Beginning Solid Foods

Hi, do you breastfeed? I breastfeed, my doctor had me start solids after my sons 6 month appointment. My son was not interested in solids until he was about 7 months old. I waited until he showed some interest. I hope that helps. Good luck.

Sounds to me like she's not ready. She will let you know when she's ready for solid food. Around 4 months my little girl started crying when we started eating around her and I started giving her tiny peices of whatever I had (liquid food such as a little ice cream on the finger).

I say, if you don't think she's ready than don't start her. You know her better than the doctor and she doesn't need solid food just yet.

L.

You don't mention if your are breastfeeding or not, and that does make a difference. Breast milk meets ALL the needs of your baby for quite some time, but formula is not the same. The babies can only consume a certain amount of formula before it is not really the good for them to have so much. If I remember correctly it is 32 ounces maximum and if they need more, start solids. If you are breastfeeding however, totally different issue and the AAP recommends NOT starting solids for a breastfed baby before 6 months old. This is the AAP and the World Health Organization guidelines and is based on lots of research about the risks of early solids and the importance of breastmilk over solids in the first year. You can read more about starting solids which honestly, I don't see why it has to be so much different for formula fed babies.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

I waited until 6 months, every baby is different, but most I know start around 6 months. The Gerber Organics are great, but not much selection, so I did throw in some "Earths Best" brand food and I also processed some myself now and then. I bought fruits at the health food store and put them in a food processer. When I first started giving him the foods, I put it on my finger and put it on his lips - he would taste it and eventually he opened up!

Wow. 4 months seems very early! We started feeding our son at 6 months and our pediatrician told us to wait because they still need to get all their nutrition from the milk. You should only give them food once or twice a day. I would first try rice cereal and if he sticks his tongue out (tongue thrusting) he isn't ready. Try a little at a time and if refuses, wait a week and try again. Sooner or later she will start opening up her mouth. Don't rush her. She will eat once she is ready. After my son had some rice cereal, I introduced a Number 1 food but you shouldn't switch to another flavor for a couple of days. You need to make sure she doesn't have any allergies. My son is 6 months and we give him a little oatmeal and usually a number 1 or 2 food. Good luck!

Hi J., the responses are pretty good but i just wanted u to know that u shouldn't worry about her birth weight X 2 at his time. Babies normally double their birth weight at 6 months and triple it at 1 year old. Normally babies are ready for solid at 4 to 6 months, but every child is different. You can check out the websites such as gerber and beechnut for more info about when to start introducing different food.

I think that it is up to you, personally I did not think my daughter was ready that early. She began eatting baby foods at six months. I would feel it out. But yeah the organic is great for her. Good luck.

Hey J., when my daughter was around 4 months family members were trying to pressure me into getting her started on solids. I didnt think she would be ready but I tried the stage 1 beechnuts (much cheaper than the organics/gerber but still as safe) and she just wouldnt open her mouth yet. I waited a week and she kind of seemed interested, I waited another few days to a week and she seemed to get it. She would open her mouth to the spoon and would get fussy or turn her head when she had enough. They really do let you know, but there is no harm in trying. If your baby doesnt seem interested when you put the spoon in the mouth, then you know to wait. Good luck, its so awesome to watch them change! My daughter is now almost 9 mths and I am having a blast!!

evryone has made some very good points. have you tried the RICE cereal yet. start with the cereal before you start the jar foods. cereal first. all 3 of my boys were on cereal between 1 month and 3 months old. if you dont think she's ready, wait another month, you can always try again if she's not interested, she's not interested. when you start jar food, i wouldnt recommend starting on fruits, you'll give her a sweet tooth and you'll have a hard time getting her to eat the veggies. i started with carrrots. if you have the time, sweet potates are easy to bake to make soft. you can just add a litte water to them when you mush them, carrots are good to, i would by the baby ones, they dont take as long to cook to make soft. i used gerber babyfoods though, you can read on the back of the labels and gerbers ingredients will just say carrots and water, green beans and water, etc. a lot of the other brand foods have those words in the ingredients that you cant pronounce. every baby is different. just be sure that you only start her on one thing and give just that one thing to her for at least a week to make sure she doesn't have a reaction to it. i breastfed for 6 months but started my 3yr old on solids about 4 months old, but he was ready. one tip is dont wait until she is hungry. try the cereal about 30 minutes before her normal feeding. if you wait until she is hungry, she cant get the food in the belly quick enough and she will become frustrated. (they can suck a bottle down quick). be patient, and kindof rake the food off the spoon on the roof of the mouth. not big spoonfuls, just small amounts at a time. maybe starting the solids will help her gain more weight. and on the cereal, my dr. said it was ok to mix it more than what the box says for first feeding. just mix it a little runnier than the consistancy of baby food. sorry this was long. hope this helps.

