What Types of Foods Do You Start With?

You know, I am so glad you asked this question .... because I have been dying to share this website with somebody! I looked it up in an effort to make homemade baby food, (which I did with 2 of my other 3 children... now I have 4) and I found the best website for making homemade baby food. Now, I don't share this with you for that reason in particular but it also tells you what ages and stages your baby should eat what.. it is a wealth of knowledge for a mother of a 4month old, like myself! Please check this out..... you will love it!

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

Now, I do make my own baby food because it is WAY cheaper and a lot better for him and it is easy. So, this website is not only helpful to tell you "what" your baby can eat and at what age, but it has a plethora of information if you should chose to make your own... and don't hesitate to give it a try... if you have any question you can contact me at ____@____.com. I am siked about doing this for my baby and I am even more siked about sharing this information with someone else!

Good luck and I hope you give homemade a try!

.

First, I would encourage you to wait a little longer. Until at least the 6 month mark. This is the latest recommendation by the AAP. You may say to yourself, she's almost 6 months, what's the harm. We now know that baby's digestive system can still do a lot of maturing in even a matter of weeks and that it's just not ready for any thing other than breastmilk or formula until around 6 months. Plus there are other signs that baby is ready for solids, not just her age. I'll post a link below on that. Also, there is no need to go straight to jarred food. For one thing, baby should not be emptying jars for a while, even the small jars. Solids at this age are more for fun and learning, not nutrition. Formula or breastmilk should be her main source for a few more months. Then you gradually back off (slightly) the formula/BM and increase the solids so that the closer you get to the one year mark, she is getting more solids. I'll paste some links below with excellent info on how this gradual shift will look like. Also, you'll want to give formula/BM first, then the solids. That's how you keep it her main source of nutrition. The closer you get to the one year mark, you can switch. We skipped cereal completely. It's not as great as everyone thinks. There are tons more nutritious food to offer. We started with avocado (simply mashed and thinned out) and butternut squash (cooked and watered down a little). And the theory about not starting with sweet foods first is garbage. Breastmilk is super sweet! And finally, I would hold off on juice for as long as possible, too. It's simply not necessary. It offers very little nutrition, just sugar, even the 100% juice. Water from a cup should be just fine. If you do juice, be sure to water it down a lot.
I've already made some enemies here, so I don't mind saying this...there is a lot of outdated advice here on mamasource (but given by good, well meaning moms!!). I say this because I'm sure you'll hear (1) it's fine to start solids this early (2) cereal is necessary (3) juice is great! (4) don't start with sweets (5) add cereal to her bottle. All of this is outdated information. Is it the end of the world if you do some of these things? No. But my motto is "We know better now, so we do better". You'll do what you feel is best for your sweet girl. Best wishes!

Why Delay Solids
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html

No Food Until 6 Months!
http://askdrsears.com/faq/fit12.asp

Feeding at a Glance
http://askdrsears.com/html/3/t030500.asp
This one has one of the best charts I've seen!

Will giving formula or solids at night help baby to sleep better?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-sleep.html

First Foods
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html

Starting Solid Foods
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/16starting_solid_foods.html

How do we get started with solids?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html
This one has a excellent chart too

I would certainly check with your doctor at your 6 month checkup. By our doctors advice, we did rice then oatmeal, then barley cereal. Then vegetables, then fruits. He was even specific to a suggested order of the veggies and then fruits (by color...but I don't recall the order).

Good luck and God Bless.

First, ask your doctor. There are also good resources such as Babycenter.com. I also recommend a great book called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. I don't totally follow her "super baby" diet for my little one (it's very healthy but takes somewhat of a change in lifestyle), but she gives very helpful practical advise and tells what you can introduce to baby and when.

Rice cereal is commonly recommended as a first food. Sweet potatoes and bananas are good too. Make sure you wait at least 4 days before introducing a new food.

