What time of day to feed solids and how to start?

Diane - posted on 11/03/2012

Sounds like he hasn't lost his tongue reflex yet so he's physically not ready for solids. It's actually not recommended these days to start solids until they're 6 months of age. Also if they're being breastfed they can thrive on it until they're 1 yr. I did what's called baby led weaning with my son from about 5 months of age which was when he grabbed the curried sausage of my plate and ate it. Gill rapley has some excellent info on this.

Lucy - posted on 11/01/2012

hello i have a daughter she is 6 half mths old i have started her on solids she is also on hungry baby milk which she had from when she was born but my baby is always struggling to open her bowls always i have tried to stop the food and stick to bottles but when i am eating she always cries for food, she loves her food i don't know what to do! should i go bk to normal milk instead of hungry milk as well as solids or just stop solids altogether but i'm worried that when ever she does start having solids she will always be struggling to go to the toilet has anybody got any advise please !!!!!

Lauren - posted on 08/05/2012

i started my daughter at 4 months with rice cereal only in the mornings, just a table spoon. no mix. i was told that doing so will teach her how to eat and be familiar with the texture of food. as for making sure you baby gets the milk befor the food... my baby often falls asleep with her milk so i just fed her the food when she woke up. she's still getting the milk she needs. after doing only mornings of cereal for a month i added in 'supper' around 5pm. only veggies. my doctor told me to only use the veggies untill she has tried them all and to use the same veggie for 2 days incase of an alergie. also the reason they say to give only veggies ustill she has tried them all is becasue sometimes babies will rather fruit of their veggies. i did this for about another month untill i added in lunch being a veggie. at 6 months i added fruit to her cereal in the mornings, she loved it! now at 7 months she eats fruit in her cereal when she wakes up, veggies for luch at noon, fruit for snack at 3pm and around 6:30pm she has her supper of veggies . its working for me. hope i helped.!

Delci - posted on 08/04/2012

I would recommend waiting another week and try again? Maybe he's not not ready yet. I think in the next few months, he will become more interested, not less. Not sure if pumpkin is a good starter food, and if rice cereal upsets his belly (can be constipating) try oatmeal cereal. Check out this great website about feeding :) http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

Yandi - posted on 08/11/2010

Hey everyone
I am a new member of this community!
My response to Wendy: my son is 4.5 months old as well. I introduced him to solids by starting with a bottle of stage 1 purity, my suggestion is wait until your baby is verty hungry then give her the feed, the trick is you must be very quick when you feed as she will be hungry and is used to sucking her milk. Just make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position as it will have to real quick.
Then slowly she will also know that there is a feeding time and start getting used to it!
I hope this helps.

Jessica - posted on 08/05/2010

our ped recommended that we wait until 6 months and start with rice cereal mixed with breast milk at dinner time. Then gradually increase to lunch and then breakfast.

Kristen - posted on 08/03/2010

my daugter was breastfeed for the first 2 weeks then went to bottle during the day then total bottle as i started working again when she was 4 weeks i started her sppon feeding about 3 months but she wanted it she would watch me eat and mimic what i was doing i knew she was ready so just watch your babe they will tell you when other than that it dont matter what time of day

Geniece - posted on 08/03/2010

Hello, My baby is 4.5mths too, I started feeding her solids 2wks ago and loves it! I started with Rice cereal in the bottle at night then I changed it to by spoon in the mornings after I breastfeed her or visa versa then in the evenings and around 6pm when she's wide awake I give her half a jar of veggies(carrots or sweet potatoes)followed by giving her my breast.My baby is greedy so she didn't have any problems retaining more food before or after the breast milk. Right now, she's only eating solids twice a wk but I'm planning to increase it this week.

