Solids ?

mommmyz · March 2010

At our four month appointment the pedi recommended not starting solids until 6 months. I bf, and know this is the AAP recommendation, but it seems like most people don't follow this. Of course a million people keep telling me giving him cereal will help him sleep, but I know this isn't always true. Our plan is to follow pedi advice and wait to start at 6 months. Anyone else hold off on solids? What was your experience when you did start them and did you just skip cereal or still do that at 6 months? Thanks!

Mrs.Ram · March 2010

I am very interested in seeing responses to this, too. We're in the "holding off" category (after an enlightening post on this board). I'm thinking of starting her this weekend, though, since the milestone I was waiting for (sitting up) is sort of happening. She'll be one week shy of 6 months.

vml14 · March 2010

My LO is 5 months old now, and we are waiting until 6 months to start. Our pedi recommended it, it's the AAP recommendation, it has no nutritional benefit at this point, so I see no reason to start earlier. I've heard that in most cases it doesn't really help with sleeping at night. I can see starting early if there is a medical reason (to help with reflux or something else the doc suggests), but I don't understand starting early just because the child seems "ready." They'll still be ready at 6 months!

I'm not sure what we'll do when we start. I was thinking of starting with a bit of rice cereal for a week or two before our 6 month appt (which is actually when she'll be 6.5 months) so that I can discuss how it's going with the pedi, and where she suggests to go from there.

nolebride · March 2010

First, there are 10 month olds that are chowin' on real food and they still don't STTN. Smile

Anway, we waited until he was 6 months and even then he wasn't totally ready. We started with sweet potato and that was a complete fail as was rice cereal. He was miserable anytime we would bring food close to him. We kept trying but not forcing the issue. A couple of weeks in we tried oatmeal and he really liked that. Then we added butternut squash and he loved that. Eventually we started doing things with the oatmeal like bananas and apples. We went back to sweet potatoes and he loves them. As you will hear and read babies need to be on majority BM or Formula even after they start solids so it's not that they are getting a ton of cals from solids. It's just to help them practice eating. My opinion listen to the pedi and wait.

BabyHatch · March 2010

We ended up waiting til 6 months. Around 5 months, I tried giving her rice cereal and she was not having it...at all. Even at 6 months it was slow initially but she caught on quickly and "understood" more of what to do.

eeclem · March 2010

We started (with pedi's blessing) at about 5 months. He was hitting all of the milestones, except needed a bit of support to sit. We've gone really slowly, because he's not as in to it as I though he would be. He eats twice a day now and I doubt he eats more than 2-3 oz total. Plus, it's kind of a hassle, so next time I'll wait until 6 mo.

We have discovered applesauce recently and he thinks that is pretty amazing, though.

Sofka · March 2010

we waited till 6mo old, what's the rush? DD had reflux and did not STTN till we Ferberized at 9.5mo old so no, solids did not help at all. There are a ton of benefits to waiting until baby is 6mo old, some eBFers wait even longer. Baby's need for BM/formula is the same until he/she reaches 8mo of age.

We started with rice cereal and introduced one food at a time (once per week but it's OK to intro once every 4-5 days) for many months. She did OK with the cereals but was allergic to sweet potato and avocado. She outgrew the avocado allergy by about 13-14mo but hates it so I don't offer it often. I did not try sweet potatoes again b/c I personally find them disgusting and don't care if she doesn't eat them. We did cereals and purees for a long time. When I did try avocado I mashed it up w/ BM.

Take your time and enjoy your baby while he's still a baby, once you start solids, it's a whole different (messy and gross diapers) world!

Hey Jellisy · March 2010

Our pedi encouraged us to start cereal at 5 months and other foods at 6. DD was ready, always looking at us eating, she would often grab for it if she was sitting on my lap at dinner time. We did one grain per week, brown rice, barley, oatmeal and then when we introduced fruits and veggies we started slow, one per 4 days and then when it was clear DD was not having reactions (neither DH or I have ever had food allergies) we sped it up a bit. During this time DD usually had one serving of solids at daycare and sometimes we would give her a second serving in the evening depending on time. We would introduce first for a few days before signing off on that food to daycare. We introduced pureed meats with mixed success at 7 months along with cheese and yogurt which DD adored. DD was really only in the purees stage till 8 months. At that time we switched to a mix of purees and finger foods. By 10 months she was all finger foods. Today she is pretty independant and uses her spoon as well. (Mostly because she won't let me do it anymore).

special382 · March 2010

vml14:

but I don't understand starting early just because the child seems "ready." They'll still be ready at 6 months!

