cereal & solid foods

Joness11

Anyone else thinking about starting cereals and solids around the four month mark?

I was dead set on exclusively breastfeeding until 6 months. But today LO had his four month check up and my doctor said he should start a small amount of cereal at bed time for a few weeks, then start introducing veggies and then fruits. And by 6 months he should be having cereal in the morning and then fruits & veggies at lunch and dinnertime, in addition to the breastmilk. I specifically asked about waiting until he's 6 months for food and he said no, that I should start solids now. So now I'm sure what I should do. LO is a bit underweight at 14 lbs 14 ounces at 19 weeks, I guess that is the 36% percentile. So, that's kind of making me think maybe i should go ahead and start solids. Any thoughts?

swimflipper

You need to do what you feel is right for you and your baby. My son is 19 weeks. I started cereal and fruits with him two weeks ago. He was constantly hungry and waking up a lot throughout the night . He doesn't get much of the fruits and at times I mix cereal in with that. Drs are going to tell you what is the best route to go but if you aren't comfortable with it then don't do it or go get a second opinion. My first born I started fruits and veggies at 4.5
months. He hated cereal and wouldn't eat it at all. This little man won't eat veggies. Gags himself til he's spitting it back up. It's gross. Lol 
as for his weight, Was the dr concerned about it? My son is in the 25th percentile for weight and 20th for height so he's proportional the dr said. What percentile is your LO for height? If it's close to their weight then they would be considered proportational. I wouldn't worry about percentiles. I was really worried about it with my first born but just need to remember that all babies are different. 
I would try the cereal and see how LO does with that. 

tmblickley

At our 4 mo. visit, our pedi said we could start solids if we wanted to.  Since the WHO recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months, and her weight is good, we are going to wait til then.

sena30

I started giving veggies to Bri at 4 months..she loves squash and green beans. I also mix up about 1 tbsp of rice cereal and feed to her while i'm feeding her her veggies. Even though the pediatricians recommend starting solids at 4 months, its really to get them to learn how to eat off a spoon not so much for calories or to gain weight because they mostly just spit it right bk out! If you think your baby needs to gain some weight try adding rice cereal to her bottles. Well idk about your case because you did say you were breastfeeding. Woops! But i'm sure your baby is just fine and i was told between 4-7 months is when babies have their growth spurt so maybe he/she will catch up soon! Brianna only weighed 13 lbs. 13oz. at her 4 month check-up and I was told that was ideal for her age.

Joness11

thanks for the tips ladies! I tried some oatmeal cereal and he didn't seem super interested, but a few spoonfuls just fine. But omg he had the most terrible gas pains. I tried the cereal two nights before bed and he was up all night screaming with gas. I think I'm going to hold off another month on solids and then maybe go straight into fruits & veggies or maybe rice cereal, i've heard that's more gentle. the doctor didn't seem concerned at all about height or weight. I think i'll ask about it specifically at his 6 month appointment. 

jhsoontobe3

I am personally just skipping the cereal and purees altogether. We are going to start baby led weaning when she is about 6 months old. It basically teaches baby to chew her food first and in the long run is less of a choking hazard. It is definitely something to look into. But whether you do cereal and purees or baby led weaning, remember, food before one is just for fun! Babies should be getting all their nutrients from beastmilk or formula until they turn one! 

amyid

Hell yes !! My baby loves solids and is yet to spit anything out, she just opens her mouth and takes the food as soon as she sees the spoon.i actually never put the spoon in her mouth, she leans for it ( paranoid about over feeding her much??) I give her about 1/4 to 1/3 of a jar per day, not every day even, ONLY after she's taken her bottle, after that I offer her a bottle again to check she's satisfied. My milk supply tanked recently so I'm supplementing about 30% formula which my baby doesn't seem overly fussed on but drinks it when hungry so this has seemed to settle her and she will happily take the formula after solid food. I was planning on waiting til 6 months but she seems to love food and is not filling up on it as a meal instead of milk so I'm ok with it. 

yodiggity

Joness11 said:

Anyone else thinking about starting cereals and solids around the four month mark?

I was dead set on exclusively breastfeeding until 6 months. But today LO had his four month check up and my doctor said he should start a small amount of cereal at bed time for a few weeks, then start introducing veggies and then fruits. And by 6 months he should be having cereal in the morning and then fruits & veggies at lunch and dinnertime, in addition to the breastmilk. I specifically asked about waiting until he's 6 months for food and he said no, that I should start solids now. So now I'm sure what I should do. LO is a bit underweight at 14 lbs 14 ounces at 19 weeks, I guess that is the 36% percentile. So, that's kind of making me think maybe i should go ahead and start solids. Any thoughts?

Did the doctor say your LO was underweight??  

mistygenovese

We just had our 4mo check-up on Friday and our pedi was completely fine with us skipping cereals and oatmeals for our DS. Since he's on the heavier side, 17lbs13oz he said we could go straight into purees. We are only feeding it to him once a day, around dinner time and only when he hasn't eaten for an hour or so that it gives him a little bit in his belly but will still bf so I don't have to worry as much about my supply lowering.

Joness11

thanks ladies! the doctor didn't seem concerned about his weight and said his growth curves looked fine at this point. i think i'm going to weight at least until the end of this month when he's about 22-23 weeks old and try again. Right now he still doesn't sit up quite right in his high chair or bumbo - he has trouble sitting up straight and he'll start to tip forward or to the side, and so far hasn't shown much interest in solid food

katy0990

My son will be 5 months on Saturday and he loves solids! He has cereal, breastmilk, and 2 oz of fruit or veggie at 9. 2 oz of fruit or veggie when we eat dinner and then 1 oz of bm with cereal at 9. It has made me feel better about pumping at work knowing there is a back up plan if I don't get enough or am running late or something. So far I have introduced pears, plums, green beans, peas, and squash. I am making avocado tonight.

4N6s

I waited until 6 months and am doing baby led weaning. I'm so glad I waited. She definitely wasn't ready at 4 months. I'm skipping the rice cereal& oatmeal. 

cataleya82

Just out of curiosity what is the point of rice cereal and oatmeal? Does it provide any nutritional value or is it more of a first foods thing or a filler? I receive WIC and I get three 8 oz containers of it a month and I don't really use it. My baby mostly just drinks her bottles and has half a jar of fruits and veggies most days. Just wondered if the cereals were that important nutritionally? 

tmblickley

I think the cereals are to practice swallowing and are easy on most tummies.  The nutritional value comes with the breastmilk or formula you use to make it.

CalebsHabibi

We just started "tasting" around 4.5 months a little taste of mashed whatever I was eating: banana, carrot, avocado etc. We then gradually worked up to spoons at 5.5 months and now at 6.5 months, he does anywhere from 4-7 tablespoons.  He likes to grab the spoon and try to feed himself, something he definitely couldn't do at 4 months.  My pedi was also pushing for 3 solid meals to REPLACE breastmilk at his 6 month check up. He suggested this because of his weight but for the opposite reason that you stated: he thinks he weighs too MUCH and that replacing milk will decrease his weight.

So I say no. It's like pediatricians think solids will be a cure all- low percentile? Give solids to increase weight. High percentile (my son is 98th)? Give solids to decrease weight. It can't be both! Anyway, I am following AAP and WHO guidelines and giving solids in addition to breastmilk at 6 months, but keeping his nutrition primarily from breastmilk until 12 months. He is meeting all his milestones and is very happy and healthy, so it's working.