Which Food to Start With?

Hi!
I started with rice cereal, then after a few days did green beans, then carrots, then peas, then squash- I'd do a green/orange pattern. i also used the nets to put real food in so she could suck on them and she loves it! Happy Baby is frozen baby food that can be only found at Giant Eagle Markey District but they contain fish-free DHA and are so good! I tried it and it tastes fresh!!

We always started with rice cereal and then eventually snuck some applesauce in it. What a fun time this will be for you :-)

Hi A.,
I started with sweet potatoe- just bake & mash with a fork. Then moved to soups- lentil is especially good. Then I went to hummus. These were all favorites of my son's as well as other babies! I've also used this book called "Le Petit Appetit" which I think was written by Lisa Barnes.
P.

I started with veggies around 4 months old. The sweet ones (sw. potatoes, carrots, peas, etc.) I also made a lot of my own baby food. I pureed in the blender with water or formula. I then froze in ice cube trays and after they were frozen put in freezer bags marked with what they were. It was very easy to take along or send to babysitter, etc. A book I recommend is "First Meals" - I'm not sure of the author off hand. It has a lot of good recipes in especially once you get past the individual foods stage where you can start combining foods together. My sons both loved a lot of the recipes in that book.

If you're breastfeeding stay away from the cereals they really are unnecessary. The LLL has some great recommendations. They say to start with avocado and bananas.
Here is a good site for some recommendations: http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html

Especially if you are breastfeeding you will want to start with cereal - either rice or oatmeal is fine. Just make it thin to start. Iron is the big thing in cereal that isn't in breastmilk. If you are formula feeding, it's still traditional to offer cereal, but it isn't so critical. I made most of my 3 little one's baby food and it isn't that big of a deal. I didn't use a book. Occasionally I'd look online for an idea or to find foods to stay away from. Basically until you've offered a new food by itself, you don't want to offer it mixed. You also want to wait about 3 days between new foods to watch for any allergic reaction. Most things can either be pureed in the food processor fresh - peaches, bananas, etc - or cooked until soft and then tossed into the processor. You can add a bit of water, fruit juice or breastmilk/formula to get the right consistency. I just used what seemd to make sense with different foods. I liked storing my food by putting in ice cube trays and when frozen, popping out into labeled bags. They are easy to thaw and an ice cube is a perfect serving size. As they get bigger, you can mix 2 together or offer 2 or more separately as a meal.

We did rice cereal followed by in this order - bananas, sweet potato, avocado, peaches, pears, applesauce. I went to a seminar at the breastfeeding resource center in glenside which was very informative on how to start solids. They said most people start with rice cereal or bananas just b/c that is what parents have always done even though they are constipating foods. If you have any questions you can always contact the, and they have support groups and seminars all the time. Check out their website http://www.breastfeedingresourcecenter.org/. I make my own baby food and found some good videos on youtube. I steam the food ( i use organic foods). then puree in a food processor then freeze in ice cube trays then place the food in the freezer in labeled ziplock bags (date included). I heard that superbabyfood is a good book but haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Good luck.

My little one started at 5 months old with baby rice cereal, followed in about a week by jar baby peas...then banana! She liked her baby rice ceral with warm water...not formula...?....and she loved the bananas barely ripe! Have fun!

my daughter turned six months over the weekend, we started with rice cereal when she was four months, barley cereal aound five months and veggies when she was five and a half and we're still introducing veggies one by one. We'll start her on fruit once we get through all the veggies, maybe in a week. But start with the rice

I wholeheartedly agree with Steph S - "SUPER BABY FOOD" by Ruth Yaron is an outstanding book. It gives you a month by month schedule covering what foods you can give to your baby based on their digestive system, allergy risks, etc. She specifically details how to select each food, how to prepare/cook it, how to store it, freeze it, etc. She provides nutritional indexes for each food as well. Even if you're not planning to make your own baby food (which is super easy and totally worth the effort), it is the best reference book out there for feeding kids.

