Anyone planning on waiting past 6 months to start on food?

Justine - posted on 04/14/2009

oh my gosh feed her already!!!! Im sure she is starving!! My daughter is already on some No.2's i give her a bottle when she first wakes up then oatmeal a couple hours later than veggies and a fruit for lunch than another bottle a little later than than another bottle then dinner same veggie and fruit and then another bottle before bedtime. Sometimes she just wants the bottle so she just haves that but she eats and is healthy, healthy, healthy!!

Amy - posted on 04/14/2009

My baby can sit on her own and do all those other things on your list, but I have decided to wait. I let her try things out, but she is getting all she needs from me right now. I give her just enough to keep her interest up and so she can "practice" but I plan to wait another month or two. Just my decision.

Heather - posted on 04/13/2009

Quoting Zojoho:

Quoting Heather,

I started my little guy on solids a few weeks back and he is doing well. I just wanted to say that my dr. has said that the best formula is step 1 and he has told me not to change to step 2. He believes that babies only need step 1 until they are 12 months and from there they can go to homo milk. I dunno what the diference is between step 1 and 2 but if Zojoho is having trouble with it, I think I agree with my dr. I think i will stick to step 1. Has anyone else heard of this?

Hey There Heather,

I rang up our Parent Helpline here in Australia, and I explained what had been going on with Holly since swapping her formula to the next step (Step 2) and the Lady on the phone advised me to go back to Step 1 and to not bother at all with Step 2.  Apparently Step 2 in Formula for some children can cause all sorts of problems as it has more Iron and is Casein based whereas Step 1 is Whey dominant (easier on the stomach - especially for Reflux babies).

Since going back to her original Step 1 Formula, Holly has been sooo settled and is sleeping up to 2 hrs/nap 2wice a day, and has gone back to sleeping all night.. Pheeewww for that LOL.  She is pooing normally again (she became a lil' constipated due to the extra Iron in Step 2) and is just generally happy-go-lucky again.

I also was told that it is perfectly fine to keep Babie's on Step 1 until they are 12 months of age.

Now that we've got THAT all sorted out again..maybe now we can try our solids LOL.

xx

Hey There Zojoho,

Thank you for the info. I just started back to work and am happy with the routine that my son has now. I think I will stay with the step 1 as my dr has said. I hope she does well on the solids!

Good luck!

Diana -n Craig - posted on 04/13/2009

Thank you everyone! So interesting to hear how we are all different, yet the same, too.

We ended up trying cereal last week and I couldn't feed her fast enough. She's had Gerd (acid reflux), so I guess I was just afraid that she'd hate it and it would be an awful chore, on top of Gerd medicine and all that. But so far she's enjoying the cereal (mixed with breastmilk).

We see her Ped for her 6 month well baby today.I'm praying we can try to get her off her Gerd medicine now (Zantac). And.......she cut her first tooth this weekend!

How amazing our babies are! So many new things all the time and they face it all with a smile.

Hayley - posted on 04/13/2009

I think that no one should tell you when to start but your child should! When it seems like she cant get full and keeps wanting to nurse/bottle feed...she is telling you that she is not getting full! This is when I started. I started first with rice cereal...waited a while to let her get the hang of it then moved to other things. She was eating cereal ( 1 tablespoon in the morning) at 4 months from a spoon. Then, at 5 months, I started bananas...and SLOWLY fed her more things. My daughter is two weeks younger than your child. Right now she has 2 1/2 Tablespoons of rice cereal in the mornings with the 1st step bananas, afternoon snack of applesauce, and at dinner she will have veggies. Rationed out through out the day...she will have no more than 30 oz of formula. If still wanting more, I give her a LITTLE bit of water in a bottle...I will not give her juice yet. When she turns 6 months I will worry more about REALLY getting into it. For right now, Im just getting her and her system used to food and the different textures. You dont want to push it too fast because food allergies are not fun! ha! Like I said...go at YOUR CHILD"S WANTS AND NEEDS! Every child is different! :) That's what makes them so special! :) PS...My daughter has the SAME BIB as your little girl in the picture! haha!

