Solids How and Amounts

ecu0505 · May 2013

Ok ladies, tell my what you are doing or what you plan to do when introducing solids. This whole process is confusing me a bit as a FTM. Will you be offing solids once a day, twice a day. Will LO start drinking less milk? What are your "schedules" going to be like for solids. The only thing I know is I don't think I'm going to start until 6 months and I plan on making my own pures. I also don't think I'm going to cereals. I am looking for opinions here so feel free to unload on me.

SWOG31 · May 2013

I definitely think I'm going to start before 6 months. If I wait until 6 months it's because I have chosen to skip purees and do BLW.

Mason&Mama · May 2013

There are so many different ways to go about it. There really is no right or wrong in my opinion.

With my first son, we started sometime after 5 months. I started with once a day. I think that mornings are recommended because you have all day to watch for a reaction. I started with purees, but I did offer oatmeal at one point as well. I didn't really measure the amount. I basically went by my baby's cues. I would say starting with about an ounce is a safe bet, and then increase that based on how your baby does. I would offer a new food about every 3 days (although you can do any combination of foods that you have previously offered.) Some pedis give the advice of veggies before fruits or different color order (oranges, greens, yellows, etc.). I did not follow that, and my kid ate everything. He still does. I went in no particular order, although I tried to give more veggies than fruits in general. As far as their milk/formula intake, that should still be their main form of nutrition. If their intake decreases too much, you should definitely back off on solids for a while. It is good to offer milk before solids and not the other way around.

portentosa · May 2013

I just started out yesterday.. there's more info about that on a solids post a couple lines down.

I'm feeding just 1tbsp once a day after DS has a full meal of milk at this point. I will increase it to 2-3 times a day and increase the amount as DS gets more excited about solids... but always AFTER he has his milk as that is the most important.

this decaf life · May 2013

We're going to start until 6 months. Like I said in the post a few down she's not quite doubled her weight yet and can't sit on her own so I don't think she's ready.

Once she is ready I plan on BFing her like normal and after her morning feeding I'll give her some mashed food and let her play with it & hope some ends up in her mouth. I mean, she puts everything in her mouth so I'm not worried about that! I want to let her take the lead without giving her big chunks of anything because I'm a baby & BLW makes me too nervous.

I think they say in the beginning they should only eat 1-2 tablespoons of "solids" a day.

Wild_flower25 · May 2013

Since she goes to daycare, I'll probably do it once a day in the evening. After a week or two, I'll bring it to daycare to give her at breakfast too, then 3x a day around 8-9 months maybe? I don't know yet, I'll have to see how it goes.

zonagirlie · May 2013

I'm waiting for:
Full head control
No tongue thrusting
Doubled birth weight
And close to if not six months old.
To start:
Family meal style dinners
Avocados and sweet potatoes
Then whatever he's interested in off my plate and pured fruits and veggies.
What I won't be trying:
Taking away breast milk. He can drink as much as he wants from a bottle then a sippy.
Cereals. I might do oatmeal bit after nine months as recommended.
No water until after a year as recommended.

Those are the guidelines I've set using both Pedi advice and nutrition research.

ecu0505 · May 2013

I guess are 4 month apt has brought all these confused feeling for me about this. I have loved our pedi until this one point. They instantly went to give cereal starting between now and 6 months and no other guidance. They did say when she starts being interested in what we are eating she's ready but that's all. LO is not yet double birth weight but she was 9 lb 10 oz at birth. I just don't know. Mommy is definitely not ready so I think we are going to wait a while.

JennV514 · May 2013

At 6 months I will start to give avocado, banana, sweet potato babies love the SP, things like that. I just give an ounce a day to start. Usually at dinner time so my husband can participate.

zonagirlie · May 2013

MichieU79:
Brendamndz:
zonagirlie:
I'm waiting for:
Full head control
No tongue thrusting
Doubled birth weight
And close to if not six months old.
To start:
Family meal style dinners
Avocados and sweet potatoes
Then whatever he's interested in off my plate and pured fruits and veggies.
What I won't be trying:
Taking away breast milk. He can drink as much as he wants from a bottle then a sippy.
Cereals. I might do oatmeal bit after nine months as recommended.
No water until after a year as recommended.

Those are the guidelines I've set using both Pedi advice and nutrition research.

This is pretty much us as well. I spoke with R's pedi and the very earliest we will start is 6 months, actually he said I could wait until 7 months!

Me personally, I am against the oatmeal/cereal route because I heat so many constipation issues with it. However I am not sold on avocado either because I am allergic and am worried if R will be too.