I started my daughter at 4 months with cereal and at 6 months Gerber baby food and had no problem. My son however would not take cereal at 4 months. I actually started him with the baby food and now he will eat cereal, he did not want anything to do with any food until he was 5 months. I agree with one of the other moms and just keep trying and don't force it, she'll eat when she's ready. As fas as being too young, both my kids are perfectly fine. I had 2 different pediatricians and they both reccomened at 4 months to start solid for formula fed and 6 months for nursing babies.

I started my son at 4 months, I used the "Earths Best" organic range from Whole foods, they have a good selection and they have a range from "4 months" of various fruit and veg, I first started him on the baby rice from whole food for a few days and then tried a fruit or veg (the same one for three days), he eats everything I feed him, he's now 7 months and is doing great and still loving his food..

Well...first I have a few questions...
Does your daughter crawl well?
Does she sit up without assistance well?
How much does your daughter eat and are you breastfeding or bottle?

Depending on the answers to those questions she could be ready. My daughter was crawling well and sitting up completely unattended by that age, and I started solid foods at about 4 months. I started putting rice cereal into her bottle at about 3 months (helped her sleep thru the night) and started her on stage 1 foods at 4 months. I can't say I like ther gerber foods, to be honest I think they are a little too bland and over-processed. That is to each their own, however my daughter wouldn't eat anything but beech-nut. I highly recommedn starting with sweet potatoes and butternut squash. The texture of those two seem to be most widly accepted in the vegetable category. Personally, I didn't start with sweets (or fruits) for a month after I began solid food simply because my mother (who has 6 kids including me) said it would be best to get her accustomed to veggies first in order to establish a healthy diet later on. If she isn't so interested in the spoon at first, try dipping your finger in the food and finger-feeding it to her for starters. Mine hated the spoon at first, so that's what I did. Also try very cooked soft veggies like carrots and celery chopped up, she'll love trying to pick them up!

Also, as my personal view (and my mother's view, whom I believe to be an expert on the subject)...children who can crawl well and sit up well have developed faster then others at this age. Also, introducing your child to a variety of food early PREVENTS allergies, not causes them. My mother has 6 kids and she fed all of us bananas and sweet potatoes and squash by 4-5 months and NONE of her children have a SINGLE food allergy. None of us have health problems whatsoever. My daughter is 1 year old now and eats anything I put in front of her, which 75% of moms with kids mine's age can't say. One year is apparently a finiky age but mine eats anything.

Go with your guts, but please don't be a wimp like so many parents have become these days. Children have survived thousands of years eating whatever was available to eat...why stop now?

You probably should wait longer, until about 6 months, especially since your baby is not even showing any interest. there is no harm in waiting, but there is a benefit because if yor child's stomach is not full ready it can give them an allergy to some foods, not to mention upset stomachs and all that.
As far as baby food goes, the regulations are pretty strict. If financially you can afford the organic, go ahead, they have some good varieties. But if you are like most people, middle income, I would suggest BeechNut all natural. And read the ingredients list on the back of the jar, that is what I did. I was planning on buying Gerber, but beechnut was just the fruit or veggie and water.

I started with my own cooked/steamed veggies. Carrots, peas, things like that. Just steam then until they're soft, mash them up and you've got baby food. I used to make batches of veggies and freeze in ice cube trays.
When my son was a little older, I even pureed chicken soup and froze that into cubes.

