereal for a week (once a day). If that goes well we can move on to the wheat and oatmeal cereals. We have tried veggies a couple times, but nothing serious until 6 months.

Tiffany - posted on 01/20/2010

Felicia: I heard they only get ear infections if you let them lay down to eat and they have cereal nipples so they dont work as hard. i have giving Lorenzo cereal in his bottel since he was about a month old and he is fine..

Candice - posted on 01/19/2010

i feed tyson solids at dinner time.. after a little bit i plan on starting with some morning feeding too.. kinda gradually ease into it :)

Jenniffer - posted on 01/19/2010

My dr. told me my baby daughter shouldn't start until she was 6 months old, which she would be on feb 6, but I had that concern first bottle or food , or which kind of solids should I give her if only gerber or if I can make like sweet potatoes or bananas or another fruits, I already have a 3 year old son , but I don't really remember what to do!

Danielle - posted on 01/19/2010

Honestly it depends on your baby. My son eats veggies, fruit, and cereal for every meal (three times a day) and has a bottle sometimes in between feedings. Theres nothing wrong with him, he's perfectly healthy. If your daughter will eat them, feed them to her. Just don't forget the formula because it does have a lot of nutrients little ones need to grow.

Merceda - posted on 01/19/2010

My son 5/mo and 1 week has been eating twice a day since 4/mo, but it's one 2.5 oz countainer (50% split mixed with a little cereal to thicken). According to Gerber.com you should try adding a feeding after a week, and as your child's appetite increases you would add an additional feeding. This weekend he suprisingly finished the entire container of carrots in one feeding. I like Gerber's site because it offers an array of feeding suggestions, but I'm sure whatever food that your serving should offer the same info on thier site. So far he eats squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and carrots. These were suggested as starter foods on Gerber. My doc suggested that I not limit his palate, but try new foods for at least 3 to 4 days in order to observe and report any allergy reaction. She stated that AAP recommends that you introduce a variety early on to prevent allergy later...

Lisa - posted on 01/18/2010

my daughter hated her rice ceral, but the moment i switched to oatmeal ceral she gobbled it, must be the taste. Now she eats the oatmeal it like a champ and if i give her rice ceral she spits it out and pushes the spoon away. Shes just about to hit 5 months started her at 4 months. Even now i give her peas and green beans and she eats them even faster. The rice might not have the taste she wants. That was my girls problem

Jocelyn - posted on 01/18/2010

My son is 5 1/2 months now and we started cereal two weeks ago. He gets two tablespoons mixed with breastmilk with his lunch and again with dinner -we switch back and forth between rice and oatmeal. He is also still breastfed and I send bottled breastmilk to daycare for him. I do plan on starting to add formula in soon as I am tired of pumping so much at work. Does anyone have a recommendation for how to do that? We tried just giving him a bottle of formula and he wouldn't touch it. My husband said it didn't taste sweet like breatmilk. Can you mix formula and breastmilk to slowly develop a taste for it? Or is there a brand that is supposed to taste like breastmilk?

Teri - posted on 01/18/2010

My son loves baby food! He eats solids 2-3 times a day, and he just turned 5 months. We started on cereal about 3 1/2 months, then baby food at 4 months, and he's doing great!

Whatever you decide will be just fine for you baby.

Tanya - posted on 01/18/2010

my son is on solids now too he'll be 5 months on thursday what we do is he'll have a bottle only 4 oz when he wakes then about an hour to an hour and half later i'll feed him his jar of babyfood then i do the same thing in the evening so twice a day is all they need till there 6 months then it 3 times a day

Destiny - posted on 01/18/2010

My advice, throw out the books and go with your instincts!!! We were given cereal and baby food when we were probably only a few weeks old! My MIL tried to get me to give my son cereal when he was a couple weeks old because apparently my husband (who is not overweight now and is in perfect health) had it when he was 3 days old. I, of course, did not do this. My little guy was only 6lbs. 9oz. when he was born. There is simply no way that he needed or could handle cereal! He grew very very fast, however, and was eating an enormous amount of formula each day so I knew it was time for cereal. He was about 3 months. I started with rice cereal in the morning and a few weeks later I started introducing other things. Now, he eats cereal and a 4oz. bottle in the morning. A jar of fruit and a 4 oz. bottle for lunch. An 8 oz. bottle and his veggies for dinnner. He still wakes up for a night feed of 8oz. and depending on the day he might have another bottle or two somewhere in his schedule. My doctor recommended introducing juice at 6 months old so I am thinking about doing so pretty soon.

