Solids

MrsRKJ

Hi ladies~

When you started your LOs on solids, did you get your pedis OK, or did you just do it?  How did you decide to do it?  Was it because your LO didn't seem to be satisfied with just BM/Formula?  Lastly, what did you start with, rice cereal mixed with BM/formula?  Did you start with once a day, or every feed?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks

PepperBug

With my son, we talked to the doctor and decided to start right when he turned 4 months because he wasn't taking bottles at day care. We started with rice cereal mixed with breast milk once a day and then increased to twice a day before starting other foods. It worked well because I was able to get him to take in some milk with the cereal during the day.

With my daughter, pedi left it up to us to decide when to start between four and six months. She is 4.5 months. I was going to wait, but she has started waking to eat several times at night and is very interested in being involved with our meals. We started with apple juice per pedi's suggestion because she has digestive issues, and the doctor wanted to clear her on juice in case solids stop her up (in which case we'll give her the juice and stop whatever food is causing the problem). I am going to try rice cereal with her tonight.

bionic4me

At her 4 month appt, the pedi said that we could start on rice cereal whenever we are ready... he is leaving it up to us on when to start. We have a couple of camping trips coming up, so we will wait until after that. Otherwise, she intensely watches us eat and seems interested, so I think that she is ready to try.

MrsWindyCity

We started at 6 months with DS1. Pedi agreed with that decision since DS1 was a slow gainer (BM has more calories/ounce than the vast majority of solids). We started with avocado and moved to veggies and some fruits. We did 1 meal a day and didn't add oatmeal till we started 2 or 3 meals a day, which was around 7.5ish months.

With DS2, it was my intention to start at 6 months again, but we may start a little sooner. He is also a slower gainer but he spits up a lot, even on Zantac, so the pedi said solids may help him keep milk down a little better. So, we'll see. He is showing interest but I definitely don't want to do it before 5 months. Maybe right around 5-5.5 months.

ASmallWonder

You really don't need to get your pedi's approval unless your LO has some sort of medical issue related to food/digestion/allergies.  Many people start with rice cereal because it's rare to have a rice allergy but it's definitely not necessary to start with cereal and the trend lately has been to skip it.  Whatever you choose to start with, you feed it once a day and a very small amount to start.  Personally I suggest doing the first feeding on a Saturday morning.  A morning because that way you'll be awake if an allergic reaction occurs in the coming hours and also because if it causes gas or a belly ache, they're not up all night with it.  A Saturday is again because of the allergy.  I want to make sure if something were to happen that I'm home with them and they're not at daycare after trying something for the first time.