When did you start solids?

tarajayne

We had our 4 month appointment today and doc said we could start.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to do this though since there is conflicting info out there and they were 4 weeks early.  When did you start and how did you know your LO's were ready?

TripMomma

We waited until 6 mo adjusted...so they were just over 8 months. Even at 8 months one of the triplets was not interested in food at all, took another 2 months for her. I would wait until 6mo min.

mollydarren

Hi!

 

My twins were born at 37 weeks, completely health no nicu time we were incredibly lucky. I know that they were a little early so should be a few weeks behind full terms but they have always been ahead of the milestone schedule.I was planning on waiting till 4-6 months to start solids and just go with it when the Dr said to but my girls starting grabbing my food at the table, never being full and drinking 8 oz 8-10 times a day for about 3-4 days and not sleeping at all through the night because they were hungry. At 3 1/2 months I gave them rice cereal and on their 4 month birthday I gave them solids. They love it, it has changed everything, they are happier, growing more consistently, sleeping 12-13 hours a night with only an occasional wake up due to teething. I am not recommending you do this , it completely depends on your child but my girls were able to swallow and really really seemed like they wanted it. They are now 5 1/2 months old and have three solid meals a day and 4 bottles and it is working great!  Good luck!!!

Rynleigh

With our singletons, we let each of them start trying puree'd veggies and rice cereal right around 4 months or so. My oldest took to it immediately and was eating two "meals" of solids within a few weeks - adding the meals without reducing bottles jumped her out of the 5th percentile into the 10th in about two months, where she remained. My youngest didn't like solids much until around 6mo or so when she could direct the spoon herself. We never pushed them, we just offered them often. She has always stayed in the 5th percentile for age. 

How early we offer them with the boys will depend on their growth. If they're at least in the 10th by 4mo, we'll probably keep them on milk/formula only until 6mo, but if they're as small as the girls were, we'll be offering as soon as they can sit up without assistance like we did with them.  

mars724

Have let them taste some rice cereal after their lunch bottle the past few days to see what they do with the spoon. Liz really took to it, and Alex is getting a bit better. They're drinking 7-8 oz bottles and are pretty ravenous. So I'm taking it really slow, they're 4 months tomorrow. 

Ive also been making and freezing baby food for about a month to get ready for when they need it.  

Jen0204

We started the girls on solids at 5 months.  For the first few weeks they were just getting a couple of spoonfuls twice a day but now they each get about 2 jars a day.  Mine were born at 36 weeks.

ColleenS629

We started at 6 months with avocado.

hayleydeee

We waited until about 7 months (six months adjusted age). 4 months just seems too early to me, and from what I understand it's outdated advice. 

macchiatto

It's crazy how the recommendations have already changed again in the last 3 years. When my boys were babies, most drs recommended not starting till 6m. We started at 6.5.

Rynleigh

eh. The "advice" changes regularly. The staples that almost always remain the same are ensuring that baby has steady head control, can sit up independently, and can functionally move food to the back of the mouth with their tongue, combine with watching for if your baby begins to lose weight on a liquid diet and avoiding allergens.

Our kids were always tiny, hit all their milestones early, etc... so we listened to their bodies over the conflicting information from the many "doctors" out there who each have their own takes on when/how/what to feed. My oldest was munching toast and scribbling in colouring books at 6mo. I've seen babies who don't even have the motor control to control their bodies in a high chair before 7mo. Pay attention to your kids and whether their bodies are ready for solids or not. 

My peppy 6mo old toast muncher, 2002: 

 

tarajayne

Thank you all for the input!  I know the advice changes regularly and different drs will say different things.  This doc is pretty old school, in fact we have chosen to switch to the other dr in the practice due to other issues but it was too late to change this appt.  So I am already kind of untrustworthy of him you know!  Plus my kids are growing up so fast I really am in no hurry to rush into things.  As far as weight though, A is in the 31% and O is 35%.  A long way from % and 9%! They are definitely catching up.  Both have really good head control and can sit up assisted for quite awhile.  They aren't trying to grab for our food but usually we eat when they are sleeping because it's the only time we can! O does try to grab his bottle though and will push it out and pull it back in.

Doc also told us today that the max formula they should eat in a day is 32 oz.  I am going to count the next few days but I am pretty sure we are close to this.  So I am thinking if they are still hungry and eating that much, it's time.  They eat 5-6 oz every 3-4 hrs during the day.  At night they sleep from 8-2 ish, eat 5 and sleep until 7ish.  

I know that at the end of the day I need to do what I feel is best for my kids, but I just want to do the right thing!

flgator

We started feeding solids to our single babies at 7 months (and both were full term).  I was EBF.  I thought the AAP recommends starting solids at 6 months now. 

AmyJoy728

We are starting around 5.5 months.

erniebufflo

Both our pedi and my pedi hubby said we should start rice cereal at 4 months, move on to other grains at 5, and start one veggie at a time at 6. They're almost 5 months and have been spoon-fed rice cereal exactly twice. They're really not ready to do much more than look at us funny and wonder what the heck this mush is about. I'm not super gung ho about it, so it's just whatever.