Sabrina - posted on 01/17/2010

You really need to just see what works for your daughter. You can even try different ways and see what she likes best. Everyone does their own thing and you should do the same. It won't hurt her to try things out esp. if she likes the veggies as much as you say. =)

Shandy - posted on 01/17/2010

my daughters 5 months also i feed her 3 time a a day on solids i do a mixed for example breakfast she has apples lunch pumpkin and sweet corn and dinner she has lamb and veg about half hour to an hour later she'll have her bottle-formula i did start feeding her once a day but she would see me eating and she would scream as to say were's mine....so now it three times a day she is only 6kg so to me she's needs it...she wil eat a whole jar too at a time...

Stephanie - posted on 01/17/2010

I started Maddie on solids about 4 months because she had really bad reflux and the nurse said that solids would help the reflux. That was a month ago and she is now eating about 100 ml 3 times a day. The nurse said to feed her until she turns her head away, and feed solids one hour after a milk/formula feed because up until 12 months that is the most important thing. Maddie is eating farex, apple, pear, potato, sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin, turnip and banana. It is soooo much cheaper to cook it up yourself and freeze it in icecube trays. Hope that helps

Lisa - posted on 01/17/2010

I startede mine on a little taster in the mornings and then went to two meals a day- mid morning and mid aft- just size of an ice cube so as it didn't interrupt any milk feeds and he now has 3 meals a day and 5 milk feeds. The Annabel Karmel books are amazing and give great advice- i used one when ihad my first son and he's now 3 and will literally eat anything, so i'm doing it all again now!!!! Roots veggies tend to go down well as have a sweeter natural taste and i make up a small batch and feeze in ice cube trays then transfer to a freezer bag so can mix n match each day x

Keshia - posted on 01/17/2010

my son is 5 months about a months or a little more ago we started him on stage 1 baby food he had that 1 or 2 times a day with a bottle he loves to eat now he has his first bottle when he wakes up then around noon he has a fruit stage 2 with 6oz bottle then around 2 he has oatmeal w/bannas and a 6 oz bottle he doesnt like rice cereal then around 5 or 6 he has a veggie w/6 oz bottle then he eats one more 6 oz bottle right before bed just ask your doctor we did at every check up his doctor tells us how much he should be eatting and everything and for as much as he eats hes still under his average weight or if you read the back of baby food lables it shows when they should be eatting it

Emma - posted on 01/17/2010

i started my 5 month old at 3 months and after 3 weeks of weaning shes been on 3 meals a day ever since it all depends reali how shes taking it and how hungry she is as long as shes getting 20 oz of milk in 24 hours your fine reali. i didnt tell my healthvisitor or anyone when we started her on solids and they didnt notice a difference all they say reali is look out for wheat and make sure shes not gaining too much wieght so see how hungry she is and make sure she gets 20 ozs a day then decide for yourself and part of that 20ozs cud be used in breakfast rather than water as they say on the packet plus it makes them tastes creamyer to them

Sabrina - posted on 01/16/2010

I give 2 Tbsp of rice/oatmeal cereal, about 1/3 jar of veffie/fuit amd a 4 oz bottle and she is good to go.. My Dr told us not to put cereal in her bottle because it will be that muc harder to get her off the bottle completely.

Nicole - posted on 01/16/2010

my little girl will be 5 months on 20th and she has been on solids for almost 4 weeks now and she has 2 meals a day a breakfast and dinner along with just 5oz's milk and a 8oz for lunch and that seems to do her just right. she has the jars that you can get from the supermarket and the baby breakfast's and she loves them all. shes happy and sleeps all night with that too.

Susan - posted on 01/16/2010

My daughter is 21 weeks and I started giving her solids at 3.5 months because I thought she needed it. She has rusks for breakfast (usually about 2.5 hors after her morning bottle. She'll have bottle during the day and then about 5pm I'll give her some solids again, usually veggies. She likes mashed potato, sweet potato and peas. She'll have maybe half a small weaning pot and each sitting and I usually give her about 6 fl ozs of baby juice throughout the day aswell.

