Hello Solids...

blondee4685

just started rice cereal tonight. How do you know how much to feed, when to do two meals a day, when to introduce what, and how long for one food till you change it?

claudiam83

I started cereal about a week ago. I prepared it as instructed in the packet 1 tbsp of cereal to 5 of BM. He only ate about 3 baby spoons and had to dump the rest. He didn't poop the next day so I didn't feed him cereal that night. The followibg day he pooped so i put about a teaspoon of cereal in a bootle with BM and he eats it all like that so no waste. He know poops everyday do I add a little more cereal a day and see how he responds and I go by that since i don't want to give him meds. Since i barelly started myself too I don't really know about your other questions. Good luck!!

blondee4685

That is so helpful! Thank you! Ok I did the same thing and prepared it like the box said. He ate about half (well half was spooned to his mouth but what actually was swallowed I'm not sure..ha). I will look for poop tomorrow and if all is normal I'll continue with cereal (but probably do half). You were very helpful cause I'm sure I'll just do cereal for a couple weeks

leshamac

I tried the cereal and she had a hard time pooping so I ditched thst and went straight to carrots which she's doing great with. "They" say to try any one food for four days before introducing another. They also say let your baby tell you how much they need to eat. I was worried Sbout thst because the way she devoured the food but she did let me know when she had enough

blondee4685

I'm definitely going to see if he poops today before continuing on. Thanks!

mercedesbenz802

We should be starting solids next week but i am going to try baby led weening and not do baby cereal or purees. 

ekneipp

My ped said rice cereal can be constipating so we did oatmeal, no poop problems but he wasn't a huge fan so we went to sweet potato and pear. He gobbles them up! When we are doing a new food I only give him a little at first for a few days (usually at least 3, more if I suspect something) to make sure there aren't any reactions, but then I pretty much let him gauge when he's done...unless it's something like prunes. There's a limit on that so we don't have a crazy diaper! We feed solids twice a day now, mid morning and evening, since we have a good range of foods, he's keeping up his milk amount, and he eats at both sittings. I actually love watching him experiencevthe new food!

luv4LO

Anyone have trouble with LO not wanting formula after starting cereal and purees?  My little guy loves cereal and purees but isn't finishing his bottles anymore.   We are only doing one cereal feeding a day.  We have even taken that feeding away for a few days and it didn't make him want more formula. 

ekneipp

I give the bottle first, then wait 30-45 minutes before offering the solids. That seems to work good for him.

lisa1110

I just started with butternut squash at 5 months. He ate sweet potatoes tonight. Is there a reason to use rice cereal? He ate the squash so I'm assuming we won't use rice cereal now? I guess I'm wondering what the point of rice cereal is?

blondee4685

Update....he pooped so I will do some more rice cereal today.

@lisa1110‌ I don't know why you start with rice cereal. My ped just told me to. Maybe it's because it is a different texture but flavorless (taste like BM) so it's a good beginner transition food. I can't wait to start veggies and fruits! I'm going to capture every face for every new food

leshamac

I think back in the day when "pablum" became the first food, I think it was because there was iron in it and formulas may have been lacking iron then? That's my guess anyway.

lisa1110

Ok thanks. I figured it was just something like that!

mercedesbenz802

For me I think baby cereal like rice is just empty carbs to just fill baby up and the iron in the cereal is not easily absorbed. If your baby needs the iron try to feed them iron rich veggies or as about iron supplement. 

ekneipp

Yeah, the ped said it was just something easy to start out on and simple enough most babies don't have a reaction to it. Lots of practice opporunity

Russiandea12

We've been doing cereal
Oatmeal & rice for about a month. Last week started feeding 2x instead of 1. We bought sweet potatoes, squash, carrots yesterday and I'm excited to move to purees. I don't thnink she likes cereal very much.

blondee4685

So I have done rice cereal 3 nights now, but last night he barely ate it. He has pooped every day but today. Only one poop per day though. Is this normal? Also he seems to have more gas and they stink. I'm asking for opinions, should I stop with the cereal?

claudiam83

They do stinck!!! I would just let his tummy catch up for a day or two depending how you see him. And is easier to put the cereal in a bottle with more milk so he drinks it at least thats what I do. And I keep doing the cereal for one more week just so his tummy has more practice before I change. I am excited to startveggies thou.

ekneipp

If you want to stick to cereal, ours did good on oatmeal (happy bellies). Our ped said rice can constipate. She didn't recommend putting it in the bottle. We also quickly went to purees like sweet potato and pear. I think he became bored with just the bland cereal pretty quick.

blondee4685

@ekneipp‌ did you grind the oat down to a powder?

ekneipp

It's a baby oatmeal so it't already nice and powdery. It also has DHA in it, a plus! If you search on amazon for happy bellies organic oatmeal in the baby department it should come up so you can take a look. Target has it in stores as well. We never had tummy issues/poop issues with it. Hope he evens out!

blondee4685

Thanks! I'm going to try the oatmeal, if he poops tomorrow, and see if I have better luck

ErnieZippy

I've just heard recently that grains are too hard on the gut?