Liz - posted on 08/02/2010

my son is 4 months and 3 weeks. we just started him on solids on saturday cause for the last month he's been waking me up every 2 hours and he's been a really good sleeper since we brought him home from the hospital, he's starving and he's been showing an intrest in our food for a couple of weeks now.
we've been giving it to him around 10 - 11 am, i'm just giving him alittle at a time and then breast feeding afterwords. he's been taking it fine.
i've been told to give it to him earlier in the day so i can watch for any reaction. they told me to give him the same thing for 3 days before introducing anything new (most babies wont have a reaction the first time they try something)
but i'd hold off on giving him food, you'll know as soon as he does want some, he'll be trying to steal your food, or waking up like crazy at night starving

Stephanie - posted on 08/02/2010

My Pedi told me to introduce the new solids only in the morning. That way if it doesn't sit well with her, you will know before bedtime. Give them that new food for 4 days gradually increasing the amount. Once they make it to 4 days, you can give that whenever and introduce something new that morning. Also, she advised on starting out putting it in their bottle with the breastmilk first. 2nd day for my 4 month old and so far so good.

Shannon - posted on 08/02/2010

I stared with the rice cereal just after my son turned 4 months. It has been 3 weeks and he still fusses some but is getting better. I just try it every morning and occasionally in the evenings and try to be patient. He is spitting less out now and is more interested at times.

Rachel - posted on 08/02/2010

I found starting with breakfast worked best for me. I started by just giving i dessert spoon of oat and apple ( most baby's don't like baby rice in my experience) and then topped him up with milk and then slowly increased at his pace to giving full solid feed. once he seemed happy and settled i began to introduce dinners using the same routine he's 4 and half months now and is settled into a routine of solid breakfast milk for lunch solid dinner then milk before bed. there is no right and wrong answer you have to find what works best for him x

Meredith - posted on 08/01/2010

I wouldn't worry-- he will be ready at some point! My older daughter, now almost 5, wasn't ready at first. I waited and then tried mixing in some banana (a stage 1 food) into the cereal and she finally took it. I think you are wise to wait :-)

Naomi - posted on 08/01/2010

these things will progress naturally, your baby is probably not hungry cause he doesnt want it just yet.

dont stress! mines 4.5 months too and he still seems contented with breast, trust me when they are not contented you'll know!

xx

Yvonne - posted on 07/31/2010

Well i read alot of things on the internet and i use Gerber you should go to Gerber.com it helps me alot with my baby´s milestones and stuff anyways try breastfeeding him a little and than try giving him some of the rice (mix it with breast milk) or the fruit or veggie your wanting to give him but remember he only needs a little like a tablespoon a day for now and than finish breastfeeding him and just keep trying this persistence counts trust me and try to do this mid day when baby is most happiest or content now getting on a schedule i dont know im still trying to figure that one out my lil one is just now 4 months and i dont know how to get on a schedule yet cuz we´re late sleepers and wake up late lol and definitly check out the website it could help you like it helped me so good luck!!

Wendy - posted on 07/29/2010

Thank you all so much I was worried my baby was the only one not having solids at 4 months but yes I know the recommendation is to wait til 6 months so I have stopped worrying and am just going to wait til he tells me he is ready around the 6 month mark.

Charissa - posted on 07/29/2010

My son was born on the 3rd of March and has been eating solids for a week now. When he was 4mths I tried him on rice cereal and pumpkin and he didn't like either - both were literally spat back out! I gave it a rest for a little while too... but then I tried Heinz (4-6mth start range) Sweetcorn and Chicken and he loved it! I'm trying out each of the diferent flavours from Heinz and so far he's loved them all - including Peas and Zucchini!!!
I am bottle feeding though so don't have the problem of loosing milk - but I feed him baby food for lunch every day now. Maybe try expressing the feed and using the milk to make the puree's??
Hope all goes well!
Charissa

Dianne - posted on 07/29/2010

if they push the food out with their tounge or keep their mouth closed then they are not ready. My son (now 24 months) was ready at 4 months, my daughter (4.5) months is still not ready, she still has the tounge thrust. Keep offering every few days, but don't be concerned. Don't limit their milk as the baby still gets most of their food caleries from milk for the first year even when they are on solids. The first year is meant to be learning and tasting not eating. If you start cutting back the milk for solids before 6 months then you are doing more harm then good by depriving them of the typw of food they actually need. Your babe will be ready for solids soon, but don't rush it don't worry he will not refuse it if you wait till 6 months. If fact the world heath organisation reccomends waiting till 6 months before starting anyway. Also something to concider, reaserch BABY LED WEANING