Karls - posted on 01/16/2010

my daughter, Juana is 5mths, 1wk. but shes had solids since 6wks. old fashioned theory. she's on three meals most days, minimum of two. and she eats 3/4 jar. alot less of veg, but big on fruits n cereals. plus she loves crusts n any other food she can suck on, shortbread. she still has 6? bottles during day plus 20ml juice with breaky. and one to two dream bottles (stirs at nite, put bottle in, change where is, stays asleep) but shes also sleeping 10 to 12 hrs a night. i judged her consumption by her nappy. everything new i did in small amount every two days before her regular food n follow up with 1/2 bottle. but im probly the only new mum doing so?



i started on custard. then fruit. then veg. she didnt like formula until a few weeks of custard. i was back at work so breastfeeding was getting to hard n wanted to change to formula.



i skipped rice cereal as there was some in the custard. she prefers oatmeal with fruit.

Nichole - posted on 01/15/2010

solids are scary because there is so much information out there. my doc said no matter what she eats solid-wise, just to be sure she doesn't decrease her formula. and if they don't like rice, move onto oatmeal. my daughter loved oatmeal and was indifferent to rice. the point of the grains is really to check for allergies and ease their digestive tracks into solids. sounds like your baby has been eating rice for long enough. you can even mix it with oatmeal. we are on wheat now and i mix rice, oatmeal and wheat together. she is 17lbs, eats 4T of cereal a day and 30-36oz of formula depending on her mood. my doctor said they will stop eating when they are full and she does.

Chasity - posted on 01/15/2010

Abby is 5 months old. we tried at 3 months but she was not ready, now we tried again. I tried the rice, it looks so bland so i just started on stage 1 foods, 3 days before i introduced a new food. She loves squash. A couple of days with half a container twice a day but now she eats the whole 2.5 oz container.

Her schedule is like

9am 6 oz formula

1pm 1 jar of food about 4-5 oz formula

5pm 1 jar of food and about 4-5 oz formula

9pm 6 oz of formula....

she sleeps through the night, so nothing till around 9a.

Krista - posted on 01/15/2010

My son just turned 5 months. When he first wakes, he has an 8-oz bottle. Mid-morning, he gets a few teaspoons of rice cereal and a 4 oz bottle (I let him suck from the bottle after every few spoonfuls -- I don't like to eat my entire meal without ever taking a drink, so I figure why would he?) After lunch is usually a 6 oz bottle. Then around 4pm he gets a few teaspoons of sweet potato (which he LOVES) and a 4 oz bottle, and then an 8 oz bottle at about 7pm, and then he's in bed for the night. I don't give him much solids yet -- it's more just to get him used to the different flavours and textures, and to get him used to eating as opposed to sucking. Of course now he's trying to hold the spoon and feed himself, resulting in an alarming quantity of sweet potato winding up in his eyebrows.

This is all an approximation, of course -- sometimes he eats more or less at different times, depending on the day and his mood.

Raiden - posted on 01/15/2010

My son is 5 months now he has had cereal in his bottle since he was 1 month old its very solid and fills him up formula didn't i started spoon feeding him oatmeal at 2 months like once or twice a week then at 3 months i started him on banannas and still oatmeal once a day at four months i started feeding him constant babyfood for lunch and dinner and bottle at night and he is healthy as can be.

Monique - posted on 01/15/2010

My son also started on just a little bit of rice cereal when he was about 2 months because he wasn't able to keep down his formula, now he is on both solids and formula. I would give him a bottle around 6am, rice cereal around 9, veggies and a little water or formula around noon, a bottle and some more fruits around 3pm, a bottle around 6 and his final bottle around 9pm. He seems pretty good on that schedule and he is growing healthy. I'm a first time mom and I find it works well when I put him on a schedule.

Jessica - posted on 01/15/2010

My son is 5 months. I started feeding him baby food about 2-3 weeks ago. My dr said to start by feeding him 1-2 tbs of baby food and the cereal and rice. I put the cereal and rice in his bottle and I feed him the baby food until he seems fool! He dosn't have any problems with it! and my dr said as long as he is not gorging himself to eat then thats fine!! I hope this helped!!!

Lauren - posted on 01/15/2010

thank you guys so much! i appreciate all of your advice!