etaguines

My LO is 6months now. Should I continue to feed him rice cereal at every meal along with fruits and veggies? Or is that too much? He is also having trouble with pooping

ekneipp

@etaguines‌ Did you ped say anything at the 6 mo appt? Ours gave us a list at the 4 mo appt outlining the whole first year. We've been on othe purees for over a month now and don't always include the cereal. Our ped said rice us constipating, my previous post outlines what she gave us as an alternative. No poop issues here with the oatmeal

awalter5110

When I started DD on solids I only gave her oatmeal, no rice cereal. I was too scared of what might happen. Now I am working on transitioning her to stage 2 foods and I alternate rice banana apple and oatmeal peach apple each day. Keeps everything in working order if you know what I mean, lol. Also I read somewhere to do once a day 4-6 months, twice a day 6-9 months and then three times a day after that. If you didn't start til 6 months, adapt it accordingly. I started feeding her twice a day at 5.5 months and she's doing very well with it so its routine now. Cereal in the AM and fruit or veggies at dinner with us. Once you start you will get into a rhythm. Oh and I will say the recommended mixing ratio on the box is ok for the first couple feeds with cereal but after that you will probably want to cut the formula in half. At least I did. It's way too watery with 4-5 tbsp of formula. And once your LO is consistently finishing 1 tbsp of cereal go up from there. We are currently at 2 tbsp of cereal and 1.5 oz of formula mixed in. Sorry this was long but I wanted to give you as much info as I could!

blondee4685

This is so helpful! I want to go organic when it comes to oatmeal. Any suggestions?

mindfulmama14

We are currently using Happy Bellies rice cereal which has probiotics which I think evens everything out. (No constipation for us). LO is eating rice cereal every day and he poops everyday/other day. I wanted to start with oatmeal but my pedi said to wait until 6 months due to allergy reasons.
However, I've used Earth's Best organic and Happy Bellies (Organic) and they make rice cereal and oatmeal. I've been pleased with both brands.

leshamac

We skipped the cereal and we started giving a puréed veggie once a day for two weeks and then we started giving a fruit at lunch and a veggie at dinner. We did each new food for four days before changing and we let her eat as much as she wanted.

claudiam83

My dr gave me the ok and we have been doing fruits and veggies for a week now. I keep the cerealfor the morning feeding with a fruit or veggie. The evening meal isaveggie and fruit. We have been doing great and he loves every new flavor!!!

cheers2014

My little one wants nothing to do with the rice cereal we started trying this week. I'll keep trying but he actually gags when I give it to him. So surprised because he's had it in his bottle for two months now (only a couple teaspoons) for his reflux so you'd think he'd be use to the taste but I think maybe he's turned off by the texture. Should I just skip the cereal alnd move to a veggie?

blondee4685

I'm not a dr but I tried the cereal and then it didn't agree with my LO so I went to sweat potatoe. Avocado is a good starter food too.

ekneipp

Second the above!

etaguines

@blondee4685‌ did you mash up the avocado or blend it? My LO is 6 months. And yours?

blondee4685

@etaguines‌ my LO is 6 months. When I did avocado they were from my neighbors tree and very soft so I just smashed it up. So I gave it to him smashed once and then I have smashed it and added a little Breast milk too. Check out livelifenaturally.org and search baby food. Also https://wholesomebabyfood they have great recipes and starting solid information including what months to introduce what

etaguines

@blondee4685‌ thanks! I will look into it

Sparky65

Our 6 month old loves her food.  She gets oatmeal in the morning mixed with breast milk and a little bit of apples or bananas some days or plain most. Then two 3.5 oz tubs of food for lunch and another 2 for dinner.  We do give her bottles in between, but we're talking bout solid foods here.

The oatmeal is mostly to teach them to swallow food and move it around in their mouth, as well as learning to chew.  We started on the Gerber phase 1 foods about a month ago but soon realized the only difference in phase 1 & 2 is the size of the container and the addition of different ingredients.  We didn't want to throw our money away anymore.

We have also recently started giving her puffs as well as cut up banana, strawberries, and avocado so she can start feeding herself.  She has a lot of fun and has quickly realized that if she holds her hand out to the side with food on it the dog will lick it off.  She absolutely LOVES our dog.

As for when she's full..she absolutely lets us know.  She'll turn her head or not open her mouth anymore to take bites.  I would think your little one would do the same thing. 

blondee4685

My LO hasn't pooped since Sunday and its Wednesday! I'm so worried. We started solids but I'm not super consistent cause I don't give him more solids if he isn't pooping. All I have given him is sweet potatoes, peas, pears, and a small amount of banana. He hasn't had solids since Monday because no poop. My dr recommended apple juice and water but I don't really want to give him fruit juice like that. Any suggestions?

etaguines

@blondee4685‌ my LO is the same way. My ped suggested water. I also bought prunes(Gerber). That has worked.

blondee4685

So I'm supposed to give him water?? I give him BM all day too

etaguines

This is only if constipated. Otherwise no. She said one ounce for every month. So he is 6 months so not more than 6 ounces a day. She also suggested diluted white grape juice or prune juice. But I didn't want to give him juice either.