Solid foods for my baby?

Anna - posted on 03/08/2013

Hi Dawn, I agree with Cindy, re water, i also heard that if you give too much water, it fills up their tiny stomach, but its not actual food (as breastmilk is). so maybe dont give too much water.
My son (who is 6 months now) wakes up almost every 2 hours at night! most of the mothers his age i know, told me that their babies sleep most of the night, so not sure why mine still wakes up so many times. someone said it must be a habit, which i need to work on, hmmm...
also, i have noticed, that sometimes he wakes up, but its not necessary for a feed, he just wants a cuddle, and then he falls back asleep. but its unfortunate for me, that i dont get a night sleep :( also think maybe he is starting to teeth, and just wants to use the boob for comfort...

Cindy - posted on 03/08/2013

From what I have read, solid foods should not be considered the primary source of nutrition at this age. Your babies should be getting most of their food from breastmilk or formula. You should just be introducing them to solid food right now. I think dr. Sears recommends only once per day for a couple of months. And by one year, solids should make up 50% of their diet. You should check with your pediatrician because I'm sure there are exceptions. Just a thought but maybe the water fills up their tummies without actually giving them any nourishment. We don't give water at all and rely exclusively on breastmilk with 1 solid food each day (just a few tablespoons). Definitely talk to your doctor. Also it's normal for babies to wake up at least once or twice during the night. Even more for breastfeeding babies.

Dawn - posted on 03/08/2013

I have 5 month old twins. I want to make sure i am feeding them enough. right now i have them eating a veggie arond 1:30 fruit around 530 and cereal around 930. All those feedings are followed by a bottle. They have water in between. They are amazing babies and dont give me a problem but my daughter still wakes up in the middlfe of the night to eat. Should I be feeding them more?

Anna - posted on 03/07/2013

oh, ok, cool, thanks for that. will try it by itself then, maybe will work better for him :)

Cindy - posted on 03/07/2013

I did a separate food each week (3 so far). I didn't mix them with anything except a little water to thin the sweet potatoes. With my first child, I mixed the foods with breastmilk. But my daughter seems to like it just fine without milk.

Anna - posted on 03/07/2013

Yeah i like Dr Sears as well :)
Thanks will check it out.
interesting idea re finger feeding :)
So, did you do each food separate for a week?
did you just give the food by itself or mixed with milk and rice cereal?

Cindy - posted on 03/07/2013

I really like the advice given by Dr. Sears at http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding...
He recommends starting with mashed banana because its taste is most like that of breastmilk. He also recommends using your finger to feed baby the first few times. And to look for cues that baby is either receptive to eating or not interested. I followed this advice with my daughter who is six months old now and it has been working great. We started with the banana about 3 weeks ago and she loved it! A week later, we gave her baked sweet potato (she also loved it) and then, a week later, homemade applesauce. The applesauce wasn't a big hit so we have been mixing it with banana. I feed her until she starts turning away. And don't worry about it if she pushes the food out with her tongue - this is a normal baby reflex and doesn't mean she doesn't like it. I personally don't sterilize the cutlery but I'm not sure what the current advice is about that.

Daisy - posted on 03/07/2013

Hi Anna. Try and stick to one food at a time. I know it's frustrating but hang in there. Ideally when weaning at that age, a baby's tummy needs a few days to get used to food. I totally understand you want your baby to eat something, but in some cases, various foods offered in a short period of time can upset the baby's tummy. I've been there and you just want your child eating and healthy. I hope this helps, take care.

Anna - posted on 03/07/2013

Thanks Daisy, i actually also used potatoes, but sweet, suppose to be better for you.
been trying for about 5 days now, banana, potatoes, avocado, but its either he is not hungry, or does not like it, or not ready, as he keeps on pushing the food out, dont think anything gets in.

Daisy - posted on 03/06/2013

Hi, I started my kids on mash potatoes when the were six months old. It was filling, but not too heavy. I mixed it with a little bit of warm formula milk and it really satisfied their hunger before bedtime. Good luck x

Anna - posted on 02/26/2013

I agree for sure, better to make your own, no preservatives!
I got ons of those Avent blender/steamer, will try it soon :)

Michelle - posted on 02/26/2013

Rice cereal is fine. I just made all my own foods for all my kids and froze it. At least I knew what was in it then.

Anna - posted on 02/26/2013

Thanks for your reply Michelle :)
I thought he wasnt ready as of a few weeks ago, as he did not look at food, and when i tried to give it to him to smell, he would turn away. but as of around 5 or so days ago, i noticed he really stares when i eat next to him, then he tries to grab anything thats next to him, and he can hold his head quite well (i think), so i am thinking he might be ready.
I only had banana at home yesterday, so thought i'd give it a go, i cut a tiny piece, and blended it with breastmilk, tried to give it to him, he had a very confused look on his face, he took it in, but then it came out, i tried a few times, he may have got something in, but not sure if it was the fact that its something new to him (besides breastmilk), or the fact that he did not like it.
I will buy rice cereal (a friend of mine recommended Happy Baby organic brown rice cereal) and then try that one. what do you think?

Michelle - posted on 02/26/2013

At this age solids is just for taste and texture. Make sure your baby is showing signs of being able to have solids though. Are they interested in your food, have they lost the tongue thrusting reflex?

Start with bland vege's like potato, carrot and sweet potato. Boil and puree to remove all the lumps. There's no need to add anything else to it like seasoning either. To start off with they will usually only have 1 or 2 teaspoons of food so I found it best to freeze the food into an icecube tray and just defrost as needed. Make sure you only try 1 food at a time and give it a few days before trying another.

I only ever just washed the cutlery as usual, I find the more you sterilize things the less immunity they build up. Once they are putting things into their mouth then there's no need!