Leanne - posted on 07/29/2010

I have been reading 'Save our Sleep' by Tizzie Hall and agree with a lot of what she is saying and had great success. Babies can see eating solids as a bit clinical and can fuss initially as they are so used to milk feeds. Often it can take up to 12 tastes of something before they will take it so patience is the key. Another great idea in this book is always introduce something new at lunch time (about one hour after milk feed) as this way you will still be awake if they have an intolerance to it then after a few days of small amounts of rice cereal introduce some apple puree, they'll love it cos' it's naturally sweet plus will help avoiding constipation.

Elizabeth - posted on 07/29/2010

I am in no way an expert, but maybe he isn't ready. I am waiting until 6 months to start solids, on the recommendation of my peditrician. The doctor said that their little bodies really aren't ready until about 6 months. My baby is also exclusively breast fed & growing like a weed. So I figure he really doesn't need solids yet.

Jaci - posted on 07/28/2010

I understand your frustration I was having the same problem. My dr. told me not to go by months, go by when your baby is wanting solids. If he is acting like he wants what your eating or is still hungry after the milk those are signs he is ready, if he keeps refusing dont force it.Also, some babies just dont like cereal or certain veggies. try a different one. My son HATED the first veggie I tried (carrots) and hated rice cereal but loved oatmeal and squash. Try not to get too discouraged when he doesnt want it.Give him a break for about a week, then maybe try again but really you have another month or two until you really need to start the food. GOOD LUCK!

Alexandra - posted on 07/28/2010

My son is 18 weeks old and still exclusively on breastmilk. A few weeks ago, I did try the rice cereal to see if I could get him to sleep longer than a 3 hour stretch at night, but he spits it out. I took it as a sign that he's not ready for solids yet. My oldest daughter, I think I started her on rice at 4 months and I started out by putting it in a bottle. We worked on the fine skill of spoon eating for a couple of months. Perhaps your son is just not ready for solids yet. If you really want him to have the rice, then just try putting it in the bottle with breastmilk. He will eventually learn how to eat from a spoon. ;)

Yvette - posted on 07/28/2010

We started giving Joseph (at 12 weeks with the peds approval) 1 tsp of rice cereal after his bedtime bottle mixed with enough milk to make it a little thicker than the milk. I think moved it to 2 tsp at night after the bottle. Now we are using the Gerber calendar suggestive meal plan, where he has a morning bottle, then "breakfast" which is rice cereal, baby food, and a bottle, then another bottle a few hours later, than "lunch" and so on. It works really good for him and he's happy!

Sharon - posted on 07/27/2010

I started my daughter on rice cereal at about 3 and half months. Within a few weeks, I introduced oatmeal cereal. She gets the rice at about 8:30ish in the morning which is two hours after her first bottle of the day. She gets the oatmeal at about seven at night and a bottle after that if she wants one.

Since she was doing so well with that, I introduced vegetables to her about two weeks ago. She gets a teaspoon of some veggie (we have tried carrots and sweet potatoes so far) before her oatmeal. This trend has seemed to work well for her.

When I took her in for her 4 month check-up (she is actually 19 weeks old), the doctor said that it would be fine to introduce her to more if I wanted as she is already sitting up by herself quite well. I am thinking about introducing something for lunch soon.

Christie - posted on 07/27/2010

Personally I'd be taking that as a sign that bub may not be quite ready for solids yet. WHO recommends babies be exclusively breastfed until 6months of age. I wouldn't worry that bub will be more resistant by then, I think the opposite would be more likely. I started my (now 2yo) daughter on solids at 6months and we started on "breakfast" as this was the easiest meal for us where she was the happiest and we had all day to see if any foods may have reacted badly with her. Remember "food is for until they're one" just consider it practice for the day that they need to rely more on food than milk for nourishment. Goodluck with it :)

Jessica - posted on 07/27/2010

I started my son on rice cereal when he was 4 months. He was great at it the first time! never had any problems. Now he eats rice cereal, Carrots, sweet potatoes and applesauce. followed by some formula

Tiffany - posted on 07/27/2010

my baby has been eating solids for a couple weekss now and he absolutely loves it!! I usually give it to him around the time we eat our dinner and wash it down with some juice or sometimes milk although sometimes feed it to him in the morning, I don't recommend giving him milk first then he won't want the food if anything get him to eat solid and let him wash it down with milk!