Good Luck
P.S. We also used Gerber

I started our daughter on solids at 6 mos and she is doing great. Soem people do start eariler.....We started with a little cereal (rice and oatmeal later) and then introduced one food at a time (for allergy purposes as I am sure you have heard). I give her Earth's Best and she really likes it. Publix did not have a big selection, but Whole Foods does. The organic may be a little more expensive (althouh I have not tried to get it on line as one mom suggested, I am going to try that!). But I think organic is worth it. Good luck!

J.,

I can't stand Docs that say give them food, at such a young young stage.
J., Please do not give your daugther food now, PLEASE!!!
You even think she is not ready, Go with your gut girl, you know your child.
Don't do what I did which is take my daughters DR. advice.
What a painful, regretful mistake that was.
Babies digestive systems are not developed yet at such a young stage.
My daughter suffers everyday, because she has soooo many allergies to foods, not to mention trouble digesting her food. Her stool is either constipation or diarhea because I listened to the doc. Introducing foods so early on messed up her digestive system!
I will forever be an advocate to other moms,as long as I live.
J., feel free to write to me!
PS> I also Breastfeed, go figure!
Good luck hun, I think you answered you own question.

There are many different opinions on when to start foods. That said, follow your instincts.

I used gerber and beechnut, whatever was cheaper. They each have different flavor combinations, and my daughter had her favorites. I tried to get organic when I could find them.

I started my daughter between 4 and 5 months with a tablespoon of cereal at dinner time. At first she made a mess and more got on her than in her. Over time we were able to slowly increase it to a full serving. By 6 months she had moved onto fruits/veggies. We tried each new food for at least a week to make sure she wasn't allergic.

Hope that helps.

Hi there J.. I use Beech Nut for my little ones and they are great with it. However my son was like your daughter, showed no interest in solid food. My daughter showed lots of interest, but didn't want to use the spoon, she preferred to play with it. If she isn't ready she'll let you know. My two came around at about 5 1/2 months... and now they are doing wonderfully. So I would suggest try some solid here and there, but don't force... she'll come around when she is ready.

4 months is the YOUNGEST time to start solids-but by no means do you have to start then. More importantly are the ready signs--being able to sit up, showing interested in your food, etc.
We actually didn't start our son on solids until he was a bit into 5 months of age-and it went very well. In fact he's a toddler now and eats better than most I know. I owe this to the books below though:
I highly recommend you reading a wonderful book recommended to me by many moms and my good friend who is a dietitian--
Child of Mine: Feeding with love and good Sense by Ellyn Satter.
http://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Love-Sense/dp/09...
She not only goes into what signs to look for when starting you child on solids--but gives you a kind of "plan" to use for introducing food. I found this book the most valuable when starting my son on solids and still go back to it from time to time.

There are also some great recipe books out there too--I really like SuperFoods for babies and children by Annabel Karmel
http://www.amazon.com/Superfoods-Babies-Children-Annabel-...
--its a straight-up recipe book with some good nutritional advice. Ways to create baby and toddler friendly food is important--and though it seems like jarred food has many choices--I think its good to also offer some homemade things too--for taste a variety.

--Another book many like is SuperBaby foods by Ruth Yaron
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Baby-Food-Ruth-Yaron/dp/09652...
--she also has a method too, but poo poos on using store bought food -which I found completely impractical. I did buy it though and found it more of a resource since she has a huge index of foods--with different ways to prepare them and when is a good age to introduce them...

I started with Beech Nut and Gerber jar food. Use the #1. The bottles tell you what age for what number jar food. Very easy. I would assume the organic is more expensive. But overall, my son preferred Gerber brand. My son is 18 months and I still give him a #3 jar food at night since it has meat and veggies in it. He just doesn't take to table meat like we eat. Good luck.