Honestly, this is really easy to say when you don't have a baby screaming from hunger all.the.time. We started solids with Mackenzie at 4 months. She was always starving. She was 10lbs at birth and just over 20lbs at 4 months- taking about 40z of breastmilk a day (I knew this because I pumped exclusively). The pedi recommended that we start her at 4 months. In no time she was taking cereal and fruit/veggie multiple times a day. Once we started solids we saw a huge improvement, she cried so much less and was a much happier baby.

Ian was totally different. He never cried the way Kenzie did, he didn't seem to need solids at 4 months. At about 5.5 months we noticed that he was getting ready for solids. We started him on a little cereal a week before his 6 month appointment. He didn't take to it as quickly as Kenzie did, but eventually he was a pro.

With this baby we plan to take their cues. When they are unable to be satisfied with just milk, we will start them on solids.

victoria1212 · March 2010

we were given the okay to start solids at her 4 month appointment but she refused the rice cereal (and all the other cereals). We made multiple attempts with rice and barley (she would taste it and then just let it run out of her mouth) but she had no interest so at 6 months we started purees and she liked most of them.

vml14 · March 2010

special382:
vml14:

but I don't understand starting early just because the child seems "ready." They'll still be ready at 6 months!

Honestly, this is really easy to say when you don't have a baby screaming from hunger all.the.time. We started solids with Mackenzie at 4 months. She was always starving. She was 10lbs at birth and just over 20lbs at 4 months- taking about 40z of breastmilk a day (I knew this because I pumped exclusively). The pedi recommended that we start her at 4 months. In no time she was taking cereal and fruit/veggie multiple times a day. Once we started solids we saw a huge improvement, she cried so much less and was a much happier baby.

Ian was totally different. He never cried the way Kenzie did, he didn't seem to need solids at 4 months. At about 5.5 months we noticed that he was getting ready for solids. We started him on a little cereal a week before his 6 month appointment. He didn't take to it as quickly as Kenzie did, but eventually he was a pro.

With this baby we plan to take their cues. When they are unable to be satisfied with just milk, we will start them on solids.

To me, it sounds to me that with MacKenzie, starting at 4 months made sense, because your daughter needed it. It seems like you made that decision based on her need, not just because she "seemed ready."

The decisions to start early that I question are when parents choose to start at 4 months because their child "seems ready", and is hitting the other milestones that are mentioned as readiness signs that don't really have to do with food (sitting up, etc)... I've had so many friends tell me they started at 4 months simply because their child looked sad watching them eat, or because he/she could sit up in the highchair nicely. Those types of reasons don't make any sense to me... A starving child -- that makes sense!

MingoMoll · March 2010

We started Mini with rice cereal about a week before 6 mos, and introduced about 1 food every 4 days (neither of us have food allergies). She's mostly on finger foods now.

emack · March 2010

We tried at 4 months but it really wasn't the best idea. We ended up really starting at 5 months, but in retrospect, I think I would have waited until a little before 6. I work with a feeding expert who says that for most babies, it's probably fine earlier, but for some (and you don't know until you try), a negative first experience with food (like a choking sensation, which is really scary) can have a big impact on their feeding behaviors. Further, as an obesity researcher, there is good information that waiting to start solids (has to do with babies' metabolism) might be protective against childhood obesity.

SoonToBeMrsDTS · March 2010

I gave them rice cereal a few weeks before 6 months and then started fruits and vegetables at 6 months. I saw no reason to rush it since they were doing fine on just breast milk.

QueSrah · March 2010

special382:
vml14:

but I don't understand starting early just because the child seems "ready." They'll still be ready at 6 months!

Honestly, this is really easy to say when you don't have a baby screaming from hunger all.the.time. We started solids with Mackenzie at 4 months. She was always starving. She was 10lbs at birth and just over 20lbs at 4 months- taking about 40z of breastmilk a day (I knew this because I pumped exclusively). The pedi recommended that we start her at 4 months. In no time she was taking cereal and fruit/veggie multiple times a day. Once we started solids we saw a huge improvement, she cried so much less and was a much happier baby.

