?s about starting solids

dani_girl08

We are planning to start rice cereal this weekend, & I'm feeling kind of clueless!

How did you start solids with LO? 

Did you start with rice cereal? 

When did you add more foods, & in what order did you do them? 

Also, if anyone has any links or resources to share on how to go about all of this, I would appreciate it!

ETA: Should I give her a bottle before or after the solids?  (I'm thinking before so that her nutrition comes from the bottle, & any solids she eats are just supplemental--is that right??)

trevess

As long as you're asking- I will give you my honest opinion...unless R is having a real issue with BM & nutrition, I would wait as long as possible to start solids. Even then, I would avoid rice cereal at all costs- it has no nutritional value (minus iron) & binds babies up big time. I would start with bananas or sweet potatoes, personally. When you do start, it's just to get her used to it little by little, so it will be more like giving her little tastes instead of meals. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear bc it is exciting to start foods, but that is just MHO. HTH & GL!

natalee215

We started Caroline on rice cereal last weekend.  It is fortified with iron so I don't think it is bad to start with and as I indicated in this week's check-in, I have not eliminated her bottle at that time.  I am using it more to get her used to the concept of eating.  Also, we have not had a problem with constipation from it as of yet. 

From what I've read, you should only introduce one new food a week in case any allergies develop, you can easily figure out what it is that they are allergic to.  We moved to oatmeal next and so far, she seems fine on that as well.  I'm planning to move to some type of veggies next since she's been doing well with the cereal.  Some people recommend doing veggies before fruits since babies tend to like sweets better than the savory flavors but I don't think there is anything concrete on that.  I figure there's no harm in following that.

Definitely have a good bib on and multiple burp cloths handy in the beginning! 

dani_girl08

trevess:

As long as you're asking- I will give you my honest opinion...unless R is having a real issue with BM & nutrition, I would wait as long as possible to start solids. Even then, I would avoid rice cereal at all costs- it has no nutritional value (minus iron) & binds babies up big time. I would start with bananas or sweet potatoes, personally. When you do start, it's just to get her used to it little by little, so it will be more like giving her little tastes instead of meals. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear bc it is exciting to start foods, but that is just MHO. HTH & GL!

I appreciate the honest opinion. I have been holding off until 6 months b/c it's better for her immune & digestive systems (our pedi gave us the green light at 4 mos). I have decided to start 2 weeks early so that if we have any issues, I can discuss them with the pedi at her 6 month visit. I really feel like she needs something more. She seems to be hungry, but when we have tried to increase the amount of ounces she receives at a feeding, she won't take it. I think her belly gets too full, but then it just doesn't satisfy her long enough. I think she needs something to give her some extra calories without the "bulk" of milk. Does that make sense? I'm definitely not opposed to skipping rice cereal. I guess I just kind of thought it was something we "had" to do.

dani_girl08

natalee215:

Some people recommend doing veggies before fruits since babies tend to like sweets better than the savory flavors but I don't think there is anything concrete on that. 

I was planning to move to veggies next as well.  Isn't there some rule about whether you should do green or orange veggies first, or am I crazy?

Ashleysred

Get the book Super Baby Foods.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look uip something food related in that book.

We started at 5.5 months with apples.  It made her gassy and I was up all night.  I tried rice cereal which also made her gassy.  So we put it off another week and tried sweet potatoes.  She loved them.  We wait about four days between new foods.

dani_girl08

Ashleysred:

Get the book Super Baby Foods.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look uip something food related in that book.

I have this book, I just haven't looked at it because I have always felt like this day was so far away.  DUH!

natalee215

I slightly looked for said list of what order to give them foods, but didn't come across it. 

I do things a little backwards with Caroline I guess in terms of what order to do them in.  I first feed her the cereal, but I do so before she is actually hungry so she isn't ravenous.  (She obviously can't eat with a spoon as quickly as she can get down a bottle.)  Then once we've finished the cereal, I give her the bottle.  She is technically getting the same nutrition with this "meal" because I use a couple of ounces of formula to mix the cereal with.  So by the time she eats the cereal and then the bottle, she has had her regular serving of formula plus the cereal.

MrsBlayne

You don't have to do rice cereal. If you want to do cereal I think oatmeal is less likely to cause constipation and also has iron. I think your reason for starting is not a bad idea. We did offer Briley some cereal and a couple other things once or twice a week before 6 months, but she wasn't interested and spit it all out. Right at 6 months something clucked and she really started eating. I count pears as her first food that she really ate, and she still got constipated. We introduced new foods every 3-5 days. I seem to remember reading something also about colors, but I think that is old advice. I was making her food to start with (still making some) and I just gave her whatever organic produce I could find. I think we did pears, prunes, apples, plums, sweet potato, green beans, peas, and carrots. Something like that anyway- she likes them all.

MelVic

I would stay away from Rice cereal...as pp have said it has no nutritional value and it is really just to teach them how to eat....We gave G rice cereal for all of 3 days until she started getting very gassy and she would cry out for no reason....we than moved to oatmeal, but she was not a big fan of it....than we started sweet potatoes..she liked those...It is recommended to stick with the same foods for 3 days to check for any allergies and then move onto another food....

But as you know G never really liked baby food and so we are now on "big girl" food which she does great with..

GL with whatever you decide to do...just be careful with the rice cereal...my opinion start with oatmeal....

MelVic

I would stay away from Rice cereal...as pp have said it has no nutritional value and it is really just to teach them how to eat....We gave G rice cereal for all of 3 days until she started getting very gassy and she would cry out for no reason....we than moved to oatmeal, but she was not a big fan of it....than we started sweet potatoes..she liked those...It is recommended to stick with the same foods for 3 days to check for any allergies and then move onto another food....