Relax. If the doctor suggested solid food, then she is ready. Begin at breakfast by adding part of a banana (a real one--not canned). Take a small portion and mash it up totally with a fork. Then have her taste a tiny portion on the tip of a spoon. Try it! You'll like it! So will she! Next real food can be mashed potatoes (real ones) that you mash even more with a fork. You'll be surprised at so many soft foods that will be available to you--and what a saving on the baby food budget! JW

I agree w/ Pam (& other posters) to hold off...
here's another article:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032000.asp

Rice powder or oatmeal added to formula or breast milk help make the transition easier. You can start by adding a teaspoon and then upping it as they tolerate it. Initially its so the get used to the taste. Eventually it is thick enough to feed to them. You can add purees to it as well, like fresh apples or bananas. I found it was easier to get my kids started with veggies and go to fruits as a dessert. When I let my second child start with fruits she didn't want the veggies. All children are unique so its all about experimenting. Good luck.

BTW, my son had an extremely fast metabolism. I was worried about his weight as well. He was always hungry and adding cereal to his diet helped. My second child has a slower metabolism and weight wasn't an issue.

I would begin with cereals, not veggies or fruits yet. Give that at least a month or so longer. And it all depends on your little one.

If you instinct say NO...than the answer is NO. Trust yourself.

We personally do not FEED children. They are ready to eat solids when they can feed themselves. THis means they can sit upsupported and have head control, lost the toungue ejection relex (obvious created sign to keep food OUT of their mouth then they are not read), pincher grasp, and of course an interest in food. This mean no real purees. They are not necessary for children. I do feed my kids yogurt & applesauce sometimes but it is not a first food.

Gerber Organics are great, I personally preferred Earths Best and so did my daughter. I didn't start either of my kids on solids before 6 months, somtimes even that is too early. Just wait for signs from your baby, they will let you know when they are interested in starting solids.

First, I would say any food - as long as the ingredients are 100% food and water - is good enough. They say to start on rice cereal - but they are just empty carbs. No real nutritional value. They only say that because basic cereal is easily digested and less likely to cause an allergic reaction. Neither one of my children would eat it. =)
Secondly, I don't know if you are nursing or if you formula feed. I nurse, and I know that your children don't need anything but breastmilk (and I believe formula) for the first 6 mos. And after 6 mos, breast fed babies need additional iron - but formula fed babies get the iron from the fortified formula. As long as your baby is gaining weight and is reaching all the milestones - babies don't NEED other food until they are around a year old. I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD WAIT THAT LONG. But usually they just want you to introduce food just to introduce different food type. To get your child used to the texture and the idea of eating (vs. sucking) since my children were slightly above weight and height my Dr told me I could wait. For me, I just wait until about 9 mos and then just introduce table food.

I started both my chidlren on solids at 6 months. Some people start sooner but I wanted them to wait till 6 months so they would not have the reflex where they push the spoon out etc... That was good for us and it worked fine.
Organic food means that vegetables have not been treated with dangeours pesticides and meat/poultry has not been given hormones nor antibiotics pretty much. I fed my babies Gereber organic food and other organic baby food brans like Earth's Best. This is completely up to you what you want to do. I decided I wanted to do solely organic foods for my infant and still now we try to feed them all natural and organic foods as much as possible. You need to read the facts and decide if that is what you want to do since the organics normally cost a little bit more than the regular one.
Good luck with your baby.

I just started my baby on solids also, she is 5 months. I started her on the fruits first, apples, bananas, peaches & pears. Beech Nut just came out with a new line of baby foods, called good morning with breakfast foods and good evening with a hearty dinner. My baby loves them. I recommend just giving her fruits for atleast the next 2 to 4 weeks, and then graduating to something like the Beech Nut breakfast and dinners. If she does not take to the spoon at first, put a little fruit (baby food) and cereal into her bottle at night right before bed, open the nipple up a little bigger she'll sleep like an angel.

HI J.! My son is 5 months old and we are waiting until 6 months. The recommendation is between 4 and 6 months, but the longer you can hold off (especially if you are breastfeeding), the better. This will help prevent food allergies and also breastfeeding strikes.

I am going to use organic baby food also. I understand it is pretty inexpensive online and many places you can get free shipping. I haven't done it yet, but I plan to Google organic baby food and surf around until I find a good deal on brand name organic baby food. I have a friend that orders online and tells me the prices are much better than those you can get in stores. Also, if you live near Babies R Us, I understand they run specials on the organic sometime, so you could pop in there every once in awhile!

