Need Feeding Help

From my experience I started all my kids on baby food once a day and as they got used to it I did a breakfast, lunch and dinner type of schedule....I would try this and adjust as you see how he's doing....

Wow ... you sure got alot of different advice, didn't you? Our pediatrician gave us a booklet which contains all kinds of great information, including sample menus for different age ranges. My suggestion is that you ask your pediatrician what he/she recommends.

Good luck!

HI T. Im name is C. and I have 2 girls 6 and 4 and when I had mone on baby food I started slow them went to twice a day them to 3 times a day.. morning,noon and night,I think its all up to you and the baby and what he likes, you just have to play with it and see what he wants, ry him on fruits first then vegetables then dinner stuff but want till he gets teeth before any meet is introduced. what does he like so far.. my oldest like her fruit and sweet potatoes..lol and a dessert but I cant remember wht its called feel free to reach me at my email ____@____.com and im also on messenger with that id

Hi T.! Well, I guess everyone is a little different. I personally have never heard of anyone giving a 6 month old cheerios and milk but if it works I guess why not? I started my daughter off at 3mos. on baby cereal just in the morning. Then after I felt she was comfortable w/that I gave her the vegetables. So she's get cereal for breakfast and veggies for lunch. Just a bottle for dinner. Then I introduced Fruit. she'd then get baby cereal for breakfast, fruit for lunch and veggie for dinner. The once I introduced meats I added that to her dinner. YOu don't have to do it exactly like that you can mix it up anyway you want and give her more if you think she needs it. Dr.s really do not want you giving milk till 12 months. I'm starting my daughter just a week early on Whole milk. She'll be 1 next week and I just started her on it full time this week. They say their systems just aren't ready for cows milk at younger stages. My main concern was she would get constipated if I started her too early.

S.

Hello T.. My youngest is six months old and she eats off of a spoon at least twice a day and Cherios at least once a day. Since she has two teeth now I am increasing her spoon feeding b/c she is biting me. Today for instance she had veggies twice and fruits three times, she was very hungry. My Dr said to give her baby cereal in the morning (which I no longer do, she has her milk and Cherios, but I am not sure if your little one is old enough yet) and then fruit twice a day. They suggest fruit first b/c it is suppose to be easier for them to digest, I did veggies first b/c they don't taste as yummy as fruit. Prunes are great for when the baby needs to poop and is having trouble, but with my little one after prunes there are ALOT of dirty diapers to change! Also, if you log onto Webmd you can search for infant growth and they will tell you the standards for spoon feeding. Remember, all babies are different and Best of Luck!

Here is what I did with both my children. They ate about 4 to 6 oz up till 6 months. They went to about 8 oz. I then started them with cereal in the morning and then about 4 to 6 oz of formula. At about 7 or 8 months I started with veggies. I gave a jar at lunch and then a bottle of formula. Around 9 months they were getting cereal about 8am then a bottle at 12pm a jar of veggies and then a bottle at 4pm just a bottle and then at 8 a jar of veggies and a bottle. Eventually they would get 2 jars at lunch and dinner when I did that I added fruits. Most doctors will not want you to start with solids till around 6 to 9 months. Good luck

if you are talking about the almost 5 month old in your siggy then no baby food. Almost all pediatricians are against baby food before 6 months of age do to digestive systems they cant handle it. you will even come accross a few dr.'s who will say no baby food before 12 months. when you first start a baby out of solids its wise to start them on rice cereal which can be started at 4 to 6 months of age before anything else then introduce one veggie or fruit a week so you dont over load the babys system after 6 months of age. Call the pediatrician or the WIC office they can help with handouts and speak to you about when its best to start the baby on solids

Hi T....Whatever you do, don't listen to the person who gives her 6 month old CHEERIOS and MILK. (Unless she's speaking of breast milk, in which case I'd hope she has the sense to specify that next time.) Neither of those are appropriate at this age, period.
For a 5 month old, they CAN start on baby foods that are mild, like applesauce and pears. Those are perfectly acceptable. Also acceptable is rice cereal, baby oatmeal, mixed grains cereal, barly cereal. At 5 months old, there's really no rush on the solid foods.
With our first, we didn't start giving him baby foods till he was 6 months old. Just the rice cereal in his bottle (per the pediatrician).
With our youngest (now 10 months old), we waited even longer, because he was 8 weeks premature. So I didn't start giving him foods other than his cereal, until he was almost 8 months old. A baby primarily needs formula or breast milk their first 12 months of life. So as long as you are giving him enough formula, I'd add in there some cereal from a spoon if he'll take it that way (patience, it takes time lol), and if you want to start him on something else, I'd suggest applesauce. You can also google baby websites and look up the guidelines given for this age.
If in doubt, you can also give your pediatrician a call, as well. Good luck.

Hi T.,

My son is six months old today :) and I started in on baby food at four months. Just recently about 5 1/2 mos I started feeding him baby food twice a day (sort of like a lunch and dinner). Austin (son) still likes to nurse every 2-2 1/2 hours. I asked my doctor about this and he said that if he is hungry I should feed him. I have noticed after he eats his baby food he is not ready to nurse again until like three hours later. Overall I would say your son is about ready to start eating twice a day, read his signs you really cant go wrong in this situation. Hope this helps.

