starting solids

Shannon - posted on 09/24/2012

So far he has been doing great with solids. @Heather Kelly why should I trust what some random person on the internet says over my doctor who has treated 12 of my 15 cousins and who, you know, went to med school. He said we could try it but ultimately it was UP TO ME AND MY HUSBAND. I know that this from a long time ago but really I came on here to ask if I should give it to him before or after nursing not to get a lecture from someone about how it's to early and that he might get allergies from starting to early. Come on a doctor isn't going to suggest something if it could be harmful.



Sorry for the rant that's just been bothering me and I only just now noticed that reply.



Janette the reason I don't use breast milk is because I am going away for a weekend and not able to bring my son so anything that I pumped was being saved for that so my mom can feed him.

Janette - posted on 09/11/2012

My daughter is still too little for me to face this question but it seems you could use breast milk to make the cereal, right?

Tracy - posted on 09/04/2012

My pediatrician says food first and then breastfeeding. Feed what you eat, not necessary to buy canned baby food.

Janine - posted on 09/04/2012

My ped said I could start cereal at 4 months and fruits and veggies 2 to 4 weeks after that. He said I could wait til 6 months if I wanted to. If baby is waking a lot at night or you can't keep him off of you then that may be a sign that he's ready. Don't let anyone make you feel bad for starting with cereal or for starting solids before 6 months. The drs wouldn't say it's ok if it wasn't. My first child started cereal at 5 months and then fruits and veggies at 5.5 months and he is a healthy 3 year old with no food allergies, no problems with bowels, and he is not a picky eater. At 5 months, though, most of his intake should be breast milk. Good luck!

Ulandi - posted on 09/04/2012

Starting solids before 6 months old can cause food allergies. I would rather stay away than cause my baby problems later in life. The notion that baby will sleep for longer once eating solids is also not correct. The WHO has great advice. Eggs are also out until minimum 1 year of age.

Beth - posted on 09/04/2012

When I started my son on solids, I nursed like normal, but replaced one or two feedings a day with the cereal (mixed with breast milk). As his appetite increased, I added a few more feedings of solids, and added fruits and veggies. At 5 months, I think just a bit of cereal is all he needs for now.

Mama - posted on 09/04/2012

My baby is almost 6 months old and we just started solids yesterday. I was wondering how much fruit we are supposed to be offering or giving our babies. My MIL seems to think it should be a pretty large amount. I offered him about two teaspoons worth of apple puree today and he ate most of it but quite slowly.



Our pediatrician said about 300grams...but I am not sure if that is for the inicial introductions phase or later on. How much does 300grams look like anyway?



I just don't want to be forcing my baby to eat too much stuff...or on the other hand not be giving him enough. I bf on demand...he is an every 2 hour baby. He was on an every 3 hour schedule but after the last big growth spurt he went back to every 2 hours and stayed there. He is spot on for weight gain etc so that doesn't worry me...although it would be nice to space out his feedings a little.



Any advice about amounts of fruit would be great. I am living in Spain and our pediatrician recommended fruit first...then rice cereal...then veggies. :)

Shannon - posted on 09/04/2012

He's been doing great so far I haven't gone beyond rice cereal yet but he seems to like it .

Stephanie - posted on 09/04/2012

Hi Shannon!



Like other moms are saying, you can wait until 6 months before starting on solids. I bf'ed my daughter exclusively for 6 months and then began to introduce solids. Even if you wait until he is 6 months old, he will let you know if he is ready for solids. He may refuse to take solids and may enjoy spending time with you- or he may surprise you and take very well to the cereal at that time.

Ella - posted on 09/03/2012

Always feed milk first, that should be his primary nutrition until he is 1. Ideally he should be sitting unaided and showing signs of hunger before you start solids, as that will indicate his gut is ready. Rice cereal is a hang over from when babies were weaned too early to be able to eat real food and has no nutritional value, real food will be much better for him. Enjoy!

Heather - posted on 09/02/2012

No solids till he is 6 months old. I don't care if your doctor gave you the go ahead or not.