My pediatrician told me oatmeal is better than rice cereal because rice tends to cause constipation. Although if you have food allergies in your family, rice may be the better route. Start with one tablespoon of baby oatmeal or rice cereal and mix it with breastmilk, water or formula. This is what I've been told by my pediatrician and other moms...Feed her a little while after she has been given her normal milk, so that she may be a little hungry, but isn't starving. Try this for a few days until she seems to want more (and keeps it down) and then increase the amount. After a few weeks you can add in veggies (one per week so you can rule out allergies) and then fruit. Again, if you or your family members have food allergies, you may want to wait on the grains (wheat, etc.) until closer to one year.

Best of luck! If you need more advice, there is a great local site called KellyMom at www.kellymom.com that I've found great advice on feeding.

Take care!
M.

Start with rice cereal or oatmeal (Gerber or Beechnut.) There's no rush at all, maybe a total of 2 or 3 tablespoons a day for the next month or so. Once she gets the hang of it you'll be able to start fruits and veggies around 5 or 6 months. The cereal may help her double her birth weight which may be the doctor's motivation for suggesting solids. Continue to give her all of her usual bottle/breast feedings. Cereal should not replace her regular feedings since that's where she gets all her nutrients from. I don't see the point in using "organic" foods. If you look at the baby food ingredients, they usually say "bananas and water" or "peas and water." I usually try to buy foods that only have water listed in addition to the fruit or veggie. Have fun with it--she'll most likely push the cereal out of her mouth at first but that's just because she doesn't know how to move it to the back of her mouth to swallow yet. She'll figure it out though. Cheers!

Gerber organic is the only way to go!! My oldest daughter ate nothing but that until she was ready for table food! Its the best! My younger daughter is 5 1/2 months and i still haven't started her on baby food, Im waiting until she's 6mo or so, my ped said this was fine. She just has no intrest in them what so ever! She makes this awful face and cries when I try and feed things to her. She hasn't doubled her birth weight either. Give your baby time, she'll be ready to eat soon!! You never have to start at 4 mos! I did with my oldest and personallly I think it was too soon ( I pushed a lot with her)
Wait it out (but make sure with your ped first!)

the academy of pedatics does not recommed introduction of solids til 6 months. however, i started my daughter at 4 months because she was bored with formula, gained interest in food (watching me eat with great interest!), and was lateralizing her tongue independently( a required pre-req for food introduction safety.) i think gerber organics are great!

I really would not start baby food yet. the APA has pushed back the age recommedation to 5 or 6 months. If you have diabetes that runs in your family I would start closer to 6 months

Hello J.,
I read an article on organics vs regular and I found out that really organics are a waste of money when it comes to some things. But that is just up to you. I would start her on rice cereal first then add some veggies once she gets the hang of it a little bit. She's not going to open her mouth for the spoon at first and it may take a few feedings for her to realize that she needs to. Remember she is used to the bottle so the spoon is very unfamiliar. I started my daughter at 4 months and at 7 months she is just now becoming a pro at eating with the spoon. You don't have to push it too much right now, but it is good for her to learn. Remember the doctors tell us lots of things about milestones and when you should start things but you know your baby and you'll do the right thing so don't worry too much. Also as far as brands I find that BeechNut is the best value and they have a better selection of flavors. I also buy raw veggies like sweetpotatoes and things like that and put them in the food processor and make my own baby food a lot. Well, good luck to you!!

My little girl's doctor doesn't think you should start cereal/oatmeal(baby) until 6 months. So that is what I did and she was barely ready at 6 months. It was slow going at first. I would give her a little bit of cereal and then a sip of the bottle to help her learn to swallow it. Just be sure to make the cereal soupy. Then at 7 mos. we started jar veggies and then 8 mos. fruits. By 9 or 10 mos. we were introducing her to other things, mashed potatoes, etc. Now she is 1 yr. old and she loves grilled cheese, mac n cheese, beans, corn, noodles anything soft and easy to chew and gum. Every doctor gives different advice. Our dr. is kinda old school but she has done really well going by what he said. My best advice is do what you think is best. When you try to start her on cereal, you will know if she is ready. We actually had to try a couple of times before she got the hang of it. Good Luck!