Thanks for sharing this. Our ped. strongly encouraged DH to start DD on solids last week at her 4 month appointment. I couldn't figure out what the hurry was, but maybe it's because she drinks about 30-33 oz. of milk and formula a day, is in the 85th percentile on weight, and is seriously hungry at least once in the middle of the night (we were having sleep issues when he took her, but she's definitely doing more than just snacking at least once per night). Maybe her point is to give DD more sustenance than she's getting with milk alone to help keep her full? Not just during the night so we all can sleep, but during the day when she's gulping down 5 oz. bottles every 2.5 hours at daycare? I missed a lot just reading DH's notes from the ped. appointment since I couldn't go myself, so I'm still trying to piece together some of the background.

I'm still not in a rush to start solids, but I assume we'll be starting sometime in the next week.

kirnat848 · March 2010

With this one we waited until she was 6 months to start solids. Still even with her being 7 months now she only likes oatmeal cereal, wasn't into Rice and she just won't accept fruits yet. She'll eat a few veggies but thats it. Much different than my other 2 who were ready for solids by 5 months and ate everything in sight. Pedi said she's not concerned with DD3's eating b/c she's taking the formula just fine and that is where she gets most of her nutrients right now anyway.

LindseyJW · March 2010

we waited until 7ish months to introduce solids. i EBF and don't subscribe to the philosophy of eating for fun. eating should be for nutrition and if the nutrition is not to come from the solids but rather from the breastmilk or the formula, i just don't see the point (with the exception of finger foods like cheerios, which we gave around 8 months to help develop pincher skills). we started with ground oatmeal "cooked" with warmed breastmilk. at 8.5 months, we did pureed spinach and avocado, both mixed with breastmilk.

honestly, if i didn't work and my son wasn't at a daycare where the other babies his age were all eating solids several times a day, we would have waited longer to introduce. i just got sick of the constant pestering by my DCP about starting solids.

mommmyz · March 2010

Thanks for all the responses ladies! I wrote the question while pumping at lunch and since I teach first grade there's not time to check until I pump again after school - and I was so excited to see all the suggestions! Looks like we are not in the minority as much as I thought with waiting until 6 months. On the 3-6 month board it seems like everybody starts earlier so I was just curious.

I am fine with waiting for many reasons, especially because I am fine with holding off on adding one more thing to our morning!

Mama Angelina · March 2010

DS went from 7lbs at birth to 92nd %ile at 4 months. He ate so often and so much that we could barely keep up with him. I EBF from the beginning. I am involved with LLL and gung-ho about BFing, but each child is different. Our pedi (NoVA pediatrics) suggested we start solids at 4 months, but we waited until 5 months or just after. By that time, O was reaching for our foods so eagerly and slamming his hands down from his jumper or wherever he happened to be, demanding food whenever we ate. He also got his first teeth early and was sitting up unassisted at 5 months. We had planned to wait until 6 months, but we felt it was the best decision to give him what he was clearly looking for. We didn't start him on rice cereal, but on avocado and bananas. I would BF him first and then give him solids until he was satisfied...a couple TSP in the beginning. He scarfed them down from day 1 and never looked back! He still happily BFs 5-6 times a day and he now eats 2 solid meals and sometimes a snack per day.

Incidentally, he did start sleeping better and longer, but who knows if that was the solids or not. He has never been picky with any food. He loves sweet potatoes, prunes, peas, green beans, rice cereal, oatmeal, peaches, carrots, bananas, avocados, pears, and a few other things I'm sure... I make all of his foods (sometimes we buy HappyBellies cereals and sometimes I make them) and also add small amounts of flavorings to his food, like garlic, vanilla, cinnamon, basil, ginger, etc. He is quite the food connoisseur and enjoys tasting everything. IF he had shied away from food or if we had food allergies, I would've held off until later.

So, every baby is different. If my next child doesn't show the same needs and readiness as O, I will be glad to hold off until 6 months, because I don't think it can hurt and I am not one to rush things. I am, however, very pleased with how things are turning out with his food habits, and I think I did what was best for my son instead of following "guidelines" that change every few years.

asolare · March 2010

we waited until 6 months, or thereabouts. i might have stuck in some cereal, just for fun, in month 5 but didn't make it a habit until 6.

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