Hi A.,

There really isn't any need to feed your baby rice cereal. You can start with veges or fruits or even meat. What is important is the consistency of the food that you start with, not the identity of the food. You should avoid high allergy foods like strawberries or nuts, but pretty much anything else is fair game. The US is the only country in the world where moms start their babies on rice cereal. In Japan the number 1 selling stage 1 baby food is sardines with wasabi!!

J.

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What a fun stage to begin!! You've gotten some great advice already and everyone has their different opinions...no one is really wrong or right cause everyone's situation and baby is different. So just remember that!!

We started with very thin oatmeal cereal first. It's inexpensive and a nutritious way for them to learn how to swallow solid foods. I think you could start with a veggie if you wanted to, but it would end up all over their face and clothes so it would be a waste of food, really! I think that's one reason why people start with cereal first. Start with the cereal (rice or oatmeal) very thin and expect their poop to be a bit wierd at first (if they go at all). My son started on rice cereal and didn't poop for days so that's why we had to switch to oatmeal. Don't give them too much at first cause their digestive system has to get used to the different food. When you're feeding solids, too, remember that P=Poop! anything that starts with a P (pears, prunes, peaches, etc.) will help them go :) Next I think we tried squash, peaches, applesauce...stuff like that. We also started to introduce very watered down juice like prune and apple.

I got most of my recipes from http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/ It's so easy to make your own baby food! All you need is a good food processor and you're ready to go!

Hi A.! I always started mine on rice ceral mixed with formula. Then I moved on to veggies then custard style yoplait yogurt and fruits. Save the sweet stuff for last! Watch the orange veggies...too many, too many days/meals in a row and you can have a baby with an orange glow! (lol I did that to my oldest!) Some babies react to texture more than flavor, so if they don't like babyfood peas, it doesn't mean they don't like peas and won't eat them as finger food as they get older. Two of mine did that!

The best books I ever bought & used were the "What to Expect" series, Expecting, The First Year & the Toddler Years. I wish there was one for the Tween & Teen years! They help you though it all from feeding, play, illness, to growth landmarks. I still have my books and still refer to them when I can't remember/have a question since I started babysitting. You can find them everywhere...even WalMart!

Good luck, have fun, and remember to plan meals to take a lot longer now! Enjoy!

Hi- I see you've already gotten a lot of advice... all different. That is because it really doesn't matter much which food you start with. Some recommend cereal- doesn't have to be rice, in fact I never even gave my 10 month old rice. You can also start with veggies. Don't sweat it... I made all my baby food- it is easy, healthy, and very economical. It also made me feel good to do it! A great website to check out is wholesomebabyfood.com I got great recipes from that site as well as some answers to common questions like yours. Also, Carolyn is wrong about starting at 4 months. The AAP recommends starting solids at 6 months now, not four. Good luck and feel free to email me with any questions. Enjoy this time! It's so much fun.

Start with Rice cereal not veggies. Honestly your ped should have let you start her on rice cereal at 4months and then you could have been starting veggies now. But definately rice first so she gets used to having something that still kind of taste like her milk for a while.

I started both of my kids on rice cereal, but switched pretty quickly to oatmeal because my son got really bad gas and my daughter didn't care for it. They both loved oatmeal.
I would then slowly add a veggie or fruit with the oatmeal so that the consistency was the same and the new flavor wasn't overwhelming. Then, you remove the oatmeal and they are on veggies and fruit only. Many people say that after cereal, you should do veggies (green and then orange) and finally fruit because if you do the sweeter food first, they'll reject the others. That was not my experience with my son (I didn't hear it until I was pregnant with my daughter), so I don't know how much weight I would give it. It all depends on the child.

Gerber has a great little food guide (its compact so its quick and easy to read) that talks through what foods your baby should be eating at each age. You could probably get it from the internet, but mine came in the mail.

I tried making my own food, but to me, it was too time intensive (cleaning up after it or making the food blander than normal) for us. There are also some foods that you shouldn't make for your baby, like spinach so if you decide to do it, make sure you do the necessary research.

One tip, my kids had some pooping problems because so many of the fruits are combined with bananas. So, to combat that, I would serve prunes 3 or 4 times a week. I'd just mix them into their cereal in the morning or with their fruit.