Amber - posted on 04/13/2009

I am waiting until 6 months for "real" food which is in 3 days.. She has been on cereal for 1 month. I kind of went between what my doctor and lactation consultant told me. I am curious to know what people have been given their children, as in the progression through the fruits and vegetables? I have read alot about fruits vs vegetables first and thing we are going to go veggies and also that they should be orange to start.. so I was thinking sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, but then what?

Mandi - posted on 04/13/2009

i startd 4 f my children on food when thay were 4-5 months old apart from my middle child who was ill and couldnt eat food untill he was 1 and the 4 children that started at 4 months old eat brill and the one that didnt start till late is a terabul eater he wont try anything new he wont eat frute or veg and he dosnt eat a full meal i have to make him somethin else if were havein a cassarol or a roast ect .. just thourt id let u no my experiance and just do it your way..

Kathleen - posted on 04/12/2009

I started cereal exactly at 6 months, but I'm holding off on other solids. He is ready for them, but we've noticed that his tied-tongue causes a little discomfort, so we have an appointment this week with the ENT to discuss clipping it. We'd rather wait for that to be done before starting more foods. We'd have waited to start cereal, too, but it really does help fill his belly.

I tried starting my first son on cereal at 5 months, and we wasn't at all interested - we waited a week before trying again, and he still wasn't ready. We kept at it until he finally took to it at 6 1/2 months. We decided to skip the frustrating stage with the others, and just wait until 6 months altogether, which has worked well for us (except the tied-tongue thing).

Kat - posted on 04/10/2009

I have been told by my Pediatric Dietician that it is detrimental to start solids after 6 months. Of course every child is different, but I would think anything beyond 7months to start solids would hinder the child's development. But in saying that I don't follow the experts advice on every single issue either, some things I just follow my daughter's cues.

Jodi - posted on 04/09/2009

Quoting Carolyn:

My babe will be 6 months on the 9th (what's the date today anyway?) I started my oldest at 5.5 months and I regret it... she has multiple food allergies and sensitivities, and boy!! does their poop change!! :)

I'm skipping the cereal and heading straight for table food when she's ready (and she's not). I'm in no hurry to end this phase of our lives, and I don't think she is either.

 

Hi Carolyn.

How do you know she's not ready???  Like, what do you look for?

Just wondering for my little guy...

Zojoho - posted on 04/09/2009

Quoting Heather,

I started my little guy on solids a few weeks back and he is doing well. I just wanted to say that my dr. has said that the best formula is step 1 and he has told me not to change to step 2. He believes that babies only need step 1 until they are 12 months and from there they can go to homo milk. I dunno what the diference is between step 1 and 2 but if Zojoho is having trouble with it, I think I agree with my dr. I think i will stick to step 1. Has anyone else heard of this?

Hey There Heather,

I rang up our Parent Helpline here in Australia, and I explained what had been going on with Holly since swapping her formula to the next step (Step 2) and the Lady on the phone advised me to go back to Step 1 and to not bother at all with Step 2.  Apparently Step 2 in Formula for some children can cause all sorts of problems as it has more Iron and is Casein based whereas Step 1 is Whey dominant (easier on the stomach - especially for Reflux babies).

Since going back to her original Step 1 Formula, Holly has been sooo settled and is sleeping up to 2 hrs/nap 2wice a day, and has gone back to sleeping all night.. Pheeewww for that LOL.  She is pooing normally again (she became a lil' constipated due to the extra Iron in Step 2) and is just generally happy-go-lucky again.

I also was told that it is perfectly fine to keep Babie's on Step 1 until they are 12 months of age.

Now that we've got THAT all sorted out again..maybe now we can try our solids LOL.

xx

Catherine - posted on 04/08/2009

Lizzy is had an allergic reaction to her rice, which at this time they are saying they don't want to test her for allergies because she's so young, just to stop giving it to her. It caused her to have seizures. Anyway...I started her on solids because formula just wasn't enough, and she's doing great. Sleeping better at night, going longer between feedings...and she accually takes a nap during the day now...which before was impossible! But every child is different. I would talk to your doctor. Mine gave me the go-ahead because of my situation.

