Babies: 3 - 6 Months

When did you / are you planning to start solids?

azaretskyazaretsky member
edited September 2014 in Babies: 3 - 6 Months
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When did you / are you planning to start solids? 420 votes

Around 4 months
25% 106 votes
Around 6 months
61% 257 votes
Haven't thought about it yet
5% 23 votes
Other
8% 34 votes
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Re: When did you / are you planning to start solids?

  • We let LO try rice cereal last weekend At 4 months... He liked it and was all smiles but kept spitting it out. We are going to take it slow from now on to make sure he's ready.
    First time mommy-to-be
    E.D.D. June 1, 2014

  • When DS is ready but no sooner than 6 months.  I BF so starting solids will just mean smelly diapers since his poop doesn't really smell bad ;).
    ~Jessica~ 


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  • Baby girl is now 4 months and so far I have only let her lick/suck on an apple and banana. Next is probably squash...anything firm enough that she won't bite off a piece. She has not ingested any solids. We will wait until closer to 6 months for that.


    Isabella & Julian & and now #3!
  • Baby girl is now 4 months and so far I have only let her lick/suck on an apple and banana. Next is probably squash...anything firm enough that she won't bite off a piece. She has not ingested any solids. We will wait until closer to 6 months for that.


    Isabella & Julian & and now #3!
  • I'm also not going to start introducing solids until after 6 months and DS is combination fed.  I've let him gum some veggies, though.  We are in no hurry and will take the introductions very slowly. I still plan on BF'ing him until he's a year or older.
    Egg Retrieval - Feb. 2013 -> OHSS.  FET#1 - June 2013(failed). FET#2 - October 2013(success!) Griffin Alistair: 6#10oz 20" long, born 6/19/14 @ 4:04am
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  • My twins are almost 6 months - started pureed veggies at 4 months, they LOVE carrots, squash, pumpkin - Ella's kitchen makes great packs. I just introduced turkey to them the other day, loved it!
  • I would have started around 4 months because formula is gross and expensive. But DS was a preemie, so at 4 months his adjusted age is closer to 2.5 months. Sometimes his development seems to match his actual age, but sometimes it doesn't so I'm going to wait until 6 months to be safe.


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  • What were the cues you looked for to see if your baby was ready??
  • Started cereal at 4m under Drs recommendation due to severe reflux that hasn't been well controlled with meds. I wasn't 100% sure at first but it's definitely helping with symptoms.
  • I was going to wait until 6 months and do BLW.... but around 5 months he tried to eat some of the banana I was eating- I let him have a bite, and he loved it!  I've also given him squash and oatmeal made with BM and he's really been enjoying them.
  • I give DD some cereal mixed with BM. Started at 4 months per Dr. recommendation and to fill her up at night so I could get some sleep. 

    We are still BF (plan to for at least a year) but she is eating solids as well that I make myself. 
  • NewMrsMacCNewMrsMacC member
    edited October 2014
    LO is 5m at the end of this week. We are waiting until 6m- at least. So far I have only let her gum on a large piece of frozen banana, smeared some jelly from a biscuit on her lips, and let her lick bacon, lol... but that was just to more play with her than anything. I have never given her any kind of rice, cereal or oatmeal. I am thinking of doing a combination of BLW and some organic homemade fruit/veggie/protein purees. I love the idea of BLW but the whole no spoon, no puree is a bit much imo... so I think at the end of this month we will start with some green veggie puree, then try giving some large pieces or whole foods for her to gum on (an apple cut in half, a cucumber, maybe a pork chop?). 

    Im still trying to decide how to go about it.. but definitely waiting until 6m! :)