I know I was eager to start solids with my daughter, but remember to take it slow. Your baby doesn't actually need the nutrition of solid food yet, but it's good for her to start practicing eating with a spoon.

Blessings!

If you have not givin her cereal yet start with rice cereal.
If you have start with the yellow veggies or fruits first. Carrots, squash, apples, pears & peaches. I would give 1 different food for 7 days to make sure she is not allergic to it before starting another.

Hey P.!
Congratulations on your baby girl!
Your pediatrician should advise you on the proper order, but if they don't do that, usually you begin with baby cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. Then we began the food with veggies, one jar at a time. This is to make sure your child does display food allergies early on. So, begin with green veggies and work through the "colors" to yellow, say, squash etc...
Then start one jar at a time with fruits. Then after all the food as been "sampled" you can begin with mixing a veggie with a fruit. Then I believe around 6 or 7 months you start with a meat, again one jar at a time. By the time they are 8 months they should have gone through all the baby food and if your pediatrician says it's time you can have them begin sampling smashed foods from the table... (One Step Ahead sells food nets for tots, so they can gum fruits but not choke on the little pieces)
Babies do NOT need juice. This is such a sales gimmick. I promise. Really, they only need formula or breast milk until they're a year or so. Then they switch onto cow's milk, and some water. Mine didn't really ever get the juice until after 18 months and still at 5, 4, and 3 yo they rarely get the juice, as it's loaded with natural sugar. It's really up to you though.
I hope this helps with your question! Have fun!!!

I started with the veggies. Try one for about 4 days before you add anything new - just to make sure no allergies. I did squash, green beans, carrots, etc.

Don't be alarmed if your daughter doesn't like a particular vegetable immediately. It can take a few times to develop the taste for something. And on occasion there will be a food that she just DOES NOT like. My daughter gags at green peas and always has. My son gags at avacado.

After going through all the veggies I then added fruit. I didn't do fruit first b/c I didn't want my twins to develop a sweet tooth and want fruit over veggies.

I have 1 year old boy/girl twins and they are great eaters!!!!

Feeding is lots of fun - good luck!!!

My pediatrician said to start with vegetables first then meats then fruits. She really emphasized fruits last. She said if they get a taste of the sweet fruits first then it is a lot harder to get them to eat the veggies and meat. I don't know about juice. I didn't want my daughter to get hooked on juice so I only gave it to her on special occasions, once a month maybe.

start with very watered down rice cereal. Once the baby gets the tongue thrust thing figured out you can add: bananas, introduce 1 new baby food once a week, start on Monday, that way you will know if there is an allergic reaction. Rice Cereal, Sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, bananas are all I would do for a month after the baby figures out the tongue thing!
Oh yeah, I would not give juice at all! It will cause a horrible diaper rash. If you do decide to give juice 2 oz juice to 2 oz water. ONly 4 oz of juice total per day.

I started out with cereal and then fruit..go with what you feel is right and are comfortable with..good luck
S. B

Hi P.,
Have you started her with cereal yet? If not that is usually first. After that my dr. Always said start with veggies first. They feel if the baby gets a taste of the sweet fruit they will not want veggies. We started with green veggies peas/greenbeans ect. One type for 3 days in a row to make sure no allergy's. Then move on to the others before fruit. But my girls (3 1/2 & 17 months) loved there veggies just as much as there fruit and still do. As for the juice they do not need that so early because then they fill up on that and wont have there formula/breastmilk. Once you do start her in a couple of months on juice always dilute it. my girls drink about 1 oz of juice to 6-7 oz water.
Good luck
M.
Did her dr. give any advise as to all of this?

The AAP recommends delaying solids until 6 months of age. After that, you can start by feeding pureed foods like green beans, bananas, avocado, sweet potatoes and the like. I know buying jar food seems like an easy choice, but if you have or can purchase a small food processor, making your own food is a much better choice. Not only do you know where the food came from, but there is less waste afterwards. And its cheaper, so who can top that? :D

As far as juice goes, I would delay for at least up to 12 months. They dont need it, really, and I wouldnt introduce it until you have already established a good habit of drinking water or milk. My daughter didnt even like juice at all until closer to 2 years, and now she gets juice once a day.