I am with zona on waiting for more signs that R is ready, no water and not replacing BMb for sure. But we are a couple pounds over doubled birth weight and because of this pedi says keep doing what we're doing for now. I am so glad he and I ate on the same page, I went in thinking I'd have to fight!
You ladies are right about not giving water to a breastfed baby.  However, I just want to throw it out there, that formula fed babies are different.  Small amounts of water are in fact suggested for ff babies once solids are well established.
I believe it has something to do with bf babies being able to regulate what "type" of breast milk they get, fat content and such,  and, this satisfies either their hunger or thirst.  However, ff babies are getting the same consistency milk and may in fact need a little additional water to prevent dehydration.  Don't quote me on this, I have mommy brain all the time now....but I seem to remember reading this on a blw website really recently.   
As for us and solids, we are planning to start after 6 months.  We will more than likey be doing baby led weaning, so our first foods will be some sort of steamed veggie. We'll do it at first only once, in the morning (as pp said, to keep an eye out for reactions).  And, we'll take it from there.   

Did not know that. Good info!

I think s lot of people, drs too, fixate on a date but in reality it should be based on your specific child. It should be whether your bs y is developmentally ready not just six months and one day old.

zonagirlie · May 2013

MichieU79:
Brendamndz:
zonagirlie:
I'm waiting for:
Full head control
No tongue thrusting
Doubled birth weight
And close to if not six months old.
To start:
Family meal style dinners
Avocados and sweet potatoes
Then whatever he's interested in off my plate and pured fruits and veggies.
What I won't be trying:
Taking away breast milk. He can drink as much as he wants from a bottle then a sippy.
Cereals. I might do oatmeal bit after nine months as recommended.
No water until after a year as recommended.

Those are the guidelines I've set using both Pedi advice and nutrition research.

This is pretty much us as well. I spoke with R's pedi and the very earliest we will start is 6 months, actually he said I could wait until 7 months!

Me personally, I am against the oatmeal/cereal route because I heat so many constipation issues with it. However I am not sold on avocado either because I am allergic and am worried if R will be too.

I am with zona on waiting for more signs that R is ready, no water and not replacing BMb for sure. But we are a couple pounds over doubled birth weight and because of this pedi says keep doing what we're doing for now. I am so glad he and I ate on the same page, I went in thinking I'd have to fight!
You ladies are right about not giving water to a breastfed baby.  However, I just want to throw it out there, that formula fed babies are different.  Small amounts of water are in fact suggested for ff babies once solids are well established.
I believe it has something to do with bf babies being able to regulate what "type" of breast milk they get, fat content and such,  and, this satisfies either their hunger or thirst.  However, ff babies are getting the same consistency milk and may in fact need a little additional water to prevent dehydration.  Don't quote me on this, I have mommy brain all the time now....but I seem to remember reading this on a blw website really recently.   
As for us and solids, we are planning to start after 6 months.  We will more than likey be doing baby led weaning, so our first foods will be some sort of steamed veggie. We'll do it at first only once, in the morning (as pp said, to keep an eye out for reactions).  And, we'll take it from there.   

Did not know that. Good info!

I think s lot of people, drs too, fixate on a date but in reality it should be based on your specific child. It should be whether your baby is developmentally ready not just six months and one day old.

jessicariley810 · May 2013

When you start solids it's important to introduce one solid at a time, and wait 3 days to see if baby is allergic to the aliment or not. We started at 6 months and we've first introduced banana but LO also loves avocado. I first find it hard to tell which solids were recommended for her and which to avoid, but I found this website https://goodmomming.com/ and it kind of solved my problem. You could use it when your baby is ready.

ecu0505 · May 2013

jessicariley810:
When you start solids it's important to introduce one solid at a time, and wait 3 days to see if baby is allergic to the aliment or not. We started at 6 months and we've first introduced banana but LO also loves avocado. I first find it hard to tell which solids were recommended for her and which to avoid, but I found this website https://goodmomming.com/ and it kind of solved my problem. You could use it when your baby is ready.

Thank you for the website. This is going to help with my anxieties about how to handle solids!

mistd78 · May 2013

I started earlier than most did with solids, we started the introduction at 4 months. Because DD was holding her head up for a few weeks already, her tongue was moving the way it is supposed to and she constantly wanted what we were "playing with". So she eats a little at a time, until she makes it clear she is DONE, which is usually after she plays with a lot of it, but also get a little in her mouth. She gets her food in the evening after she BF's, then she eats some food, then she BF's again about 30 minutes later and if she has drained both breasts, then she gets a bottle of formula ( I have never been able to satiate her with breast milk all day long). I do NOT replace her milk (in any form) with food. She gets it only after her milk. I have been doing the evening routine (once a day) just in case she does have a reaction, she doesn't have a bunch of it in her system ( which may or may not make a difference, but it gives me peace of mind). I will probably begin introducing it to her at lunch time when grandma watches her while I am at work, beginning next week. But again, only what LO shows interest in, not at all forcing it. Good luck, each baby is different and each mommy is going to do things the best way she can.

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