Delia - posted on 08/27/2012

I started my older children on cereal (They're in their 20's now!) and it was a new concept for me to start the younger children (now ages 8 and 5) with fruits and vegetables too. That's what their pediatrician recommends, and it worked well. I think the issue was influencing their acquired tastes towards fresh vegetables and fruits. Whatever works well, go with it! I promise you if you never introduce a thing, there will come a day when your little one will reach over and start gnawing away on what ever it is that looks appealing.



I think my oldest started cereal at 3 or 4 months (yikes!), and my 5th didn't really get a true introduction to solids until 9 months. They're both alive, though the oldest nursed only for 12 months (I weaned her) and the last nursed for 4 years.

Shannon - posted on 08/27/2012

I have been nursing first and he seems okay with it. I know that cereal won't bring out any allergies but I thought it was recommended to start with them to get the baby used to the consistency not for any real health benefits.



The doctor said it was up to us if we wanted to start now not that we had to so after talking about it with my husband and the fact that his mom bought some cereal for us we thought we'd give it a try.

Delia - posted on 08/27/2012

Definitely nurse first. Remember that you are only "introducing" solids as in "how do you do?" - not using them for the whole conversation. The breastmilk provides the major load of nutrients and antibodies for the first year, and if you displace the breastmilk completely with solids, you'll be short changing your baby.



I agree with Sally that 5 months is a little young to start per professional recommendation. It used to be recommended that you start earlier, but that was based on the nutritional inadequacies of infant formula. I also agree with NOT starting with cereal. If the child is going to develop allergies, it will be to the cereal and not the carrot.



When setting out a nutritious dinner for yourself, would you select a bowl of rice and a piece of toast, or would you choose a salad with say lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, avocado and beets?Of course I'm not suggesting that you give your baby a salad or tomatoes, but more color equals more natural vitamins and phytonutrients. The cereal is just a filler upper.

Sally - posted on 08/27/2012

5 months is a little young to start solids. The AAP says to wait until 6 months and the WHO suggests 1 year. The idea that all babies need iron fortified cereal at 6 months is based on not understanding the differences in breast milk and formula. If you are healthy and nursing on demand, he doesn't need any solid food until he grabs it off your plate and eats it himself.

If you really want to spoon feed him, it's better to start with a fruit or vegetable than processed baby cereal. Baby cereal has little to no nutritive value and can be very constipating. Real fruits and vegetables (either naturally soft ones or ones cooked soft) are much healthier and much cheaper than jarred baby food. Nurse him before the food. Filling his tummy first will make him nurse less and his digestive system won't be capable of getting anywhere near enough nutrition from table food for months yet.

Shannon - posted on 08/26/2012

Thank you Amanda that does help and I'll remember that when we start veggies.



Jennifer I know what you mean, he's only 5 months old and it's flown by so fast.

Jennifer - posted on 08/25/2012

Hello, I just started my exclusively breast fed daughter on cereal 2 days ago. I have given her breast milk for her first 2 feedings, then after the 2nd feeding (about 1 hour after) I give her 1 tablespoonful of cereal. This seems to work fine, and although cereal is not her favorite thing yet, she will eat most of it. The rest of the day is just breastmilk. I will probably increase to twice a day next week and then maybe some veggies! I was nervous to start the new chapter of solids because I am so comfortable breastfeeding. And it means she's getting older and I want her to stay my little baby :)

Amanda - posted on 08/24/2012

I would nurse him first, just because his main nutrition cames from the milk. I would start with cereal also. When you decide to do veggies and fruits, my son doesn't do too well with the runniness of it, so I thicken it with cereal, and it's not as messy and he eats it better. Just some helpful advise. :)

Shannon - posted on 08/24/2012

I wanted to start him on them anyway and I thought that's what it was. The doctor suggested cereal first and my MIL bought some for us so thats why I started with it.



We were on an every three hours schedule for a long time but then he stated acting like he didn't want to eat that often so readjusted his schedule and he's been fine since.

Dove - posted on 08/24/2012

Nurse him first. You don't have to start with cereal. You can start with a fruit or veggie. You also don't HAVE to start him now... it's fine to wait. You can do purees or baby led weaning (you'd have to google or ask someone here since I didn't do it).



On a side note... I'm surprised he only nurses every 4 hours. My schedule fed nurslings didn't go that long until 6 months and my demand fed nursling didn't go that long (except on random occasion) until a year and a half! lol