What is your baby's solid food schedule?

Angela - posted on 02/18/2010

DID YOU KNOW: I just wanted to post a did you know comment! Did you know that you can exclusively breastfeed your baby all the way up until they are 9 months old???? Did you know that the recommended time to wait to introduce foods of any kind for a breastfed baby is not until after 6 months of age????

I just don't understand the hurry everyone is in to get their babies on solids.... for the formula fed babies I get it... less bottles to sterilize and it could be a little more cost effective being as formula costs can get pretty pricey. But for breastfed babies it is so easy... if their hungry you feed them... it is as simple as that!

I have posted on numerous threads about feeding solids to babies too soon. I understand that everyone is different but I really don't understand.

My feeding schedule is...

When Nola is hungry I feed her. I do not plan on introducing solids of any kind until she is well over 6 months of age. I definitely will not be feeding her juice of any kind until she is older and I plan on making my own food for her to be sure she gets food with taste and that is healthy for her.

I will apologize if this post sounds nasty but if you just did your research instead of just listening to what family/friends and even doctors say, then you would see where my nastiness comes from. As well as my disgust coming from seeing threads on people feeding babies cereal at 2 weeks of age... I know that is not the case here but I feel very strongly on this topic!

Christy - posted on 02/15/2010

Well we actually started Sebastian with cereal earlier because he had acid reflux really bad when he was born. But his schedule is.... Half a jar of fruit in the morning with 2oz of formula mixed with cereal in the bottle. Then around lunch time I will give him a bottle with 2 tablespoons of cereal. Mid day I will give him the rest of fruit with bottle and cereal and then dinner I will give him potatoes with bottle and cereal. Then throughout the night feedings I just give him a bottle mixed with cereal. Hes doesnt eat more than 4oz of formula but he gets the formula with cereal and he eats baby food throughout the day. I have tried introducing him to green veggies but he hates it and gags. I also tried chicken with chicken broth stage 1 but its too thick i believe for him.

Jodie - posted on 02/15/2010

I think i hae Aiden in a pretty good routine, i give him a bottle at 6 am then some fruity porridge at about 7 ish then he sleeps til 9 when he wakes he has some very watered down juice, then a bottle at 10, goes back to sleep til 1 and has a half a bottle at 2, then some veggies at 3, has a little nap, we have qiet time starting at 5 when we dim the lights and put nursery rhymes on and have a bath massage and story then he has a feed with baby rice and bed at 6. then a dream feed at 12, and he sleeps til 6 in the morning.

Sarah - posted on 02/12/2010

what seems to work for us is:

nurse:6am

nurse:8am

cereal:9am

nurse:11am

nap

nurse after nap:2pm

vegie:2pm

nurse:5pm

cereal:6pm

nurse:8pm

sometimes bedtime if lucky

if not, nurse 10:30 then bedtime.

Amy - posted on 02/12/2010

Becky - check out BabyCenter.com and then look under Baby, then Solid and Finger Foods and there is a section on "new rules for feeding your baby." It explains that babies around the world eat seasoned food while babies in the U.S eat bland mush, and that habit is not based on any research. They suggest that adding some flavor early on will prevent some of the picky habits we often see in toddlers and preschoolers. They do no suggest salt, nor would I use it. But, they do say that breastfed babies are already dining as such, eating well seasoned food - which is true! While I will use my common sense and won't be feeding my girls pinto beans or other gas inducing foods, I will give them the same foods you can buy as baby food, but cooked by me, seasoned somewhat and put through the food mill... I actually can't wait! I am holding off until they are 6-7 months, when they would normally move to 2nd baby food anyway. And I totally agree with the juice - I just wondered if I had forgotten something or was missing some new info. I am actually going to push water with my girls, as I did not do a good job of that with my son and he still doesn't like to drink water.

Becky - posted on 02/11/2010

Amy - I don't give juice until after a year, as it is not necessary and not good for them. It's mainly sugar and empty calories. So far, my little guy is still exclusively breastfed, so we haven't had a problem with constipation, but once we start solids, if we do, we'll try prunes first, and if that doesn't work, a very small amount of juice cut with water.