First start with a single-grain baby cereal. After the cereal has been introduced you should start with the stage 1 vegetables before the fruit (fruit first can spoil their appetite for vegetable because it's sweeter). Be sure to only introduce one ingredient at a time every 3 days or so, in case there is an allergic reaction - you will know exactly which food it was.
I would not recommend juice for at least a couple more months because formula or breastmilk should be most of their diet for a while- and then they are only supposed to get at the most 4 onces a day. Also, when you do give her juice, dilute it about 50% with water - it is less sugar intake and she will like it just the same.

Well, congrats on graduating to baby food :o) I support everyone that said first to start with the rice cereal, then I'd go on to the baby oatmeal. Then, Stage 1 is best to start with and I'd definitely go with veggies only at this point. If you give them the 'dessert' type foods in the beginning, they will not develop a taste for the other, less desirable flavors... peas were a big favorite of all of mine, that's what I would start with, as well as the carrots. I never could get them to love the broccoli, etc. but maybe you'll have better luck. I'd hold off on the bananas (especially) and other desserts until they really have a grasp on veggies (and cereal). I've seen kids that would only eat the bananas (wouldn't you?).

As for juice, alot of kids won't even drink juice at first after drinking milk or formula, so be prepared. Regardless, when you do, only give the water a splash (or maybe 20/80). To this day, my kids ages 7/6/2 drink heavily diluted juice, never full force, so I know they're getting plenty of good water that's flavored with 100% juice for a little vit. c. That's all they've ever known. Full strength juice is too much sugar, can cause all kinds of issues.

good luck and have fun! S.

Hi P.~
You should ask your pedi what to start with. We started with veggies, green ones first. As far as juice probably not till she's way older maybe into her later toddler years. Juice doesn't provide any nutrition, just extra sugar. She will get plenty of nutrients and liquid from formula/breastmilk for at least the first year. Good luck.

P.

I started my son on rice cereal early under the doctor's recommendation (he had extreme colic), then added other foods several weeks later once the cereal was mastered. Talk to your ped about foods as a first step, as he/she will have some recommendations and handouts on the subject. I think that after the cereal, you can do the stage 1 bananas, apricots, applesauce, etc. Anything mild will do. Start them one by one, testing each one over a period of days to make sure it doesn't upset her stomach. As for juice- I didn't give my son juice until he was 1 year old. Formula or breastmilk should be all they drink for the first year.

Our doctor started us out at 4 months with the rice cereal, but it started to constipate my youngest so I just stuck with breastfeeding. At 6 months, he was put on baby food. We start off with veggies and go through 1 type at a time for 4 or 5 days then change to a new one. When we were done with veggies, we started on fruit and went through the same routine. Just stick with the single foods until you have gone through all the different flavors to test for allergies.

I always started with a fruit first... Use that same fruit all week.. That way if your child has a reaction you know it is from that one thing... Once we did all the fruits we went to vegi's .. Same way.. I never used the meat so i am not sure it always discusted us. Lol so we just blendid up what we ate . And added formula to thinn it down...

Ask your pediatrician-they have a list starting with the least
allergenic foods and progress so you are able to determine any allergy problems.

my youngest is now 9 years old but we started with rice or mixed baby cereal at 4 months old and about that time we started juices about one little bottle a day but we deluted it with water 1/2 and 1/2 becouse the acid blistered there bottoms.I fed them mashed potatoes,gravey,apple sauce,bananas,and yogert blended well not the baby food kind.a few bites at a time as they could tolorate.juice and bananas were baby food but every thing else was table food.my son loved squash that was done like mashed potatoes and carrots the same way not much for green vegatables though by time they were 8-9 months they ate all soft foods and some dinners(baby food).good luck each child is different I had three.so if your child isnt ready or is ready sooner it depends on his/her development.