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  • It's sort of a tradition in my family to give rice cereal at night to help the baby sleep early on, not sure of the *exact* time we usually start that, but with my Ikey, we did it at about 1 month, and he's loved it! At about 2 or 2 and a half months, we've started giving him baby food, not much, maybe half a little container at noon every day, and he's been loving that too. He'll be 4 months old on 10/17. He's *always* been a big eater, so that's one of the biggest factors as to why we started him on solids so early! That, and he's been developing so very fast! He rolled over at about 3 weeks, started his babbling/early word making/sounds not long after, he can practically hold his head up by himself now (we still make sure to have our hand there to brace his head, just in case, though), inching along like an inchworm with his crawling. 
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  • It's sort of a tradition in my family to give rice cereal at night to help the baby sleep early on, not sure of the *exact* time we usually start that, but with my Ikey, we did it at about 1 month, and he's loved it! At about 2 or 2 and a half months, we've started giving him baby food, not much, maybe half a little container at noon every day, and he's been loving that too. He'll be 4 months old on 10/17. He's *always* been a big eater, so that's one of the biggest factors as to why we started him on solids so early! That, and he's been developing so very fast! He rolled over at about 3 weeks, started his babbling/early word making/sounds not long after, he can practically hold his head up by himself now (we still make sure to have our hand there to brace his head, just in case, though), inching along like an inchworm with his crawling. 
    That's really early to give cereal; there's a reason it's not recommended. They can't actually digest it so you're filling their tummy with non-food to stretch out time between feedings, a terrible idea. There's many parenting 'traditions' that are now recognized as being a horrible idea and bad for your kid, and solids before 4 months is one of them. The ideal time to start solids is about 6 months but 4-6 is considered acceptable. The general consensus on rice cereal before 4 months is 'hell to the no' (except under doctors orders for reflux issues)

    If they can't digest it why would they still suggest it for reflux issues? (not arguing your point just asking)

    My twins were given the green light by our peds doc on cereal in their bottles. It has helped a TON with reflux. They're happy pukers :-), but the cereal is usually able to stay down. They love it and drink it like champs.

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  • I have always thought of starting my DD on rice cereal around 6 months,but we just went to her 4 month appoint. and the doctor mentioned we should start giving her solids.Since I breastfeed only, I am in no rush but the doctor mentioned that it is recommended now to start them on it because of risk of developing allergies. what do you guys think? I have only heard the recommended age was 6 months? 
  • I give DD some cereal mixed with BM. Started at 4 months per Dr. recommendation and to fill her up at night so I could get some sleep. 

    We are still BF (plan to for at least a year) but she is eating solids as well that I make myself. 
    Studies have shown that introducing cereal does not help babies STTN
    Yeah it didn't help and we don't do cereal anymore (not because of that but because there are just too many weird ingredients in it). 
  • I plan to start at 6 months. I'm thinking avocado and squash for the first few weeks. No cereal for us.
  • I have always thought of starting my DD on rice cereal around 6 months,but we just went to her 4 month appoint. and the doctor mentioned we should start giving her solids.Since I breastfeed only, I am in no rush but the doctor mentioned that it is recommended now to start them on it because of risk of developing allergies. what do you guys think? I have only heard the recommended age was 6 months? 
    The official AAP recommendation is 6 months

    By waiting until 6 months, you actually decrease the risk of a reaction to some things because the digestive system is more mature.
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  • I think if it works for you that's great! I am a traditional method mom too. It worked for my mom so I feel it is worth a try.
  • Salsera29 said:
    I would have started around 4 months because formula is gross and expensive. But DS was a preemie, so at 4 months his adjusted age is closer to 2.5 months. Sometimes his development seems to match his actual age, but sometimes it doesn't so I'm going to wait until 6 months to be safe.
    Formula is expensive but it's what babies under 6 months need. Your baby is designed to eat BM (or a BM replacement) for the first 6 months.
    She never indicated she didn't think her kid needed formula. 

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    This was exactly what my family doctor said to me.  We trust him and realize that the first bites are mostly for figuring out the spoon, sitting at the table with us, and trying different textures, so we went with his suggestion.  

    I have always thought of starting my DD on rice cereal around 6 months,but we just went to her 4 month appoint. and the doctor mentioned we should start giving her solids.Since I breastfeed only, I am in no rush but the doctor mentioned that it is recommended now to start them on it because of risk of developing allergies. what do you guys think? I have only heard the recommended age was 6 months? 

  • We had intentions on skipping cereals and once he was ready start baby led. That went out the window because of some medical concerns o the pedi recommended we go with cereal around 4 months and go on to stage 1 foods between 5 and 6 months.

    I tried at almost 16 weeks but he had 0 interest so we are trying once a week from there on out.


    Just to be clear, the cereal in our case is NOT to "make him sleep longer" or "keep him fuller" it is to try to keep more in him because his reflux and intolerances were keeping him from being able to gain weight.
    BFP: July 2013 M/C August 5, 2013
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  • I have always thought of starting my DD on rice cereal around 6 months,but we just went to her 4 month appoint. and the doctor mentioned we should start giving her solids.Since I breastfeed only, I am in no rush but the doctor mentioned that it is recommended now to start them on it because of risk of developing allergies. what do you guys think? I have only heard the recommended age was 6 months? 