Really there is no definite amount of solid food that you should be giving your son at this time. But from my experience I would start with cereal around dinner time and work from there. Personally, I started my daughter (who is six months old) with cereal at night, then started to add cereal in the morning and another one for lunch. Once we had our six month check up appointment I then started adding vegetables with her dinner cereal. She still nurses about five times a day, and I have about two to three solid food meals for her too. Don't get to concerned that you are not doing something you should. Your son will tell you if he is hungry! I would just start to add a little more cereal and see how he does, so start adding another meal (either breakfast or lunch) and see how he does. You may see that he doesn't take as much formula as you start to add more solid food.
Hope this helped! And good luck!

It depends on your schedule. Some families start in the morning with oatmeal, others start it in the evening so they sleep better at night. I would definitly start with oatmeal because you can make it thinner or thicker as needed. Baby food, start with veggies first then fruit. Fruit is sweet and they are more willing to eat it than veggies. As for the number of times a day, slowly work your way up. I can't exactly remember the number of times. I think we started with one feeding, added a second one in the morning a few weeks later then a third at lunch after that. Ask your child's dr. or get some books with a little bit of research!

Hi T.,

Unfortunately babies don't come with directions!

I assume you've started with the cereal first, and are ready to progress to the vegetables & fruits.

Whenever you introduce a new food, add it slowly. Watch for any changes with your sons behavior. Excessivly fussy, gassey, diarrhea, constipation or a rash. Most of the time there aren't any problems, although some babies may have some discomfort, but after a couple of feedings of that particular food will not be a problem. Feed him the same food for a few feedings before introducing a new one. Adding too many new foods may really cause upset and then you won't know which one it was.

Pour the baby food in a small dish start with 1/4 of a jar for the first feeding of that particular food. You can use the rest for the next feedings. You don't want to feed him from the jar and save the rest of it if you've put the spoon from his mouth in the jar, it will be contaminated with his saliva.

Feed him 3 meals a day just like we do, breakfast, lunch and dinneer. Cereal & fruit in the AM, fruit & vegetable at lunch & dinner. Unless of course his Dr. tells you different. You'll be the judge of how much to feed him.

He'll still need his bottle after his meal.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

K. :)

Hi T.,

I am recommending a Great Book by Sharon Broer...wife of Dr. Ted Broer a Christian doctor. It's called: Train Up a Child in the Way They Should Eat. It is listed on eBay right now which ends on Feb.26th. It is full of very helpful advice to get your baby started on a nutrition program that is geared for the rest of their life. Please don't feed your 5 month old Cheerios! You have received some good advice & some questionable advice. I would get her book if you can...it will be VERY useful advice.

Hi T.:
I asked a similar question when my baby was around 5mo. and got some great advice. We've been playing it by ear. We started with cereal before bed and, around 6mo., started integrating pureed fruits in the cereal once a day. In a few weeks, we moved up to 2 fruit/veggie feedings a day. Now (7 1/2 mo.) we're doing 3 a day (breakfast, lunch & dinner) with occasional snacks like bananas or melba toast in between. This is all in addition to 5-6 breastmilk feedings a day. No matter what solid food you're giving your baby, he should still have 17-25oz. of formula each day for the first 10-12 months. Good luck!

I would try to work it in twice at this age. Mid-morning between bottles and mid-afternoon, again between bottles. Gradually you'll move them to regular meal times (breakfast, lunch and dinner). At his age you don't want to interfere with his milk intake. I hope this is a little bit of help.
If you're really concerned, or confused, call your peds office, they should give you some direction. :-)

Hi T.,
I am on the same page as far as the baby feedings go. I have a 4 year old, but I just can't seem to remember what I did for him when he was a baby. Luckily, my pediatrician doesn't expect me to. My youngest is 5 mos old too. At his 4 month check up (1/25) my ped. said, "Now that he is 4 mos you can start him on baby food. Give him cereal first just once a day (i chose night time), then after a week or so increase it to twice daily. Once he gets good at that introduce new foods every 3-4 days." He has been eating baby food since then. He has had rice cereal, squash, bananas, peaches and sweet potatoes. So far, so good. I tried the sweet potatoes a little too early and he did get gassy and uncomfortable the first night. I just waited another week or so and tried it again, he has been fine. I have to say though, if he had not been showing interest in it I probably would have held off for a little longer, but he would stare at my mouth when I was eating and then once he could he would try to reach for my spoon or whatever. I only feed him about 1/2 a jar at a time and I also give him a 4-6oz bottle after. He eats with us at breakfast and dinner. I just give him bottles the rest of the time. Hope this helps, and don't stress too much about it. Just take your cues from him and you will both be fine.
~L.

Well my daughter is almost 5 months and she eats 6 oz. every four hours and she only takes 4 bottles a day so 24 oz for one day. The pediatrician said this is a average schedule for a 5 month old but she said I can give her 1-2 teaspoons of ric cereal once a day if needed. I am not going to do that yet because she is doing fine with the formula and is not hungry for more.