For the most part I agree with everyone's advice that has been given. The only thing I would add is that if you are going to buy the baby food in jars, don't waste your money on stage 1. There is no difference in the stage 1 and stage 2 baby foods except for the size of the jar. And at most stores they cost the same amount of money. So generally it makes more sense to buy the stage 2 foods and even if you end up wasting some of it the first few times you haven't spent more money. Also, I got on the Beechnut program where I collected UPC codes from the jars of their food and exchanged them through the mail for $1 coupons. Between sales and the coupons I never paid more than $0.30 per jar of food which when you combine your time with the cost of fresh produce to make your own food, it really isn't any more expensive. Good luck!

I had all the same questions so I turned to a book called "Super Baby Food." It discusses making homemade baby food (FYI: very easy) and which foods to start with & how much. But you don't have to make the food to get the book, it also discusses supermarket baby food. Which brand to buy, how to avoid bacteria, how to make feeding time easy for you & baby, other useful tips, etc. It was very helpful and it is a thick book but user/reader friendly. I started my 6 1/2 mos old son on rice cereal but he did not care for it. So I then tried oatmeal cereal (earth's best brand) and he loved it. He then had bananas & sweet potato. I would introduce one thing at a time for 3-4 days before introducing the next to make sure he wasn't allergic. I fed him in the am/breakfast first then two weeks later I started breakfast & dinner. A month later he now eats b/lunch/d. But your time frame may be different for your baby. Good luck it does get messy but so cute.

Start with vegetables first then fruits. If you start fruits first they will like the sweetness and won't eat vegs. as well.

My doctor just told me to start with cereal. Next, vegetables - you basically work with the colors starting with the light colors then working to the darker ones (i.e. white, yellow, orange, then green so potatoes first then green beans/peas last). Last, add the fruits since the kids like them a lot. Then after fruits, you can do the meats. Just make sure to introduce a new food every couple of days.

Hey, pretty much whatever can be "Gummed" :) Beechnut makes yummy banana cookies that melt really fast. Ididn't start my little guy on solids until a little laterbecause he is big time predisposed to allergies. I guess sitck with the puree stuff right now.

I would NEVER give them juice though. It's just sugar water.Even the stuff that is 100% juice is really bad for their teeth even though they're not in yet. Both my doctor and my dentist said that not giving my son juice was one of the best things I could have done for ihm. Not only is it one of the worst things for their teeth, but when they get used to the extra sweet of the juice, they won't eat the actual fruit.

My mother thinks I'm the most horrible thing becasue I don't giv ehim juice. She says "how will he ever get the nutrients????" I GIVE HIM FRUIT ! :0) She doens't get it. But I would strongly suggest not giving your little one juice ever.

Hey P.,

Our doctor suggested starting with the cereals- first rice, then oats and barley. You should feed her each one for 5-7 days at a time to make sure she is not allergic to any of them. After she goes through all the cereals, then you start with veggies then fruit and meats. Our doctor cautioned that if we start with fruits our son may prefer those and never give the veggies a try. He is just now getting done with the cereals so we will be trying the veggies soon! But P., I'm sure there are a million different suggestions and combinations of how to begin feeding your little one. I really don't think you can do anything wrong here. My biggest advice is to try each food for 5-7 days to make sure she isn't allergic. Other than that- I'm sure she will do well and everything will be fine.

Good luck and have fun! I was so excited about feeding my son for the first time. It was a complete fiasco and totally hilarious!! I ended up dropping the entire bowl of food before I even gave him the first bite. So he's wailing because he's hungry while my husband and I are rushing around like crazy people trying to make a new bowl. It was great!!

-K.

I'll bet you have a TON of responses! (I didn't look, yet). Anyway as a mom to 4 and 'Mom-Mom' to 3, I have a little experience.

