Starting solids ??

KelandNick

DS had his 4 month check up last week. He's been on rice cereal for almost a month to help with his reflux, but the dr said we could start adding fruit and veggies to his meals. 

What he didn't tell me what how much he should be eating. I know this can vary by child, but did any of you get a guideline or know where I can find some guidance online?  I haven't been able to come up with anything that tells me more than at what age he can have xyz foods.

TIA for any help!

soon2Bchapel

Our pediatrician's recommendation was to feed until DS wasn't interested.  Her advice was, "I know it sounds silly no not give you a specific amount, but you'll know when ___ is full."  At the beginning stage, her advice was to think of it as a time to introduce the different tastes and check for allergies more than feeding a meal.  When we got the food go-ahead, we made homemade foods and usually defrosted an ice cube's worth (1 oz approx) at a time for a month or so, and then he started wanting more at each feeding.  A great website with food schedules and recipes is wholesomebabyfood.com.  The info you're looking for can be found on this site at:https://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solidfood4to6montholdbaby.htm.  Our pediatrician recommended this site when we told her we'd be making our own foods, and it was the BEST resource for us as first-time parents.  Good luck! 

MrsRenee

I feel your pain!  There's not a lot of information as far as how much you should feed.  Our pedi recommeded starting with "orange" foods (so things like squash and carrots) and then moving to your greens.  Save the fruits for last only because it's sweeter, so you don't want them getting a taste for the sweet and then not want to try the blander veggies.  Try 1 new food at a time and give it a few days.  We always tried something new on the weekend.  We did veggies at lunch- when we started cereal, they recommended doing it in the am and pm, so we figured we'd sandwich the veggie between the two.  Once we introduced most of the veggies, we switched the pm cereal to a veggie, so he'd have a green veggie for lunch and a orange veggie for dinner.  When we were introducing fruit, we just added a little bit of that after for right after his veggie.  So doing that, we gradually increased how much he was eating, which worked nicely.  As for how much to actually feed, it's really a judgement call.  Just watch for signals.  When they're ready for more food, they'll act it- gobbling up what they have and acting fussy like they want more.

runnergirl4

I agree with each of the previous posters and I thought I'd add that when my son started baby food, he would eat about 1/2 of a 1st foods container of Earth's Best baby food (he LOVED sweet potatoes).  Once he got the hang of eating it (but I see your baby has been on rice cereal for some time now so he should be well adjusted to eating "solids") he could polish off a full jar in no time.   He now eats 2nd foods and can eat a whole container, plus a serving of rice cereal and I've just started feeding him regular food (stuff we eat - such as cottage cheese, toast, and Puffs).

Hope that helps - your child will let you know if he is still hungry! :-)