    My pedi said the same thing at DD's 4 month appointment. He said between 4-6 months to start solids and that I don't have to worry about allergy foods as a study came out this past spring that introducing babies to these foods early on actually makes it less likely they will develop those allergies. My pedi did ask if either DH or I had any allergies. We didn't so he said to try it - peanut butter, etc.

    We haven't started solids yet and DD will be 5 months next week. I'll probably start in the next few weeks.
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  • Sorry, but insufficient calories past 6 months? Nope. For the first year, solids are not intended to be the primary source of nutrition.
    MommyAtty said:
    We went with 4 months at our very good pediatrician's recommendation. And waiting until after 6 months is as bad as or worse than starting too early. BTW, the AAP recommendation is NOT 6 months. It's 4-6 months. They generally say "at around 6 months" to laypersons, but they tell med professionals "not before 4 months" and then say the baby should have doubled their birth weight, can hold selves with straight elbows, can sit well assisted and hold head up unassisted for long periods of time, and has mostly lost the extrusion (tongue thrust) relex. AAP actually preaches the developmental milestones are more important than the calendar. Waiting beyond 6 months leads to iron deficiency (especially in breast-fed babies), inability to gain sufficient weight because of lack of sufficient calories, may lead to rejection of solids for a significant amount of time, etc. And if your kid is at high risk for food allergies, it's recommended you introduce highly allergenic foods before 6 months.

    The only place the AAP preaches waiting until 6 months is in their "Breast is Best" campaign. All the other parts of the AAP actually use the milestone approach, with the bookends placed at 4 and 6 months.

    https://www.uptodate.com/contents/starting-solid-foods-during-infancy-beyond-the-basics?source=outline_link&view=text&anchor=H3#H3

    The link you provided managed to convey mostly the same info but without the fear mongering. Nowhere do they say that waiting WILL lead to all of those things and if it so certainly did, I highly doubt people would keep doing it or that 6 months would continue to be used as an acceptable time frame.
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  • Haven't researched what is new since we are not looking to start yet, but I remember with my older son all the recommendations quoted as saying to wait until 6 months were just aling the lines that babies should have only breastmilk for the first 6 months. I remember it left a feeling like nobody cared when my formula-fed baby got solids because clearly his nutrition was already sub-par and a lost cause LOL. We just look for signs he might be ready, try then and if it doesn't work out wait a bit and try again later.
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  • The recommendations I have heard for BLW is 4-6 months. Not sure why Mimaloo needs a new doctor just because the doctor recommended starting solids at four months. 

    I started introducing solids (very slowly, and using the Kidsme Food Feeder to prevent choking) at four months also by medical suggestion to start that soon. 
  • My son is 4.5 years old now I started him when he was 3.5 months old.
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  • I've read widely and consulted with our ped; I agree 4-6 months is the recommendation and six months seems tied to pushing breastfeeding.
  • My pediatrician also recommended discussing the introduction of solids around 4 months.

    I breast feed my son for the first 2 months and then transitioned into ready to feed when I returned to work.
  • We're planning on starting DD at 6 months at the earliest and may wait until 8-9mo because she is EBF. As long as she continues to gain and grow I'd like to keep her on BM. My ped says "Food before one is just for fun" as in babies are still getting everything they need nutrition-wise in the first year from breastmilk.
  • Salsera29 said:
    I would have started around 4 months because formula is gross and expensive. But DS was a preemie, so at 4 months his adjusted age is closer to 2.5 months. Sometimes his development seems to match his actual age, but sometimes it doesn't so I'm going to wait until 6 months to be safe.
    Formula is expensive but it's what babies under 6 months need. Your baby is designed to eat BM (or a BM replacement) for the first 6 months.

    Actually they need BM or formula as their main source of nutrition for the first year. 
  • DS is 5m old and pediatrician recommended starting now
  • We started with a tablespoon of rice cereal at 4 months, since he was used to the flavor from having his formula thickened with it due to reflux.  He's slowly getting the hang of the spoon.  We've tried different fruits and veggies purees as well.  Really for practice purposes right now; to get him used to the spoon, different flavors, the high chair, etc.  We'll start encorporating the purees into his daily diet around 6 months, but formula will still be his primary source of nutrition until about a year.

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  • Also if you do choose to start solids with cereals there is no reason to use the store bought baby cereals with 1000 ingredients.  take a cup of brown rice or a cup of oatmeal and put it into the food processor before cooking.  Bam!  rice cereal with one ingredient.   Although I am not going to do rice cereal because of concerns over arsenic and other chemical levels in commercially grown rice

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