Best of luck and remember to take lots of pictures because the memories will be unforgettable.

Best food about feeding your baby EVER:

SUPER BABY FOOD by Ruth Yaron.

It's a complete reference manual for feeding your baby month by month. I can't say enough about how much it helped me. Check your local library.

Rice cereal...I believe it is the food least likely to cause an allergeric reaction. Then yellow veggies (sweet potatoes, butternut squash), then other veggies & fruits.
I made my own veggies & bananas, but bought jars of the other fruit (it was actually cheaper to purchase baby food fruit than to make it myself). I would steam the veggies until soft & then grind them up in the food processor until they were the consistency I wanted. Then I would put them into ice cube trays & freeze. Later I would pop them out & put into zip lock bags. The bananas I would cook in just a little bit of water for a few minutes then blend & freeze. When he got older & was eating food combos I would just take a couple different cubes from the freezer & nuke them. After nuking I would put them in the fridge to cool to room temp.
When he got to the third foods I stopped making my own b/c I had trouble getting that consistency & variety. It was just easier for me to buy.
Good luck & have fun.

I started with rice cereal. After he tolerated that well I did applesauce then sweet potatoes. Now he is 10 months and eats a wide variety of things. I tried to keep his foods balanced (try a new fruit one week, then a new veggie the next) so he would get a taste for both fruits and veggies. I would not recommend the pureed meats that are stage 1. They smell like dog food and my baby would not eat them at all. He basically made a gagging face and spit it out. We fed it to the cat. Once he was a little older he would eat the meats that are in dinners (stage2) like apples and chicken and turkey with sweet potatoes. Just make sure you wait at least 3 days in between new foods. I always waited a week when I first started because I would start the new food on Sunday because it was easy to remember that way. Good luck and remember to take lots of pictures of those first messy meals.

I am going to give you a different answer, and that is, it does not really matter! I started my little girl with bananas, they are easy to make quick and you can eat the rest! If you are looking for a book, Super Baby Food is GREAT! Keep in mind that not all babies like baby food though. My son (2.5 yo) REFUSED baby food. He gagged and threw up and went straight to table food. My daughter on the other hand LOVES it. So, watch for the signs, gagging, throwing up, turning head away, clamping lips shut when you try to feed, it is a sign that they are not ready. You don't want to create a food aversion! Super Baby food discusses all of this and what to start with and when as well as how to make food from infant to toddler-hood!

A.,
We did not give rice cereal as it is binding, instead we used oatmeal baby food. The pediatrician said to give orange and yellow #1's first. Squash, carrots, applesauce, pears (a big hit), sweet potatoes etc. That is what we started with and it worked out great!
Good luck
Christina

I started my baby girl with rice cereal made with breast milk (use formula if your baby is formula fed). It was a very runny consistency at first until she understood the tongue action required for swollowing (not sucking). Then we moved onto stage 1 apple sauce, then sweet potatoes. I introduced both fruit and veggies early on and to this day she LOVES ALL of them...even the green beans. It's actually the meats and mixed meals(which weren't introduced until several months later) that she shakes her head at.

Its best to start with basic rice ceral. It has the smallest change of having an allergic reaction. Go through all the cerals first, with 3-4 days between any new food to check for allergic reactions. Then start with fruit. I was at the Ped. yesterday and this is what they reccomend for all infants.

For at home baby food use any food that you would feed yourself. Do not prepare it with salt ot any aded fats. This allows that baby to get used to the taste of the natural flavor, not artifical additives that can lead to unhealthy dependance on later in life. You should no home prepare beets, turnips, carrots, spinach,or collard greens. They can contain large amounts of nitrates based on the soil that thye are grown in. Commerically prepared containers of these veg do not have ligh levels of nitrates as they are screened. It is not possible to screen the at home. If you choose to home prepare these anyway, feed fresh as the amount of noitrats can increase during storage. This info (paraphrased)comes directly from the "Starting Solid Foods" pamphlet from the American Academy Of Pediatrics. Ask your Ped for a copy or you can check out the web site for further info :)

I have a nine month old little girl. We started her on rice cereal, then fruits, then veggies and now she has just started meats. We waited five days in between new foods just to make sure she did not have any allergic reactions. She's doig great and eats everything! Good luck

I started all 4 of my babies on rice cereal (as early as 3 weeks on 2 of em). Then around 4 mos, started with the fruits, either applesauce or bananas first. Do each for at least 3 days. I would give cereal/fruit for breakfast, then cereal for lunch and dinner. Usually half a jar each day, so 4 days. Then start a new one for 4 days.