I think rice cereal (and maybe barley) is (are) still considered the least likely to cause allergic reaction. Apple juice is the mildest juice. When I was a new mom, we were recommended to start cereal and juice at 6 WEEKS (now it's 6 MONTHS or later!) Anyway, something I WISH I'd known (one child had some kind of allergic reaction) is to ONLY add one new food per WEEK. That way, you can tell if that particular food causes a negative reaction.

Mix cereal with formula, water, or breast milk to whatever consistency the child tolerates best (from 'runny' to 'pasty'). After several weeks of cereals and/or juice, you just gradually add new foods (mashed banana or potatoes, commercially canned baby food, etc).

Wheat, egg whites, and dairy are common allergy triggers, so be careful with those.

Happy mothering!

P.S. AMEN to the recommendation of a small food processor/chopper! Just don't add salt/seasonings to cooked foods for baby.

You can start giving a baby juice, such as apple juice when they are four months. To save money, you can buy regular apple juice and add water. Use about 1/3 juice and 2/3 water. Start her off with about 4 oz. a day. You will know when she is ready for more. There is no certain type of food to start with when feeding. You can try apple sauce, mashed potatoes, puddings, ice cream, anything real soft that doesn't require and chewing. She will let you know really quickly if she likes it or if shes ready for that certain type of food. If she doesn't like it at first, try again in a few days. Everyday they grow and learn to eat different types of foods and textures.

Most people start with rice cereal first, because it is easiest on their little stomachs. I then moved on to the green veggies (peas/green beans), and then started on the orange/yellow veggies. You start with the greens first, because the orange/yellow veggies are sweeter. Sometimes if you start with orange/yellow veggies or fruit first then the babies are less likely to eat the green veggies, b/c they're more bland. So, get her used to the greens first, then the other veggies, and then the less allergenic fruits like applesauce and bananas. Stay away from those fruits that are labeled as desserts. Also make sure, especially at first, to wait several days between trying new foods just to make sure she doesn't have an allergic reaction.

As far as juice, we didn't start giving my daughter juice until she was over one year old. Even then it is very sporadic and very diluted with water. It's really not necessary if she's getting the milk and water she needs (our pediatrician told us to start giving her a small amount of water at 11 months old).

I started my daughter off with mashed potatoes when she was 2 months old, the same as I did for her brother when he was that age. By 6 months my kids were eating table food completely and to answer a lot of peoples fears, no it does not make them fat. My son is 17 6 feet even and weighs 180 my daughter is 5 close to 4f and weighs 55 lbs.

SWEET POTATOES and Rice Cereal. If your ambitious and want to make your own baby food, here is a great website.

www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Juice - Apple and White Grape is what our Pediatrician recommended. 1/2 water, 1/2 juice, 4-6 oz a day.

Start with rice cereal, just buy the smallest container because rice cereal doesn't have much food value. You can switch to oarmeal right away. Them, take a small piece of fresh banana and mash it very well, and feed her that. Then you can combine them. I made my baby's food, and blended it, or put it through a ricer, and felt that I knew what they were getting. Now they have organic baby food.

we were told to start with rice cereal, did that for a week or 2 then oatmeal cereal, then veggies, then fruits. you can start juice at about 6 months, but i reccommend diluting with water, which i still do for my son who is almost 2

Hi P.! My daughter is almost 5 1/2 months old. At 4 months, we started with rice cereal (which she already gets in her formula for reflux), then we tried oatmeal. The dr. gave us the ok to start fruits & veggies. We did green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, bananas, applesauce, barley cereal & prunes. We're still working on introducing carrots & squash. I just bought a pack of each 1st foods & then just started trying a new one every 3-4 days. So far she has done wonderful. She has really surprised me that she likes everything so far. As for juice, everything I've read, is to start that after 6 months & no more than 4oz/day. I do know that from experience, that pear juice will loosen their bowels. That is what the dr. had us give our little one when she was constipated & it works well.