Erica - posted on 01/15/2010

My daughter eats Gerber Stage 2 food for breakfast and dinner everyday. Our doctor said this was fine. She will eat at least one full container for each meal, but I usually try to split them so she gets a fruit and a vegetable. Hope this helps :)

Kelly-Ann - posted on 01/15/2010

My little girl is 5 months old and she's been having solids since 3.5 months. She has cereal and a bottle for breakfast, a whole jar of Heinz baby food at lunch with a little juice then at 3.30 she'll have half a jar of something sweet with a bottle and then on the evening before bed she'll have the remaining sweet then her bottle!! She took to solids really well... From the first spoonful she liked it and went straight into this routine!! I stopped breastfeeding at 3 months and she took to her bottle fine too. She sleeps all night and is very happy and healthy :o)
All babies are different so I think you should go with what you feel is best. She will guide you! Good luck.

Anesca - posted on 01/14/2010

I have one hungery little boy! He used to nurse every 2 hours and during growth spurts it was every 90mins. I held off on food for as long I could, but in sending him to creche last week, he refused the bottle (no matter what was in it!) and I started him on rice cereal.
He absolutely LOVES food and eat anything I give him :D Currently I nurse during the night, at 8 he has 5 teaspoons of cereal, mid morning snack is some fresh fruit in a gauze feeder, lunch is again 5 teaspoons of cereal. I pick them up half day and then he'll nurse twice before dinner. He eats what we eat. Last night was spinach and potato mixed in with his cereal. Then a nice bath, massage and off to bed. He will nurse again a little before going to sleep.
My daughter on the other hand, only started on solids when she could stand and pick off our plates :D She was about 10 months old and exclusively breastfed.
Think one should consider your child's needs and follow your instinct as mother, cause everyone has their own opinion, but only you know your child KWIM?

Bianca - posted on 01/14/2010

Hi! I started with my baby on solids at 3 months (rice cereal) and she is now eating a 1/2 can of apples for breakfast, one or 2 spoonfulls of veggies for lunch and a pretty good amount of prorridge for dinner. She also drinks inbetween this. I started off with just little bits though but once their tummies are used to the food, I reckon you can up the quantities a bit. Just my oppinion :) good luck!

Nikki - posted on 01/14/2010

Well every child grows and develops differently. At 4 months my son was sitting up with very little support and reaching for anything we were eating and drinking. He was also taking an 8 ounce bottle and not being satisfied for very long. We felt it was appropriate to give him solid food at 4 months and have had no issues. He took right to the cereal and every fruit and veggie we have introduced to him. My nephew didn't want to take solids until almost 7 months. Every baby is different and as a mom you will know your baby well enough to read their signals and do what's right for them.

Helen - posted on 01/14/2010

Personally I won't be starting for at least another month until Ramsay is closer to 6 months as per The World Health Organisation recommendations. Some babies do show signs of being ready earlier which may be the case with your daughter.
Perhaps just offer a teaspoon or so in the morning, that would be enough as at this young age they are really only tasting different foods. Always offer the breast or formula first as that is the food that should make up the bulk of their diet for at least the first 12 months of life as it will give them the most nutrients.
Ramsay is my 3rd and I am hoping to delay him until well after 6 months but don't think I will be able to as hubby commutes so Ramsay always around at meal times so will most likely get upset if he is not eating with the rest of us. That is what happened with #2 so he forced me to start when I really didn't want to.
#1 I constipated so badly with mashed banana that he refused to eat anything off a spoon so he was feeding himself from a very early age with finger foods. So much easier than trying to get them to take food off a spoon. #2 I didn't puree anything and I don't plan to this time around either.

Nikki - posted on 01/14/2010

My pediatrician told me at four months to give my son cereal once a day and a stage 1 fruit or veg once a day. He gets a slightly smaller bottle in the morning with cereal right after, then he gets a full bottle the next two feedings, then a smaller bottle and a jar of fruit or veg and then a full bottle the next time. It seems to be working well for us but everybaby is different.

Andrea - posted on 01/14/2010

everyone has a different opinion:) Dex's pediatrician told me at 4 months to go ahead and start feeding him cereal and start with fruits because it will help keep him regular as the grains may want to clog him up...he's almost 5 months and we feed him once a day around 6:30-7 pm 2.5 tbs of oatmeal with boob milk and 1 tbs fruit. it's going good with us, think you have to tweak it for your babies needs, they're all so different!!

Felicia - posted on 01/13/2010

i was told that experts recently found out that feeding babies rice cereal in a bottle increases ear infections because the babies have to suck harder and can cause obesity later in life.

