Did you start baby food according to regular or adjusted age

Alongcamebaby17

My daughter is only 3 months old so I don't have to worry about this for a while anyway but I was just wondering. She was six weeks early. Would I start her on baby food according to her real or adjusted age?

 I asked my doctor this, and he said her real age is fine but I feel like he hasn't had many preemies so I wanted to get some advice from other preemie mamas!

rslhmg

I think it depends on when your Lo is ready, we started at 6 mos actual, 4mos adjusted with the ok from our pedi because she was showing interest and signs of being ready. We did have to stop them for about a month to rule out the sugar in them causing some sleep issues, but other then that she's been fine with them, and as soon as they had been out of her diet long enough to rule them out for the sleep issue her pedi cleared us to start them again.

Alongcamebaby17

rslhmg:

I think it depends on when your Lo is ready, we started at 6 mos actual, 4mos adjusted with the ok from our pedi because she was showing interest and signs of being ready. We did have to stop them for about a month to rule out the sugar in them causing some sleep issues, but other then that she's been fine with them, and as soon as they had been out of her diet long enough to rule them out for the sleep issue her pedi cleared us to start them again.

I was thinking six month actual as well, of course only if she is showing the interest in food by then. By that time she'll be four and a half months old adjusted. Thank you!

Missa_g

We tried at 6m actual but they had zero interest until 6m adjusted.

nicole0066

I would look for signs your baby is ready.  We started at 6m actual and mainly offered finger foods vs purees.  She did a lot of playing and exploring at first.  It wasn't until a while later that she really started associating food with eating.

PhillyGal34

We started at 6m actual 4m adjusted. He's now 7.5 m actual and finally starting to show some interest in eating.  He has been intrigued by food for a while but didn't want to eat.  We've also been toying around with baby led weaning. He seems to hate being a baby and wants "real food". He also doesn't want to crawl but always wants to stand holding on to things and shuffle his feet. So he's strange. 

katie4253

Pedi was adamant that we start at 6 months actual (4adjusted).  6 month is AAPs rec for starting solids, so I wouldn't have done it before then.  Apparently there is a "window of opportunity" for eating, it is really hard for kids to learn to eat and they often have texture/aversion issues if they miss it. That said, I wish we would have split the difference (somewhere between actual and adjusted). He wasn't 100% ready when we started.  We went EXTREMELY slow.  He got 1 meal a day for like 3 months, at 9 we moved to 2 and then by 12 he was at 3.  Going slow was good for him since he really wasn't totally ready when we started. 

We did skip cereal.  I didn't feel like I really wanted him to have that.  So, his first food was avocado and sweet potato.

FWIW, my pedi had a ton of preemie experience.  BUT, so does our new pedi (in a different state) and she is from a totally different school of thought (she follows baby-led weaning for her own babies, so she is much less focused on getting kids purees). 

 

 

Amander13

Just wondering, when everyone says to wait until they show they are ready, how do you know?  Are they eyeing your meals?  Holding the bottle on their own?

They certainly aren't going to the kitchen to make their own meal right?! lol