Good luck, the fun begins !!

I agree that rice cereal is where to start- something about being gentle on the tummy for someone just starting solid foods. (Think of the BRAT diet)
As far as making your own food, you can buy fresh/frozen/canned (no salt for vegs/no syrup for fruit options exist) and puree it using a mini-food processor. I cooked the vegs prior to puree but not the fuits. I used baby food jars to store foods and apparently you can freeze them to. Also, there are these self-feeders that you can use to feed bananas. (Sassy makes them I think...) It has a mesh holder that you put the food (like banana) inside then you snap it closed and it has a ring for the child to hold and it strains the veggie or fruit through it for them to suck on. My son LOVED it.
Good luck!

hi. i have a seven month old little boy who started solids when he was around four months. (my doctor told me to start then). you should always start with single grain rice cereal b/c that's the lowest risk for allergies. then around five months we gave green beans, sweet potatoes, peas, apples, pears, squash, bananas, and then we gave him peaches and we are up to the present. make sure you only give one food for 5-7 days before introducing the next to make sure they aren't allergic. i also make my own baby food. i bought the Magic Bullet at BedBathandBeyond with ice cube trays from BabiesRUs. i don't know of any books (but let me know if you find one) i just kinda went on my own. my baby dosen't seem to notice a difference b/c home made or store bought. it is time consuming so i suggest make the food in large amounts or you'll be doing it all day. for my shower, a friend made me a Baby Food book. she got her info from a website. i haven't checked it out yet but the stuff she printed off was helpful so give it a shot. www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com if you had any other questions, feel free to email me at ____@____.com good luck and have fun. hope some of this helped! corey

Agree with the advice here. After the rice cereal and oatmeal you can also try barley. That's actually my daughter's favorite of all the single grain cereals!

They told me to start my daughter on rice cereal. Then if she managed that well they told me to start giving her orange vegetables three weeks following. Although this is what my daughters doctor said you may want to ask your doctor as well.

Hi A.~
I started with rice cereal and then went on to introduce the vegetables. I think we started with sweet potatoes, yams and moved to avocado, peas, beans. We didn't start fruits until maybe 7 or 8 months and then we would mix in apples or pears or bananas with the sweet potatoes, yams, etc. We made all of our own baby food (except for the carrots and the meats) and it was super easy. We used a food mill to make the puree and then we put it into ice cube trays, froze them and then put them into baggies. I just took out 1-2 cubes every day for the meals at day care and by the time lunch rolled around, they were all set to go!! Hope this helps.

Good luck!
~D. D.

i was told to start with rice cereal, really thin and then you make it a bit thicker (less forumla/EBM) each day. then, after 2 weeks, try barley cereal. Then, 2 weeks later, oatmeal.

after these are successful, you start on veggies. i was told one new one every 3-5 days (to make sure there isn't an allergy) and to first do all the orange colored ones, then move to the green ones.

and once you KNOW a food is okay, you can add it to the cereal.

hope that helps.

If you are interested in making your own baby food, you really need to have the book SUPER BABY FOOD. It is so helpful. I have three boys and never bought a jar of babyfood, my husband and I made (and froze) everything. It's really nice to know exactly what you are feeding your child, and it's really not too time consuming, you just have to do it in batches. And to answer your question about the first food, we started with avacado.