Deb - posted on 04/08/2009

I can't wait to give my baby girl peas. But Dr. said to wait until she is six months. We have been giving her cereal for the last month. She loves to eat!

MaryJo - posted on 04/07/2009

DO NOT wait until she is 18 months to start food.  it will be harder to introduce new textures to her at that age. most doctors recommend baby cereal at 4-6 months old. and then starting veggies after you have tried all of the main cereals. rice, barley and oatmeal. did it slowly she may only eat 3-4 spoonfuls at first but then they will get use to it and eat more.

Heather - posted on 04/07/2009

Quoting Zojoho:

Just wanted to let you know that I too am in nooo hurry to start solids yet. We've only just change Holly's formula to the next Level (Level 2 for 6 => 12 m.o.'s) and she is not liking it AT ALL. Holly is now eating less than she was a week ago..and now her "spilling" is all curdled looking..it's totally gross.  She has gone from settling & sleeping well at night, to waking up a few times a night crying.

I just wanted to get her settled on her next stage of formula first before introducing anything else..you know..one thing at a time LOL.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do tho, it's totally your choice when it comes to your children. xx

I started my little guy on solids a few weeks back and he is doing well. I just wanted to say that my dr. has said that the best formula is step 1 and he has told me not to change to step 2. He believes that babies only need step 1 until they are 12 months and from there they can go to homo milk. I dunno what the diference is between step 1 and 2 but if Zojoho is having trouble with it, I think I agree with my dr. I think i will stick to step 1. Has anyone else heard of this?

Melissa - posted on 04/06/2009

My pediatrician recommended starting cereal at 4 months then a baby food 2 weeks later and change the food every 4 days to make sure the baby isn't allergic. I did this with my 22 month old and my 6 month old and haven't had any problems at all!

Zojoho - posted on 04/06/2009

Just wanted to let you know that I too am in nooo hurry to start solids yet. We've only just change Holly's formula to the next Level (Level 2 for 6 => 12 m.o.'s) and she is not liking it AT ALL. Holly is now eating less than she was a week ago..and now her "spilling" is all curdled looking..it's totally gross.  She has gone from settling & sleeping well at night, to waking up a few times a night crying.

I just wanted to get her settled on her next stage of formula first before introducing anything else..you know..one thing at a time LOL.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do tho, it's totally your choice when it comes to your children. xx

Becky - posted on 04/06/2009

We've been doing cereal 1x a day, but he does not eat more than a few spoonfuls before getting bored/mad/frustrated. Whatever works for you!

Stacey - posted on 04/06/2009

My pediatrician OK'd solids at 4 months. There are no food allergies in our family and so I started cereals at around 4 1/2 months and then moved on to veggies and fruits. I haven't had any problems, but it's a personal decision. I'm sure it would be fine either way. It looks like many moms are feeding solids already, based on the recent responses to the post "wondering what other mom's are feeding their 5 1/2 - 6 month olds, and how much."

Carolyn - posted on 04/06/2009

I also wanted to add that it's important that they go thru gut closure before you offer food, if you can hold off that long. I know my oldest didn't experience it until about 6.5 months, when I could suddenly have dairy in my diet again without her being up screaming all night. I can have a little dairy now, but we're still very sensitive to it, so I know we haven't gone thru it yet. I want to avoid setting this one up for allergies later in life (I have multiple food allergies too).

Carolyn - posted on 04/06/2009

My babe will be 6 months on the 9th (what's the date today anyway?) I started my oldest at 5.5 months and I regret it... she has multiple food allergies and sensitivities, and boy!! does their poop change!! :)



I'm skipping the cereal and heading straight for table food when she's ready (and she's not). I'm in no hurry to end this phase of our lives, and I don't think she is either.