Babies: 6 - 9 Months
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1st Baby Food Questions
We're ready to start feeding LO baby food, but I realized I'm not sure ...
- what kind to start with (I heard veggies first and then fruits)?
- how much I should allow him to eat the first time if he doesn't refuse it?
- if I should heat it up or try having him it it chilled first, then heat it if he doesn't eat it?
- what brand is best (if any)? My family has always done Gerber, and I don't even know what other options are out there.
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Re: 1st Baby Food Questions
I can only tell you what we have done, based on our pediatrician's recommendations. We waited until just before 6 months to start solids (just a couple of weeks ago). We started with Gerber baby oatmeal. I mixed a Tbs. with about a Tbs and a half of breastmilk (on the box it says 4-5 tbs. BM...I think that is crazy). Our pedi recommended that after cereal, we start with orange and yellow vegetables, then fruit, then green vegetables. We were preparing butternut squash for Thanksgiving, so we just set some aside for DS and steamed it and pureed it with some of the steaming water. I gave DS a heaping spoonful of warm squash, mixed with 1/2-1 Tbs. oatmeal, and enough BM to reach the consistency I wanted.
We have only been giving him solids once a day since we are just getting started, but I think we will up it to twice before too long...he is really getting the hang of it and starting to gobble it down. In the beginning he wasn't actually eating much, and it was just more of a fun activity.
He does seem to like it warmed a little. We have been using up the few cubes of squash that I froze and tomorrow night I plan to cook up some carrots or sweet potatoes and try those for a few days.
I've always heard veggies first but that's a matter of opinion. We did orange veggies (3 days of each one) then green veggies so that took about 2 weeks. I've heard orange veggies are easier to digest, and I noticed DS got gassier with the green ones.
We did 1/2 a tub. I don't think you really have to limit them.
We did room temperature.
We like Gerber best. A lot of people like Earth's Best but personally I think it smells soapy and some of them are pretty runny. DS definitely prefers Gerber. He likes Beechnut too. We've also tried Sprout. He liked everything except the green bean/pea mixture. It has mint in it and smells really strong. It wasn't that special. Sort of pricey and and package it's in is hard to get all of the food out so I think it wastes a little.