I found a wonderful website all about making your own baby food... www.wholesomebabyfood.com It was a great resource and I found making baby food to be lots of fun and very rewarding. We started with avocados! We also started with rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, and then we began adding vegetables. The most important thing is to follow the 4 day rule: try one food at a time and wait 4 days to see if there are any reactions. For example, we found that carrots and parsnips gave her an extremely bad diaper rash and so we didn't give her those foods again.
Good luck and have fun. Remember, babies need to try something 7 or 8 times before they can decide if they like it or not. So keep trying.

We actually started with applesauce, even though it is not recommended. I was told she wouldn't like vegetables. My daughter is 19 months old and loves vegetables. She eats broccoli, peas, green beans, beets, carrots, sweet potatoes. You get the idea. She is a very good eater. I contribute it to the fact that we didn't start with bland pasty cereal, but with something she really liked and now she is fine trying new foods. (We did give her the cereal after the applesauce, actually started with oatmeal.) I found a great book on homemade babyfood. It is "Homemade Baby Food Pure & Simple" by Connie Linardakis

My baby will be 18 mos. on Friday, and it was tough trying to make all those decisions at 6 mos! What was recommended to me was:
1 - rice cereal
2 - oatmeal cereal
3 - vegetables
4 - fruits
Veggies were recommended before fruits because the fruits are so yummy sometimes they reject the veggies as they aren't obviously as delicious. Also, it was told to me that it can take up to 10-12 times of trying to get them to eat a particular food before they develop a taste for it, so don't give up easily! Always empty a bit of the food into a little bowl to feed from so you can refrigerate it and try again in a day or so. My dr. recommended doing one food for at least 4 days to check for allergies. I did all of the veggies and he did pretty well with them...the peas took a while to get him to go for. Of course once I added the fruit he liked all of them. I did fruit for breakfast in his cereal, then cereal, veggies and fruit for lunch, and the same for dinner. After a few weeks on veggies, I gave him those Gerber puffs and he did really well with them. At 7 mos., it was onto Cheerios (not broken up...they already have a hole in them). My dr. was happy with that progression....they want babies to get used to foods of different textures. Ok...I'm rambling...hope this helps, and good luck! (Oh, and BTW - baby food spit up is not fun - it shows back up when you least expect it! Keep Shout Action Gel and a toothbrush handy at laundry time...it has gotten EVERYTHING out!)

I agree with Jessica S's website suggestion and Michele L's info too - rice cereal is great (provides iron and is very nonreactive - haven't heard of any kid having a rice allergy!) and then move on to oatmeal so your daughter doestn't get bound up. After that, I jumped into green veggies first (my daughter didn't like the avocado at all and still doesn't - too fatty/oily for her) and she's been a diehard green bean/soybean/pea/fruit fan every since. It's scary at first as you think you'll do something "wrong" but as long as you give all foods 3-4 days to watch for allergies, you'll be just fine. Good luck and get the camera ready - you'll be starting the funny faces:)

We gave my son banana first, and plan on giving our daughter the same, the second was squash. (I made his food myself and banana is easy since you just mash it!
My son never had cereal, and he is 3 and loves fruit and vegetable now!

definitely start with rice cereal....it is easier to swallow as the first food. I did this with all three of my kids. After she is taking the cereal, move onto a thicker cereal like baby oatmeal, then move on to veggies. Introduce only one new food at a time so that if she develops an allergy to a food, you know which one it is.

I started both of my children w/rice cereal, just to get them used to eating off of a spoon. I also waited until both children were 6 months old. Once they wereable to handle the cereal I started banana, avocado & sweet potatoes to name a few. I make all of my baby food, neither child has ever had a jar & it's really not that time consuming. My 2 1/2 yr old eats such a wide variety of foods & I believe it's b/c we offered him so many more foods than you're able to get out of a gerber jar. I know their food is fresh & we save alot of money. I do have a book "SUPER BABY FOODS" by Ruth Yaron, it's nice to have this as a guide as to when your baby should start which foods. hth Good luck!