Tamara - posted on 01/13/2010

My opinion, If she wont eat the rice cereal on its own mix a little pureed apple in with it. Or you can actually buy "apple and oatmeal" or "banana and porrige" breakky type flavours! I have a 2 1/2 yo and a 5 month old who i started on solids just after xmas and i started her with rice cereal once a day only giving her about 2 tsp worth, then after a wk or so i up'd it to more...Last wk i started giving her some pureed veggies in the arvo aswell, She was getting very cranky and restless in the afternoons and so far this seems to have helped her! She now eats roughly half a jar (heins baby food) in the morning and almost a full jar in the arvo. However as of this wk i am making majority of her food myself so serving sizes may vary!



Regarding to your "bottle after food?" My routine.....she has a bottle when she wakes (about 8am) Then i give her breaky (rice ceral/fruit) (about 10ish) then at about 12-12.30 she has a bottle then 2-3ish she has her lunch (pureed veggies) then she will have 2 more bottles....one about 530-6pm and then one right before bed....she usually only drinks half her last one though. I give her water after her food. I had this same routine with my 2yo when i started her on solids and it has worked well for me! ..and then she went to 3 meals and 3 bottles! If you do offer a bottle after she has had solids...i would only offer half a bottle. But try water cos she could just want a drink after eating!



Trust your instict though...what works for one doesnt work for everyone!! Take everyones advise and work out what works best for you!! Goodluck!

Naomi - posted on 01/13/2010

my son has his bottle first cuz ive been told thats more important then food and then give him his food he has farix for breaky he only likes the banana flav one but i give him solids 3 times a day

Ashlynn - posted on 01/13/2010

your baby shouldn't over feed herself she will let you know when she is done eating but some babies will want a bottle after but you want to wait at least 45 min so the food can settle and it won't make her spit up alot

Ashlynn - posted on 01/13/2010

my doc told me not to give my daughter rice ceral he said to start her on food instead but he didn't know that i've been giving her food since 2 months and now she eats a whole comtainer once or twice a day she isn't over weight at all she is averge and very healthy

Lauren - posted on 01/13/2010

I've been giving her 3 tablespoons of rice in her bottle for a couple of months now. She actually hates it from a spoon. I don't blame her it smells disgusting. My doctor said any time she's ready between 4 & 6 months. As long as she can sit up it's fine I guess. She was gagging w/ her rice ceral this morning so I might just give her some in her bottle and that's it.

Sarah - posted on 01/13/2010

My doctor said to give 1-2 tablespoons of rice ceral twice a day. Fruits and vegetables not until 6 months.

Lauren - posted on 01/12/2010

Sabrina: Alexis has been having rice cereal in her bottle since 2 1/2 months. Her dr told me to because she was having a digestion problem. We did it in her night bottle cause that's when she could seem to spit up. Like a month ago I started giving her some by spoon. Then 2 weeks ago I started giving her bananas only like a tsp and now I've started veggies. When you give veggies do you also give a bottle or do you wait a while? I just don't want her to get too full and I don't want her to not have enough formula.

Sabrina - posted on 01/12/2010

My Gracie began eating rice cereal 5 weeks ago and I would just give it to he in the mornings. 3 weeks later I introduced veggies and started morning and evening. Now she is having cereal and a couple spoon fulls of fruit in the morning as well as cereal and about 1/2 a jar of veggie ing the evening. She seems happy and healthy and loves eating with a spoon =)

Lauren - posted on 01/12/2010

Hmmmm someone told me that I should feed her the entire container then an hour later she can have her bottle. I've heard mixed reviews on everything I just want to be sure I'm doing the right thing! She looooves sweet potatoes and today she ate most of the container. She just turned 5 months 2 days ago. Normally she eats every 3.5 hours so I should do morning bottle, wait 3.5 hours then solids then wait an hour and do a bottle? Sorry ... new at this!

Rachael - posted on 01/12/2010

I started my son at about 3 months, but not regularly, just once or twice a week. I now give him solids once a day, just a few spoonfuls. I think as long as your daughter is still getting most of her diet from formula or breast milk it's ok to give solids a couple times a day

Tiffany - posted on 01/12/2010

My son Thaden is 4.5 months & I feed him once or twice daily with solids. If I skip a day...that's ok too. I primarily nurse but offer him a bottle about once a day. I have an enormous supply of milk & I'm trying to cut back a little. I leak constantly & going broke buying disposable nursing pads LOL! I leak through the washable ones.