I don't think there's much information out there about feeding them seasoned foods because it's not really recommended. Spices can be hard on their little tummies, so it's better to wait until they are closer to a year to start feeding them seasoned foods. and salt should always be avoided or kept to a minimum.

Danielle - posted on 02/11/2010

i heard its bad to introduce fruits first because of the sweet taste, once they want that sweet taste they wont want the bland veggies....

Amy - posted on 02/10/2010

I have 5 month twins who were 5 weeks premature. I started them on cereal last month. One was able to take it in her bottle as well as from the spoon and the other one only from the spoon. She can now take it in her bottle. They say not to give it in the bottle until they can take it from a spoon. The trouble there was finding the right size nipple so she could get the cereal out but not choke on the liquid. Anyway, I started spoon feeding cereal mixed with formula. They give you instructions on how to mix on the box. Then I started adding some baby food fruit into the cereal such as pears, peaches, applesauce, as they are so thin anyway and this combo helped introduce the taste. Bananas are thicker and mine eat those well out of the jar. For my girls, the really runny 1st foods were so very messy, but when they were thickened up, they ate them much better without so much coming back out when they tried to swallow. IAfter introducing the fruits, I went with green veggies as I read somewhere that fruits and yellow veggies are sweeter than greens and some babies don't want greens after all the other yummy tastes. Don't know if that matters, or not. I would guess the greens would be a little harder to digest, so maybe that would be a reason to go with the yellow first. I sprinkle a little oatmeal cereal in the veggies so they are not so runny. So now, I am trying to start aligning the baby food/cereal with our three meals each day. Therefore, my girls now get cereal mixed with fruit as well as a veggie three times per day. They are offered a bottle when they have had their fill of the food. My pediatrician said to just be sure they are still getting 24 oz of formula per day....

I feed mine as mentioned when they get up in the morning 6:30 - 7am.
Then before they nap at ~9:30, I will offer them more bottle.
After their nap it's lunch time and they eat a meal again.
They also are offered bottle before 2:30 nap.
Then, for dinner, I feed them their food as mentioned, bathe them and take an 8oz bottle with about 5tsp of cereal in it up to their room and they have it as they go to bed.

I haven't even thought about giving them juice. I think the pears and prunes should help with the constipation, which will come when they start the cereal. Mine also take Miralax to help soften their stools. I am afraid if they take juice they won't take enough formula. Is anyone else giving juice at 5 mos? I will use a food mill after my girls are 6-7 mos and start feeding them basically what we are eating as far as fruits and veggies go. There is a lot of info out there about feeding babies seasoned foods early to promote a palate that is not picky. Why not??

Rebel - posted on 02/09/2010

We havent started solids but I enjoy reading your schedules for when we do at 6 months!!!

Stephanie - posted on 02/08/2010

I bottle feed mine...I give her cereal in almost every bottle and she gets her fruit in the AM and her veggies at night. But shes been eating veggies since she was 4mths

Monica - posted on 02/08/2010

I didn't talk to the pediatrician... just talked to the other mums in my mums' group, read a lot about it, and tried to see what works :-)
My baby eats mashed fruit in the morning around 11am (apples, bananas) and mashed veggies for dinner (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, avocado). I've been giving her apple juice as well... as she got really constipated from all that Farex I was giving her :-(

Jessica - posted on 02/08/2010

Well I mix 1 tbsp of dry cereal with 3 tbsp of formula. It makes like 1/4 cup prepared if you double. He suggested to maintain the amount of cereal and add baby food in addition.

Jenni - posted on 02/08/2010

So you're decreasing the amount of cereal? I think it's funny how many different ideas/ways to do things are out there- my doctor is starting us on green veggies first, then some fruit and yellow veggies after that. Thanks for the help!!

Jessica - posted on 02/08/2010

I just had this conversation with my pediatrician today. He suggested 1-2 tbsp rice cereal and 1/4 to 1/2 jar fruit or veggie twice a day, morning and evening. He is beginning us on fruit: apples, pears or bananas. Two weeks later he wants me to introduce yellow veggies: squash, sweet potatoes and carrots. And a few weeks later will be green veggies. Meats won't be discussed until our next appointment. Hope this helps.