Wendy - posted on 07/26/2010

Hi again, i have been trying him on solids again today and yesterday and as soon as he opens his mouth and I put the spoon in he screams with the food sittin on his tongue so it usually just comes straight back out and he keeps screaming almost uncontrollably for quite some time even after all my soothing efforts so I dont know what I am going to do he just doesnt like solids. I tried mashed pumpkin and mixed it with some breast milk. In the past I tried rice cereal., i dont know what to do. I gave it to him at lunch time an hour after his breast feed.

Julie - posted on 07/25/2010

hi i have just started rice cereal with my little boy as well. with my 19 month old i started around this age to, dont worry about the amount that the little one is having atm its more getting them used to the idea of the spoon and the textures so little bits at a time till he realises what it is and wants more he will let you know if he wants more and once he does then try to work out the best time to give it to him between feeds ect then you can start to reduce your feeds as well later on down the track

Wendy - posted on 07/24/2010

Thanks for your suggestions, my little boy iks nearly 5 months and I am going to try attempt number 2 at solids then. Thanks for all your help xo

Lauren - posted on 07/21/2010

Most babies dont start to wean til around 5 -6 months. But Ive started mine and hes 4mnth. I notice he's staring at my food alot and sucking his fists, which is an indicator i was told. But try softer, blander foods such as rice pudding, banana delight, so he can get a feel for the textures, if he doesnt like it hell spit it out! haha. He may just not like the food your offering him, or he may not be ready to wean yet.

Karey - posted on 07/21/2010

I started feeding my daughter solids at 4 months. She gets breast milk and I will give her a bottle first thing when she wakes up. For her second feeding of the day I will give her some cereal with breast milk in it and then she usually wants a bottle afterwards. I also give her another cereal feeding around 6:30 - 7:00, give her a bath and then she drinks another 4 ounces around 8:00 and goes down for the night.

Angela - posted on 07/20/2010

I offer baby cereal at lunch time for my son. I give him a couple of onces of the bottle to take the hunger off and then feed by spoon his cereal. After his cereal I offer him the rest of his bottle.

Rebecca - posted on 07/20/2010

i found easy to feed before gicng them milk it work with my 18 months and 4 mths it also could mean he not ready for solids because they used their tongue push everything out until 5 months i aslo best start in the moring then i tried introducing at luchtime week later then dinner time week later

Stephanie - posted on 07/19/2010

my suggestion is to time him feeding on yuor breast. once you have it established how long approx it take for him to feed, cut it in half or so so that he will still be hungry and want to try the solids. I started my daughter on banana and carrots. she doesnt really like carrots but she eventually realised after a frustrating week of trying to feed her that it made her tummy happy and full. When introducing the spoon though, i am not sure because michelle took to it right away. hope this helps !

Rachael - posted on 07/19/2010

When I decided it was time to try solids, I gave my daughter (who is now 17 weeks. She was 14 weeks when I started solids) rice cereal. She tried it, but more of it ended up on her face. I kept up with it and she got the hang of it. I gave it to her about an hour after she had a bottle. So she was not too hungry that she fussed and she was not so full that she fussed.

Now I mix the cereal with a generous dollup of bananas. She loves it. You could try that also.

Good luck :)

Kimberly - posted on 07/18/2010

My doctor recommended not feeding it to him the first time at night before bed, as the new item might not sit well in his tummy. So after the first night, I started out by giving him an ounce or so of expressed breast milk from a bottle, then spoon feeding him until he becomes fussy, then mixing the rest of the cereal in with the bottle. That way, he's still getting solid food once a day and I'm not wasting any cereal or milk.