When to offer solids

Latham12

We are just starting LO on solids as she is almost 6 months and we skipped cereal. I was wondering how many times during the day everyone offers their LO food to start out with?

EandIMommy86

I did it twice a day. For awhile she wouldn't take it from the spoon because she didn't understand what was going on. They catch on pretty quickly the more you do it.

svdrummajor07

I started off once a day and within a couple of weeks moved up to two. She loves solid food and even though I always offer bottles first, she can't wait to eat her solids.

henrytviii

We did BLW and at first he wasn't really consuming any food just exploring it.  We started at 5.5 months and I offered every time I was eating and he seemed interested.  It ended up being 2-3 times a day though if it was a hectic day we'd sometime skip a meal and he didn't seem to notice or eat much for the first 1 month or more. At 7 months all of the sudden he really wanted 2 meals a day and we could no longer skip. Now at 8 months he is eating breakfast so we always offer 3 meals. This week he is eating a ton and my sitter is having to offer an afternoon snack in addition to the 3 meals.  He's actually climbing up his highchair for it.

emilyec1

We started at 6 months, 1 week and then after a week and a half started on a second meal. We offered a few different veggies at night before introducing a fruit in the morning (around 10 am). Now they're receiving a fruit in the morning and veggie in the evening, We'll probably continue with this until at least 7 months. They haven't loved the cereal so we'll offer it from time to time but I'm not too concerned about it.

Luvofmylife3

Not to be a bug but I do not understand why some ladies are skipping cereals. Cereals such as barley and oatmeal provide babies with the iron they need. I see why some choose not to offer rice but oatmeal and barley will be a daily essential in my babies early diet.

UMichGirl

Luvofmylife3:

Not to be a bug but I do not understand why some ladies are skipping cereals. Cereals such as barley and oatmeal provide babies with the iron they need. I see why some choose not to offer rice but oatmeal and barley will be a daily essential in my babies early diet.

Our pedi GI doctor told us we could skip all of that if we wanted. The formula DS is on has all the iron he needs. We have still chosen to give him oatmeal but it certainly isn't a requirement.

RoryorHenry?

Luvofmylife3:

Not to be a bug but I do not understand why some ladies are skipping cereals. Cereals such as barley and oatmeal provide babies with the iron they need. I see why some choose not to offer rice but oatmeal and barley will be a daily essential in my babies early diet.

It is my understanding that babies need only breast milk or formula for the first six months at which point they are developmentally ready to skip cereal and then iron is more easily absorbed from sources other than cereal such as red meat. They can also get iron from other meats, eggs, green leafy vegetables, etc. These can be served as pure or as part of BLW. A lot of people consider cereal to be more of a filler food and while fortified cereals offer iron they are low in protein. For this reason I plan on skipping cereals and offering both iron and protein rich foods.