Hey P.! Hello! My child is now 8, so it has been sometime. I mostly wanted to comment re:juice. I started her w/diluted w/water juice at 6 mon. The doc. said pear would be the easiest. I did so, but I was not prepared for the allerigic reaction she had almost immediately. Luckily, I had benadryl. I was not ready to see that. We were away form home at the time. Please have something on hand jsut in case. My daughter did not really like so I asked if I could just give water? Doc said fine. That was the best thing I could have done. She loves water to this day! She will even tell you water is her favorite drink. It is also better for teeth. Your childs teeth lie under his/her gums. Sugar will affect them. If you do juice, dillute first and be sure to wipe gums afterward with a damp, soft, clean, baby wash cloth.
As for foods, I stared w/cereal then added banana w/cereal. Then we moved to veg. If you start w/too much sweet you can create a sweet tooth in your child. Be sure to stay away from dairy and peanuts until the child gets a little older. These can be dangerous to them. Hope this helps.

D.

i always start with the least sweet vegetables, like green beans, then go to carrots and sweet potatoes. i feel like this keeps baby from refusing things that are not sweet latter. i think that most people start with fruits though. as far as juice goes, my pediatrician always says not until they are eating well, three meals per day of solid food. about two months after you start solids.

I delayed solids for as long as possible and extended breastfed mine. I started them on solids when they were showing an interest in what we were eating, and sitting up unsuppported.

I would mash foods that we had on our plates. Mines started out with avacado, potatoes, beans, carrots, bananas. Not all at the same time, of course but I would introduce new foods as I felt necessary. I choose whole foods and avoided preservatives, additives, artificial colors, sweetners, high fructose corn syrup and aspartame.

You don't have to give your baby juice anytime soon. Do you breastfeed or formula feed? If you're breastfeeding, your milk will sustain your baby. My lo's always drank water and when I choose to give them juice I diluted it. If you're giving your lo juice choose 100% juice without high fructose corn syrup.

J.

First, at five months it's not quite necessary to give solid foods. Baby apple juice is the first I recall trying. And rice cereal is the easiest for baby to digest.
Hasn't your baby's pediatrician given you any guidelines??
If she seems unsatisfied or hungry all the time, start by trying just a couple of tablespoons of the rice cereal and see how she does. First try it in the morning to see how she does with it, and if she doesn't show signs of tummy problems or spitting it up, then try some at night also. I wouldn't do any more than that until you consult with the doctor.
Also, a tip that many moms forget to do is to get her to drink water in between feedings. I started with two ounces at room temperature, two or three times a day.

D. in NC

most doctors say start with rice cereal, but if your child is anything like my kiddos she hates it!! so we just went to orange veggies. do one veggie for 3-5 days to make sure there is no allergy good luck!

I am sure you will get plenty of advice so I will just say that you don't start with fruit first. The baby will get the sweet tooth and won't want the veggies. Starts with veggies first. You don't need to give them juice for awhile but when you do, mix it 1/2 juice and 1/2 water. I still mix my kid's juice with some water and they are 5 and almost 3. Never can get enough water! :o)

W.

Usually try the rice, oatmeal, and barley cereals. Baby food...veggies first one at a time for 3-5 days then try a different one. Don't do the fruits yet. Give them fruits and it's real hard to get them back to veggies...TRUST ME! Good luck!

You have many wonderful responses, so the only 2 cents I am going to put in is this. If you can hold off on juice, do it! When I started my daughter on cups, I offered her only water. She is 3 now, and it is all she will drink aside from milk. I know some juices have good stuff in it, but most are just filled with sugar. Something none of us need. You want to get your child into good habits, and drining water on a daily basis is a good one! I am watching all these kids her age and younger drinking soda! Yikes..nothing good in that. If your child is a good eater, she will not need the juice.
rice cereal, oatmeal, barley...veggis before fruits..
Good Luck!... oh, and don't be afraid to try spinach! Makeit yourself if you can, it is my daughters absolute favorite veggie, and it is sooooo good for you!!!