But as you know G never really liked baby food and so we are now on "big girl" food which she does great with..

GL with whatever you decide to do...just be careful with the rice cereal...my opinion start with oatmeal....

trevess

You don't have to do the rice cereal. I have the Super Baby foods book & trust that way more than what my ped says, unfortunately. Peds are only required to take 3 credit hours of nutrition courses, so I don't really consider them much of experts in that area. Especially when they get kick-backs from Gerber to promote their foods, of course they want everyone to start early! I do think it sounds like R could use some big-girl food, though. I would start with sweet potato- TONS of vitamins & it will give her some carbs. I agree with Ashley, I am constantly picking up Super Baby Foods-it just makes sense.

mrsquetee09

DH is begging for me to start Nia on solids, but I'm waiting until 6 months. I've still started researching as well. I've found Kelly Mom to be very helpful for all things baby feeding related. Also, consider making your own rice cereal, my friend swears by it and says the boxed stuff is awful. I plan on making Nia's once we start her on solids. GL!

MissMex

Rice cereal isn't given because of it's nutritional value. Its given because it has a less likely chance of causing allergies, is easy to digest and you are helping get your baby ready for texture, and swallowing a thicker substance. When you are starting rice cereal you shouldn't be relying on it for nutrition. And You don't have to give gerber, there are tons of options, or you can make your own.

If you feel Resse is ready to start eating, then she is. 

With  Elizabeth we did about 3-4 weeks of rice cereal 2 weeks before she turned 4 months. There was no reason to wait for her. The majority of the studies I've read show babies can be ready anywhere between 4-6months, and she was ready.  Then we moved on to Squash, bananas- she hated them at first, but now loves them. Then alternated between new veggies and fruits every 2-4 days, some home made, some store bought. We did find that she was allergic to carrots, which is rare.

I also recommend  a big push w/ signing when eating. I felt for so long that it was pointless, but E lets signs every time she's hungry now. I can tell by her cries or verbal prompts when she wants food, but it really helps DH and other when they are caring for her. 

Eleise96

We started K on Earth's Best Organic rice cereal right at 4 months.  He did really well with it.  His tongue thrust reflex was gone (babies will stick their tongue out if something foreign enters their mouth...this disappears around 4 months or so) so he was ready.  We mixed the rice cereal with EBO sweet potatoes.  He gobbled the whole thing down!  K didn't have any issues with gas or constipation, but all babies are different.  We kept him on rice cereal for about 2 months, then switched over to oatmeal.  We don't feed him the oatmeal plain---we always mix it in with fruit or veggies.  At the time, I was EBF, so I would nurse him first, then feed solids.  GL! 

Ashleysred

MissMex:

Rice cereal isn't given because of it's nutritional value. Its given because it has a less likely chance of causing allergies, is easy to digest and you are helping get your baby ready for texture, and swallowing a thicker substance. When you are starting rice cereal you shouldn't be relying on it for nutrition. And You don't have to give gerber, there are tons of options, or you can make your own.

If you feel Resse is ready to start eating, then she is. 

Would totally click 'Like' on FB right now.

BlondeBeachBride08

We're planning to do Baby Led Weaning, my friend did a great post on it: https://starlitrn.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/its-food-time/

May do some purees and some oatmeal but not *relying* on solids for any extra nutrition or calories any time soon. 

Planning to start on her 6m birthday. If she's not into it, we'll wait and try again. She's interested in food but isn't sitting unsupported yet and that's a criteria for BLW. She's close!

I can't believe they are getting so big! 

Jennifer43

I was just about to get on and post about this! We tested out cereal tonight because it seems like C is still hungry after feeding so its probably time we get started on getting him used to real food. He will be 6 months in a week and ahalf so I figure its a good idea to start now, like you dani, to see if there are any questions or concerns at his 6 month appt.

And like pp said, the rice cereal is just a good way to get them used to eating. I did ours super thin tonight to get him used to the concept and spoon. He seemed to like it but definitely was trying to figure out what the new taste was. I plan to slowly thicken the rice cereal to get him used to swallowing the thicker foods, and then plan to do sweet potatoes next (rumor has it that its best to start with an orange veggie as they are more palapable, but not too bitter like the greens, and not as sweet as fruits). I'm still trying to figure out if it's best to mix the veggie with the rice cereal or serve it alone. After that I plan to alternate between a green and orange veggie before introducing fruits. We will do each food for 3-4 days like others said, to make sure there are no allergies.

You know your baby best and know if she is ready or not, so if you think she is ready, it can't hurt to start trying. If she pulls away or resists, then maybe wait another day or two and try again. C is so active and really starting to move I feel like he's going to need the extra calories in the next month or two to satisfy him so I would hate to wait too long and have him be super hungry and just start trying to feed real food.

 

ash.flea

I've been researching this a lot lately as I'm getting ready to start solids with G.  I haven't really read anything good about rice cereal lately, and it seems like all of the new studies are showing that it's not a great food to start with.  Still, I have iron deficiency problems so I am worried about G getting enough so I might do rice until he is able to eat meat at least.  I need to talk to our pedi about this.

It seems like sweet potatoes are recommended everywhere as a great first food so I think that's where I'm going to start.  I'm going to try to cook all of his food and just started that this week.  Maybe we'll introduce solids this weekend.

Jennifer43

It looks like a lot of us are starting solids this week/weekend. I definitely think a picture post of our LO's first meals is in order for Mommy Monday!

And I think even if you are mixing the rice cereal with other veggies, the iron in it can't hurt, even if the rest of it is pretty non-nutritional.