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starting baby food?

crystaleyes39crystaleyes39 member
in Preemies

My girls are amost 6 months and a week old, but they were born 7 weeks early.  I have yet to start baby food (rice cereal). What age did you start your preemie on baby food and how much did you start with? 

Right now they're eating 30-32 ounces a day (5 bottles a day). I'm not sure where I would even put the baby food in their routine.

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Re: starting baby food?

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    crystaleyes39crystaleyes39 member
    imageBostonKisses2:

    We started her around 6.5m actual.  You'll hear a lot of different opinions on this, but if your girls seem like they're ready and you're ready, you can give it a shot.

    We did rice cereal twice and she hated it, so we went right to purees.  I would offer her a solid around one of her feed times, and she always took a bottle in addition to the puree.  At this point, it's more for practice rather than nutrition, so you can still offer a bottle.

    I think I want to skip the rice cereal all together as well. My girls are JUST starting now to sit up assited and only last a matter of seconds on their own. So i'm thinking I'm going to wait until they can fully sit on their own (so I can put them in their high chair) then start. :) HOpefully in the next month or so.

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    mshammerlingmshammerling
    every baby is different. my daughter has been on rice cereal in her bottles since before she came home from the nicu to bulk her up.  i think adjusted to their weight and they are supported sitters they can start eating fruits and veggies and cereal with a spoon. my daughter started two weeks ago and she eats a little and still takes a bottle.  what ever you feel comfortable with .  my preemie is my third child so i pretty much know the cues  . good luck
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    PhDMommaPhDMomma member

    We started at 5 months actual (per our pedi), he was 6 weeks early, but was showing all of the cues of being interested.  As in he was staring us down as we ate, reaching for our plates and trying to steal food, ect.  We skipped the rice cereal because it can be constipating, and since  the little guy is on a soy formula we already have some of those issues.  We went straight to vegetables and fruits, which seemed to work okay, he wasn't too thrilled with some of the green vegetables or pureed meat, but seems to like everything else okay.

    Good luck, and in the beginning I felt like I got way more on his bib than in his stomach :)

     

    http://www.thebump.com/profiles/PhDMomma/media/photo/edit/1456535
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    lwmooney87lwmooney87

    We started DD around 7 months actual (4ish adjusted). She hated rice cereal and it made her tummy hurt so we tried oatmeal and she loved it and did well with that (and it helped her reflux a little). Then we introduced veggies first and waited 3 days before trying a new one. We started with sweet potatoes. She really wasn't interested in solids until about 10 months actual though (7ish months adjusted).

    Signs that they are ready are: they can hold their head up well on their own, sit well with support, open their mouths for the spoon, not push the food out with their tongue, have interest in what you are eating, etc. Your girls seem to be getting plenty of milk. You could always try a little rice or oatmeal mixed with formula or BM (soupy consistency at first) and see how they do. Just go slow and go with their cues. If it seems like they aren't ready, then hold off for a little while longer. Their main source of nutrition until their adjusted 1 year is formula or BM anyway, solids are just for practice.

    One thing to be cautious of is that preemies sometimes have issues with texture. (My DD did) Start with REALLY runny solids and increase from there. My DD would gag and vomit when I gave her peas in the beginning but now she loves them.

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    crystaleyes39crystaleyes39 member
    imagelwmooney87:

    We started DD around 7 months actual (4ish adjusted). She hated rice cereal and it made her tummy hurt so we tried oatmeal and she loved it and did well with that (and it helped her reflux a little). Then we introduced veggies first and waited 3 days before trying a new one. We started with sweet potatoes. She really wasn't interested in solids until about 10 months actual though (7ish months adjusted).

    Signs that they are ready are: they can hold their head up well on their own, sit well with support, open their mouths for the spoon, not push the food out with their tongue, have interest in what you are eating, etc. Your girls seem to be getting plenty of milk. You could always try a little rice or oatmeal mixed with formula or BM (soupy consistency at first) and see how they do. Just go slow and go with their cues. If it seems like they aren't ready, then hold off for a little while longer. Their main source of nutrition until their adjusted 1 year is formula or BM anyway, solids are just for practice.

    One thing to be cautious of is that preemies sometimes have issues with texture. (My DD did) Start with REALLY runny solids and increase from there. My DD would gag and vomit when I gave her peas in the beginning but now she loves them.

     

    Thank you sooo much! This was really helpful. My girls are JUST now starting to sit up assisted. One is still pretty wobbly...so I may wait until their next Doc visit in 2 weeks to talk with the pediatrian and go from there.

    Thanks everyone!

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