Hi A.!
I too have a daughter about the same age as yours and had permission from the pediatrician to start her on rice cereal, vegetables and/or fruit. I first started with the rice cereal, mixing it with formula instead of just water to give it a familiar flavor. I think the idea is to teach your baby to swallow. The sucking reflex is all they have known for the past 24 months. I made an effort to show the baby how I open my mouth and take the spoon. She was happy to imitate my actions. Since then we have started on sweet peas. I will probably feed her those for the next couple of weeks and then choose another vegetable and feed her that solely for a couple of weeks. It's important to stick with one food at a time in case of food allergies. Also it is my philosophy to start with green vegetables, then colored vegetables(i.e. carrots) and then fruit. I want my child to enjoy a range of foods not just sweet ones!!!
I recommend Anna Karmels "First Meals" for advise on nutrition and for making your own baby food. If you do decide to purchase baby food, buy organic! There will be no additives or preservatives, it will be the closest you can get to homemade.
Enjoy feeding your little girl!
Kindly, S. J

I started with rice cereal and breastmilk at 7 1/2 months. The response was underwheming so I went to baked sweet potato and breastmilk, then squash, white potato, lamb, chicken, broccoli, peas, salmon, tuna etc. I tried each one for a week before adding new ones, and initially gave each food with breastmilk mixed in. My girls were each old enough that they began to feed themselves-although it was messy-very quickly. I withheld dairy, tomatoes and citrus until after they were a year old to reduce the chance of allergies. I made all of my own food fresh each meal. We have gardens and raise our own meat, plus we hunt and fish so we have easy access to fresh food. Plain rice cakes and a sippy cup of water were great in the truck for keeping little mouths occupied while driving! Although I am an advocate of fresh food, there are many good options for moms without the time or resources I am lucky enough to have!

B.

I started my two older kids, and plan to start my baby when its time, on rice cereal. I then added veggies, starting with squash and sweet potatoes because they are less bitter, then all the rest. Once I got through those I started adding fruit to their morning cereal.

Hi A.
My pediatrician always used to tell me to start with rice cereal with all four of my kids. I always mixed it with formula and at first it has to be pretty runny....until they learn how to eat it. After the rice cereal, I introduced applesauce, and then bananas, pears....then onto the veggies. I think you can get some books from your library on how to make your own baby food, and you probably can do this with a good food processor to puree them. Or possibly search on the internet for baby food recipes? I always intended to make my own food, and wish I'd have made the time to do that. I had three kids in diapers together, so there was little time for me to even think about making food. :( Good luck, and enjoy your precious daughter!

Hi there,

I started with rice cereal (which is easiest for them to digest)then oatmeal, then to barley. I was advised by my doctor to wait 2-3 days in between introducing new foods to insure no allergic reactions. I also mixed it with formula/breastmilk for the best consistency and for familiar taste. Good luck!

I started my son with rice cereal. You can make it very thin at first til she gets used to a "solid." You can then add oatmeal cereal and then veggies. Sweet potatoes are a good pick, as is squash & beans. You can then add fruit to the cereal. Some people think that starting fruit first makes them less likely to accept the taste of veggies afterward--they get too used to the sweetness, so I would definitely do the veggies before the fruit. Then she'll be ready for our all time favorite: Hawaiian Delight! LOL
You can make your own by preparing sweet potatoes, yams, squash etc and pureeing it and freezing in small batches. I didn't -- just preferred the convenience of organic jarred baby foods.

A., I started my older daughter on rice cereal first. I think that's what most doctor's recommend you to start them on and then gradually introduce them to fruits and vegetables one at a time. And remember...always give her a few days in between to make sure there's no reaction.
Good Luck!!

Rice cereal has virtually NO nutritional value & can be VERY hard to digest.
I suggest a veggie or avacado, which makes a great 1st food. It's soft & chock full of great nutrients & healthy fats!

Hi A.

I started with rice cereal with both my kids. They both took to it well but my daughter got constipated from it because that was the only solid she was getting and rice is binding. So I introduced pears second to get her a little more regular. I don't think it really matters what order you introduce things as long as they are SINGLE ingredient, and you give that food for at least 3 days so that you can observe for intolerance or allergy. My pediatrician does seem to think that if you offer the "sweet" foods first baby may not accept the others as readily so you may want to keep that in mind too. Happy Feeding!